POLI151 Mid-Term Flashcards
Describe the 1763 Royal Proclamation
The 1763 Royal Proclamation was created shortly after the French lost the Seven Year War. After the Seven Year War, the British had claimed multiple colonies in North America and the Caribbean. The Royal Proclamation was created to set a guideline for territorial limits on land owned by Indigenous peoples. The Royal Proclamation also created new provinces including Quebec, formerly known as New France. The Royal Proclamation interacts with Indigenous Peolple in two ways. The first being that it gives Indigenous land the possibility to be sold to the Crown. Secondly it makes commitments to protect Indigenous people. Claiming they will not be disturbed.
What were the 1837 Rebellions?
The 1837 Rebellions happened in response to the power dynamic of early British rule. At the time, executive power lay exclusively with governors appointed by the British Crown and their advisers. There was a separation of power that left early Canadians feeling left out from politics. In Upper Canada, Reformers attempted to get rid of the Family Compact which was the political elite at the time. They wanted to overthrow them due to the power they held. Executive power in upper Canada was held exclusively by them. The failure to overthrow the Family Compact led to armed rebellion that was swiftly shut down by the overwhelming power of the British Army. However, after seeing the discontent, the British understood that there must be change in the colonies. The Crown sent Lord Durham and he brought about responsible government that is effective in Canada to this day.
Describe the 1876 Indian Act
The 1876 Indian Act was created to suppress the Indigenous population. It treated Indigenous people as wards of the state. However, it harmed them more than it helped them. It didn’t allow Indigenous people to use a lawyer to file claims against Canada. It also heavily restricted Indigenous people from practicing their culture. It did so by not allowing the use of traditional names and by outlawing their traditional dancing. It established status “Indians” and required Indigenous people to denounce their status in order to vote in Federal elections.
What are the 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights?
The Bill of Rights was created in response to human rights issues. The Bill of Rights recognizes the existence of human rights and freedoms. These rights and freedoms include freedom of religion, speech, assembly, and association. It also includes enjoyment of property and the right to legal counsel upon arrest.The Bill of Rights only applies to Federal laws. Lastly the Bill of Rights didn’t give a clear description of Judicial review so only one law was deemed unacceptable. Do to the upset of many human rights activists, a charter of rights was proposed after to cover all levels of government.
What was the 1973 Calder Decision?
The Calder Decision was when the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that the right to claim land was an inherent right to Indigenous people. This led to the federal government creating a process for settling land claims. The Federal government stated that there are two types of claims; the first being Comprehensive Claims. This type of claim includes every claim not addressed by the old treaties. The second types is Specific Claims, this includes any claim where the Federal government failed to honour the treaty.
What was the 1982 Constitutional Act?
The 1982 CA was created by Pierre Trudeau to patriate the Constitution. Out of the 10 provinces that voted on it, only 2 voted to support it. The Supreme Court of Canada were worried that it’d diminish the power of the provinces. After negotiations, every province except Quebec were in favour. After receiving the go ahead from Britain, the act went into place. The act has seven parts: 1. charter of rights and freedoms 2. declaration of rights of indigenous people 3. The federal government would pay equalization payments to provinces that fall below the national average 4. Committed federal, provincial, and territorial government to a conference on Indigenous peoples constitutional concerns 5. A new procedure to amend the constitution 6. Strengthens the provinces by giving them control over energy, forestry, and non renewable resources 7. Misc provisions.
What is the amending formula?
The amending forumla is part 5 of Canadas CA1982. The amending formula is actually compressed of 5 amending formulas for 5 situations.The first amending forumla is covered in sections 38-40 and 42; it is the biggest subject of amendment including things such as establishing new provinces or Supreme Court reform. The second requires a unanimous decision and discovered in section 41; it covers things such as the use of the French language and amendments to the amending forumla. The other three amending formulas are covered under section 43, 44, and 45.
What are some conventions of responsible government?
The idea of responsible government makes the executive accountable to the House of Commons. This means the executive must justify its actions in the house. To ensure that responsible government persists, 5 conventions must be followed, the first is: 1. The Crown (executive) will only use its power under advice from its ministers. 2. The Crown will almost always appoints only ministers or advisors who are MPs. A certain amount of flexibility is allowed, sometimes even appointing 2 people for one position. 3. The ministers will always act as a team led by the Prime Minister. 4. The Crown will only appoint those who have the confidence of the HoC. And lastly 5. If the HoC expresses a lack of confidence, the Prime Minister must either resign or go to another election. If the governing party loses confidence then convention 4 has been lost. This happened to Steven Harper in 2011. An election was called and Harper received more seats.
What is a Liberal Democracy?
A liberal democracy is a version of democracy that originated in Western societies. It is a democracy based on the idea of individual freedom. Liberal democracy is sometimes referred to as constitutional democracy because it is based on the rule of law. There are four principles of liberal democracy: 1.limits should be placed on what the government can do, 2.everyone has the freedom to express themselves how they want, even criticizing the government, 3. the government docent control the media, 4. and candidates and political parties are equally able to compete for political power.
Define Private vs public law
Private and public law are part of Canadas bind rules. Private law is used to settle disputes between 2 or more private parties such as when there is a dispute between neighbours. Private law has two types depending on location. In Quebec, there is the Civil Code of Quebec that was adopted by the provincial legislature. The second type is Common Law. Common Law is created by Judges the include all past made decisions by judges. Public law is used to settle disputes between private parties and the government. Public law includes the constitutional law, criminal law, tax law and administrative law. Another way to look at the two types of law is to consider private law as a provincial affair and public law as a federal affair.
What are sections 1 and 33 of the charter?
Section 1 of the charter guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in the charter while simultaneously stating that those rights may have limitations if it is justified. This is done because no right is absolute. For example you cannot slander someone based on their race or gender, therefore freedom of speech is limited. Section 33 is referred as the notwithstanding clause. The notwithstanding clause was how Pierre Trudeau was able to get the Constitution entrenched into our society.Section 33 gives parliament or provincial legislature the ability to pass a law and declare it notwithstanding. This means the law may not be put under judicial review for 5 years. After the 5 years, it may be renewed for another 5 years. The notwithstanding clause can be problematic because it can be used to weaken the rights outlined in the charter. The Parti Quebecois used section 33 on all Quebec legislation to signify that Quebec never signed CA 1982
