Understanding Government Unit Final Flashcards
what is a dictatorship?
A government that uses violence, indoctrination, censorship, propaganda, and scapegoating to control is people
Which has higher government control: socialism or conservatism?
socialism
What is the constitution?
a law that describes Canadas government and helps to set out the important Canadian institutes
who/what is the Monarch?
- approve bills before they become official laws
- represented by governer general
- part of legislative and executive branch
- formal head of state
What is the legislative branch?
the area of government where laws are made
what is the executive branch?
The branch that proposes laws and puts them into action as well as runs day to business of government
Who is the senate?
people who represent the interests and rights of Canada’s regions in order to bring more perspective into government.
what is the senate’s role?
to the double-check bills before they go through to receive royal assent
how are senators chosen?
they are not elected but are instead chosen by the prime minister
what is the role of the house of commons?
to debate, study and vote on bills/laws as well as create legislation for the peace order and good of government
Who makes up the house of commons?
MP’s who are elected by members of their riding
What are the main roles of the prime minister?
- choosing the cabinet ministers
- heading Canada’s government system
- deciding what portfolios should be included within the cabinet
- helping to run the day to day business of government
How many cabinet ministers are there and which party do they belong to?
There are 31 cabinet ministers who all belong to the leading party. They are all MP’s and are chosen by the prime minister
What are cabinet ministers responsible for?
Each cabinet minister has a specialty in their own department. As a collective, they are responsible for a variety of various government departments
Why is the judicial branch separate from the legislative and executive branches of government?
to avoid corruption and influence in the decision-making process from political parties
what is the role of the judicial branch?
to interperate and apply laws as well as administer justice
What is the supreme court of Canada?
the supreme court of Canada is the highest level of court in the country. They have the final word on all questions about law within the country as well as the final word on the making and appliance of new laws.
What is a riding?
an area or electoral district that defines a group of constituents
how many ridings are in Canada?
338
what is a constituent?
Someone who is eligible to vote
Define candidate
a person running in an election
what is a political party?
a group of people who share the same political beliefs
Define a majority government
when the winning party occupies more than half of the seats within the house of commons
define a minority government
when the winning party occupies less than half of the seats within the house of commons
What is first past the post?
a voting system where the party with the most elected MP’s forms government
how are ridings structured?
by population
where does the official opposition always sit within the house of commons?
opposit to the governement in power
what must the leading party do in order to remain their power when in a minority government?
form co-elitions with other parties
what are the three main ways parties campaign before an election?
the use of posters, videos and swag
define quality of life
a measure of personal and collective well being
what is an individual identity?
an identity based on your personal interests, experiences and from the many roles you have as an individual
what is collective identity?
an identity based on a sense of belonging to a certain group of people especially because of a common language, culture and history
define perspective
point of view
define bias
when someone is in favour or against an idea or thing in a way that is closeminded, prejudicial or unfair
what happens during the first reading of a bill?
The title of the bill is read, it receives a number and then is printed
what happens during the second reading of a bill?
The members of parliament debate and vote on the principle of the bill
What happens in the committee stage of the ‘bill to a law’ process?
relevant parliament commitees examine the bill and the bill is then studied clause by clause
What happens in the report stage of the ‘bill to a law’ process?
a relevant party committee reports amends of the bill which are then considered and voted on
what happens in the third reading of a bill?
members of parliament debate and vote on the amended bill
what happens after the third reading of a bill within the house of commons?
the same process is then repeated within the senate
what is royal assent?
the process that is granted by the governor-general or one of their deputies after the bill has been passed by both chambers. It allows the bill to now become an official law
where do ideas for new bills/laws come from?
citizens of Canada can bring ideas for new bills/laws to the table but they must be represented by a member of government within the house of commons
How does a bill become a law?
it must receive royal assent from the governor-general or one of their deputies
At what stage of the ‘bill to a law’ process do experts and people outside of the government get invited to come and make comments/suggestions of amendments to the bill?
within the committee stage
who do MP’s represent?
the people that live in their riding and those that elected them
who do senators represent?
the interests of all Canadians, especially the minorities
what is the difference in the roles of the MP’s and the senators within the consideration of the bill?
MP’s are debating the bill in terms of best supporting their riding whereas the sent will debate the bill to best support the overall country including its minorities
why does it take longer for federal bills to become laws than provincial?
because the go through the ‘bill to a law’ process twice instead of only once
where does a bill start vs. finish?
a bill starts in parliament (house of commons/senate) and finishes in the crown
What are the three criteria used to identify a statement as an issue?
- it must be a topic that has a wide range of responses as well as presents a potential impact on the quality of life, citizenship or identity
- the statement must be stated in the form of a question, be open-ended, unbiased and portray no clear right or wrong answer
- the statement requires an informed response that must be compatible to be supported with clear evidence and relevant reasoning
what is the difference between an issue and a non-issue?
an issue is a clear, unbiased, open-ended statement given in the form of a question whereas a non-issue provides a statement lacking reasoning as well as varying responses.
how does first past the post result in an inevitable two-party system?
because smaller parties have a greater difficulty getting seats, voters may feel as if they are wasting their vote, and in turn vote for a larger party with a likely chance of winning
how does first past the post lead to voter apathy?
people who support a less popular party may feel like their vote doesn’t count as they know their party won’t win.
how can grouping ridings impact the results of voting?
the ruling party can make it so that the opposing party’s voters are split up so they can not form a majority government.
what is gerrymandering?
when the boundaries of ridings are manipulated in a way that minimizes the impact of votes for the opponent and maximizes the effect of votes given by supporters
how is the number of Mp’s in the house of commons per province determined?
based on population
what is the difference between popular vote and representation by population?
in the popular vote, the candidate with the most votes wins whereas in representation by population each province gets a greater representation within the house of commons
the senate changes after each election. TRUE or FALSE
false
why doesn’t the senate change after each election?
because the appointed senate holds their job until the age of 75 when they are expected to retire
name the five major political parties of Canada in order from left to right on the political spectrum.
NDP, Bloc Quebecois, Green Party, Liberals, Conservatives
define representation by population
a political system where sets within the legislature are allocated based on population
define the popular vote
a voting system where the candidate who receives the most votes directly forms government
define referendum
a general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision.
what is the primary role of the senate?
to provide a sober second thought within Canada’s government
what does the party whip do?
ensure that enough party members are in the chamber for debates and votes, determines which committees a party member will sit on, assign seats and offices within the house of commons as well as encourage members to follow party commitments
what does the speaker of the house do?
manage the house of commons and supervise its staff, act as a liaison with the senate and the crown as well as manage the house of commons campus including te 2000 people who work there
how does the government determine the number of ridings?
based on the population of an area
why did the political parties form?
so that there are different options/opinions that people can vote for
define the term federal
a government system that has control over a nation
define the term provincial
a government system that has control over a state or region of a country
who comprises the legislative branch?
the house of commons and the senate
who comprises the executive branch?
the prime minister, cabinet and government departments
define the term elected
when members of society choose someone to become a member of government or uphold another position through voting
give three examples of potential elected positions within the government
prime minister, member of parliament, premier
define the term appointed
when someone is chosen by one of a higher power to obtain a position within the government
what are some beliefs/terms associated with left-sided government?
collective, cooperation, equality, high government control, wanting the same for all and interest in good for the group
what are some beliefs/terms associated with right-sided government?
not much change, individual, inequality, competition, low government control, lack of morals and concern for others, good for individual
what is a lobby group?
A group of people with similar opinions who work together to try and make our country a better place
list three ways lobby groups can get support for their ideas
lobbyists, social media, stunts
what is the main issue with opinion polls?
Accuracy is going down because not as many people are taking the time to answer calls or participate in online polls, causing the data to be taken from a smaller range of the population
what is a lobbyist?
an unelected individual that can gain access to government officials by building relationships with the politician or their staff
what are three things canadians can do to get involved in the government process?
they can vote, protest, and become members of lobby groups
what is one of the ways media and lobby groups influence the government?
people may money in order to influence the government in hopes that they can make our system better
what is one of the ways media and lobby groups influence the government?
people may money in order to influence the government in hopes that they can make our system better
How do lobby groups use the judicial branch to get their ideas responded to?
Launch supreme court cases to challenge various laws
Why is the free press so important to representative democracy?
it keeps citizens educated in order to allow them to make a difference within their society. The press also keeps the government in check
what are the major concerns with the free press?
people are not going to get all the facts, therefore creating a bias
