Political Science Flashcards
Legislative Power
is the power to make a law and set public policy
Legislative Power Example
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
Executive Power
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
Judicial Power
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
What will the constitution do at some point
Will assign legislative, executive, and judicial powers to some specific persons or bodies of persons
What is the second function of the constitution?
provide an authoritative division of powers between national and regional governments in federal countries
What is the responsibility of state or provincial government?
distinct policy such as education or
What is the third major function of a constitution?
Delineate the limits of governmental power?
Bill of rights
a list of fundamental rights and liberties for limitation on the government
The fourth function of the constitution
to provide for an orderly way to make changes to it
Conventions
conventions are rules enforced by politics
Constitutional Laws
constitutional laws are rules enforced by courts
What is the distinction between conventions are laws
how this rule is enforced
entrenched constitutional conventions
a provision that makes certain amendments either more difficult or impossible to pass
organic statues
laws passed by the Parliament of Canada that describe or clarify either the written or unwritten constitution
Constitutional conventions
the unwritten rules of a system of government
The Bill of Rights of 1689
placed important new restrictions on the powers of the Crown
Entrenchment
the means through which constitutional changes are protected from change
The Constitution Act, 1867 (CA 1867)
Original constitution and founding document of the Canadian state , Creation of “Dominion of Cananda” , Preamble: “similar in principle to that of the united kingdom”
The Constitution Act, 1982 (CA 1982)
Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Aboriginal rights, Equalization and regional disparities, Amending formulas, and Definition of the Canadian Constitution
Section 44
stipulates that amendments to constitutional provisions regarding the executive or legislative offices of the federal government may be made by Parliament7 on its own
Judicial review of the Constitution
refers to the judiciary’s task of defining constitutional terms and determining whether laws or actions taken by government are consistent with them
Amendment
a minor change or addition designed to improve a text, piece of legislation
CA 1982
It achieved full independence for Canada by allowing the country to change its Constitution without approval from Britain
Meech Lake Accord
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
Residual power
a power retained by a governmental authority after certain powers have been delegated to other authorities
Preamble
the introductory part of a constitution or statute that usually states the reasons for and intent of the law
Patriate
to transfer (legislation) to the authority of an autonomous country from its previous mother country
Veto
A veto is a no vote that blocks a decision
Clarity Act
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
Federalism
the division of power among governments
What are the principles in Canadas government?
Liberty & Equality
Canada is a______________________
a liberal democratic state
Democracy
a form of government in which the people rule
Federalism
The entrenched protection of minority rights ( or universal extension of individual rights)
Constitutionalism
Power of government is limited by a supreme set of agreed-upon rules
Rule of law
All governments are constrained by legal rules
Constitutional purpose
Defining the state and its values Structuring Authority , Limiting Power
Written Laws
enforceable by law and courts
Unwritten Laws
enforceable only by public opinion and politics
Responsible Government
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
what caused the emergence of responsible government?
the king or queen possessed so much power by unelected (and hence unaccountable) monarchs inevitably led to abuses of that power.
What is the fundamental feature of responsible government?
makes the executive responsible for its actions to a democratically elected legislative body
Montesquieu’s principle
government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another
Locke’s principle
governments have obligations to their citizens, have only limited powers over their citizens, and can ultimately be overthrown by citizens under certain circumstance
The first convention of Responsible government
the Crown, which still has formal title to executive power, will use that power only “on the advice of” its ministers
The second convention of responsible government
Crown normally appoints as ministers or advisers only persons who are Members of Parliament (MPs)
The third convention of responsible government
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.
The fourth convention of responsible government
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).
The fifth convention of responsible government
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
Cabinet
develops policies to govern the country and introduces bills to transform these policies into law
What is the cabinet composed of?
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
Fusion Powers
a feature of some parliamentary forms of government where different branches of government are intermingled or fused, typically the executive and legislative branches
First convention of responsible government
is that the ultimate responsibility for choosing the government must rest with the Crown
The second convention of responsible government
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
The fourth convention of responsible government
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
The Bloc
is a federal political party based in Canada that mainly believes and advocates Quebec should secede from Canada, also known as Quebec sovereignty
Majority Government
is formed when a political party has more than half of the seats in the House of Commons
Minority Government
is formed when no political party has a majority of seats in the House of Commons
Congress
is chosen by the people in one set of elections; the president is chosen by the people in a separate election
The selection of cabinet ministers in Canada
the logic of responsible government requires us to restrict a prime minister’s choice of cabinet ministers to members of the House of Commons
The selection of cabinet ministers in the USA
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
Head of Government
Prime Minsiter
Head of State
Crown
Governor General
the chief representative of the Crown in a Commonwealth country of which the British monarch is head of state.
Party Discipline
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
3.7
Responsible Government and Separation of Powers Compared
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
sets out those rights and freedoms that Canadians believe are necessary in a free and democratic society
Senate
is appointed, not elected, not chosen by the people, not democratic ( equal regional lines), provides a role of representing the regions
House of Commons
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
S.91: Responsibilities of federal government
we agree that some powers were given to the national government and other powers were given to the provincial government
S.92:
Responsibilities of provincial government
Canadas Constitutional Principles: 1987
Constitutional Monarchy- limited by the rules of the constitution, establishes a democracy
Representative) Democracy
Federalism ( minority rights
The incomplete Constitution
is the first constitution that had no form of individual rights ( aboriginal rights)
How many years did it take for Canada to become an independent constitution?
50 years
Why is the Constitution Act in 1982 important?
Patriated the constitution
Completed the constituion in terms of basic functions of a consitution
Enshrined and recognized ‘new’ political values and aspirations
The Charter ( SS. 1-34 )
Fundamental freedoms
Democratic rights
Mobility rights
Legal rights
Equality rights
Language rights and educational rights
Section 15
guarantees equality no matter race gender, religion etc
Section 35
first constitutional recognition on indigenous and treaty rights
Section 36
establishes equalization enshrined as constitutional principle
Equalization
a program that gives money to poorer provinces to provide similar health care, education etc similar to richer provinces
General Procedures
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
Unanimous consent:
agree on thing for example the crown / almost impossible to achieve
Section 52
overturns parliament supremacy and gives constitutional supremacy
Quebec Referendum, 1995
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
What did Quebec not agree on?
constitution act 1982
What does the constitution Act 1982 have
limits power through charter, stronger sense of core values, provides domestic amending processes
Coalitions
More than one party is in government
What does the Crown only act as for Canada?
advice, however, can undermine other conventions of responsible government
Collective Responsibility
the convention whereby individual members of the government are held accountable for the actions and decisions of government as a whole
Queen / GG personally control government but the convention says
The prime minister and cabinet control government policy
Queen/ GG could summon and dissolve Parliament as they wish- but convention says
Parliament summoned and dissolved only on advice of prime minister
Queen / GG can reject any legislation –but convention says
Queen / GG cannot refuse Royal Assent
Queen/ GG chooses their own ‘advisors’ - but convention says
PM chosen by practices of Responsible Government, PM chooses cabinet ministers
Queen can appoint anyone as GG( notably , British aristocrats)
but convention says, Queen must appoint as GG someone chosen by the Canadian government
Senate can defeat house of Commons legislation without limit but convention says
Senate can defeat House of Commons legislation, but very rarely
Prorogation
ends a session of Parliament and the government refreshes itself and
Dissolution
Ends a Parliament, election chooses parliament , disbanding an entire parliament
Progration Crisis 2008
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
Minority Government 2008
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
What is Canadian Federalism?
A system of government with two levels of authority and a division of powers between them, such that neither is subordinate to the other
Unitary
a system in which all authority resides in a national government
National Government
is the government of a nation
Confederation
the joining of provinces to make a new country
Why Federalism?
size, diversity, better security, Economic reason, identities expressed
Canada in 1897
formed a federal system
Reasonings for Federalism
Economic interest and territorial expansion
S.91
assigns matters that affect the entire country to the federal Parliament
S.92
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.
S.95
Fiscal Federalism
the federal and provincial governments have an independent capacity to levy taxes to finance the public services they provide for their citizens
Fiscal Imbalance
a monetary imbalance between the Canadian federal government and the provincial governments.
Vertical
disparity between federal resources and spending demands and provincial resources and spending demands
Horizontal
disparity among provinces in resources
Federal Spending Power
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
Vertical Fiscal Imbalance
a situation in which revenues do not match expenditures for different levels of government
