Chapter 1 Review

The Canadian government attempts to ensure that each federal constituency

• represents a specific ethnic group

• includes territory from two or more provinces

• contains approximately the same number of voters

• groups together citizens with the same political beliefs

Answer explanation

Although perfect inequality is impossible to achieve, each constituency in Canada contains about the same number of voters. Because of problems with size and some historical distortions, certain constituencies have much less voters than the average. In Canada, the complex ethnic mix of communities would make representing a specific ethnic group almost impossible. In order to make representation more meaningful to voters, constituencies never overlap provincial or territorial boundaries. As a result of the huge variety of opinions, beliefs, and values in Canada, grouping voters on the basis of political beliefs would be impossible.

The greatest number of Canadians actively participate in which of the following activities?

• Voting

• Joining a political party

• Running as a candidate in the election

• Assisting with a political campaign

Answer explanation

Voting. Seventy-five percent of eligible voters (more than 13.5 million people) regularly cast ballots in election campaigns. Far fewer Canadians join political parties, run as candidates in elections, or assist candidates with political campaigns.

Which of the following assemblies uses the principle of regional representation - not representation by population - to determine its membership?

• Canada's Senate

• Quebec's national assembly

• Canada's House of Commons

• Alberta's legislative assembly

Answer explanation

A Canadian senator does not represent a constituency - he or she represents an entire province. Thus, senators are chosen to represent regions. Because each senator from Ontario represents more than 12 million Ontarians, whereas a senator from Prince Edward Island represents only 136,000 islanders, representation by population is obviously not a principle upon which the Canadian Senate is founded. If this principle was at work in the Senate, all senators would represent the same number of Canadian citizens.

Members of Quebec's national assembly, members of Parliament in Canada's House of Commons, and members of the legislative assembly in Alberta's legislature all represent a constituency - not a region per se. Moreover, they are elected according to the principle of "one person, one vote" (the principle of representation by population). In other words, each member of national assembly, member of Parliament, or member of legislative assembly represents roughly the same number of constituents as other members of national assembly, members of Parliament, or members of legislative assembly.

Canada’s Parliament is made up of

• members of Parliament

• members of Parliament and senators

• the monarch, the senate, and the House of Commons

• the monarch, the senate, the House of Commons, and the Supreme Court

Answer explanation

Canada's Parliament is made up of the monarch (or his or her representative, the Governor General), the Senate, and the House of Commons. Parliament is the legislative (lawmaking) branch of Canada's government - all three parts of Parliament play a role in the making of Canada's laws. Canada's Parliament does not include the Supreme Court of Canada. Parliament is a legislative body, while the Supreme Court is a judicial body.

Each of the following scenarios is an example of a failure to live up to one's responsibilities as a citizen except

• quitting a political party

• cheating on an income tax form

• lying to a judge to get out of jury duty

• neglecting to exercise the right to vote

Answer explanation

Quitting a political party is not an example of irresponsible citizenship. Sometimes a person may decide to do this because he or she feels that the party is not serving the best interests of the nation. Quitting for this reason could be the responsible thing for a citizen to do. All of the other actions (cheating on an income tax return, neglecting to vote, and lying to a judge to get out of jury duty) are examples of irresponsible citizenship.

In the given diagram, which stage of the bill-passing process is indicated by the question mark?

• Royal assent

• Third reading

• The report stage

• The committee stage

Answer explanation

The final stage in the bill-passing process is called royal assent. In this stage, the Governor General (or the monarch) signs the bill into law.

The headline that describes an action most likely supported by a left-of-centre party such as the New Democratic Party in Canada is headline

• I

• II

• III

• IV

Answer explanation

The New Democratic Party in Canada believes that the government has a responsibility to provide for its citizens who have difficulty providing for themselves and would therefore likely support an increase in funding for social programs. None of the other actions described in the headlines would likely be supported by the NDP.

The headline that most accurately describes a party whose philosophy includes the belief that the government has a responsibility to support those who cannot provide for themselves is headline

• I

• II

• III

• IV

Answer explanation

Headline IV suggests that the government should spend more money on social programs, which are ways the government helps to support citizens who need help for various reasons. These programs include welfare, employment insurance, and old age pensions, among others.