Week 3 Readings

Question 1

What is a constitutional convention?

Answer 1

• non-legal codes of conduct about general agreements
• binding rules of behaviour, can’t be enforced by courts nor imposed penalties if disobeyed
• political in nature rather than legal

Question 2

Sir Ivor Jennings and the three-part rule of what makes a convention:

Answer 2

1. Is there a precedent? Was there previous usage?
2. Did the actors believe to be bound by it?
3. Is there a reason for the rule?

Question 3

Two principles that give purpose to the confidence convention:

Answer 3

1. government is held to account, not just during election time, but all the time; and
2. give power to MPs (elected reps) to withdraw government when they choose through non-confidence

Question 4

The power to prorogue is a prerogative power of the governor general. What is a prerogative power?

Answer 4

• They are the leftovers of discretionary or arbitrary authority legally left in the hands of the Crown
• prerogative powers have been modified and reduced over time (eg. declaration of power, appointing ministers, etc. are de facto powers of the PM)

Question 5

What is prorogation used for?

Answer 5

• Normally, prorogation used to end a parliamentary session for the beginning of a new one with a new Speech from the Throne with new government priorities; but
• it can also be used by the PM to avoid or postpone political defeat or embarrassment

Question 6

Stephen Harper’s uses of prorogation

Answer 6

1. December 2008 to avoid a confidence vote
2. December 2009 to avoid scrutiny from the House committee that the government had misled the House concerning information that Afghan prisoners were being tortured

Question 7

Jean Chrétien’s use of prorogation

Answer 7

November 2003 when the Liberal party leadership transferred from Chrétien to Martin, but also to conveniently forestall the public release of the auditor general’s report on the Liberal government’s sponsorship program.

Question 8

Thesis of Chapter 3 from the Aucoin text

Answer 8

There is much confusion, ambiguity, and disagreement over the meaning and requirements of constitutional conventions: what they are, what the GG should do, whether actors are bound by them or not (they usually don’t feel obligated), who the “actors” are, etc.

Question 9

Jennifer Smith’s thesis in “Democracy and the Canadian House at the Millennium”

Answer 9

• Two camps of reformers: cautious reformers want incremental change while radical reformers want to free MPs from party discipline
• party discipline makes responsible government in parliamentary systems work: you need a united government and a united opposition so each can do their job
• what needs changing is the electoral system to better reflect representation

Question 10

the traditional concept of representation

Answer 10

The House of Commons is the principle agent of political representation, democratic representation involves basic categories of individuals in society - a microcosm or sampling of society (ideally)