Test 1 Flashcards
The executive governs as long as it has the support of the majority of the elected legislative asembly
Responsible Government
Canadian parliament consists of
House of Commons (338 seats) Senate (105 seats) and queen ( represented by Governor General)
Prime minister and his cabinet
Government
Elected politicians drawn from the party that holds the most seats in the house of commons
Ministers
Cabinets responsibilities
- responsible for introduction/passage of legislation 2. Execution/administration of government policies and priorities 3. Finance the government
Has force of law, acting on advice of privy council
Governor General
Who is Canada’s governor general?
Julie Payette, the queens representative
Cabinet derives legal power from
Privy Council
Appointed by Governor general on Prime Ministers recommendation, includes cheif justice, provincial premiers, former and present cabinet ministers, speakers of the house, senate
Privy council
A way to bring down government and therefore cabinet
Vote of non confidence (ie; rejecting cabinets budget)
Makes sure every party member votes in alignment with party’s position
Wip
The acceptance by the people that those in positions of authority have the right to govern.
Legitimacy
Ruled by the people either directly or through the election of representatives
Democracy
Citizens are directly involved in making governing decisions
Direct democracy
Citizens elect representatives to make governing decisions on their behalf
Representative democracy (Most practical for large populous nations)
A vote by the people on a particular question asked by the government
Referendum
A proposed new law or changes to an existing law drafted by an individual or group other than government.
Initiative, requires a certain number of signatures
A procedure that allows citizens to recall their representatives and require that a new election be held, provided sufficient names on a petition
Recall
Good Government
- Transparency 2, Accountability 3. Responsiveness 4. participation/inclusiveness
The fundamental political value, beliefs and orientations that are widely held within a political community
Political culture
The process by which new generations and immigrants are socialized into the political culture
Political socialization
Factors affecting political culture
historical political experiences, characteristics of population, economy, geographical characteristics
Organizations that pursue the common interest of group of people, particularly by trying to influence the making and implementation of public policies
Interest groups
How many seats are in the BC ledg
87, 44 majority
A government that consistently acts in keeping with established fundamental rules and principles
Constitutional Government
A political system where the powers of government are limited by law, the rights of the people to engage in political activity freely are well established and fair elections are held to choose those making governing decisions
Liberal Democracy
Variations on national political culture
Sub cultures
The ways in which politics is discussed and the rhetoric that is used in political persuasion
Political discourse
2 approaches to analyzing political culture
Examining a countries historical experiences and surveys
The theory that the freedom of individuals to establish and join groups that are not controlled by the government results in a variety of groups having an ability to influence the decisions of government, with no group having a dominant influence
Pluralist theory
A modification of pluralist theory that views business interests as having a privileged position in influencing government policy making
Neo-pluralism
Interest group that are primarily concerned with selective benefits that are directed toward their members
Self interest groups
A group that pursues goals that can be viewed as being for the public good and do not benefit members of the group exclusively
Public interest groups
What do interest groups do?
Lobby, fundraise, publicize issues, inform politicians, research
Organizations representing a particular major interest based on a number of related interest groups rather than individual memebers
Peak Association
Why do people join interest groups?
Solidary incentives (social reasons) and Purposive Incentives ( satisfaction gained through expressing ones values and promoting a cause)
Examples of Direct Influence
Directly influencing those responsible for developing public policies ie; cabinet minister
Example of indirect influence
voting
A federal government program that provides money to individuals and groups seeking to challenge Canadian laws that violate equality rights and minority language rights
Court Challenge Program
Potential for successful influence depends on
Resources, credibility, media influence, relationships with key officials ie’ standing on street corner with sign
The time between elections
Parliament
What parliament are we currently in?
42 parliament
Time between throne speeches
Session
Session starts with
Throne Speech- agenda for government, needs confidence vote
A legislative body whose continued majority support is necessary for the government to remain in office
Confidence chamber ie;house of commons
Parliamentary member who belong to a particular party
Caucus
The expectation that parliamentary member will vote in keeping with the position that their party has adopted in caucus
Party Discipline
Independent officials who assist parliament in holding government accountable and protecting the various right of Canadian
Officers of parliament ie; auditor general, ethics commisioner
Ending a parliamentary session, all bills die on table, all committee work ends
Prorogation
A new election occurs after the _________of parliament
Dissolution
General functions of parliament
Representation, conferring legitimacy, Scrutiny, recruitment, law making, financing government, political education, accountability
A perspective that maintains that parties are not differentiated by ideology and they do not adapt consistent policy positions over time
Brokerage Theory
A pattern of electoral competition that emerges between two or more parties
Party system
A pattern of competition in which there are two or primarily two parties
Two-party system enhances government accountability
Parties that articulate distinct and consistent worldviews ie NDP
Ideological Parties
Pattern of competition where 2 major parties win at least 3/4 of vote and a 3rd party receives a much smaller share of votes
Two and a half party system
One large party receives about 40% of the vote, two largest parties together win 2/3 voter support
Multi party system
Competition where there is no dominant party and 3 or 4 parties are well placed to form coalitions
Multi party system w/o dominant party
Who founded Reform Party?
Preston Manning in 1987 “West Wants in”
What does Triple E Senate stand for
Elected, Equal, Effective
Party leader and caucus
Parliamentary wing
Executive, permanent office, national convention, local electoral district associations
Extra parliamentary Wing
Meetings of party members that are held to elect party officials and debate party policy and amendments to the party constitution
Party convention
An association of members of a political party in a territorial area that is represented by a member in the House of Commons
Electoral District Association
How do parties choose their leaders?
Each member of party get a vote “one member. one vote”. To win leadership candidate must obtain majority of points
Formal process that sets out the procedures for evaluating and possibly replacing a party leader
Leadership review, if yes they vote
What does CASA stand for?
Confidence and Support Agreement
What are some conditions of CASA
Parliamentary reform, tackle climate change, review site C
Stages in the passage of bills
First reading, Second reading, Commitee stage, report stage, third reading, Senate (similar process), royal assent
Proposed laws changing legislation on a large number of unrelated topics
Omnibus bill
Max party donation amount
$1500
