September 2017 Flashcards
Layers of Canadian political representation
- member of provincial territorial legislature
- member of parliament
- senator
- local level of government
Queen’s representatives
Federal level: Governor General
Provincial level: Lieutenant Governor
Why is Canada still a constitutional monarchy
we are connected to the queen
Currency of politics
power
3 types of power
- authority
- charismatic
- bureaucratic
Canadian federation consists of
eleven sovereign states
Provincial jurisdiction
- health policy
- education
- the stock market
The main cleavages of Canadian politics
- geography
- ethnicity
- ideology
Political cultures
- different attitudes towards authority, community, distribution of wealth, mutual obligations, and other political beliefs
Federation
Canada sees its power divided geographically among 10 provinces and 3 territories
Federal jurisdiction
- military
- foreign affairs
- banking
- criminal
Join jurisdiction
- environment
- agriculture
- relations with indigenous peoples
Ideology refers to
the core beliefs that different groups of citizens hold about the way power should be distributed or exercised
Left wing view
- economic: state involvement
- social: social inclusion
Right wing view
- economic: market economy
- traditional values
Traditional social democracy
- democratic reform
- expansion of welfare state
- progressive taxation
- inclusive society
- avoidance of armed conflict
Third-way social democracy
- harness capitalism to benefit more people
- equality of right
- individual responsibility, human security
Business liberalism
- economic matters
- free trade
- balanced budget
- debt reduction
Welfare liberalism
- use of market economy to benefit more people
- individual social rights
- strong social welfare states
Neoliberalism
- fiscal focus
- freer markets
- small government
- deregulation of private industry activities
- cutting of government programs
Neoconservatism
- favours government policies and programs that -
promote traditional values - anti crime, pro military
Red tories
- prioritize social issues over economic ones
- more supportive of welfare programs
- more inclusive
Blue tories
- economic matters over social matters
- government supports private industry
Centralization
- federal government has authority to impose common standards
Decentralization
- preserve provincial autonomy
The constitution
- consists of both written and unwritten rules
- a courts highest law
- a set of guideposts for normal political behaviour
- a touchstone during a time of crisis
Parliamentary Democracy
- liberal democracy
- representative democracy
- constitutional monarchy
- responsible government
Liberal Democracy
- Rule of Law
- Individual and group rights
- Political/democratic rights –> right to vote and run for office
Representative Democracy
- you elect someone, and trust they know whats best for you for the next four years
Constitutional Monarchy
- ultimate sovereignty rests with the crown
- represented federally by Governor General and provincially by Lieutenant Governor
- Serves primarily as symbolic representatives of Canada
Responsible Government
- at all times, a majority of the people’s elected representatives present in the legislature must support the government
Constitutional Order
- the body of written and unwritten rules that govern all laws of Canada
Royal Proclamation of 1763
- a British document setting out the terms of European settlement in North America following the Seven Years’ War.
Treaties
- opened up Aboriginal land to new settlement in Western Canada
- terms and legitimacy disputes
Two Row Wampum Belt
- has come to symbolize the right to self-government
Constitutional Conventions
- unwritten rule based on custom that binds political actors to adhere to the traditions of the constitutional order
Rule of law
- citizens, corporation,s interest groups, and other Canadian governments can challenge the authority of government decisions
Bill of Rights, 1960
- federal law detailing Canadian rights and freedoms vis-a-vis the federal government
The notwithstanding clause
- permits legislature to pass laws that breech certain rights and freedoms
Reasonable limits clause
- allows governments to pass laws that would contravene rights and freedoms but which are necessary to protect other democratic norms
Oakes Test
- a model employed by the court to weigh the democratic benefits and assess the constitutionality of a law that breaches certain Charter Rights
Charter Poliices
- Canadian governments were abusing human rights under the guise of parliamentary supremacy (residential school systems
Executive
- implements and enforces legislation
- often the strongest branch of government
Formal Executive
- supreme authority vested in the monarch (crown) and the monarch’s representatives
Head of State
- highest ranking figure in a sovereign state serves foremost as ceremonial representative (currently Queen Elizabeth II)
Prerogative authority
- grants final say to head of state on any manner not addressed in the constitution
Political Executive
- members of cabinet who act on behalf of the monarch to oversee government activities and who are accountable to the legislature
Prime Minister
- leader of the party that controls the House of Commons
Premier
- head of the political party that controls a provincial legislature
Prime Ministers Office
- all significant decisions in the federal government go through the Prime Minister’s Office
Power of the first minister constrained by
- constitutions
- balancing of preferences within their party, caucus, and cabinet
- media and public opinion
Privy Council
- body of prominent federal politicians and officials that typically advise the governor general
Cabinet
- leaders of the jpolitical executive, consisting of the sitting prime minister and ministers
Cabinet is responsible for
- initiating legislation and regulations
- controlling public finances by introducing money bills
- organizing the functioning of the legislative business
handling intergovernmental and international busiensss
Minister of state
- leadership over a particular policy area
Parliamentary secretary
- assist ministers with ministerial duties
Cabinet Shuffle
- change in the composition of the governments political executive between elections
Backbenchers
- members of the legislative assembly with no cabinet responsibilities
Shadowcabinet
- a group of opposition party members responsible for holding minsters of the crown to account for their actions
Permanent Executive
- senior bureaucrats who transmit directives from the political executive to the bureaucracy and who manage staff under the supervision of a minister
Bureaucracy
- employees at all levels of government who at the direction of the public service executive implement public policy
Executive Accountability
- In Canada, political elites are held to account through the concept and conventions of the responsible government
- political executives must maintain the confidence of the legislature
Confidence convention
- government must relinquish power when it loses a critical legislative vote
Reform Act, 2015
- requires each party’s newly elected caucus to vote on whether they will follow the new caucus parameters during the life of the parliament
Democratic deficit
- disconnect between people’s expectations of how democratic institutions and members represent them and actual representation
Clerk of the privy council
- serves at the deputy minister to the prime minister and leader of the council of deputy ministers
Deputy Minsiter
- counterpart of the minister
- responsible for a portfolio
- top bureaucrat and functional head of a department
Associate and assistant deputy ministers
- subject matter experts
Bureaucracy consists of three main types of organizations
- central agencies
- line department
- agencies, boards, and commissions
Central Agencies
- coordinate policy across government –> horizontal departments
Line department
- focus on program and service delivery under specific policy portfolios - vertical departments
Agencies, boards, and commissions
- provide programs and services at arms length from government
