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