POLS2300

Introduction
❏ The study of politics
- The relationship of power
❏ Conceptualizing the political system
❏ Competing approaches to political analysis

The study of politics

❏ Power and relationships

- Power is interdependent and interrelated

- Understand the different variables (aka vote, political system)

Additional factors for analysis

❏ Coercion
- Government has the authority to impose its will on citizens
- Authority (sanctions, penalties)
- We have forms of coercion we grant government, government authority,
(taxes) we empower government to regulate society
- We grant the government authority to give us sanctions and penalties
- We can never escape the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) or piss them
off, we have given them authority.
❏ Elite accommodation
- Public policies emerge from the interaction of elites (like minded people)
- Common socioeconomic characteristics and values
- Public policies= what governments do
 - Example: the socioeconomic background is powerful white men, same
social classes, same wealth etc. (never grew up with minimum wage and
welfare)
❏ Embedded state
- Extensive state operations
- Connected to most aspects of society
- Impossible to split society and government
- Government cannot act independently of societal forces
- Government is bound in society and society has a massive impact on
government
❏ Globalization
- Power of nation-state is in decline
- Multinational corporations and free trade agreements
- Confluence of business, culture and technology
- Globalization began when civilization started

❏ Government
- Set of institutions that make and enforce collective public decisions for a
society (PM, Cabinet, Government MP’s)
- Similar to China’s definition because it is a strict definition
- Government is rules that govern how we interact
❏ Power
- Ability to make somebody to do something that you want them too
- Ex. pay taxes but government makes us
- Collective assent
- Parliament and supreme court are forms of power
❏ Private Sector
- Profit oriented, non- governmental component of the economy
- They are necessary but have their own interests
- Ex. RBC, walmart etc.
- Public policy
- Lobby government to influence
❏ Public Sector
- Government organizations to provide you with service
- Operated an financed by the government
- Crown operations are widely used
- Ex. LCBO, Canada Post, Rail Canada, they provide a economic service
- A public Good, specific services that are essential to society (ex. Liquor for
tax revenue)

Liberalism→ big difference between what society thinks it is and what it is

(ex. Not conservative) . It is not the PM, or the party, it is a form or how
society and government interact. Liberalism we see today is packaging,
labels (free). the theory of liberalism is seperate from the liberal party

Approaches to the study of politics

❏ Pluralist
1. Power is widely dispersed in the political system and not monopolized by
any state or corporate elite
2. Individuals are free to employ a variety of resources at their disposal and
organize whatever groups they wish in order to back their demands to the
authorities
3. Diversity of power, power distributed through society and depends on the
resources you have (a liberal democracy)
4. The authorities make decisions that are basically compromises among the
various competing interests that articulate their demands.4
5. .Different policy areas are characterized by different individuals and
groups making demands on different authorities.
6. 5.Advocacy group activity is increasingly replacing individual and party
activity in the political system.
❏ Public choice
1. Politics is a bargaining process in which both politicians and voters act in a
rational, self-interested fashion, the politicians making promises in return
for votes.
2. Politicians and parties generally adopt policies that will get themselves
elected, and, other things being equal, they respond to those interests
representing the largest number of votes.
3. Politicians concentrate on marginal, undecided, or strategically located
voters.
4. Politicians lie and tell us what we want (ex. 4 years ago the liberals
promised FPTP, it did not happen because it would have taken seats away
from them)
5. How can they sell people what they want to sell and make it appealing to
them
❏ Perception Vs. Reality
- We know politicians are lying to us but we continue to believe them
-
-
❏ Class analysis
1. The corporate elite not only control the private sector of the economy, but
also largely determine the shape of public policies and ensure that these
 policies are designed to facilitate its accumulation of wealth
2. influence is the result of the elite providing personnel for public offices and
funds for political parties, shaping societal values, and organizing pressure
group
3. It also results from the dependence of the state on the capitalist system for
the provision of jobs and economic growth
4. The new middle class, and even the working class must be
accommodated to some extent by public policies that legitimate the
capitalist system, and these elements can influence events if they act as a
class
5. f these classes are not satisfied by legitimation, the government may have
to resort to coercion
- Make everyone think that they need them… money
- Make people think they have money and can succeed
❏ State- centered
1. The state is largely autonomous from societal forces
2. The authorities decide what is good for society and design policies to fulfill
their vision of the public interest.
3. The politicians rely heavily on the bureaucracy for advice
4. The authorities seek to enhance their autonomy by the internal generation
of information and by maximizing their discretion, jurisdiction, and financial
resources.
5. f necessary, the authorities resort to the manipulation of information or
coercion in order to persuade the public of their wisdom, or seek the
support of the most relevant societal interest.
- Government tells you what is important and what is best for you
- Ex. no privacy, cellphones, internet etc.
❏ Globalization
1. The government must increasingly respond to demands from external
actors to take certain actions or to refrain from actions already being
taken.
2. The government is constrained from acting as it otherwise would by the
rules of international organizations it has joined or international
agreements it has signed
3. Those branches of government most closely involved with external
relations have become more active and significant than those dealing with
purely domestic issues
4. Actors in the political system at the citizen level increasingly interact with
counterparts in other states to protect and promote their common interests
5. Political ideas and ideologies and their transmission are increasingly
globalized and less distinctive to individual states. The ideology of
 neoliberalism has become influential almost everywhere.
-

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Week 2

The Constitution

Inside the Constitution

❏ The constitution consists of both written and unwritten rules.
- written→ legal responsibilities
❏ Minor adjustments are no more feasible than major.
❏ The constitution is more than just a government document.
❏ Responsible government→ if you as a minister and an error takes place
or gov loses critical vote they are required to step down. They must
receive at least 51% of the vote
❏ Was no defining moment, we emerged over time, a fragment of british empire
❏ Seria law Governs the most people in the world
❏ Civil law Governs the most number of countries in the world
❏ Canada has had 5 constitutions

Overview
❏ The constitution is….
- A country’s highest law
- A record of a country’s history
- A set of guideposts for normal political behaviour
- A touchstone during times of crisis
❏ Canada’s constitution is firmly rooted in British traditions but differs significantly
- Federalism (national and provincial gov)
- Recognition of Aboriginal treaty rights (required to recognize them but we
typically don’t)
- Codefined set of rights and freedoms

Key Constitutional Principles

❏ Parliamentary Democracy→ combination of 4 different facets
1. Liberal democracy
2. Representative democracy
3. Constitutional monarchy
 4. Responsible government
❏ Federalism
❏ Aboriginal self government (will always play a critical role)

Liberal Democracy
❏ Rule of law→ must obey the rule of law
❏ Individual and group rights
❏ Protection of minority interests
❏ Sanctity of the private sphere
❏ Nothing to do with Liberal party

Representative democracy
❏ Every policy decision ultimately made by elected representatives
❏ Indirect democracy
❏ Shaped by territory
❏ Evolved along partisan lines
❏ Different than USA because they vote directly for the government, we vote for the
candidate in our riding
❏ We are an indirect democracy

Constitutional Monarchy
❏ Ultimate sovereignty rests with the crown
❏ Represented federally by governor general and provincially by lieutenant
governors
❏ Serves primarily as symbolic representatives of Canadians
❏ Substantive authority when it comes to authorizing government actions
(assenting bills, dissolving legislatures, appointing high-level officials

Responsible Government
❏ At all times, a majority of the people’s elected representatives present in the
legislature must support the government
❏ Fusion of powers between executive and legislature
❏ US has separation of powers
❏ Canadian system can lead to legislative deadlock
❏ You have to maintain confidence of a legislature and responsibility, if you don’t,
you are required to step down
❏ You can never talk about what is discussed in privacy, must back up the PM,
 must quit the gov if you cannot support what they are trying to do
❏ Cabinet solidarity
- All ministers must vote in favour of a government’s legislative initiatives
❏ Ministerial Responsibility
- Each minister must answer or all the actions undertaken in the name of
the ministry
- If a mistake is made under your watch, you are responsible for it even if
you were not the one to do it, ultimately responsible for everything (like the
military)

Federalism
❏ Divided jurisdiction
❏ Central government to govern on matters of pan-Canadian importance
❏ Provincial authority over culturally and locally sensitive matter

Aboriginal self government

❏ The Royal Proclamation of 1763
- British document setting out the terms of European settlement in North
America following the Seven Years’ War
❏ Treaties
- Opened up Aboriginal land to new settlement in western Canada
- Terms and legitimacy disputed
❏ The two-row wampum has come to symbolize the right to self-government

Core components of the Constitutional order

Constitutional laws
→ Have to know these 4
❏ The royal Proclamation→ first constitution, important
❏ BNA 1867→ First MODERN constitution
❏ Statute of westminster 1931→ seen as nations equal, Canada did not
have the power to change its own constitution
❏ Constitution act 1982→ canada finally had their own separate
constitution
❏ We have 5 constitution acts that exist in canada
❏ The constitutional monarchy is a constitutional democracy in which the Monarch
is the Head of the State

Constitutional Conventions
 ❏ Unwritten rule based on custom that binds political actors to adhere to the
traditions of the constitutional order
1. Responsible Gov
2. Ministerial Responsibility
3. Cabinet solidarity
4. Judicial independence

Judicial Opinions
❏ No political interference, politicians cannot walk into a courtroom and tell them
what to do
❏ Judges have to be protected from politicians (ex. Abortion, slavery)
❏ Judges are appointed by the PM in supreme court
❏ Judicial review
- Courts rule on the constitutionality of particular pieces of government
legislation
❏ Citizens, corporations, interest groups, and other Canadian governments can
challenge the authority of government decisions

The evolution of the “living tree”

- Where politicians chose to change the law to follow society
- Change is very slow in this system
❏ The road to confederation
- 1867, the British government passes the BNA Act, establishing Canada’s
first modern, written constitution
❏ The path to patration
- 1870–1949: New provinces enter Confederation
- 1875: Supreme Court of Canada established
- 1949: Supreme Court becomes Canada’s highest court of appeal,
displacing the JCPC
- 1976: Rene Levesque’s separatist Parti Quebecois forms provincial
government for the first time
- 1978: Pierre Trudeau government proposes to patriate the constitution
unilaterally, prompting court action by Manitoba, Quebec, and
Newfoundland
- 1980: PQ government holds Quebec’s first referendum, 20-point victory
for the “non” side
- Law in Quebec that you cannot receive public service if your face is
covered (safety issue) this has been going on since the 1700s- issues
about diversity. Quebec has always wanted to be for quebecers only. In
the 70s the province of quebec wants to be seperated
- Rene Levesque created the Parti Quebecois
 -They had to take back the constitution and make it for canadians
(away from british empire) could the federal government do
this→ 1981 they reached a deal and quebec was not involved
- 1981: Supreme Court of Canada releases its opinion in the Patriation
Reference, deciding that fundamental constitutional changes require a
substantial degree of provincial consent
- 1981: (4 November) Deal is reached to patriate the constitution, Quebec
officials not present and not supportive
- 1982: In April, Canadian constitution is patriate
❏ The Mega-constitutional Period
- 1986: Quebec Liberal premier Robert Bourassa releases his “five
conditions” for Quebec to engage in constitutional negotiations….since
Quebec was screwed over by the fed gov they made 5 conditions they
wanted: (which most affect first nations people)
1. Distinct society within canada
2. Veto power
3. etc
- 1987: On 3 June, all first ministers sign the Meech Lake Accord,
an amendment package designed to bring Quebec fully into the
constitutional family (some provinces and the PM agree to
Quebec’s conditions, provinces had 2 years to vote in favour of
this accord) → Provincial gov could change within the 2 year
period and things could change.
- 1990: Meech Lake Accord expires, having failed to pass in the legislature
of Manitoba and Newfoundland (Manitoba said it would affect the first
nations so much so they said every single person in the legislature had to
vote in favour… one man did not (Elijah___) therefore the legislation did
not pass)
- They gave it 2 years because they did not want it to pass
- PM decided to do it again… after it already failed once
- 1992: (28 August) First ministers and Aboriginal leaders sign the
Charlottetown Accord, a second amendment package designed to meet a
broader set of constitutional demands
- The voters of canada said no because they did not understand what they
were voting on, they did not agree etc.
- 1992: (26 October) Charlottetown Accord is defeated in nationwide
referendum
- 1995: The “non” side wins the second Quebec sovereignty referendum,
this time by just over 50,000 votes. (50,000 rejected, the premier blamed it
on any other ethnic person or who spoke english)
 ❏ The post-constitutional period
- 1996: Federal government passes a regional veto law, placing constraints
on its own ability to amend the constitution
- 2006: House of Commons passes a symbolic resolution declaring the
Quebecois “a nation with a united Canada” (Harper said this about
Quebec)

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

❏ Rights
- legal claims or entitlements to have something or act in a particular matter
❏ Freedoms
- Autonomy to live and act without external restraint
❏ Rights and freedoms can be
- Political and legal
- Moral and rational
- Economic and social

Bill of Rights
- Started in the 60’s that we needed rights
❏ Federal law detailing Canadian’s rights and freedoms vis-à-vis the federal
government.
❏ Wanted a more comprehensive set of rights and freedoms in the constitution.
❏ This would mean affording the judiciary a greater role in defining and protecting
them.
❏ Supporters of parliamentary supremacy opposed to this.
❏ Died of its limitations, members of parliament despised it

Key Elements of the Charter

❏ The notwithstanding clause
- permits legislatures to pass laws that breach certain rights and freedoms.
- Used by Quebec, wanted everything changed into french
❏ Responsable limits clause
- Allows governments to pass laws that would contravene rights and
freedoms but which are necessary to protect other democratic norms
- Ex. can drink, can drive, but NOT drink and drive
❏ Oakes Test
- A model employed by the court to weigh the democratic benefits and
assess the constitutionality of a law that breaches certain Charter rights

Charter Policies
❏ Canadian governments were abusing human rights under the guise of
 parliamentary supremacy.
❏ Charter allows judiciary to act like a safeguard,
❏ Charter changed this by entrenching rights and freedoms in the constitution.
❏ Charter established judiciary as a key actor in the politics of rights and freedoms
in Canada
❏ Supreme court can strike down (or nullify) laws that contravene the Charter
❏ There are certain rights in the charter that can be overridden (except our
fundamental freedoms)
❏ Dialogue Model
- Notion that the definition of rights and freedoms is reached through the
interaction of judges, legislatures, and executives.
❏ Charter-proof
- Pre-emptive steps taken by a government to ensure that its proposed
legislation withstands judicial review

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January 18

Canada was created as a Nation on July 1, 1867

It was created because...
- Self determination
- Stop the states from going North
- Military defence
- Economics, greater economic opportunities
- Desire to be independent from UK
- No real reason why

The UK is not a federal country

What is federalism?
❏ A relationship between different levels of government over a large amount of land
 ❏ About more than just the constitution
❏ Relationship where different entities and regions cohabit
❏ About more than just money
❏ About social values
❏ Federalism is a system of government that enables public policy to be responsive
to local concerns while being unified by a set of common, overarching objectives
❏ It is a defining feature of Canadian democracy
- No national department of education-every province has own
- National health care system - every province has own
- Aboriginal poverty and labour force development
- Pan- Canadian challenges

Federalism in Context
❏ Canada’s system of government remains an amalgam of the United Kingdom
and the United States (central authority and regional authority)
❏ Federalism is a system of governance featuring at least two orders of
government —each of these governments derives
- Its authority from a distinct electorate
- Its sovereignty from a separate basis
- Its jurisdiction from a common constitution
❏ Neither order can alter or revoke the powers of the other (ex. Currency is only for
Federal gov.
❏ Regional governments retain sovereignty (power to exercise government
authority over a polity within a defined geographical area) in some areas while
surrendering it to a central government in other areas

The Origins of Canadian Federalism

❏ The conventional view of Canadian history holds that the Fathers of
Confederation drew their greatest inspiration from the United States, of what not
to do… a rejection of the US
❏ The presence of a federation of First Nations in such close proximity to the
Canadian colonies would suggest that there was at least some familiarity with
that form of governance among the British political elite

Distinguishing Features
❏ Federalism with a constitutional Monarchy (concentration of power in one entity)
❏ Centralization and Decentralization
❏ The Tools of Federal Power

Federalism within a Constitutional Monarchy

 ❏ Canadian federalism operates within a constitutional monarchy
❏ Sovereignty is divided between the federal and provincial orders of government -
each has equal status to act on behalf of the Crown

- All have exclusive spheres of power

- Federal gov bc of nature of services violates nature of the jurisdiction every day
- Prov gov needs fed gov to assist them
- Federal jurisdiction is things like military, criminal law, taxation , postal service,
marriage etc.
- Health care is provincial

Centralization and Decentralization

❏ Canadian federalism is among the world’s most decentralized
❏ The original intentions of the Fathers of Confederation were to treat the federal
government as the primary decision-maker
- Disallowance→ federal government having the power to deny
laws the provincial government want to introduce.
- POGG→ emergency power
- Declaratory power
- Residual powers → something new that comes up that is not in
the constitution, the federal gov can take control over it (ex.
Climate change, pollution etc.)

The Tools of Federal Power

 ❏ Federal spending power
- The capacity of the federal government to spend its available funds, even
on areas that fall outside its constitutional jurisdiction
- Can spend money on what they want
❏ Appointment power
- The authority to decide who should be selected to fill a government
position
- Big difference between Canada and the USA.
- Guelph MP is Mike Schreiner, only place that voted the Green party

Interpretations of Canadian Federalism

❏ Major models of Federalism
❏ Accessing Fairness in Canadian Federalism

Major Models of Federalism

- Have to look at the consequences of the time and social attitudes of the time to
determine what is fair (ex. Conscription during time of war)
- Classical federalism- fed and provincial governments have no interference
 between each (theoretical dream, will never happen) theoretical, not practical
- Co-operative- fed government creates national programs society wants that
provincial gov supports (ex. Universal health care)
- Symmetrical- 10 provinces, every province is equal…. Not good for Quebec
- Asymmetrical- 9 provinces and quebec by itself (9-1-1), quebec needs to be
treated separately
- Treaty- First nations rights

Assessing Fairness in Canada

❏ Federal governments are challenged to choose between policies or programs
that have broad, country-wide appeal but cause deep resentment in certain parts
of the country
❏ Most important element of fairness on Canadian Politics is

The politics of Fiscal Federalism

❏ Regional tensions are more acute when it comes to money and social programs
❏ Social Safety Net
- Government-funded social welfare programs designed to assist citizens in
their time of need
- Certain services that are there for the duration of your life, to ensure that
everyone has an equal chance
❏ Overview
- Gaps in the system (why does it not always work ex. Waiting times in
hospital)
- Addressing imbalances
- Fiscal Federalism: Is it working?

Gaps in the System

- People don’t know how to spend their money (fed and prov gov)
- If you don’t spend it you cannot get they money back in the following year (ex.
Mississauga paper clip budget)
- Per capita Quebec is the poorest
❏ Fiscal Federalism
- The manner in which revenues and responsibilities are distributed among
various orders and government
❏ Horizontal Fiscal Gap
- Inter-provincial revenue disparities (differential access to natural resources
 like oil and gas).
❏ Horizontal Fiscal Imbalance
- A situation in which some provinces have greater capacity to fund their
constitutional responsibilities than others
❏ Vertical Fiscal Gap
- A revenue disparity between the federal and provincial orders of
government
- How powerful a gov is in respect to another gov. (fed gov compared to
prov)
❏ Vertical Fiscal Imbalance
- The federal government has an excess of revenue, and the provinces and
excess of responsibilities, which respect to their constitutional obligations
and fiscal capacities
- When a fed gov has so much more revenue it can do what it wants,
forcing provincial govs to give power up to them

Addressing Imbalances
1. Equalization→ formula, all the tax revenue goes into a general fund,
the fed gov takes a portion of these funds and gives them to provinces
based off a number of things.
- Primary transfer of program designed to lessen the fiscal disparities
among provinces (have provinces and have not)
- Payments made to the most disadvantaged provinces out of the federal
government's general revenues
- Fed gov consults w provinces every 5 years regarding the funding formula
for the program
- Most important because it ensures that every province has an equal
opportunity
- Vertical Transfers: The CHT and CST
- CHT flows from Ottawa to all provinces to help cover the costs of
healthcare.
- CST is intended to assist with the costs of maintaining other social
programs: education, civil legal aid, welfare.
- Since the late 1970s: conditional grants with tighter restrictions on how
provinces could spend them
- We want more services and we are prepared to pay more for
them→ society shows this by voting
- Vertical Transfers: The CHT and CST
- Forced provinces to abide by the five conditions of Canada Health Act:
- Publicly administered
 - Portable across the country→ if your from ontario and go to BC
should still be covered
- Comprehensive in terms of medically necessary services→ if you
cannot physically or psychologically go without
- Universally available
- Accessible to all
- Health care is very important
- Other Transfers
- The federal government provides a series of other transfers to provinces,
including
- •infrastructure funds
- •devolved services agreements
- •one-off grants to provincially run universities and hospitals
- •shared-cost programs like legal aid→ we need legal aid because
a lot of people cannot afford lawyers, ensures we have access to
justice and that people have an opportunity for justice. It is now
collapsing because of high demand

We don’t know until we are personally affected if a policy is “working”

- Quebec receives way more because politics, weakness of industry, lower than
expected population levels, always been like that.
- No strings attached spending, can spend money on what it wants
2. Canada Health Transfer→ fed gov ensures that each province has
enough for healthcare
3. Canada social transfer→ education
- We are not fiscally screwed, the governments just do not spend the money
efficiently, the federal gov gives us the money, prov can’t spend it right

Fiscal Federalism: Is it working

❏ Critics
- Canada’s system of fiscal federalism disrupts market forces, keeps
weaker provincial economies alive, provides incentives for Canadians to
remain in slow-growth regions, dampens interprovincial economic
competition, and fosters a sense of dependency on federal funding.
❏ Supporters
- Equalization akin to a national system of revenue sharing, stronger
economic union both internally and externally, governmental safety net
 - Can’t trust private interest (human nature)
- Equity of opportunity, give everyone the same chance

Executive Federalism
● A system in which the elected leaders of federal and provincial governments
make public policy decisions.
● Intergovernmental bargaining, deal brokering, and policy decisions take place
among leaders of the various federal, provincial, and territorial governments.
● Meetings of premiers and ministers, prime minister, and first minister colleagues.
● Hold the power, can’t get rid of them easily

Functional Federalism
● A system in which civil servants conduct the bulk of intergovernmental activity.
● Day-to-day relationships among Canadian governments maintained at the
bureaucratic level
● Health and social service
● Stuff continues to function no matter who is in charge

Inter-state Federalism
● A system of formal interactions among government officials and leader

Intra-state Federalism
● A system in which regional interests are represented within the institutions of the
central government

The evolution of Federalism

 - During the War and if there is a natural disaster we look at the government for
help
- Since the 1960s the level of power they hold has dropped

Noting in the constitution about spending powers

Quiz one lecture #1,2,3

Responsible gov→ unwritten principal of canada’s constitution, central

component of governing in canada, if a gov loses confidence of legislature it
must step down. Confidence is tested twice. 1. Passing a budget, how they
will spend the money to implement the throne speech and 2. Throne
speech→ gov telling legislature what it is going to do, must pass by majority
of the legislatures

Residual powers→ fed government taking things that are not in the constitution and
saying that they control them. Ex. Climate change,
______________________________________________________________________
January 28

Inside Regionalism in Canada

❏ Regionalism means different things to Canadians across the country.
❏ Regionalism is not necessarily a divisive force.
❏ Regionalism is far from a natural part of the Canadian political order
- Leads to unhappiness,

Regionalism and National Identity in Canada

❏ Overview
➢ Defining Regionalism and Canada’s Regions
➢ Approaches to the Study of Regionalism
➢ Regional Political Cultures→ how are places different from one to
another, everyone has a different point of view (leads to
stereotypes).

Defining Regionalism and Canada’s Regions

❏ Regionalism→ An allegiance or psychological connection to a territory with
its own unique political characteristics. See how people associate with one
 another. People identify with their territory.
❏ Regions may comprise multiple provinces, individual provinces or territories, or
areas within a province.

Approaches to the Study of Regionalism

❏ Garth Stevenson’s definition of a region
➢ Primarily defined by territory (political culture defined by territory)
➢ Innate, meaning not artificially constructed by politicians or map-makers
❏ Regions are grounded in a combination of geography and socioeconomic
political community.

Regional Political Cultures

❏ Regional divisions are amongst the deepest political cleavages in Canada
❏ Ex. Alberta is known for cowboys and hicks, but is Edmonton? No,
❏ Political Culture→ A society’s innate political characteristics, embodied
in the structure of its institutions and beliefs of its members
❏ According Ailsa Henderson, Canadians line in nine distinct communities:
- Cosmopolitan Quebec
- Suburban Toronto and Vancouver
- Urban Canada
- Rural and Mid-Northern Canada
- Manufacturing Belt- Windsor to Quebec
- New France
- British North America
- Far North
- Metropolitan Toronto
- Depends how you identify with it

Types of Canadian regionalism

- Sectionalism, Nationalism, and Secessionism
- Regionalism in Quebec
Western Alienation→ they want to be heard. Issue is Ontario and Quebec
screwed over western Canada, fed gov took control over its natural
resources, ineffective political representation in west of canada (PEI has 4 or
5 MPs and has a pop of 150 thousand, they have 4 because there is a
guarantee in the constitution of canada that no province should have fewer
Mp then senators (there needs to be a certain number of senators??) POP of
Guleph is same as PEI and we have 1 MP. This is a problem for western
canada because they are very important, if we lost alberta it would have a
much bigger impact on society and economics. They are mad because they
do not have equal representation.
 - Speratism, autonomism, sovereignty association

Sectionalism→ one identifies more with their province then their country
- emotional connection with one’s regional homeland, rather than with one’s
country.
- Perhaps strongest in the West.
- Recently, Ontario has developed its own form of sectionalism.
- Describe ontario→ most americanised province, most diverse,

Nationalism
- A unifying ideology among people who share a common homeland, ancestry, and
language or culture.
- Tends to involve invented traditions, exaggerated grievances, and an ignorance
of self-culpabilities.
- Cause of nationalism often championed by charismatic leaders.
- Can be used for manipulation (in US, 1920s Germany, etc.)
- In canada we use nationalism→ Andrew shear is blaming the mass
amounts of illegal immigrants as a reason legal immigrants can’t get
in. Direct result of what is happening in the US
- Quebec being angry

Secessionism → provinces tired of being in a situation and want to leave

(Quebec)
 - dely held sentiment that a province or territory should leave the Canadian
federation.
- Separatist parties: Western Canada Concept, Alberta First, Parti Quebecois
- Tends to flare up when there is a regional grievance that is interpreted as an
affront to a national or regional identity
- Large minority of the country wants to leave→ feels historically
disrespected (Aboriginal, Quebec)

Regionalism In Quebec
- Case study for all three forms of regionalism.
- Illustrates tensions that often develop between provincial and federal
governments when it comes to defining and meeting the demands of regionalists
across the country.
● The Growth of Quebec Nationalism from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution
- French colony with different linguistic, cultural, and religious community
- Unique treatment to accommodate the diversity
- Inward-looking, protectionist brand of sectionalism
● Quiet Revolution
- An early 1960s modernizing movement in Quebec, geared toward a
stronger provincial government and outward nationalism
- Modernization in Province of Quebec, telling Roman Catholic Church to
get out of the public’s business
- Federalists vs. sovereigntists→ Federalists wanting to retain
structure of country, sovereignists wanted to leave
● Federalists and Sovereigntists during the Mega-constitutional Era (late 1970s
early 80s)
● Sovereignty-association
- A proposed legal arrangement whereby Quebec would be politically
independent but maintain economic ties with Canada
- Divorce settlement where person who got the divorce got all the money,
Quebec leave Canada and have complete control, but demand 2 things
from Canada: the passport (but has british coat of arms on it??) and keep
Canadian currency (but $20 bill has the Queen).
- Canada said they cannot leave, not pay an exit fee and keep passport and
money
-
-
● Meech Lake Accord
- A failed constitutional accord in the late 1980s that would have recognized
Quebec as a distinct society
 - Constitutional document
- Designed to die
● Charlottetown Accord
- A failed accord in the 1990s, proposed to renew the constitution, defeated
by national referendum
- Constitutional document
- Every eligible voter in canada decide the fate, but they did not understand
● After the Referendums: Quebec Nationalism since 1995
- Chretien Liberals pursued two-pronged, non-constitutional response to
1995 referendum results.
- “Plan A” and “Plan B” to appease Quebecers and address frustrations of
federalists throughout the Country
- Do you want to leave canada and become your own country? And lost by
about 50,000 votes
● Clarity Act
- Federal legislation in 2000 that sets out the terms for federal government
to deal with a province proposing to secede
- How can this happen in a democracy?
- Set the legal grounds by which the province of quebec can leave Canada
(any province, not just Quebec, a protocol that a province must follow if
they want to leave)
- The government of Quebec can ask their population if they want to leave
canada and become own country
- Fed Government gets to determine the questions that the provincial gov
can ask its population in a referendum
- Gov determines if the question is valid
- There is no number then 100% that the government can actually agree
too, they decide what the majority is (they could say no to 80% or 90%
etc)
- The federal government has complete control over Quebec now

● After the Referendums:

- Quebec Nationalism since 1995
- What happened after 1995 was unbelievable
-
-
● Quebec nation motion
- A non-binding federal motion passed in 2006 that recognized the unique
character of the Quebecoi
- Telling quebecers that they form a unique part of Canada
● Sponsorship scandal
 - An affair in which Liberal advertising agencies received public funds for
work that was never performed – lowered support for Quebec sovereignty
- 35 seats across the country for the liberal party due to this because the
federal liberal party used taxpayer money to boost their image in Quebec,
which is illegal. The liberal party of canada was whipped out because of
this in 2011
- Liberals were a meaningless party (now gov, they can rebound)
- Quebec is very reactionary
● Parti Quebecois ousted by liberals in 2014
- In Canada, where as nationalists my seek a unique status for their
province or region within Canada, sectionalists may rally against such
treatment, evoking principles of provincial equality

- These 5 principles are what the gov of quebec historically wanted

1. Recognized as a distinct society→ wanted this on page 1
2. Right of veto→ believes it has right to veto anything even if the
other provinces want it. They believe they are much more
important
3. Spending power→ limitations on the federal spending power
4. Input into appointing senators and supreme court judges
5. Increased control over immigration→ quebec has complete
control over their immigration, must be bilingual and speak,
 listen and write in french
- There were immigrants in canada who wanted to move to quebec
and were denied and now they are suing quebec

Politics plays a big role:

regionalism→ concept of demands
Origins of Regionalism
- Nelson Wiseman points to three factors that laid the foundations of regionalism in
Canada
- Settlement patterns→ where people live
- Formative events→ stuff that happens
- Economic staples→ how you make your money

Persistence
● Socialization
- Regionalism passed down from generation to generation.
● Laurentian myth
- A theory that historic perceptions of central Canadian dominance have spawned
regionalist resentment in peripheral parts of the country (PMs born in Ontario or
Quebec, very few from out west)
● Institutionalization
- Federal economic development programs, organizations, structures, laws, and
other systems develop in ways that further entrench geographic differences in
Canada.
- Major provincial and territorial meetings take place.
- Fed government has put a lot of people in financial dependency

How does it affect national identity

______________________________________________________________________
February 8, 2019

Origins of Regionalism
● Nelson Wiseman points to three factors that laid the foundations of regionalism in
Canada
- Settlement patterns
- Formative events
- Economic staple

Persistence of Regionalism
● Socialization
- Regionalism passed down from generation to generation
● Laurentian myth
- Theory that historic perceptions of central Canadian dominance have
spawned regionalist resentment in peripheral parts of the country
● Institutionalization
- Federal economic development programs, organizations, structures, laws,
and other systems develop in ways that further entrench geographic
differences in Canada.
- Major provincial and territorial meetings take place
 ● Politicization
- Regional consciousness is first interpreted, articulated, and mobilized by
political elites.
- Successful politicians take advantage of code politics.
- Heightened by tons of political discourse and political communication.
- Canada’s political system encourages politicians to engage in this brand
of regionalized politics.

Regionalism and National Unity

● Canadians are so divided, what holds them together?
- Canada’s political institutions promote unity through diversity.
- Regional and pan-Canadian institutions have become more powerful and
institutionalized over time.
- Regionalism has always been part of the Canadian condition—socialized
and politicized into our culture for generations.

Overview
● The e executive: the political elites and decision-makers who preside over the
direction of their respective governments•Most often the strongest branch.
 1. formal executive
2. political executive
3. permanent executive

Inside the Executive

● The prime minister and the cabinet are not the only members of the executive.
● The prime minister does not wield absolute control over Canadian politics.
● Executives today hold no more power than they did in the past.
● The power has been the same since 1867,

- On paper the Monarch has the highest level of power. It is not seen as a viable
component of democracy… it is just still in our constitution
- Political executive- powerful in terms of direction (policy changes, where etc) they
have an overwhelming amount of power
- Permanent executive
- Bureaucracy
The Formal Executive
 ● Head of state – highest ranking figure in a sovereign state, serves as foremost
ceremonial representative
● In Canada, this is the monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II).
● The queen
● In practice, this position involves ceremonial duties as the face of the Crown
● Governor general carries out tasks on behalf of the monarch to ensure a
functioning, constitutional government.
● Lieutenant general – the monarch’s representative in each province
● These generals have a variety of formal executive powers.
● Prerogative authority: grants final say to head of state on any matter not explicitly
addressed in the constitution
● In theory the monarch is still the most important in Canada

The Political Executive

● Canada’s monarch reigns but does not rule, first ministers rule but do not regin
● Head of the government- the highest- ranking elected official in a jurisdiction,
appointed by the Crown to lead the executive
● Privy Council – body of prominent federal politicians and officials that typically
advise the governor general
● Cabinet – leaders of the political executive, consisting of the sitting prime minister
and ministers. Ministers do not quit when they disagree with the PM because
ministers get a driver, a extra 30-50 thousand dollars on pay.
● At federal, provincial, and territorial level, political executive consists of the first
minister and the cabine
● Responsible for ensuring government functions effectively by:
- Maintaining solidarity and secrecy -KEY. Can’t let things come out
- Organizing legislative votes
- Advising the heads of state on key appointments
- Controlling the public purse by initiating all money bills
- Initiating legislation and regulations
- Executing intergovernmental and international agreements
 - Symbolic head (monarch) everything else is in control of the PM

Heads of Government
● Prime minister – leader of the party that controls the House of Commons
- Indirectly elected as the federal head of government
● Premier – head of the political party that controls a provincial legislature
- Chief executive who presides over the administration of the provincial
government
● All significant decisions in the federal government go through the prime minister’s
office (PMO).
● PMO employs the government’s more powerful political staff, all loyal to PM.
● Influence of prime minister’s office and premier’s offices over members of
governing party has been growing as government operations centralize
● Power of the first minister constrained by:
- Constitutions
- Internal party pressures
- Balancing of preferences within their party, caucus, and cabinet with what
their own constituents and the general public want
- Federalism, the economy, globalization, bureaucracy, the courts, and other
 governments
● First minister diplomacy

Heads of Government
● Prime minister – leader of the party that controls the House of Commons
- Indirectly elected as the federal head of government
- Canadian PM has more power then US president
- All the decisions that take place in canada go through the PM’s office
- Attorney General of Ontario- Caroline Mulroney
● Premier – head of the political party that controls a provincial legislature
- Chief executive who presides over the administration of the provincial
government
● All significant decisions in the federal government go through the prime
minister’s office (PMO).
● PMO employs the government’s more powerful political staff, all loyal to PM.
● Influence of prime minister’s office and premier’s offices over members of
governing party has been growing as government operations centralize
● Power of the first minister constrained by:
- Constitutions
- Internal party pressures
- Balancing of preferences within their party, caucus, and cabinet with what
their own constituents and the general public want
- Federalism, the economy, globalization, bureaucracy, the courts, and other
governments
● First minister diplomacy- can’t favourite one province over the other

- MP’s from Ontario/ Quebec combined = over 200, therefore spend attention here

Cabinets
● Government run by a committee of active members of the political executive,
who develop policies and oversee day-to-day administrative matters
● Ministers of the Crown (most members of the cabinet)
● Federal Level- cabinet has 35-40 members
● Provincial Level-operate with half as many
● Size of cabinet depends on PM
● members of cabinet meet frequently to make government policy decisions,
address issues of the day, and review proposed legislature.
● Regional ministers – a minister whose portfolio includes additional responsibility
for government in a broad geographic area
● Challenge of ensuring all regions are represented in a cabinet
 ● Very few ministers actually know what they are doing (ex. Minister of
environment is a human rights lawyer, nothing to do w environment)

* Treasury Board- watchdogs for what governments do when spending money. Second
or third most important position in Gov.

Executive Accountability
● Self censorship, do the right thing for moral reasoning
● In Canada, political elites are held to account through the concept of and
conventions of responsible government.
● Political executive must maintain the confidence of the legislature
● Confidence convention – government must relinquish power when it loses a
critical legislative vote. If you have a majority gov you will always have the
confidence of the house . Takes place 2 times 1. Throne Speech- what they are
going to do. Tis speech is voted on. Minority governments may loose on a
confidence vote (just happened in New Brunswick) 2. The budget speech-
government outlines how they will spend the money. They must have 50% plus
one on both of theses.
● Two conventions of accountability apply to cabinet ministers:
- Cabinet solidarity – as a group, cabinet ministers are accountable for all
government decisions
- Ministerial responsibility – minister is directly accountable for decisions
taken in her of his portfolio
● Democratic deficit –disconnect between people’s expectations of how democratic
institutions should work and actual performance of those institutions. Vote for a
specific reason, people have lost their faith in how government works
● Reform Act – 2015 –requires each party’s newly elected caucus to vote on
whether they will follow the new caucus parameters during the life of the
 parliament
- shifts responsibility for approving candidate nominations away from party
leaders

The Permanent Executive

● Actually run the country because governments change
● Non-partisan bureaucratic officials serving at the pleasure of the Crown and its
ministers
● Typically remain in place regardless of the election cycle
● Clerk of the Privy Council – serves as the deputy minister to the prime minister
and leader of the council of deputy ministers
● Deputy minister – serves at the pleasure of the minister responsible for the
portfolio, top bureaucrat and functional head of a department
● Consists of three main bodies:
- Central agencies – coordinate policy across government (core, ex.
Finance- spending for entire government)
- Line department – focus on program and service delivery under specific
policy portfolios
- Agencies, boards, and commissions – provide programs and services at
arm’s length from government (ex. Via rail, Canada Post, LCBO)

- USA Is NOT part of the Westminster Parliamentary System (India, Australia and
Canada are)
- Unwritten constitutional components of Parliamentary governance is ministerial
responsibility

Central Agencies
● Four coordinating bodies that steer government business across all departments:
- PMO- Prime Minister's Office
- Privy Council Office –coordinates the federal government’s overall
implementation of policy
- Treasury Board Secretariat – coordinates government spending
- Department of Finance – sets and monitors government’s fiscal and
economic policy
Line Departments
● Units responsible for the development and delivery of policy, programs, or
services under a particular portfolio
● Their existence tends to be closely related to areas of jurisdiction that are
enumerated in sections 91 to 95 of the Constitution Act, 1967
 ● Specific agendia

- 3 policies controlled by provincial gov: education, healthcare, natural resources,

post secondary education etc. These are the most important ones.
- 3 policies by fed gov are criminal justice, indigenous affairs, immigration (but
quebec), military, finance etc. these are the major
- What each government is involved with based on social importance

Agencies, Boards and commissions

● ABC – responsible for delivering a program or service, or producing goods, at an
arm’s length from the government
● Government delivering a public good (ex. Education is a public good)
● Public good- something believes that everyone should have access to and
money or social status should not keep them from it. (education, clean drinking
water, liquor store etc.)
● Difference between department and agency, or department and commission----
departments are centralized, agencies, boards and commissions are at arm's
length, government takes very little role of their management from day to day
basis (CBC still provided as a public good)
● Government Agency→ operate on behalf of the gov
● Government board→ public advisory committee made up of appointed
citizens
● Royal commission/ commision of inquiry- special research investigation of a
contentious area of public policy (realize they made a mistake, fund people to do
research, then do nothing about it)
- Royal commission of Aboriginal Peoples (did nothing about it because
they do not matter for votes… than the truth and reconciliation report had
come out)
- Commissions are very important, but their importance is never transmitted
into action (unless environmental)

Canadian Legislature

Canadian Legislatures: Overview

● Canada has a total of 14 legislatures
● Parliament, most recognized, is in Ottawa
● Each province and territory has a legislature, located in its capital city
- Practices generally follow those of the federal House of Commons (except
 Quebec)

The Structure of Legislatures

● Canada operates on the principles of a responsible government – this requires
executives to maintain the confidence of their respective assemblies in order to
continue ruling
● Lord Durham→ introduced responsible government (unwritten concept)
must maintain the confidence of the legislatures, core governing
principal of canadian legislature
● Constitution grants Canadians the opportunity to elect members of each
legislature at least once every five years
● Fixed-date election law – prescribes that general elections be held on a particular
date, typically every four years. Nothing in constitution that says we need to have
a fixed date, just every 5 years. Harper introduced that a certain day in October,
every 4 years there must be an election
● By-election – district-level election held between general elections
● Confidence convention – practice under which a government must relinquish
power when it loses a critical legislative vote. If you do not carry majority of
support in the legislature

The House of Commons

● House of Commons
● Holds government accountable- har to do when the gov holds most the seats
● Elective dictatorship
● Law passing body- exists to pass laws
● Represents the “common people”
● Supervising and holding to account the executive
● Passing laws and resolutions to govern the country
● Representing Canadians when debating pressing political issues of the day (this
expression is from the 1300s)
- Majority of minorities are liberals.
- Indigenous representation is very poor (out of 338 there is 8 for liberal)
- Will not find diversity in politics, diversity more found in provincial levels

The Senate
● Senate – originally designed as counterweight to the Commons
● Providing upper class w/representation
● Members appointed, not elected
● Senators summoned to Parliament by the governor general, on advice of PM
● Also structured to provide regional representation in Parliament (instead of seats
 being distributed by population)
● Senate reform
● What do they actually do?

The Composition of Legislatures

● Majority government – in which the governing party controls at least half the
seats in the legislature
● Party discipline – adherence to the directives of party leadership
● Earned majority – the governing party’s share of the popular vote is at least 50%
(seldom) Very rare
● Manufactured majorities – governing party’s share of the popular vote is less
than 50%. More popular, mainly due to our electoral system. Typically in this
country we have governments that do not receive 50% of the vote.
● We have a democratic system that does not seem democratic or fair to the losers
● Hung parliament – no single party controls at least half the seats
- Minority government – cabinet consists of members from only one political
party
- Coalition government – cabinet consists of members from more than one
political party (only one in Canada at the federal level)

______________________________________________________________________
The Justice System

The Foundations of Canadian Law

● Laws in Canada fall into two general categories: public laws and private laws
● Public laws are legal rules that impact society as a whole (criminal, constitutional,
and administrative laws)
● Separation between political sphere and legal sphere (sometimes this is
impossible) In the US choosing judges is a very political process.
● Prime Minister chooses judges
 ● Private laws are legal rules that concern the relationships among individuals and
organizations in matters that do not have broader public concern
● Private law is based on two distinct legal systems: the common-law system and
the civil-law system.
● Common-law system (British style):
- Applies throughout the nine English-speaking provinces and three
territories
- Grounded in the rulings passed down over centuries of court decisions
known as case law
- In this system, judges are bound to considered previous court rulings as
authoritative.
- Used in Canada and US and many other countries
- Judges constrained by decisions made in the past. There are laws and
guidelines judges must follow
● Civil- law system (based on Roman civil law)
- Applies in Quebec
- Legal traditions are grounded in written civil code
- Quebec uses this because it is what is used in France
- Also in Louisiana, Scotland etc.
- Napoleon is most famous for promoting it
● While quebec and the rest of Canada have distinct legal systems governing
private laws, all public laws apply throughout the country
● There are 3 “major” systems of law
1. Sharia
2. Common
3. Civil

Other Types of Legal Systems

● Islamic Law
- More people live under Shariah law than any other legal system.
● Where is it practiced?
- Middle East
- Parts of Africa
- Parts of Asi

The Judiciary
● The judiciary encompasses the entire system of courts across Canada,
interpreting and applying laws passed by governments.
● Courts fulfil three major functions:
 - Guardianship
- Adjudication
- Guidance
● Equally as valued as house of commons etc.
● Judicial review: The process through which courts assess the actions and laws of
Canadian governments to ensure they are consistent with the constitution. Looks
at legislation and asks if it violates the charter or not. (this is when politics can
use notwithstanding clause)
● Constitutional law cases involve deciding which order of government, federal or
provincial, has jurisdiction over a particular policy area, or whether Canadians’
rights and freedoms have been breach by government.
● Administrative law cases involve determining whether government actors perform
their duties in an authorized and fair manner. (human rights, immigration, lied on
tax returns etc.)
● Ex. Prisoners allowed to vote (used to not be allowed) Charter rights for
prisoners
● Supreme court judges were also not allowed to vote for the longest time

- Adjudication→ Courts ensure that private disputes are settled and that
charges, regulatory decisions, or other disputes between citizens and
government are resolved. These cases can fall into the categories of
either criminal law or civil law
- Guidance→ The judiciary may lead task forces, inquests, and
commissions of inquiry. •Commissions may be led by judges,
academics, former politicians, or other experts
- Beverley McLachlin is

- The most well known courts are supreme court and provincial/ territorial court,
traffic court

The Courts
● Canada’s system of courts is both hierarchical and federal:
- Hierarchical: the system allows more serious cases and appeals to
proceed to higher courts
- Federal: the system divides jurisdiction and responsibilities between two
order of government
 - Entire Provincial Wing
- Court for anything/ it’s spread out
● The Supreme Court of Canada is Canada’s highest court. It was established by
the federal government in 1875, but did not receive the status of highest judicial
authority until 1949.
● Some convictions automatically appealed (murder)
● The Supreme Court selects which cases it will hear, prioritizing them by national
interest.
● 9 judges sit on the Supreme court, 3 ALWAYS from Quebec

Judicial Appointments (07 Slides)

● Federal gov chooses judges for federal court level and and some provincial
courts (provincial court of appeal and provincial superior courts) Things in purple
are appointed by federal, blue= provincial
● Most politicized process, most politically corrupt system at appointing a judge
because the prime minister chooses everything (judge won’t get appointed if they
do not agree with the PM)
● Criticism of the Appointment Process
- gender imbalance- more men than women
- constraint on governments and patronage appointments
- accountability of judges and prosecutors compared to the American
 system (we are told there is less accountability of judges in canada
compared to the US)
- judges free from the possibility of dismissal for any reason short of gross
personal or professional misconduct. Only a small range of issues that a
judge can do that will cause them to be fired
- (Ex. Fed Judge in Alberta- sexual assault case- judge asked why she did
not keep her knees together... Victim blaming, he had to go for legal
reeducation to be taught to understand what he had done wrong, had 30
years of practice but stupid excuse)

Perceptions of the Legal System

● What goes wrong in law enforcement
● Disproportionate volume of prisoners from one demographic (in canada, over
30% incarcerated are native)

- The former attorney general and the chief clerk, neither can be political

Key players and institution

- SNC- Lavalin (noted for global levels of corruption)
- Public Prosecution Service of Canada - impartial, independent burrecrat of
Canada, said SNC had to be prosecuted (but it was in Quebec and it was
election year, do not want to upset Quebec during election time). They wanted
SNC on trial because they violated the law, abused the public’s trust etc.
- Attorney General of Canada- takes recommendation of Public Prosecution
- Privy Council Office - interferes
- Prime Minister’s Office
- Gov wanting to not prosecute SNC and willing to put jobs ahead of law and order

Public Policy and Public Administration

Inside Public Policy and Public Administration

➢ Government decisions aren’t just made by politicians and their political staffers
➢ Public policy is neither based entirely on ideology nor is it bereft of any guiding
principle beyond re-electing the government
➢ There is no truth to the maxim that absolute power corrupts absolutely
➢ Chief clerk is head of public admin

Key institutions
● SNC- Lavalin
- Accused of fraud and bribery while doing business in Libya
- 2 senior officers escaped criminal charges bc judes rules prosecutors took
 too long to bring the case to trial
● Public Prosecution Service of Canada
- Major implications for SNC-Lavalin
● Attorney General of Canada
- Agreed with PPS of Canada
- She is independent of politics and in this approach acted as a public
administrator (not a politician)
● Prime Minister’s Office
- Gerrard Butts
● Chief Clerk, Privy Council Office
- Michael Wernick

Transparency and the Rule of Law

● Sustained pressure’ and ‘veiled threats’
● The director of Public Prosecutions decided Sep 2018 that she would not make a
deal and proceed with a trial against SNC-Lavalin
● Trudeau told her he was worried about SNC layoffs and the company’s continued
viability if it were convicted of criminal charges (if so they would be banned for 10
years from bidding on federal contracts) - and election was close Liberals did not
want this
● Quebec Liberal Party was facing a strong challenge from the Coalition Avenir
Quebec, the right of centre party that was ultimately prevailed
● Does politics or the rule of law win?

Resolving Difficult Public Issues

➢ That should be done when complicated issues need resolving?
➢ Should the courts decide the merits of government programs?
➢ Should policy decisions be left up to elected governments alone?

Government and Public Policy

➢ Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651)
- Theorized society would exist in a “state of nature” without government
and would be “nasty, brutish, and short”
- Said humans are horrific, we need rules and social order.
➢ People throughout world struggle to satisfy their basic needs, protect themselves
from harm, advance personal priorities, and achieve communities’ priorities
➢ Social order improves our lives
➢ Welfare state: suite of government programs, services, and financial supports
designed to assist the least fortunate in society. The main goal for public admin.
 ➢ Through the creation and enforcement of laws, the government attempts to
regulate human behaviour to achieve a civilized society
➢ Funds are raised largely through taxation
➢ Public administration: study and delivery of public policy by government
➢ Clerks, deputy ministers, etc., provide counsel to prime ministers, premiers, and
ministers; whatever political decision is made by the executive will be acted upon
faithfully
➢ Elected officials decide and direct•Bureaucrats advise and implement
➢ Max Weber, Economy and Society (1922)o
- Concludes that government is organized like a military operation:
- There must be rules within the civil service
- Government must employ skilled experts
- These experts must operate within an organized hierarchy
- There must be employee training so as to encourage uniform performance
- When bureaucrats take action, they must follow written rules and preserve
their actions as files for others’ reference
- People must be treated equally, including through standardized hiring and
firing
➢ Public policy: plan or course of action chosen by a government to respond to an
identified problem
➢ Public policy sets the boundaries of acceptable conduct in society, with
objectives being met through any combination of public education, financial
incentives, guidelines or standards, and sanctions

Essay
Factiva
Lexus nexus

- Minimum 6 academic sources

- Book is an academic source based on the publisher (printed by university
presses)
- Journal articles on notwithstanding clause canada
- Clear arguments
- Pay attention to both sides of the argument
- Anything beyond 10 pages will be disregarded (8-10)
- (not including bibliography and title pages)
- Avoid long paragraphs and one point in a paragraph
- Final sentence of a paragraph allow discussion to flow to the next
- Clear paragraph- demonstrate importance of topic
- Clear purposes statement and thesis
- 30/100 marks is based on sources
 - 30/100 marks look at issue and thinks about it -not just describe it
- Is it well written (grammar etc.)
- Conclusion that ties everything together

08 SNC- Lavalin
Key Players and Institutions
➢ SNC – Lavalin
- Accused of fraud and bribery while doing business in Libya.
- Two senior officials recently escaped criminal charges because judges
ruled that prosecutors took too long to bring the cases to trial.
➢ Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC)
- Deferred Prosecution Agreement (Plea Deal) Rejected
- Major implications for SNC-Lavalin
➢ Attorney General of Canada
- Agreed with the PPSC
➢ Prime Minister’s Office
- Gerrard Butts
➢ Chief Clerk, Privy Council Office
- Michael Wernick

Transparency and the Rule of Law- What is the Fallout?

● Sustained pressure' and 'veiled threats’
● Kathleen Roussel, the director of public prosecutions, decided in September
2018 that she would not make a deal and would proceed with a trial against SNC
Lavalin.
● Wilson-Raybould reached a similar decision on the matter.
● Made it clear to all in government that she would not intervene in the PPSC
process.
● Fielded 10 phone calls and sat for 10 in-person meetings with members of the
PMO, including Mathieu Bouchard, Trudeau's adviser on Quebec issues.
● ‘I am a MP in Quebec’
● Trudeau told her he was worried about SNC layoffs and he company’s continued
viability if it were convicted of the criminal charges
● A conviction could bar the firm from bidding on federal contracts for up to 10
years, a key source of revenue for the company
● At that point the PM jumped in stressing that there is an election in quebec and
that “I am the MP in Quebec- the member for papineau’
● Partisan political considerations'
● "Various officials urged me to take partisan political considerations into account
— which it was clearly improper for me to do.
 ● PMO staffers cited the upcoming Quebec provincial election where the Quebec
Liberal Party was facing a strong challenge from the Coalition Avenir Quebec, the
right-of-centre party that ultimately prevailed.
● "We either have a system that is based on the rule of law, the independence of
the prosecutorial functions, and respect for those charged to use their discretion
and powers in particular ways – or we do not."

Saturday Night Massacre

● Wilson-Raybould said the Chief Clerk Wernick made it clear to her that the prime
minister was "quite determined, quite firm" on the matter and that he wanted to
know why the DPA route "isn't being used."
● Wernick - Trudeau is "gonna find a way to get it done one way or another. So, he
is in that kinda mood and I wanted you to be aware of that.”

The Reaction
● Global Affairs Minister Freeland
● Former justice minister Wilson-Raybould spoke 'her truth' on SNC-Lavalin affair.
● Finance Minister Morneau
● Morneau stressed the need to ‘save jobs’ on SNC-Lavalin according to Wilson-
Raybould .
● Prime Minister Trudeau
● Government has a responsibility to defend jobs

09- Political Party Slides

The nature and role of parties
➢ A political party isp a formal organization of politically minded citizens who unite
under a common label and contest election
➢ Most important part is political parties- they do a lot and have many roles
➢ They promote an agenda, we have many parties in this country
➢ There are National parties in Canada
➢ Political parties have many roles:
- Aggregating and articulating interests
- Selecting a leader and choosing candidates
- Running election campaigns
- Promoting a government agenda
- Coordinating a legislative agenda

Types of Political Parties

➢ Elite parties: closed cadres of the upper class - small political parties run by
 people with ascribed social status
- To make a point
- Ex. Liberals (Trudeau)
➢ Mass parties: emerged after WWI, grassroots political parties characterized by
efforts to sign up members, care less about the personality of the party’s leader
than the ideas that the leader espouses (ex. NDP, large number of individuals, do
not care about the leader as much as elite parties do leader is Jagmeet Singh)
➢ Catch- all or big tent, party: comparative political party that prioritizes design of
effective public policy and election strategies
- Catch all parties place greater emphasis on the charisma of the party
leader and professional communication of broad messages supplants
grassroots activism
- Not normally left wing or right wing, though an ideological party can shift to
the centre without abandoning its core ideological principles
- Very elitist party
➢ Brokerage party: A catch-all party that brokers competing regional demands.
- A brokerage party attempts to reconcile the wide variety of regional
interests found in Canadian society.
- “shock absorbers,” confining regional conflict within party organizations.
- Here to tell you what you want to here (promises made and broken)
- Try to attract as many people as they can. Give majority of people
something. (ex. Be there for the middle class)
➢ Brokerage and catch-all parties are similar in that they aim to listen to citizens,
identify policies that appeal to competing viewpoints, and attract people who feel
that the party embodies the public’s value

Party Ideologies
➢ Left-wing parties
- Advocate increasing taxes on the incomes of the wealthy and big business
to create and strengthen social programs
- Disadvantaged are provided with supports to achieve equality
- Examples include: NDP, Bloc Québécois, Green Party of Canada
- Stereotypes: snowflakes, irresponsible, social justice warriors, entitled,
etc.
-
-

➢ Right-wing parties
- Advocate reducing taxes as a means of stimulating economic growth in
private sector
- Objective of building a society that is more self-reliant and less dependent
 on the state
- Examples include: Conservative Party of Canada, former Reform Party of
Canada
- Stuff people love to hate
- Conservatives
- Reduce taxes, reduce the size of gov and make people reliant of
themselves
- Take care of the weakest in society

- None of these say communism- doesn’t exist in practice

- Red toryism- dying out, very few left

Canada’s Federal Party Systems

➢ Party system: particular constellation of political parties guided by unique
framework of behaviour
➢ Political scientists identify eras of stable party competition
➢ Each period tends to end with fracturing of the party system, when electors
express mass disenchantment at the ballot box, ushering in a period of renewal
➢ Paty System Eras
- 1867 to 1917 – first party system era- nation building and first world war
- 1921 to 1957 – second party system era- second world war and the great
depression
- 1962 to 1993 – third party system era- charter of rights and freedoms,
reproductive rights (the pill), welfare state
- 2011 onward – fourth party system era- LGBTQ, environmental,
immigration, our generation more prone to calling out a politician and
prone to accepting the lies hyper partisanship and manufactured
 politicians
- Each system has identifiable issues and leaders

- Northwest territories have consensus government, no political party, every

individual elected is part of government
- Nunavut has no political parties
- Yukon either NDP or Liberal

The evolution of major parties

➢ The Liberal Party of Canada (“the Grits”)
- Began by promoting business liberalism and has evolved to promote
welfare liberalism
- Broker of the English-French divide
- Natural governing party: single party whose long-term dominance has
become institutionalized
- From 1896 to 2006, every Liberal leader had become prime minister, and
the party never placed worse than second in the general election
➢ Conservative Party of Canada
- Main alternative to the Liberal Party
- Began as traditionalist tory conservatism and loyalty to Britain, has
evolved to attract fiscal, religious, and social conservatives
- Different points of view and political agendas bring together people,
particularly of Western and rural Canada, who are frustrated with Liberal
governance
➢ New Democratic Party of Canada
- Origins in post-WWI social gospel movements
- Has moved away from outright rejection of capitalism toward a third-way,
communitarian approach
- Promote taxes on big business and the wealthy, stronger social programs,
strict environmental protections, and reduced role in military conflict
- Electoral success confined to provincial election

Federal Protest Parties

➢ Protest party: party that galvanized elector frustrations with the major political
parties
➢ Electoral system can reward protest parties; protest parties whose support is
concentrated in a region can disrupt the party system
➢ Examples: Green Party, Bloc Québécois

Structure of Political Parties

➢ Three basic types of people affiliated with a political party:
 1. Those who are formally involved with the internal machinery of the party
(the extra-parliamentary wing)
2. Those who represent the party in a legislature (the parliamentary wing)
3. Those who have a psychological attachment to the party whether or not
they have any formal role (partisans)

Party Leaders
➔ Chief public official for the party
➔ Public face of the party, acts as its primary spokesperson
➔ Embodies the party’s principles•Leads party in the legislature and during an
election campaign
➔ Is ultimately responsible for making decisions

The Parliamentary Wing

➢ Consists of its caucus and the people who work directly for those public officials
➢ Party caucus: all members of a political party who hold a seat in the legislature
➢ Number of people belonging to a party caucus varies considerably and reflects
the party’s performance in the most recent general election

Partisans
➢ Partisan: Someone who identifies with, and is a staunch supporter of, a political
party
➢ Most ardent partisans are members and become involved with the extra-
parliamentary and/or parliamentary wings of a party
➢ Exert control on each other to ensure they do not deviate from the directives
issued by the party centre
➢ Nevertheless, partisans sometimes decide to switch parties, known as crossing
the floor

Elections

● What is the Role of an Election?

● Understanding different Electoral Systems.
- The “First Past the Post” system.
- Proportional Representation.
● The “Political Party”.
- ideological and Class‐based parties.
● Explaining Voting Behaviour.
- Absent Mandate
What is the point of an election?
● Choosing a Government
● To ensure government accountability
● Allows citizens to choose their political representative
● They act as a mechanism through which governments are granted a measure of
legitimacy.- most important, we use governments to legitimize society.
● To provide opportunities for political education, mobilization, and socialization

Electoral Systems
➢ Non-Proportional Systems
● Plurality system (FPTP) what we use
● Majority System (Run-off systems and Alternative Vote)
➢ Proportional Representation Systems
● Party List System
● Closed-list system
● Open-list system
● Single Transferable Vote (STV)
● Mixed Systems
● Used everywhere but North AMerica and some English speaking countries

➢ First Past the Post System

● Known as “Single‐Member‐Plurality” system.
● One candidate is elected in each constituency, and each elector has one
vote to cast.
● The winning candidate is the one who receives a plurality of valid ballots
● If there are only two candidates, the winner automatically gets a majority.
● If there are several candidates who split the vote fairly evenly, the winner’s
plurality may be far less than a majority.
● Whoever wins the most votes (ex. Can win with less than 30% of votes,
the more parties/ candidates the lower the &) if there were 8 people in the
election, only need 20% of the votes, but that means 80% of the voters did
not vote for them
● Sometimes undemocratic

➢ Proportional Representation
● PR strives to ensure proportionality.
● Seeks to reward parties with a percentage of seats in the legislature that
reflects the percentage of votes earned in the election.
● PR requires multi‐member constituencies.
● Major PR Systems (•The List System.•Mixed Member System)
● Proportional representation tends to be associated with higher turnout rate
 ● More democratic method
● Certain level of unpredictability (#of seats a party gets = their vote %)

➢ The List System

● The elector votes not for individuals but for parties.
● Each party has a list of as many candidates as there are seats to be
awarded.
● If a party gets x percent of the popular vote, then the top x percent of its
list is declared elected
● This system gives great power to the party leaders, who determine the
candidates’ positions on the list.
● Being high on the list of a major party is tantamount to election; being low
on the list of any party is tantamount to defeat
● Part of proportional representation
● Popularity contest

Elections and Voter Turnout

● A hallmark of modern democracy is the opportunity for all adult citizens to
participate in choosing their governors.
● This political right was a fundamental principle that fired the hearts and minds of
our ancestors.
● In many liberal democracies, the voter turnout rate is far from 100 percent.
● How do you increase voter turnout?
Theories of Voting Behaviour
→ Sociological Model-
→ Socio-psychological model
→ Rational voting model- most important

Voting Behaviour: Key Components

● Sociodemographic bases of party support
● Core values and beliefs (ex. religion - usually God supporters are conservative,
in America, guns has a big influence.)
● Party identification
● The economy, the issues and the Government’s performance
● Leadership
● Strategic voting?
- Some people vote against their own best interests to keep the individuals that
they don’t want to have power, to have power
- George W Busch was one of the key individuals who suffered trust.
The Nature and Role of Political Parties
● A political party is a formal organization of politically minded citizens who unite
under a common label and contest elections
● Political parties have many roles
- Aggregating and articulating interests

11-Political Communication Slides

The medium is the message
● Marshall McLuhan argues that technologies are the messages themselves, not
the content of the communication.
● Said technology will determine how you respond to te news, address it and
internalize it.
● Receiving news used to be a slow process.
● We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.
- What does this mean?

Politics and the media

● Emergence of the Internet as a dominant communication platform does not mean
the end for traditional political media
● Political communication is much more than “spin”
● Even in an era of 24-hour news cycles and public demand for transparency,
politicians are not bound to answer journalists’ questions

Controlling the media and the message

● Consider The Following Quote:
● “It’s now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury.”
- Governments tend to let out bad news on a friday (population not at work
etc.) this quote was the chief communications for Tony Blair. They needed
a event to bury some news, 9/11 buried the bit of news off the British Tv.
The government had huge scandals coming out and they released the
news when 9/11 happened and no one cared.

- CNN no longer the most trusted name in news- busted for plagiarism.
- Have to be careful where you get your news

Media’s role in society

● Brooks & Stritch, 1991
● Media as gatekeeper
● Forms of bias•Advertising, Ownership, Technology, Journalists
● Media as propagandist
 ● “Manufactured consent”

- Ex. like Michael Jackson, lots of people missed it

Power of news in the media

5 major sources of power:

➔ Provision of basic political information
➔ Political linkage
➔ Agenda setting
➔ Editorial content- not really applicable anymore
➔ Influence on political actor

Shapes Values & Mirror public opinion

➢ Influence agenda for discussion
➢ Pressure for action or non-action
➢ Press for accountability
➢ Example of “Billion Dollar Boondoggle”

Traditional Media
● Party Press: Early newspapers that relied on government advertising and that
were blatantly partisan
- Operated by publishers who were sympathetic to a political party
- Readership comprised of elites
● As literacy rates increased, demand grew for mass distribution of non-partisan
news
● Press gallery: each legislature has a press gallery comprised of accredited
journalists who are assigned to cover government and legislative proceedings -
granted special access to interact with public officials (this is who is giving
Trudeau the biggest problem)
● Fourth estate: informal term for the media, implies that a free press is so vital to
 democracy that it is on par with the three branches of government (executive,
legislature, and judiciary

The media’s Traditional position

● Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery: Unofficial Rules by Don Martin (In the
house of commons every day asking questions)
1. We ask the questions. You provide the answers.
2. Your propose the message. We decide the presentation.
3. Ignore rules 1 or 2, and the consequences can be deadly

Digital Media
● Non-elites greatly benefited from the rise of information communication
technologies (ICTs)
● Small political parties, interest groups, and grassroots movements can benefit:
- easily mobilize supporters
- send, receive, and discuss breaking information
● Rumours, falsehoods, negativity, and hate speech may flourish as well

Political Communication Frameworks and Tactics

● Political actors push ideas, public problems, and policy solutions in a bid to
attract news media coverage and penetrate public consciousness
● In mainstream media, political news projected in a manner that emphasizes
competing points of view, builds stories with dramatic arcs, and focuses on
personalities of political actors
● Politics is conducted online, the most engaged
● people are engaged online
● Framing: manner in which a person, organization, or issue is publicly
communicated
● When framing is practised by skilled political communicators, it simplifies
complex matters in a purposeful manner that fits the sender’s position (“spin”)
● Framing took place last year in Ontario- to do with the sex education
● Treatment of politics as a horse race results in game frame: everything that
political actors do is reduced to a conversation about who wins and who loses
● Rather than emphasizing substance of public policy, media coverage might
concentrate on declaring a victor
● What will media coverage focus on when there is a election? (actual policies or
personalities)
● Permanent campaign: practice of electioneering outside of an election period,
especially by leveraging government resources (first nations have been
historically disadvantaged by this)
 ● delivering good-news budgets in election years
● re-announcing government spending initiatives
● using the free mailing privileges accorded to members of the legislation
● Propaganda:one-sided persuasive communication that communicates
falsehoods by virtue of its selective exclusion of truths
● Checks in place to reduce possibility of partisanship in the content of
government-funded advertising
● Some jurisdictions in Canada passed legislation to reduce possibility of partisan
government advertising:
- Ontario’s Government Advertising Act (2004)
- In Manitoba, government advertising must undergo additional scrutiny
before being released

Kinds of Political Advertising 2

● Four types of political ads:
1. Positive advertising - promotes uplifting messages
2. Comparative advertising - contrasts the strengths of a party or candidate
against the weaknesses of an opponent
3. Negative political advertising - denigrates an opponent and his or her
politics; widely criticized
4. Attack advertising - belittles someone’s personal life or physical
characteristics rather than the person’s politics (useless in Canada, but in
the United States

12- Diversity and Representation

● Canada’s self-image as a “mosaic” can undermine efforts to advance
multicultural equality (this diminishes equality)
● Some of Canada’s traditionally marginalized groups have overcome barriers to
political representation (white male, with higher class was the diversity
representation and kind of still is today)
● Aboriginal Canadians are not much better “represented” in Canadian politics
today than they were decades ago

Representing The Canadian Mosaic

● Critics suggest that Canada suffers from a democratic deficit, its political
institutions fail to live up to the democratic standards and expectations of its
citizens
● Statistics support the contention that women, visible minorities, those with
accessibility issues and Aboriginal people are underrepresented in Canadian
legislatures, based on their respective proportions of the population
 ● Women are chronically underrepresented (around 50% of the population so why
not 50% of things) Systemic patriarchy.

Efforts at reform
● Socioeconomic and psychological barriers are real, and in many ways, they are
the most difficult challenges to address as they are deeply embedded in
Canadian society
● Eliminating these challenges would involve ending discrimination and poverty,
which afflicts marginalized communities disproportionately
● The great equalizer is money
● Some forms of proportional representation provide incentives for political parties
to nominate candidates from a variety of socio-demographic backgrounds
● Candidate quotas: hard-and-fast requirements established by some political
parties to improve the proportion of candidates from traditionally
underrepresented groups (what is a disability??)

Effectiveness of Reform
● Success of women and members of traditionally underrepresented groups in
district-level elections goes a long way to determining their success in executive
positions
● Fewer women the more you go up (from provincial to federal etc.) also the
geographic differences, woman cannot be a MP from BC and go to Ottawa often
because family. Geography matters that’s why you have more female mayors
and councillors
● The gender balance has been slow to materialize among party leaders, both
federally and provincially
● Unelected democratic institutions often better reflect Canada’s socio-
demographic diversity

Diversity in the Civil Service

● Employment equity: federal government policy requiring civil service managers to
proactively consider employing members of the four traditionally
underrepresented groups identified under the Employment Equity Act:
- Women
- Aboriginal people
- persons with disabilities
- members of visible-minority communities
● Rather than establishing hard quotas, as affirmative action does, employment
 equity policies involve setting goals and targets for government managers,
encouraging them to treat all applicants equally when hiring
● Pay equity: policy designed to eliminate gender-based discrimination in terms of
how federally regulated employees are paid
● Not everyone supports the concept of employment equity
● Critics suggest that the policy amounts to reverse discrimination, excluding
otherwise qualified individuals from jobs in favour of members of traditionally
marginalized groups

Diversity in Civil Society

● Civil society: the community of citizens in Canada, outside the realm of
government
● The issues reach much more deeply into civil society, challenging policymakers
to identify and address both political and social inequalities
● Reasonable accommodation: adjustments to policies that allow for the inclusion
of traditionally disadvantaged groups without causing undue hardship to others
● Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides the legal foundation
for those seeking reasonable accommodation in Canada, as do provincial human
rights codes. Section 15 affirms your rights in law with respect to diversity
● Ethnic and religious rights dominate; however, reasonable accommodation
involves addressing needs of other minority groups (Aboriginal people, LGBTT
people, allophones, people with disabilities, and others)
● Requirements of reasonable accommodation apply not only to governments, but
to employers as well
● Conversations about reasonable accommodation tend to overlap with those
concerning the need for employment equity and affirmative action in Canada
● Reasonable accommodation- now required to accomodiate differences in society
at a reasonable matter, allow someone’s personal beliefs to be respected (except
for quebec)

- Final exam- equality does not mean equity, people want to have the same rights
at all times but having the same rights at all times isn’t fair.. Ex.everyone has the
right to practice religion in any way- this is religious equality… you’re striving for
equality between religious you’re preventing the equity between religions (sunday
vs. friday) we have a mosaic that stresses equity but we have a system that is
pushing equality
- Honour killing - cannot marry outside own religion, country etc.

Aboriginal Representation in Canada

- Most understudied element of Canadian politics
 ● Like other Canadians, some Aboriginal people may feel represented in various
ways by town or city councillors, MLAs, and MPs, not to mention their mayors,
premiers, and prime minister
● In addition, many Aboriginal people also feel represented by their local band
council and chief; their tribal councils and treaty negotiators; or their regional or
National Aboriginal Organization leaders
● Some Aboriginal people reject these representatives as being illegitimate
● Understanding these complex relationships helps us to better understand the
democratic perspectives not just of Aboriginal people but of Canadians as a
whole
●

Definitions and Designations

● Constitutionally, Aboriginal people comprise four distinct groups:
● Status Indians
- First Nations person registered and entitled to certain rights under the
Indian Act
- Many status Indians are also members of a band, for whom reserve land
has been assigned, or who have been so designated by the Crown
- Cannot sell or rent their land, have to get permission from the federal
government (can’t do much of anything)
● Non-status Indians
- First Nations person who is not registered under the Indian Act
● Métis
- Aboriginal people with mixed First Nations and European ancestry
● Inuit
- Aboriginal people with historic ties to the northernmost lands in Canada
● These groups have different rights and not treated the same
Demographics and Representation
● Many but not all Aboriginal communities tend to feature:
- lower-than-average incomes and higher unemployment
- lower graduation rates and education levels
- lower standards of living, including housing, community services, and
public utilities
- higher rates of crime and incarceration
- poorer health outcomes, whether measured in terms of life expectancy,
chronic disease, substance abuse, mental illness, suicide, or other terms
● Aboriginal people remain underrepresented in Canadian legislatures and
appointed offices
● The participation rates of Aboriginal people in federal, provincial, and territorial
elections are substantially lower than voter turnout rates among the non-
 Aboriginal population
● There are two schools of thought on these trends:
- Aboriginal people in Canada tend to vote in lower numbers because they
are generally younger, have lower levels of education and income, have
fewer political resources, and have a weaker sense of civic duty than the
general population
- Closing this so-called “turnout gap” requires narrowing the socioeconomic
gap
● A unique combination of historical, socio-cultural, institutional, and attitudinal
barriers stand in the way of Aboriginal engagement in Canadian elections.
● By virtue of centuries of discrimination and colonialism, many Aboriginal people
lack confidence in the institutions of the Canadian state, and fail to see elections
as producing legitimate, democratically representative results for themselves and
their communities.

The White Paper and National Aboriginal Organizations

● In 1969, the federal government released its White Paper on Indian Policy,which
proposed to dismantle the Indian Act and assimilate Aboriginal people into
whitestream Canadian society
● Many Aboriginal groups asked the government to amend (not abolish) the Indian
Act. They wanted to see
- Aboriginal rights enhanced
- Aboriginal representation in federal decision-making increased
- federal fiduciary responsibility for Indian affairs increased
● The White Paper was abandoned soon after it was released
Toward Aboriginal Self-Government
● Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) : an investigation launched to
study the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada
● Its conclusion: “The main policy direction, pursued for more than 150 years, first
by colonial then by Canadian governments, has been wrong”
● RCAP outlined a way forward, required a re-assessment of the status and role of
Aboriginal people in Canada
- recognition, mutual acknowledgment by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
people of each other’s unique laws and institutions
- respect, regard for the unique rights and status of Aboriginal people in
Canada
- reciprocity, encouragement of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people
to share benefits from their relationship
- responsibility, each partner being accountable for their actions and
commitments
 - Tangible things but need political will power to pursue them
● the RCAP report generated much debate, particularly surrounding the notion of
Aboriginal self-government
● Three general approaches have emerged:
- Treaty federalism: system of governance recognizing the equal-order
relationship between First Nations and the Crown (when the british came
here they signed treaties with the first nations, however canada’s
parliamentary system is in western philosophy, not very adaptable to
change, first nations approach is different than this)
- Third order of government: constitutionally recognized status for First
Nations people, on par with the federal and provincial orders
- Citizens plus: notion that Aboriginal people (ought to) hold a special set of
rights in addition to those conferred by Canadian citizenship.
● Aboriginal people among the fastest-growing demographic groups in Canada
● Canadians of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds will continue to face questions
about the appropriate, fair, and just representation of Aboriginal people in
Canada
● The yellow vests-

The First Nations Peoples Slides

Perspective of the First Nations

● Matthew Coon Come, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, 2001
● Canadians and the Canadian government present themselves around the world
as upholders and protectors of human rights.
● The experience of Indigenous Canadians has been marked by dispossession,
systematic discrimination, state-sanctioned violence, and the denial of
fundamental human rights,
● This was the hallmark of successive federal governments in Canada.
● Remarks were made at the 2001 UN World Conference against Racism.
● The remarks were also contained within the Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples [RCAP] – hardly new or surprising.•However, they were described as
“Incendiary” in the Globe and Mail

Royal Proclamation Act 1763

● First Constitution of Canada
 ● Various interpretations on what The Act implies on Indigenous Sovereignty
- All the lands had not been surrendered
- Reserved all unsettled land for the use of the Indians as their hunting
grounds
- Lands required for settlement had to be bought from the Indians
- Land can only be bought by the Crown at a public meet
● George Erasmus, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
- First Nations became protected states of the British
- First Nations did not perceive the treaties as being a surrender of authority
- This is an interpretation.
● Additional Interpretations
- It is not entirely clear that The Act recognizes Indigenous Sovereignty
- Clearly recognizes indigenous rights
- Not as explicit on Indigenous sovereignty…

The Legacy of the Residential School system: The truth and reconciliation commission
● The TRC called the schools a tool of "cultural genocide" after documenting
stories about children being sexually abused, forcefully kept from their families
and punished for speaking their languages or practicing their cultures
- The TRC looked at residential school systems, not killed as usual
genocides, but it was a lot worse. They were invaded and sent to a school
to change their culture and identity
- The odds of dying in WW2 was 1 in 26
- The odds of dying in a residential school was 1 in 25

Some thoughts….. People who deny history

● “I really find it hard to accept all the attacks on the Residential Schools. I feel
that the First Nations people should be very grateful that there was such a
service or system in place for their benefit. Let’s consider why these schools
were set up in the first place.”
● “The children had absolutely no chance to get an education, training or medical
help as needed if they were to remain living on the shore of some distant lake or
river with their families.”
● “Where would they be today if it were not for the residential school that were set
up to help them? I expect they would still be living out in their isolated villages, un
educated, a very high rate of childbirth deaths, an very short life expectancy, and
living in very damp cold dwellings.”
● “I'm no anthropologist but it seems every opportunistic culture, subsistence
hunter/gatherers seeks to get what they can for no effort. There is always a clash
between industrial/organized farming culture that values effort as opposed to a
culture that will sit and wait until the government gives them stuff.”
 ● “This is 1984 tactics. Media pity, aboriginals seem to be well schooled in getting
media pity and they have become very good at getting media coverage. Well
read your history general Canadian Society, the government of the day didn't
recruit for sadists they recruited for the best teachers, etc. in an effort to bring
aboriginals into a society they increasingly chose to set themselves apart from.”
- This was stated recently… Senator Lynn Beyak, this was posted on her
facebook and website and she will not take them down

Who do we define indian?

● The term “Indian” is slowly being put out of use – however, the “Indian” Act, 1876
remains....
- Aboriginal Peoples, Native Peoples, pre-contact Peoples, First Nations.
● Indian or Status Indian
- Anyone officially registered or entitled to be registered under the Indian
Act.
- Defining characteristics are both biological and social.
- Any male person of Indian blood that belong to a band recognized by the
federal government, and any child of such a person or woman married to
such a person.
- An Indian woman who married a non-Indian lost her legal status and
entitlements as an Indian.
- Applied to the children also

Gender equality and the Indian act

● Pre-existing law violated Sections 15 and 28 of the Charter
- Sexual Equality.•Federal government amends legislation in 1985.
● Women who lost their Indian Status under the pre- 1985 provisions were
permitted to apply for reinstatement of their band membership and re-registration
as Status Indians
● Indian act was before the charter, law had to be changed because it violated
charter rights

How does the government determine who is an indian

- Cannot use genetics and blood anymore
● Blood is not the only criterion determining who is Indian.
- Non-Indigenous marrying Indigenous
● Legal decisions have recognized that a person’s associations, habits, modes of
life and surroundings may be important in determining his/her legal status as an
Indian.
● The questions of how much Indian blood a person must have, and of how closely
an individual must be associated with a native community before they will be
 considered a native person have not been answered.
● How have other nations approached this question?

Canadian Law and Indigenous Recognition

● Metis and Inuit are two other categories of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
● Both are grouped with the Indian people of Canada by Section 35 of the
Constitution Act, 1982.
● Recognizes and affirms the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal
peoples of Canada.
● Both groups however are excluded from the provisions of the Indian Act
● They do not enjoy the benefits of the Indian Act
● Government does not allow indigenous people to fully be who they are
● Brian Mulroney discovered the royal commission of aboriginal people
1. First nations communities are isolated and not spread across the country
(unlike other vulnerable people like mental health, LGBT etc.) due to the
isolation they have their rights suppressed more so than anyone else. (Out
of sight out of mind). This causes services to stop working, human rights
aren’t observed properly.

Population Demographics - 2011 Census

● 1.4 Million people (4.1% of the Canadian Population)
- Identify as North American Indian, Metis, Inuit, or a combination of these
with some other ethnic origin.
● 697, 510 people (2.0% of the Canadian Population)
- Status Indians, covered by the Indian Act.
● 316, 000 people (1.0% of the Canadian Population)
- Live on reserves or in other indigenous settlements.
● Ontario has the largest population of Aboriginals, then BC, Alberta. Some places
in Quebec make Ontario look good

Population Changes in the Census

● 1981 Census
- 335, 475 status Indians
● 2011 Census
- 697, 510 status Indians
- This doubled… women were allowed their rights back. Women and their
children received their status rights back
● The Impact of the 1985 Amendment was profound.
- Restored the right to Indian status for women (and children) that lost
status due to marriage to non-Indians.
- Increasing benefits paid by the federal government to Status Indian
The Reserve System
● Racially based system established in colonial times.
● Indian Act, 1876
- The term “reserve” means any tract or tracts of land set apart by treaty or
otherwise for the use or benefit of or granted to a particular band of
Indians, of which the legal title is in the Crown, but which is surrendered,
and includes all the trees, wood, timber, soil, stone, minerals, metals or
other valuables thereon or therein
- Reserves were created to put them in “glorified pig pens” if they want any
rights, any safety and to stay with their own people
- Segregation

Characteristics of reserves
● Life expectancy and income are significantly lower for those who live on
reserves.
● Rates of suicide, alcoholism, violent death, unemployment and infant mortality
are all higher than the Canadian average – sometimes drastically higher

The Guardian Relationship

● The land that first nations live on is not their land (unlike us who own homes it is
our land)
● You have no rights on a first nations reserve (start a business, go fishing, cut
down your tree, sell lemonade etc.) the government would shut it down
● Cannot sell part of the reserve (even if they need money)
● Legal ownership of land belongs to the Crown.
- Land and all the resources must be managed for the “use or benefit” of the
particular band residing there.
● In practice, virtually no legal or commercial transaction of consequence may be
undertaken by Indians living on a reserve without the permission of the Federal
government

The Indian Act and Paternalism

● Band members may not sell any part of the reserve.
● The Federal government retains the ultimate authority to grant timber-cutting
license and to establish their terms.
● Reserve land may not be used as security for loan

Why do they remain on the reserve

● 2011 Census Statistics
 - 634 First Nations reserves in Canada
- 2/3 in British Columbia
● Territory covers approximately 10,000 square miles
- Half the size of Nova Scotia
● 675,485 individuals report being members of a First Nation•Approximately 50%
live on reserves
● Why?
● Harvey McCue – “To many Indians, reserves represent the last visible evidence
that they were the original people of this country.
● The reserve is what they identify with and their people are there (like when
immigrants come to canada they move places where there are more people like
them)

The truth and reconciliation commission

● Established in 2008 by the Harper government
● Justin trudeau inherited it
● Was part of the terms of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
(gave them money)
● Two Broad Mandates
1. Provide the history and legacy of the church-run residential school system.
2. “Guide and inspire a process of truth and healing, leading toward
reconciliation.”

Final Report Recommendations 2015

● 99 calls to action to “advance the process of reconciliation”
● The federal government was asked to redress multiple consequences of the
residential school system
- Child welfare.
- Education
- Language and culture
- Health
- Justice
● Asking the governments to reorganize their system of gov to address these
things
● First nations cannot trust trudeau

Impediments to implementation
● Key Recommendations focus on governance and constitutional change
● Will not be readily accepted by the federal and provincial governments or society
as a whole.
● Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
● Endorsed by Harper government, but called it “Aspirational” – concerned about
the wording regarding lands and resources. (he was at least truthful)
● Fully accepted by the Trudeau government.
● Develop a new Royal Proclamation of Reconciliation
● Build on the Royal Proclamation Act of 1763, and the Treaty of the Niagara of
1764 to reaffirm the nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous peoples
and the Crown.
● No provincial government would accept it- they would have to give up power.
● Trudeau said they would do anything- this was either stupid or a lie because no
one would want to blow up the constitution for 4% of the pop
Exam Prep

Possible essay
Discuss political evolution of Canada...

Political Figures
➔ Who introduced the concept of responsible government? Lord Durham
➔ Whos the current PM? Trudeau
➔ PM responsible for conscription crisis: Robert Borden (he expanded the
right to vote to certain women, i families involved w war?)
➔ He was the Metis leader executed by the MacDonald gov for the Metis
uprising in the late 1800s: Louis Riel Important to do with the Metis, he
was hung to set an example
➔ Quebec Premier that introduced Sovereignty association: Rene Levesque
(One of the primary advocate of P Trudeau and pushed for Quebec to be
a separate independent country, helped with the lead up to the
constitution)

Constitutional Issues
➔ The acronym POGG is: Peace Order and Good Government (political
development in Canada, national importance= the federal Gov can do it
➔ Canada’s First Constitution: the Royal Proclamation Act, 1763 (rights of
first nations etc, everything in it is still in ours today)
➔ Section 91 & 92 address what? Division of Powers
➔ Aboriginal people as “subject” not “citizens” BNA Act 1867
➔ What is section 33: Notwithstanding Clause

Others
➔ How many seats are in the house of commons? 338
➔ In which year did the Supreme Court became the “Highest court of the
Land”? 1949
 ➔ What former PM described the Canadian Constitution as “not worth the
paper it is written on”? Brian Mulroney
➔ This individual described the Kyoto protocol as a “socialist scheme”
Stephen Harper
➔ Who introduced the Federal Bill of Rights? John Diefenbaker (precursor to
Charter, felt the prov govs were not respecting rights of citizens)
➔ These two political parties are referred to as “brokerage parties” The
liberal and conservative (trying to get as many people as they can etc.)
➔ Which year was the Meech Lake Accord ratified? It wasn’t, it was the one
that had failed
➔ What type of political party is the NDP? Ideological party
➔ In which year were women recognized as persons under the BNA act?
1929
➔ What section shows the Clause for the Federal spending power? There is
no section
➔ What section outlines powers of the Federal Government? Section 91
➔ Who’s the second PM of Canada? Alexander MacKenzie
➔ What is the electoral system used in canada? First Past the Post
➔ What does the 4th Estate refer to? The media
➔ What position is held by Adrienne Clarkson and ____? Governor General

- Elections are fair discuss

- Evolution of canada's political system and leading figures

Review

How many Constitutions has Canada had?

- Five (know three of five, Royal proclamation act, BNA act, constitution act)

So Basic - Who was the first Prime Minister of Canada?

- Sir. John A Macdonald

How many judges sit on the Supreme Court of Canada?

- 9 and 3 from Quebec, there is a lack of balance in terms of how society is
represented (ethnicity)

How many "Major" systems of law are there?

- Common (english speaking countries, most entrenched in historical sense), Civil
(europe, south america, Quebec and Louisiana) and Sharia (governs the most
people in the world)
Who is the highest ranking figure in Canada?
- The Monarch

Which most accurately describes the Welfare State?

- Free Healthcare and Education
- Government programs designed to assist the least fortunate
- The delivery of government programs

Which section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects "Diversity Rights"?
- Section 15

Section 1- reasonable limits

Section 7- security of person
Section 33- notwithstanding clause

Which Prime Minister introduced the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?

- Stephen Harper introduced it, report came out before the last election, Justin
Trudeau said that he would adopt all of it and none has been implemented
because it involved changing Canada’s constitution, nothing happened as soon
as it was released
- Apologizing and addressed for the residential schools, diversity, respect etc.
Looked at the worst part of this country's history and how first nations were
treated. Now they have higher alcohol and drug abuse, mental health, suicide
etc.

How many NATIONAL political parties are there in Canada?

- Five
- People’s party of canada, Conservative , Liberal, NDP, Green
- These five parties represent a different socio economical part of Canada
- NDP are socialists and like to spend money
- Conservatives want to cut

Who is Beverley McLachlin?

- First female chief justice of Supreme Court of Canada
- Very important in the history of Canada’s political development

What is the importance of the Royal Proclamation Act?

- First Constitution of Canada that codified British-Aboriginal Relations

Which of the following are UNWRITTEN constitutional components of Parliamentary

governance?
 - Ministerial responsibility
- In Canada it is not regarded as highly important
- EXAM----This concept was introduced to canada by Lord Durham. One of the
fundamental components of government in this country

Exam
- Out of 100-- 30%
- Need to know key terms and concepts
- Four sections:
- Part One: 15 Marks- Multiple Choice (similar to first test)
- Part Two: 10 Marks- Complete the Statement. ex. The civil law system is used
in____. (Quebec)... read lectures
- Part Three: 25 Marks- Terms- Only five- out of list of 15 which will be emailed to
us.(given 15- 5 are on exam) Full sentences (about 4-5 sentences)- define,
example and significance
- Part Four: 50 Marks - Essay- understand lecture slides and concepts (only really
need text if lacking knowledge) Large thematic question (course outline) themes:
constitutional rights, types of federalism, diversity, multiculturalism, electoral
system (main themes of the class). Even if you only have major background on
one you should be ok---- Discuss the evolution of Canadian Politics. How the
political system evolved. Break the course into sections to address it. Won’t be
anything asked that we didn’t spend much time on. Aim for more than a couple
pages (4-6 double spaced)
- SNC-Lavalin won’t be on
- Know major individuals (lord durham, premier, previous premier, governor
general)

Political Executive
The Political Executive consists of the institutions that are formally
responsible for governing a political community. This includes the head of
government which is the highest- ranking elected official in a jurisdiction,
appointed by the Crown to lead the executive. The Privy Council which is the
body of prominent federal politicians and officials that typically advise the
governor general. Also, the cabinent which is leaders of the political
executive. They are all responsible for ensuring that government run
effectively by maintaining solidarity and secrecy, advising the heads of state
on key appointments, initiating legislation and regulations, executing
intergovernmental and international agreements and also by controlling the
public purse by initiating all money bills.
Executive federalism
Executive federalism is a political system in which government power and
responsibility is divided between a federal legislature and a number of state of
provincial legislatures. Canada is divided into two consitutionally autonomous
levels of government; the federal or central governments and provincial
governments. It plays an important role in public finances and public policy.
Intergovernmantal bargining, deal brokering and policy decisions take place
among leaders of various federal, provincial and territorial governments.
Meetings of primers and ministers, Prime Minister, and first minister collegues
take place. From these negogiations, many policies and terms of agreements are
made.

Nelson Wiseman
Nelsom Wiseman is a famous political writer in Canada, he is known for his
analysis between the connections of eastern and western Canadian
governments and how they have historically delt with one another. He also points
to three factors that laid the foundations of regionalism in Canada including
settlement patterns, formative events and economic staple.

Executive accountability
Executive accountiability is how political elites are held to account through the
concept and conventions of responsible government. Confidence convention is
where the government must relinquish power when it looses critical legislature
vote. If you have a majority government you will always have the confidence of
the house. This takes place two tiems through the throne speech and the budget
speech. There are two conventions of accountiability which include cabinent
solidarity where as a group cabinent ministers are accountiable for all
government decisions. The second is ministeral responsibility where minister is
directly accountiable for decisions taken in her or his portfolio. For example the
Reform Act of 2015 because it requires each part's newly elected caucus to vote
on whether they will follow the new caucas perameters during the life of the
parliament. It shifts the responsibility for approving candidate nominations away
from party leaders.

The Mega Constitutional Period

The Mega- Constitutional Period is when a country's constitutional politics is at
the mega level meaning when the Quebec Liberial Premier, Robert Bourassa
released his "five conditions" to engage in constitutional negogiations, since
Quebec was wrongfully treated by the federal government. Some of his
consitions were to have a distinct society within Canada, limits on federal
spending power, guaranteed Quebec representation in the Supreme Court. For
example three of the nine appointed judges for the Supreme Court of Canada are
from Canada. He also wanted increased control over immigration. Nowdays
Quebec has their own set of policies surrounding immigration.

Formal Executive
The formal executive is the head of state which highest ranking figure in a
sovereign state, serves as foremost ceremonial representative. In Canada, this is
the monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II). Governor General carries out tasks
on behalf of the monarch to ensure a functioning, constitutional government. The
Lieutenant general the monarch's representative in each province. These
generals have a variety of formal executive powers. This includes prerogative
authority which grants final say to head of state on any matter not explicitly
addressed in the constitution. In theory the monarch is still the most important
executive in Canada.

Party Discipline
Party Discipline is the ability of a parliamentary group of a political party to get its
memebers to support the policies of their party leadership. Usually refers to teh
control that party leaders have over their causus members in the legislature.
there are different levels of governments including a earned majority when a
governing party shares of the popular vote is atleast 50%. A manufactured
majority where the governing party shares of the popular vote is less then 50%.
Also there is hung parliment where no single party has control of atleast half the
seats. It is important for all systems of government that allow parties to hold
political power because it detwemines the degree to which the governmental
infastructure will be effected by legitimate political processes. (One political party
having a minority or majority government)

Aboriginal self gov

Aborigional self government is the formal structure in which the federal and
provincial governments have an agreement with aborigional communities which
allows them to control the administration of their people, land, resources and
related programs and policies. For example a secotion of the Carter of Rights
and Freedoms has section 35 which provides constitutional protection to the
indigenous and treaty rights of indigenous peoples in Canada. There was also
The Royal Proclimation 1763 which British documentation set out terms of
settlement in North America. Terms and legitimacy disputed. Opened up land for
settlement in western canada.