Political Spectrum
What factored is measured by the horizontal (left to right) access of the political spectrum?
Economic (left wants more government involvement, higher taxes, and more social services, right wants less involvement, lower taxes, and freedom in the market)
In Canada, this principle of democracy is represented in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, protecting citizens from discrimination based on gender, race, religion, etc.
Fundamental Freedoms
What are the three levels of government?
Municipal, Provincial/Territorial, and Federal.
At which level of government is the leader elected directly by the constituents? Name the position and level.
Municipal
The branch of government that writes/debates bills that will become laws is called?
Legislative
What factor is measured by the vertical axis of the political spectrum?
Social (North/up is progressive and believes more change is necessary, expanding rights and social services. South/down is conservative, and wants stability, valuing tradition, and keeping the government the same)
According to The Rule of Law, which groups are above the law in Canada?
No one is above the law in Canada, everyone must obey the law. They can disagree and advocate against laws, but they must respect the laws.
a) Mayor
b) Reeve
c) Chairperson
All of the above
Random Responsibility: Education
Provincial
The branch of government that interprets laws and ensures they are followed is called?
Judicial
Random Responsibility: Indigenous Land and Relations
Federal
This principle of democracy deals with how Canadians select their leaders.
Free and Fair Elections
The leader of the Provincial Government is the...
Premier (Doug Ford)
Canada has how many electoral districts/ridings?
343
The Branch of government that runs the governments daily operations and features appointed representatives such as the Cabinet of Ministers is called?
Executive
Random responsibility: Natural Resources
Provincial/Territorial
Journalists and media actually play a really important role in democracy. Their questioning/reporting relationship with the government represents this principle of democracy.
Accountability and Transparency
Random Responsibility: Waste Management
Municipal
In Canada, which three provinces/territories have the fewest seats in the house of commons?
Nunavut, Yukon, and NWT (each with one)
What is the name of the leader of the 9 Supreme Court justices of the Judicial system?
The Chief Justice
Arrange the following parties from most left-leaning to most right-leaning?
Liberal, Conservative, NDP.
NDP > Liberal > Conservative
Citizen Participation is an important principle of democracy. Name three examples of how citizens participate in a democracy:
This includes participating in elections, being an informed citizen, debating issues, attending community meetings, paying taxes, serving on a jury and protesting.
The Legislative Branch makes and debates bills that could become laws for Canadian citizens. Explain how these lawmakers should take into account the Indigenous Seven Generations principle in their work?
Explain the First Past the Post election system that we use in Canada (federal election).
1. split into small elections in ridings.
2. Winner only needs more votes than any other candidate.
3. Successful candidate earns a seat as an MP in the House of Commons representing that ridings' constituents.
4. Party with most seats forms minority or majority government.
5. Leader of the party in power becomes PM. (Party leader decided by the party, not the people).
Explain how a bill becomes a law in five steps.
1st reading - bill introduced and goals examined. No debate.
2nd reading - bill is debated by the House.
Committee stage - small team (MP's, Senators) reflect on the debate and make amendments or fixes to the bill.
3rd reading - new and improved bill is debated once more and the house votes on it's approval.
Royal Assent - If the bill is passed by the house, it must be signed by the representative of the crown (Governor General at federal level) before becoming a law. This is mostly ceremony, a formality.