October 2017 Flashcards
1
Q
Canada has a total of _____ legislatures
A
14
2
Q
Fixed-date election law
A
- prescribes that general elections be held on a particular date, typically every four years
3
Q
By-election
A
-district-level election held between general elections
4
Q
Bicameral legislation
A
- consisting of two chambers (House of Commons and Senate)
5
Q
Unicameral legislature
A
- one chamber (provincial and territorial legislatures)
6
Q
Senate
A
- provides upper class with representation
- long term analysis of policy and legislation
- House of “sober second thought”
7
Q
Triple “E” Senate
A
- equal, effective, elected
8
Q
House fo Commons
A
- represents the “common people”
- members of parliament
- representation by population
9
Q
Earned majority government
A
- governing party’s share of the vote is at least 50%
10
Q
Manufactured majority government
A
- governing party’s share of the vote is less than 50%
11
Q
Hung Parliament
A
- minority government
- no single party controls
12
Q
Crossing the floor
A
- when a member of the legislature leaves one political party to join another
13
Q
Contempt
A
- formal denunciation of parliamentary behavior by the speaker
14
Q
Leader of the Official Opposition
A
- typically the head of the party with the second-highest amount of seats
15
Q
House Leader
A
- each party appoints a member
16
Q
Backbenchers
A
- legislators without cabinet responsibilites
17
Q
Party Whip
A
- individual member responsible for ensuring caucus members toe the party line
18
Q
Party leader
A
- referee
- controls what partisans can speak about publicly
19
Q
Each session begins with
A
- throne speech, which includes presentation of the budget and budget estimates, and end with prorogation of dissolution
20
Q
Standing committee
A
- permanent legislative committee whose existence is defined by standing order
21
Q
Ad hoc committee
A
- working legislative committee, whose mandate is time limited
22
Q
Bill
A
- a piece of draft legislation tabled into the legislative
23
Q
First reading
A
- draft bill is read in the legislative assembly by the sponsoring member
24
Q
Second reading
A
- the member motions that debate may begin on a bill
25
Legislative Committee stage
- bill is scrutinized clause by clause
26
Report stage
- possible amendments to a bill are suggested
27
Third reading
- all members vote on amended bill
28
Other chamber
- bill goes through same process
29
Royal Assent
- formal signing of a bill into recognized law but with Queen's representative
30
The rule of law
- nobody is above the law
31
the rule of judicial impartiality
- judges decide cases based on evidence and on objective interpretation of the law
32
the rule of judicial independence
- judges are free from political interference when deciding cases
33
Private Laws
- legal rules that concern the relationships among individuals and organizations in matters that do not have broader public concern
34
Public Laws
- legal rules
35
Ministers of justice
- one of the highest-ranking members of a cabinet
| - oversees the court system and justice department
36
Minister of public safety
- responsible for law enforcement, corrections, emergency management, and overall community safety
37
The judiciary
- encompasses the entire system of courts across Canada
38
Courts fulfill three major functions
- guardianship over the legal system
- adjudication of disputes
- guidance of democratic system through commissions of inquiry
39
Adjudication
- courts ensure that private disputes are settled and that chargers, regulatory decisions, or other disputes between citizens and government are resolved
40
Judicial Review
- courts assess the action and the laws of Canadian governments to ensure they are consistent with the constitution
41
Constitutional law cases
- involve deciding which order of government, federal or provincial, has jurisdiction over a particular policy area, or whether Canadians' rights and freedoms ahve been breach by government
42
Hierachical
- the system allows more serious cases and appeals to proceed to higher courts
43
Law Enforcement
- is a complex and expensive component of the judicial system
44
The correctional system
Both the provincial and the federal government take responsibility for running the correctional system
45
Federalism
- a system of government that enables public policy to be responsive to local concerns while being unified by a set of common, overarching objectives
46
Origins of Canadian federalism
- the conventional view of Canadian History holds that the Fathers of Confederation drew their greatest inspiration from the United States
47
Federal spending power
- the capacity of the federal government to spend its available funds, even on areas that fall outside its constitutional jurisdiction
48
Appointment power
- the authority to decide who should be selected to fill a government position
49
Classical Federation
- federal and provincial governments look after their separate jurisdictions
50
Co-operative Federation
- federal and provincial governments work together
51
Collaborative Federation
- provincial and territorial governments collaborate to provide leadership
52
Emergency Federation
- the federal government takes the lead in a national crisis
53
Symmetrical Federation
- all provinces are treated equal
54
Asymmetrical Federation
- some provinces receive special powers, especially with respect to Quebec.
55
Treaty
- First Nations enjoy equal status with the federal and provincial level of governments representing the Canadian crown
56
Political Fairness
- federal governments are challenged to choose between policies or programs that have broad, country-wide appeal but cause deep resentment in certain parts of the country
57
Fiscal Federation
- the manner in which revenues and responsibilities are distributed among various orders and governments
58
Horizontal fiscal gap
- inter-provincial revenue disparities relative to responsibilities
59
Vertical fiscal gap
- a revenue disparity between the federal and provincial orders of government
60
Vertical fiscal imbalance
- revenue disparity relative to responsibilities
61
Equalization
- refers to the primary transfer of programs designed to lessen the fiscal disparities among provinces
62
Executive federalism
- policy decisions take place among leaders of the various federal, provincial, and territorial governments
63
Functional federalism
- a system in which civil servants conduct the bulk of intergovernmental activity
64
Regionalism
- an allegiance or psychological connection to a territory with its own unique political culture
65
Political Culture
- a society's innate political characteristics, embodied in the structure of its institutions and beliefs of its members
66
Regionalism in western canada
- western alienation (sectionalism)
67
Regionalism in Ontario
- sectionalism
68
Regionalism in Quebec
- autonomism, federalism (sectionalism, nationalism)
| - separatism (nationalism, secessionism)
69
Regionalism in Atlantic Canada
- sectionalism
70
Regionalism in the North
- sectionalism
71
Sectionalism
- an emotional connection with one's regional homeland, rather than with one's country
72
Nationalism
- a unifying ideology among people who share a common hoeland, ancestry, and language or culture
73
Secessionism
- widely held sentiment that a province or territory should leave the Canadian federation
74
Quiet Revolution
- an early 1960s modernizing movement in Quebec, geared toward a stronger provincial government and outward nationalism, smaller role from catholic church
75
Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords
- a failed constitutional accords in the late 1980s and early 1990s that would have recognized Quebec as a distinct society and brought them into the constitution
76
Referendum
- Quebec votes 50.6 to 49.4 to stay in Canada
77
Three factors that laid the foundations of regionalism in Canada
- settlement/immigration patterns
- formative events
- economic staples
78
Socialization
- ideas and lens passed down from generation to generation
79
Institutionalization
- federal economic development programs, organizations, structures, laws, and other systems develop in ways that further entrench geographic differences in Canada
80
If Canadians are so divided, what holds them together?
- Canada's political institutions promote unity through diversity and can accommodate differences
