Practice Questions

Question 1

What are the three branches of government and what do they consist of?

Answer 1

Executive: This government contains the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. They are the branch of government that proposed the laws, they then put those laws into action, and do day to day government things. The cabinet are the people who are responsible for different government departments such as; health, finance, environment, and defense.

Legislative: This government makes all the major laws. They consist of the House of Commons, the Senate, and the Governor General. The House of Commons includes the Members of Parliament (MP’s) Include the MP’s (338). The MP’s main responsibilities include; debating and voting on bills, and discussing national issues. Depending on the area in Canada, there would be more representation in the House of Commons, the regions with the higher population have the higher number of seats.

Judicial: They are the branch of government that applies the law by making legal judgement, making sure that the law they passed would not overstep on the boundaries of the rights of Canadian citizens. It includes the Canadian Courts of Laws.

Question 2

What is Parliament?

Answer 2

Parliament is the group of people that represent the country as a whole. The parliament’s three parts are; House of Commons (Members of Parliament), Senate, and the Governor General. The Cabinet are MP’s chosen by the Prime Minister from his party that lead and run government departments.

Question 3

What is the senate?

Answer 3

The Senate is made up of 105 individuals appointed by the Governor General on advice of the Prime Minister. You can hold this position until the age of 75. They approve all legislation. The Senate can propose laws but they usually only consider bills passed first by the HOC, the Senate gives careful reconsideration. The Senate can’t propose laws that create or spend taxes.

Question 4

What are political parties, and why are they important?

Answer 4

A political party is a group of individuals that have the same ideas on how the country should be run. They hold an election, and have a representative/leader. Each part has developed policies, based on the shared values of its members. They are important because they give every Canadian, the opportunity to choose the political party that they believe should run the country.

Question 5

What is the difference between minority and majority government?

Answer 5

A Majority Government is the winning party with more seats than the other party. A Minority Government is the party that has the most seats but not the majority. They have the most as a whole group, but not the most with all the parties combined. The Liberal party won with Majority Government.

Question 6

What is the importance of media in politics?

Answer 6

Politicians have key messages for the media, to control how the media present them, and to communicate what they want Canadians to know. Usually these are memorable quotes or phrases - almost like slogans.

Question 7

What are Lobbyists and Lobby Groups?

Answer 7

Lobbyists are groups of people that pressure/interest that try to influence government decisions. They ensure that Canadians have choices in Government decisions.

Question 8

What is the process for passing bills in the HOC committee?

Answer 8

The First Reading is where they have printed copies of the bill, there is no debate or vote. Then on the Second Reading they debate and vote on the principle of the bill. They wonder if it would be beneficial to Canadian citizens. If they choose it isn’t, they can reject the bill, if not they can choose to study the bill further. If they choose to study the bill further, it goes on to the next stage. The Committee Stage is where they study the bill in full detail. There is a committee of MP’s or Senators, that reviews the bill with the help of witnesses, experts, and citizens. During the Committee Stage, they can either reject the bill or amend/accept it to move it onto the next stage. The Report Stage is where they vote , and make amendments (changes) to the bill. The Third Reading is where they debate and vote on the final bill.

Question 9

What is the process for passing bills through the Senate?

Answer 9

The Senate when accepting bills has The First Reading then it goes to The Second Reading. At The Second Reading they can study the bill then it goes to the Committee Stage where it can amend the bill to go to the Report Stage, then The Third Reading. Those are the longer steps, because if they chose to accept it at the Second Reading or the Committee Stage, it would have gone straight to the Third Reading. At the Third Reading, it goes to the House of Commons. Here they can debate and vote on the Senate’s amendments, if they choose to reject it the bill doesn’t get passed. If they passed some parts of the bill then it goes back to the Senate, and they vote on the House amendments, if they reject it that means it’s gone. If they accept then it gets the Royal Assent. If they passed all of the bills in the House of Commons then it immediately gets the Royal Assent. The Royal Assent is when the bill becomes a law after the Governor General gives Royal Assent.
It usually goes: House of Commons—> Senate—->Royal Assent

Question 10

Who introduces the bill?

Answer 10

? Ideas for bills can come from anyone, but only members of congress can introduce them. (Generally the members of the cabinet introduce laws).
In the end who has the last say for if bills are passed: The senate has the last say whether or not bills will be passed.

Question 11

What is the relationship between all the branches of government?

Answer 11

The Prime Minister→ The Cabinet→ The Executive Branch ( proposes most laws, puts laws into actions, runs day to day business of governments.) → The House of Commons→ Senate→ The Legislative Branch (makes laws, and represents the interest and rights of Canadian regions.) → The Judicial Branch ( applies and interprets laws.) → The Supreme Court→ Provincial/ Territorial Courts.

Question 12

How do you become a part of each branch?

Answer 12

How do you become part of the executive branch? The Prime Minister who is the elected leader of the winning political party. So if you want to become a Prime Minister, you need to be chosen by the PM.
How do you become part of the legislative branch? To become a MP the voters in your district must elect you. To become a member of the Senate, the PM must appoint you.
How do you become part of the judicial branch? All the members of the judicial branch come from a profession (Judges).
The Power of the Judicial Branch: It’s separate from the other two branches because it acts like a check to them.

Question 13

What are the two branches of the legislative branch?

Answer 13

The two branches of the Legislative Branch are the ( HOC/ Senate).

Question 14

How are the MP’s and Senators Chosen?

Answer 14

The MP’s are elected representatives of Canada, they make up the HOC. The Senate (all 105 individuals) are appointed by the Governor General, on advice of the PM.

Question 15

What is proportional representation?

Answer 15

This depends on where you live, depending on the region you live in Canada you may have more seats in the HOC.

Question 16

What are Ridings/ Constituencies?

Answer 16

They are electoral districts in Canada. They are geographical districts upon which Canada’s democracy is based. So it is like made up borders and from each district comes a MP.

Question 17

How does the YJCA treat youth fairly?

Answer 17

They provide them with services like the YCJA. Also they do multiple things for youth like things don’t go on your permanent record and they don’t go public. Also rather than going to jail you just go to juvie or community service.

Question 18

What is the YJCA objective?

Answer 18

Prevent crime by addressing the circumstances underlining a young persons offending behaviour
Rehabilitate young people who have committed the offence and then re integrate them into society
Ensure that the young person is subject to meaningful consequences for his or her offence in order to promote the long term protection of society.
The criminal justice system for young people must be separate from the adults and they must recognize their reduced level of maturity.

Question 19

How is youth and adult justice differ from one another?

Answer 19

Youth:
Deals with 12-17 years olds in trouble with the law
Allows some young offenders to face consequences such as counselling and community service
Prohibits adult sentencing for youth of age 12-14
Allows adult sentencing for youth 14 and over who have committed serious crime
Protects privacy of young offenders
Allows most young offenders to avoid criminal record.

Adult:
Deals with adults on trouble with the law
Makes going to court the usual consequence for breaking the law
Defines adult sentences which may include prison sentences for some period of time
Creates criminal records for offender
Allows for publication of offenders’ names.

Question 20

What are some possible punishment young people may face if they have broken a law?

Answer 20

They may get a warning
They get sent to court
They may have to complete a program (community service, etc).

Question 21

What is an advocacy group?

Answer 21

They are groups who use various form of advocacy in order to protect the rights of citizens accused of crime
They work independently from the government and they try to solve the underlying reason for crime. They provide public education about laws and the justice system
They work with citizens who have broken the law and try to help them return to their communities
They stand up for the rights of citizens accused of crimes

Question 22

How do the John Howard and Elizabeth Fry Society participate?

Answer 22

They participate because they are advocacy groups that focus on the release, rehabilitation and reintegration of criminal.

Question 23

Elders Role in our justice system?

Answer 23

Elders are known for their experience and knowledge and for acting in the best interest of the community. Elders may work with advocacy groups to help veer lost aboriginal souls into the right path.

Question 24

What are the three levels of government?

Answer 24

a. ) Municipal(lowest tier of government): Local authorities/local government, the citizens are living in cities,towns,villages,municipalities and countries. The people that are involved are, mayor, councillors (10-20). For ex; Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Their responsibilities include; Water, Sewage, Waste Collection, Public Transit, Land Use Planning, Libraries, Emergency Services and Animal Control.
b. ) Provincial(middle tier of government): Seated in each province (ie.capital city) Edmonton. Headed by the Lieutenant Governor on the advice of the Premier (elective representatives). Their responsibilities include, Administration of Justice, Natural Resources and the Environment, Education, Health Welfare. Share some responsibilities with the federal government.
c. ) Federal(highest tier of government): Seated in Ottawa, take care of national problems. It’s headed by the Governor General on advice of the Prime Minister. Their responsibilities include; Defence, Criminal Law, Employment Insurance, Postal Service, Trade Regulation, International Relations, Citizenship, Indian Affairs.