Government Definitions Ch1 Flashcards
democracy
- “rule by the people”
- gov ppl rule themselves
- introduced by ancient greeks
- political system where power is controled by citizens
- give ppl sense of power and freedom/prevents one from becoming too powerful
constitution
- set of rules that represent the ideas and values of the nation that both the gov and public must follow
- helps to ensure gov does not abuse power/helps establish gov
suffrage
universal suffrage (the right to vote) is practiced meaning all adults can vote
capitalism
- economic system/defines canadian economy
- individuals or companies are free to compete to produce goods and services for profit
- gov does not interfere much/ppl free to buy and sell what they want
- classes of people (rich, middle, poor)
- citizens allowed control and manage wealth of nation: free market economy
communism
- economic system based on community ownership of all property and means of production
- no ppl classes (rich, middle, poor)
- economic equality-freedom doesnt exist/everyone has approx same wealth
- individuals cant pursue business how they want
- cant own anything/everything owned by gov and divided
socialism
- gov runs some aspects of economy while free enterprise (capitilism) still functions
- gov own/operate public services/utilities
- ppl allowed to own many things
- mild form of communism
facism
- belief in action over thought/rules out any decision making based moral convictions of principles
- belief in extreme nationalism
- purpose of individuals to serve the state
- economic and intellectual resources of state to be directed to building proud, united country w/ strong military
- first introduced by benito mussolini
governor general
- chosen by PM and appointed by Queen
- announes formal gov decisions and only signs bills/gives formal assent to bill before it becomes law
- little power/cant interfere with politcal procedure
- represents king/queen-governs for five years
prime minister
- head of government/political party
- political leader of gov of canada
- responsible to govern country
- controls cabinet and HC
parliament
-name given to group of representatives who govern the country
member of parliament
- member elected to represent each riding in HC (lower house)
- debate and passing legislation/look after needs of those who elected them
riding
- area containing approx 100,000 people represented by each member of HC
- 338 ridings
house of commons
- all members of parliament including PM and cabinet
- checks and approves/vetos bills-no money cannot be spent without HC approval
- members include: MPs, governing party (PM/cabinet), opposition party
- focal point in gov
senate
- 105 men/women appointed by GG by recommendation of PM
- appointed as reward for loyalty and support
- role to vote/investigate on bills based by HC
executive branch
- power to make and apply gov decisions
- power to administer and carry out laws
- consists of GG and PM at fed level
legislative branch
- power to make and amend laws
- determines how gov will spend money collected by ppl
- consists of HC, senate and GG at fed level
cabinet
- called cabinet ministers/responsible for iniatiing new laws
- selected by PM from among other MPs who are from the party that won the election
- approx 30 members
- each member responsible for gov department (finiance, defence, transportation etc)
- must show cabinet solidarity to PM/members once decision is made public
- iniates new laws and administers gov policy
direct democracy
- all citizens participate by directly speaking and voting on all decisions affecting society
- used in ancient greek
representative democracy
- citizens elect representatives to act on their behalf to voice the views and wishes of the voters
- ability to elect new gov if unhappy
- representatives must respond to interests of the ppl
constitutional monarch
- queen/king is head of state
- GG is queen representative
- has constitution and ruler (sovereign)
- represents historic relationship
federal system
- gov divided in three levels each level having authority over different areas of gov
- federal, provincial, and municipal governments
vote of non-confidence
- when PM loses support of a majority amount of parliament members therefore losing office
- occurance 1: HC defeats bill introduced by PM party
- occurance 2: members introduce formal vote of NC
caucus
-private meetings held by political parties where they can voice their views and opinions of constituents
backbencher
- members of governing party who are not apart of the cabinet
- support members by keeping in mind wishes of public
party whip
-someone who disciplines members if they speak out agianst their party
shadow cabinet
- opposite of cabinet
- MPs from official opposition chosen to shadow a specific minister from the cabinet
bill
-proposed laws that may or may not be passed and become law
speaker of the house
- elected by MPs from among own members to run daytoday business in HC
- maintains order, referee, controls debate
sergeant at arms
- works for speaker of the house
- performs ceremonial activities and is responsible for security of HC and parliament buildings
leader of the opposition
-leader of the second largest party
patronage
- PM filling senate seats with supporters of their party
- act of rewarding a party member for loyalty and support
judicial system
-power to decide who has broken the law and to set out penalties
supreme court
- highest court in the country/final court of appeal in can
- consists of 9 judges appointed by GG
- major role in ruling human rights issues
legistlative assembly
-name of parliament/HC at prov level
lieutenant governor
-queens representative at prov level
mayor
-head of municipal council made up of elected representatives called aldermen or councillors
by laws
-laws that apply only to a particular municipality
band council
- group of respected members of community
- special form of local gov used by indigenous communities
chief
-leader of band council elected by ppl
british north america act
- new rules of how the new country would be run
- when BNA colonies joined together (nova scotia, new brunswick, province of canada) in 1867
constitution act 1867
- the BNA act renamed
- colonies made into provinces (nova scotia, new brunswick, ontario, quebec) and became dominion of canada july 1 1867
statue of westminster
-act that gave canada power to make its own laws, independent of BR 1931
patriation
- change in canada’s constitution from BNA act to constitution act
- under BR control to independent
notwithstanding clause
- included in charter
- is an “escape”/allowed both fed and prov govs possibility of opting out of clauses in the charter/pass a law that violates law in charter
- gives some power back to gov
- gov could suspend certain rights in charter for up to five years and must seek renewal after
- “loophole” that convinced prov premiers to accept the charter
regionalism
-differences in wishes/needs that exist between eastern, central and western regions of can
universal franchise
-right to vote for all citizens over 18 years of age
voter apathy
- reluctance to participate in elections
- prominent among younger citizens
majority government
-political party wins more than half the seats in HC in election
minority government
- party that wins most seats in election/no party wins majority
- party elects more MPs than any other party but not more than all the other parties combined
coalition government
- no party has a majority of seats in parliament
- 2 or more parties join tgt to form gov
first past the post system
-candidate with most number of votes in each riding wins
proportional representation
- voters elect a candidate on basis of party they represent
- number of votes entire party receives determines the amount of seats they will have
- party will put forward a list of its candidates
interest groups
- those who try to influence gov policies and decisions
- formed when many individuals share a group of ideas and have the same common goal
civil disobediance
- act of intentionally disobeying a law that one thinks is unjust
- usually done to get attention from gov
universal declaration of human rights
-first international statement to recognize all human beings have specific rights and freedoms
canadian charter of rights and freedoms
- made civil rights and liberties apart of the constituion
- the protection of canada’s civil rights/rights and freedoms that are essental to keep canada a democratic and free country
- forms part of constitution
- ensures that gov or anyone does not take away the rights and freedoms unreasonably
convention on the rights of the child
- convention to protect basic rights of children
- rights to identity, education, shelter, safety, special protection in times of war
BC human rights code
- protection of human rights
- a legislation which replaces all other legislations except for the charter
- prohibits descrimination/protection against discrimination and harassment
BC human rights commission
-investigate and mediate and resolve human rights complaints
