The Canadian Government: An Educational Study Guide:

Terms: Backbencher: A member of the House who isnt in Cabinet, or the PM Bill: A law under consideration by Legislature. BNA Act: The former names of a series of acts at the core of the Constitution. By-Laws: A law that only affects a certain municipality. Caucus: A meeting of all elected members of a party to discuss policy decisions. Chie Electoral ! icer: The person responsible for o erseeing elections. Coalition Gov"t: !hen se eral parties cooperate to run the go ernment. Constitution: A set of rules on how the state is to be go erned. Constitutional #onarchy: !hen a monarch acts as head of state, within the guidelines of a constitution. Councillors: Part of a municipal council that de elops by"laws and policies as needed. $emocracy: A system where all eligible people elect representati es. $e%uty #inister: A senior ci il ser ant in a go t department who ta#e direction from an elected official. $irect $emocracy: !hen people ote on initiati es directly, without the need of representati es. &ederal System: $eparating the country into Municipal, Pro incial, and %ederal le els. &'T' System: A type of system in which the candidate with the most otes wins. Governor General: The Monarchs representati e in Canada. (ead o Gov"t: A term to describe the highest official in a states e&ecuti e branch. (ead o State: An official who holds the highest ran# in a so ereign state. (ouse o Commons: The Lower House of Canada, with elected MPs. )udicial System: The system of courts that administer 'ustice, and ma#e up the 'udicial branch of go ernment. Leader o the !%%osition: The leader of the party that has the most seats that does not ma#e up the go ernment. Le*islative Assembly: The name of the Legislature at the Pro incial le el of go ernment. Lieutenant Governor: The (ueens )epresentati e at the Pro incial le el. #ace: A ceremonial mace that is used to open, and close Legislature as a whole. #a+ority Gov,t: A term used to describe when the *o t controls a ma'ority of the seats in Legislature. #ayor: The highest ran#ing official at the Municipal le el. #inority Gov"t: !hen the *o t controls less than half of the seats in Legislature. Notwithstandin* Clause: Allows parliament or pro incial legislatures to o erride certain portions of The Charter. ! icial 'arty Status: )ecogni+ing political parties in Legislature. A recogni+ed party will recei e funding for party research offices, and the right to as# ,uestions during (uestion Period. 'arliament: A type of legislature that is deri ed from the -!estminster $ystem. 'arty 'lat orm: The list of actions a party supports to gain the support of oters. 'arty -hi%: A member of the party who enforces discipline on their members. 'atriation: The process of changing the Constitution. 'atrona*e: The use of state resources to reward people for their electoral support. 'ollin* Station: A place in which oter go to cast their ote. 'o%ular .ote: The candidate who recei es the largest percentage of the otes. '#: The head of an elected go ernment. 'ro-/e%: A system in which parties gain seats e,ual to the number of otes they recei e.

'ublic Servant: $omeone unelected wor#ing for a go ernment department or agency. 0uestion 'eriod: !hen elected member of Legislature as#, and call the go ernment into account for their actions. /e*ionalism: %ocusing on the interests of only one region of the state. /e%-$em: A system in which citi+ens elect reps to represent them in go ernment, as opposed to a /irect /emocracy. /idin*: An electoral district in which an MP or MLA is elected. /ule o Law: $uggesting that nobody is abo e the law, and that the go ernment and courts remain separate entities. Ser*eant-at-Arms: $omeone who #eeps order at Legislature. Shadow Cabinet: $omeone from the 0pposition that -shadows. a member of cabinet. S%eaker: Person who -manages. the House and super ise its staff. Statute o -estminster: 1ritish law from 2342 that ga e its -/ominions. full independence. Su ra*e: The right to ote in political elections. Su%reme Court: The highest court in Canada, and the final court of appeal. 1niversal &ranchise: The right to ote for all adult citi+ens. .ote o No-Con idence: A ote that says a senior official is no longer fit to hold their position. .oter A%athy: 5oters not caring about elections. The &ederal System: The splitting of go ernment into %ederal, Pro incial, and Municipal le els. The &ederal Government is res%onsible or23 /efence 6mmigration Postal $ystem Aboriginal Peoples Criminal Laws The 'rovincial Government is res%onsible or: Health Care 7$ubsidi+ed by the %ederal *o ernment8 )oads and 1ridges Pro incial Ta&ation The #unici%al Government is res%onsible or: Libraries Local $chools *arbage Collection 1uilding Permits Par#s and )ecreation Shared between the &ederal and 'rovincial Government: Agriculture and %arming 9n ironmental Protection Pension Plans

The Governor General:

 The official head of state of Canada, and is the Monarchs )epresentati e in Canada. Must sign bills 7gi e royal assent8 to bills passed by parliament. Must not interfere in the Political Process. The Senate The $enate is appointed on the ad ice of the PM3 $enators are usually appointed as a reward for long and loyal ser ice to the party in power. Their role is to re iew the wor# of The House, and to ma#e recommendations. They also ote on bills passed by The House, but rarely etos bills passed by The House. Controversy of The Senate: Lac# of specific ,ualifications Patronage $omewhat undemocratic, and lea es room for corruption. Lac# of representation by population Most senators are from 0ntario and (uebec. Solutions to Senate Controversy: 9lect senators rather than appoint them. 6ntroduce Pro incial ,uotas in the $enate. Abolish the $enate altogether. The (ouse o Commons: It consists of: The go erning party which includes the PM, Cabinet, and all other elected members of the go erning party. 0ne or more opposition parties: The party with the second highest amount of seats becomes the 0fficial 0pposition. The opposition is supposed to critici+e the proposals of the go erning party. The 0pposition may introduce bills to the floor. Cabinet sits in -The House. and they also meet separately to discuss the course that the go ernment ta#es. The 'rime #inister: Heads the *o ernment of Canada. The leader of the party with the most MPs. The PM could lose power with a - ote of no"confidence.. The PM has the power to use their power without go ernment consultation, but must retain the confidence of The House.

Responsibilities of the PM: To spea# at 6nternational Meetings as the oice of the nation 7e&, ;<, *=>, etc8 To de elop foreign trade and foreign policy decisions.

 To act as a spo#esperson for his?her party and lead the caucus of his party. Cabinet: There are currently 4@ members of Cabinet The PM 7traditionally8 tries to ensure that there is at lease one Cabinet member for e ery Pro ince. <o term limits:, they remain in power as long as the go ernment is in power, and the PM decides theyre good enough for their position. )esponsible for initiating and guiding most legislation through The House. )esponsible for shamelessly agreeing with the PM. *i en a specific portfolio to handle, whether it be Aboriginal Affairs, or /efence. Cabinet Minister appoint /eputy Ministers, which are unelected officials which help the Cabinet Minister in their portfolio. Backbenchers: <ame gi en to MPs of the go erning party who are not in Cabinet. )esponsible for shamelessly suc#ing up to the PM, while #eeping constituents interests at heart. May disagree or ote against their own party, on rare occasions. A -party whip. may punish them for it. Shadow Cabinet: Aob gi en to MPs from the Leader of the 0fficial 0pposition. They ha e been gi en the 'ob to -shadow. members of cabinet and critici+e them at any chance possible. The 'ublic Service: <on"elected people who bridge the gap between Canadian Citi+ens and the *o ernment of Canada. They run day to day *o ernment wor#, li#e deli ering mail, answering ,uestions, and gathering statistics. The )udicial System: 6n the Canadian system, we ha e legislators 7law ma#ers8 and police forces to enforce these laws. 6n a court, a 'udge 7or 'ury8 may decide on whether a suspect in innocent or guilty. The Canadian Audicial $ystem in based on the Traditional 9nglish Audicial $ystem. The Supreme Courts: The $upreme Courts are the highest courts in Canada, and was created in 2B@C. 6n 23D3, it became the highest court of appeal in all of Canada. Appeal: As#ing a higher court to reconsider a decision made by a lower court. Consists of nine 'udges 7three of whom must come from (uebec8. Audges are appointed by the *o ernor *eneral, on the ad ice of the %ederal Cabinet.

Provincial Courts: Though some Pro inces ha e some differences, most ha e the following 'udicial types: Pro incial Court $upreme Court Court of Appeal Trial /i ision $mall Claims Court The 'rovincial Government: Modelled after The House of Commons. ;sually called the legislature, or the Legislati e Assembly. <o Pro incial $enate !hen a bill is passed, it goes to the Lieutenant"*o ernor, who is the (ueens representati e in that particular pro ince. They must not interfere in the political process. The #unici%al Government: A mayor is the head of a municipal council made of elected representati es called -Alderman., or -Councillors.. They de elop -1y"Laws. and Policies as needed. 1y"Law: Laws that only apply to a specific municipality Passed similarly to Pro incial and %ederal Legislation 7Committee $tage, Three )eadings, etc.8 *enerally effects peoples li es more than the %ederal and Pro incial *o ernment. Abori*inal Sel Government: Many %irst <ations communities go ern themsel es with -1and Councils., which is a group of respected members of the community, sometimes called -9lders.. The council is ery similar to a Municipal *o ernment. The leader of a 1and Council is a -Chief.. $imilar to a Mayor. Theyre important ceremonial leaders, as well as go ernment leaders. $pend a lot of their time dealing with %ederal or Pro incial Ministers o er licenses, education, and access to highways that cross band lands. Canada"s Constitution: What is a Constitution?: A document that outlines all of the principles and rules that ma#e up a countrys go ernment. 1asically defines the political structure of a country. 6deally, it should match the alues of the countrys citi+ens. The &ederal State:

 A nation with both a Central and Pro incial go ernments. The %ederal *o ernment e&ists to unify and protect the country from in asion. The Pro incial *o ernment e&ists to protect language and religious rights. The di ision allows the Pro incial *o t to focus on the interests of the region. The BNA Act 4/enamed The Constitution Act5: )enamed the Constitution Act in 23B= Passed through 1ritish Parliament, though written by Canadian delegates. 0nly a few sections were affected by 1ritish influence $tates that the Canadian Constitution should be similar to the 1ritish one.

The Un ritten Constitution! A list of practices that Canada follows unofficially. 6ncludes the )ule of Law, $upremacy of the %ederal *o ernment, and )esponsible *o ernment. Responsible Government: The e&ecuti e branch must act on the decisions of the Legislature. The Constitution Act o 6789: Allowed Canada to amend its own Constitution without 1ritish interference. 6ncluded the -<otwithstanding Clause., which can allow the *o t to suspend ci il rights for C years. <ew amending %ormula: @?2> pro inces representing more than C>E of Canada must agree if they want to amend the Constitution. 6ncluded the -Charter of )ights and %reedoms.. C"#"$"%S &'&CT(R"' S)ST&M: 'ur%ose o 'olitical 'arties: To offer choice to oters. To gi e stability to the political process: Ma#es it easier for oters to pic# the candidate they want to choose, instead of choosing from a long list of indi idual people.