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Political Science > Political Science > Flashcards

Political Science Flashcards

1
Q

Legislative Power

A

is the power to make a law and set public policy

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2
Q

Legislative Power Example

A

a political community might use its legislative power to a law stipulating that no one whose blood has an alcohol content above 0.5 percent may drive an automobile

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3
Q

Executive Power

A

is the power to “execute” or administer that law or policy. This would include power to establish and maintain a police force to catch impaired drivers

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4
Q

Judicial Power

A

Is the power to settle questions about specific violations of law ( is there adequate evidence to prove the driver’s blood-alcohol level exceeded 0.5 percent?) and to choose a suitable punishment from among those permitted in the relevant legislation for those found guilty

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5
Q

What will the constitution do at some point

A

Will assign legislative, executive, and judicial powers to some specific persons or bodies of persons

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6
Q

What is the second function of the constitution?

A

provide an authoritative division of powers between national and regional governments in federal countries

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7
Q

What is the responsibility of state or provincial government?

A

distinct policy such as education or

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8
Q

What is the third major function of a constitution?

A

Delineate the limits of governmental power?

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9
Q

Bill of rights

A

a list of fundamental rights and liberties for limitation on the government

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10
Q

The fourth function of the constitution

A

to provide for an orderly way to make changes to it

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11
Q

Conventions

A

conventions are rules enforced by politics

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12
Q

Constitutional Laws

A

constitutional laws are rules enforced by courts

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13
Q

What is the distinction between conventions are laws

A

how this rule is enforced

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14
Q

entrenched constitutional conventions

A

a provision that makes certain amendments either more difficult or impossible to pass

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15
Q

organic statues

A

laws passed by the Parliament of Canada that describe or clarify either the written or unwritten constitution

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16
Q

Constitutional conventions

A

the unwritten rules of a system of government

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17
Q

The Bill of Rights of 1689

A

placed important new restrictions on the powers of the Crown

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18
Q

Entrenchment

A

the means through which constitutional changes are protected from change

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19
Q

The Constitution Act, 1867 (CA 1867)

A

Original constitution and founding document of the Canadian state , Creation of “Dominion of Cananda” , Preamble: “similar in principle to that of the united kingdom”

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20
Q

The Constitution Act, 1982 (CA 1982)

A

Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Aboriginal rights, Equalization and regional disparities, Amending formulas, and Definition of the Canadian Constitution

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21
Q

Section 44

A

stipulates that amendments to constitutional provisions regarding the executive or legislative offices of the federal government may be made by Parliament7 on its own

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22
Q

Judicial review of the Constitution

A

refers to the judiciary’s task of defining constitutional terms and determining whether laws or actions taken by government are consistent with them

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23
Q

Amendment

A

a minor change or addition designed to improve a text, piece of legislation

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24
Q

CA 1982

A

It achieved full independence for Canada by allowing the country to change its Constitution without approval from Britain

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25
Q

Meech Lake Accord

A

The Meech Lake Accord was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial premiers

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26
Q

Residual power

A

a power retained by a governmental authority after certain powers have been delegated to other authorities

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27
Q

Preamble

A

the introductory part of a constitution or statute that usually states the reasons for and intent of the law

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28
Q

Patriate

A

to transfer (legislation) to the authority of an autonomous country from its previous mother country

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29
Q

Veto

A

A veto is a no vote that blocks a decision

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30
Q

Clarity Act

A

produced an agreement between Quebec and the federal government that any future referendum must have a clear majority, be based on an unambiguous question, and have the approval of the federal House of Commons

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31
Q

Federalism

A

the division of power among governments

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32
Q

What are the principles in Canadas government?

A

Liberty & Equality

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33
Q

Canada is a______________________

A

a liberal democratic state

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34
Q

Democracy

A

a form of government in which the people rule

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35
Q

Federalism

A

The entrenched protection of minority rights ( or universal extension of individual rights)

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36
Q

Constitutionalism

A

Power of government is limited by a supreme set of agreed-upon rules

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37
Q

Rule of law

A

All governments are constrained by legal rules

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38
Q

Constitutional purpose

A

Defining the state and its values Structuring Authority , Limiting Power

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39
Q

Written Laws

A

enforceable by law and courts

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40
Q

Unwritten Laws

A

enforceable only by public opinion and politics

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41
Q

Responsible Government

A

a government that is responsible to the people. It is an executive or Cabinet that depends on the support of an elected assembly, rather than a monarch or their representative

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42
Q

what caused the emergence of responsible government?

A

the king or queen possessed so much power by unelected (and hence unaccountable) monarchs inevitably led to abuses of that power.

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43
Q

What is the fundamental feature of responsible government?

A

makes the executive responsible for its actions to a democratically elected legislative body

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44
Q

Montesquieu’s principle

A

government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another

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45
Q

Locke’s principle

A

governments have obligations to their citizens, have only limited powers over their citizens, and can ultimately be overthrown by citizens under certain circumstance

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46
Q

The first convention of Responsible government

A

the Crown, which still has formal title to executive power, will use that power only “on the advice of” its ministers

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47
Q

The second convention of responsible government

A

Crown normally appoints as ministers or advisers only persons who are Members of Parliament (MPs)

48
Q

The third convention of responsible government

A

is that the ministers will act together as a team or “minis- try,” led by a prime minister (or “first” minister), with each minister sharing in the responsibility for all policy decisions made by any member of the ministry.

49
Q

The fourth convention of responsible government

A

the Crown will appoint and maintain as ministers only people who “have the confidence of” the House of Commons (i.e., the sup- port of a majority of the members of the House).

50
Q

The fifth convention of responsible government

A

If the House of Commons expresses a lack of confidence in a ministry (either by adopting an explicit motion of non-confidence or by voting down a proposal that the ministry deems a matter of confidence), the democratic linkage provided through responsible government has, in a sense, broken down because the execu- tive is no longer acting in a manner that reflects the wishes of a majority of the people’s representatives

51
Q

Cabinet

A

develops policies to govern the country and introduces bills to transform these policies into law

52
Q

What is the cabinet composed of?

A

MPS who have the confidence of a majority of the members of the House and these MPs will loyally support the measures proposed by the cabinet in order to keep their party in office, then the cabinet has de facto control of the legislative activity of the House

53
Q

Fusion Powers

A

a feature of some parliamentary forms of government where different branches of government are intermingled or fused, typically the executive and legislative branches

54
Q

First convention of responsible government

A

is that the ultimate responsibility for choosing the government must rest with the Crown

55
Q

The second convention of responsible government

A

for forming a government is that, in appointing a prime minister, the Crown must choose the person whose government is most likely to have the confidence of the House of Commons

56
Q

The fourth convention of responsible government

A

is that the prime minister must resign if his or her government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons and has no prospect of winning the confidence of a newly elected House

57
Q

The Bloc

A

is a federal political party based in Canada that mainly believes and advocates Quebec should secede from Canada, also known as Quebec sovereignty

58
Q

Majority Government

A

is formed when a political party has more than half of the seats in the House of Commons

59
Q

Minority Government

A

is formed when no political party has a majority of seats in the House of Commons

60
Q

Congress

A

is chosen by the people in one set of elections; the president is chosen by the people in a separate election

61
Q

The selection of cabinet ministers in Canada

A

the logic of responsible government requires us to restrict a prime minister’s choice of cabinet ministers to members of the House of Commons

62
Q

The selection of cabinet ministers in the USA

A

The Constitution of the United States bars members of Congress from holding cabinet posts precisely because its underlying objective is to have the two branches of government “check and balance” each other as a means of protecting liberty

63
Q

Head of Government

A

Prime Minsiter

64
Q

Head of State

A

Crown

65
Q

Governor General

A

the chief representative of the Crown in a Commonwealth country of which the British monarch is head of state.

66
Q

Party Discipline

A

a system of political norms, rules and subsequent respective consequences for deviance that are designed to ensure the relative cohesion of members of the respective party group

67
Q

3.7

A

Responsible Government and Separation of Powers Compared

68
Q

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

A

sets out those rights and freedoms that Canadians believe are necessary in a free and democratic society

69
Q

Senate

A

is appointed, not elected, not chosen by the people, not democratic ( equal regional lines), provides a role of representing the regions

70
Q

House of Commons

A

prime minster and cabinet are, only democratic part of the original constitution, only way of the people have influence on the government, representation by population, elected

71
Q

S.91: Responsibilities of federal government

A

we agree that some powers were given to the national government and other powers were given to the provincial government

72
Q

S.92:

A

Responsibilities of provincial government

73
Q

Canadas Constitutional Principles: 1987

A

Constitutional Monarchy- limited by the rules of the constitution, establishes a democracy

Representative) Democracy

Federalism ( minority rights

74
Q

The incomplete Constitution

A

is the first constitution that had no form of individual rights ( aboriginal rights)

75
Q

How many years did it take for Canada to become an independent constitution?

A

50 years

76
Q

Why is the Constitution Act in 1982 important?

A

Patriated the constitution

Completed the constituion in terms of basic functions of a consitution

Enshrined and recognized ‘new’ political values and aspirations

77
Q

The Charter ( SS. 1-34 )

A

Fundamental freedoms

Democratic rights

Mobility rights

Legal rights

Equality rights

Language rights and educational rights

78
Q

Section 15

A

guarantees equality no matter race gender, religion etc

79
Q

Section 35

A

first constitutional recognition on indigenous and treaty rights

80
Q

Section 36

A

establishes equalization enshrined as constitutional principle

81
Q

Equalization

A

a program that gives money to poorer provinces to provide similar health care, education etc similar to richer provinces

82
Q

General Procedures

A

is the 7/50 rule that you need to have the agreement of seven provinces and those seven provinces have to contain 50 % of the population

83
Q

Unanimous consent:

A

agree on thing for example the crown / almost impossible to achieve

84
Q

Section 52

A

overturns parliament supremacy and gives constitutional supremacy

85
Q

Quebec Referendum, 1995

A

The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should proclaim sovereignty and become an independent country, with the condition precedent of offering a political and economic agreement to Canada

86
Q

What did Quebec not agree on?

A

constitution act 1982

87
Q

What does the constitution Act 1982 have

A

limits power through charter, stronger sense of core values, provides domestic amending processes

88
Q

Coalitions

A

More than one party is in government

89
Q

What does the Crown only act as for Canada?

A

advice, however, can undermine other conventions of responsible government

90
Q

Collective Responsibility

A

the convention whereby individual members of the government are held accountable for the actions and decisions of government as a whole

91
Q

Queen / GG personally control government but the convention says

A

The prime minister and cabinet control government policy

92
Q

Queen/ GG could summon and dissolve Parliament as they wish- but convention says

A

Parliament summoned and dissolved only on advice of prime minister

93
Q

Queen / GG can reject any legislation –but convention says

A

Queen / GG cannot refuse Royal Assent

94
Q

Queen/ GG chooses their own ‘advisors’ - but convention says

A

PM chosen by practices of Responsible Government, PM chooses cabinet ministers

95
Q

Queen can appoint anyone as GG( notably , British aristocrats)

A

but convention says, Queen must appoint as GG someone chosen by the Canadian government

96
Q

Senate can defeat house of Commons legislation without limit but convention says

A

Senate can defeat House of Commons legislation, but very rarely

97
Q

Prorogation

A

ends a session of Parliament and the government refreshes itself and

98
Q

Dissolution

A

Ends a Parliament, election chooses parliament , disbanding an entire parliament

99
Q

Progration Crisis 2008

A

Stephen Harper requested prorogation from the Governor General Michaelle Jean to allow government to recalibrate its agenda and respond to the economic challenges posed by Finacial crisis however the decision was met with some criticism as it postponed important debates and committee work

100
Q

Minority Government 2008

A

In the 2008 federal election, the Conservative Party led by Stephen Harper won most seats but did not secure a majority government so they required the government to work with other parties to pass legislation and gain support for their policies

101
Q

What is Canadian Federalism?

A

A system of government with two levels of authority and a division of powers between them, such that neither is subordinate to the other

102
Q

Unitary

A

a system in which all authority resides in a national government

103
Q

National Government

A

is the government of a nation

104
Q

Confederation

A

the joining of provinces to make a new country

105
Q

Why Federalism?

A

size, diversity, better security, Economic reason, identities expressed

106
Q

Canada in 1897

A

formed a federal system

107
Q

Reasonings for Federalism

A

Economic interest and territorial expansion

108
Q

S.91

A

assigns matters that affect the entire country to the federal Parliament

109
Q

S.92

A

describes the authority of the director to seize the assets of a person required to pay a determination, settlement agreement or tribunal order and what costs those assets are meant to cover.

110
Q

S.95

A
111
Q

Fiscal Federalism

A

the federal and provincial governments have an independent capacity to levy taxes to finance the public services they provide for their citizens

112
Q

Fiscal Imbalance

A

a monetary imbalance between the Canadian federal government and the provincial governments.

113
Q

Vertical

A

disparity between federal resources and spending demands and provincial resources and spending demands

114
Q

Horizontal

A

disparity among provinces in resources

115
Q

Federal Spending Power

A

is simply the ability of the federal government to generate revenue, and therefore spend money, above and beyond the amounts required to fulfil its specific constitutional responsibilities

116
Q

Vertical Fiscal Imbalance

A

a situation in which revenues do not match expenditures for different levels of government

117
Q
A

Political Science (1 decks)

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