UBC POLI 101 Canadian Politics. Foundational Principles of the Canadian Political Community

Transcription

1 UBC POLI 101 Canadian Politics Foundational Principles of the Canadian Political Community 1 First, a note on Tutorials / Discussion Sections Friday tutorial 2-3pm Buch318. Still called L1D. send me an if you want to switch or just switch yourself online into L1D 10 journal entries in 11 weeks (starting next week). You can take a week off when you need it. We ll call this your personal bye week. You must let your TA know at the beginning of the tutorial. You can go to this tutorial without a journal entry, and your final journal won t have an entry for that topic. Your first two papers will be marked, but since you can edit the whole journal and it will be marked as a whole at the end of term, they are only provisional

2 Q: What is Canada? What are its Political Institutions? A: A Constitutional Liberal Democracy The Canadian political system is defined by the Constitution So What is a Constitution? The Master Institution gives form (constitutes) the component instutions of government A set of rules and norms that define: the powers legitimately exercised by political authorities and the legitimate means for determining who those authorities are. The supreme law that provides the basis for the making, enforcement, & adjudication of regular law. And which cannot be changed as easily as regular law. 3 What do Constitutions look like? Written and Unwritten US Constitution was drawn up at a Constitutional Convention and changed by formal Amendments British Constitution is unwritten: it is a set of laws and conventions Canada s is now (post 1982) in between! Defines: Legislative branch (law-making / approval), Executive branch (enaction and enforcement of law) Judical branch (interpretation and adjudication of law) Federal division of powers Term of legislative office (when elections must be held) Other stuff! (e.g. Canada has provisions on religious education) Contains an amendment formula for the constitution itself Often a statement of values the community endorses: Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law

3 Example: Charlottetown Accord text (1) The Constitution of Canada, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the following characteristics: (a) Canada is a democracy committed to a parliamentary and federal system of government and to the rule of law; (b) the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, being the first peoples to govern this land, have the right to promote their languages, cultures and traditions and to ensure the integrity of their societies, and their governments constitute one of the three orders of government in Canada; (c) Quebec constitutes within Canada a distinct society, which includes a French-speaking majority, a unique culture and a civil law tradition; (d) Canadians and their governments are committed to the vitality and development of official language minority communities throughout Canada; (e) Canadians are committed to racial and ethnic equality in a society that includes citizens from many lands who have contributed, continue to contribute, to the building of a strong Canada that reflects its cultural and racial diversity; (f) Canadians are committed to a respect for individual and collective human rights and freedoms of all people; (g) Canadians are committed to the equality of female and male persons; and (h) Canadians confirm the principal of the equality of the provinces at the same time as recognizing their diverse characteristics. (2) The role of the legislature and government of Quebec to preserve and promote the distinct society of Quebec is affirmed. 5 The Canadian Constitution Constitutional Development The Living Canadian Constitution British North America Act (1867) Parliament of Canada Act (1875) Statue of Westminster (1931) BNA Amendment re: Supreme Court (1949) Constitution Act (1982) Charter of Rights and Freedoms Indian Treaties and Aboriginal Land Claims Conventions such as Responsible Government (e.g the Cabinet resigns on a loss of confidence) Judicial Interpretation of Constitution

4 Elements of the Canadian Political System The Crown (the Head of State) Federalism Representative Democracy Rule of Law Supremacy of the Legislature / Responsible Gov t Rights and Freedoms Independent Judiciary / Judicial Review 7 The Crown Canada is a constitutional monarchy The Queen is the Head of State The collective power of the political community is represented in The Crown So we have Governor General, Crown Attorneys, Crown Land, Royal Commissions, Throne Speech, etc. The power of the Crown has to be directed by some set of people: The Queen s Privy Council for Canada (and the provinces Privy Councils) In practice this means the Prime Minister & Cabinet The independent judiciary is also part of the Crown

5 Federalism Union of four separate colonies Two governments, each sovereign in its own sphere Constitution defines their powers: Federal Government in Sec. 91 of the BNA Act Provincial Governments in Sec. 92 residual power held by the federal government Courts interpret the division of powers and can invalidate laws that violate it Strong potential to define political conflict as national vs. provincial governments 9 Representative Democracy Popular Sovereignty The People Rule Their voice is through a representative Laws made in/by a representative assembly in Parliament, a limited number of citizens speak for all Representation based on geography Members of Parliament represent people in a place Political Equality: One Person, One Vote MPs are answerable to their constituents In the Parliament of Canada, MPs represent between 30,000 and 125,000 people In the provinces the population of electoral constituencies can be as low as 3,000

6 Rule of Law What is the opposite of the rule of law? The arbitrary decisions of a person or group of persons Magna Carta (1215) is the beginning of this and part of of our constitution Procedural Justice But law approved by the legislature can t do everything For example, it can t make the determination of whether a person has been trying to find a job while receiving employment insurance. Real people are authorized by law to make regulations, determine procedures, make case-by-case decisions. In Canada: Ministers of the Crown. So the rule of law also means that these decisions are to be done equally, fairly, with evidence, and with procedures for appeal 11 Supremacy of Legislature / Responsible Gov t The legislatures can make any law they choose But that means they are responsible for everything government does In practice, this means the members of the governing political party and especially the Prime Minister and Cabinet, who are collectively responsible to the legislature Cabinet Ministers are responsible for the actions of everyone in their department All this is true, but there is one important limitation

7 Rights The Constitution also contains the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms So there is a lot the government can t do Democratic rights Legal Rights Mobility Rights Aboriginal Rights Equality Rights Lauguage Rights But it can do what it wants, anyway! By invoking the notwithstanding clause of the very same Charter (sec. 33) 13 Separate Judiciary / Judicial Review The BNA Act establishes a judicial system by authorizing the establishment of courts and the appointment of judges Judges are technically removable by the legislature, but it is a Constitutional convention that this only be used in extreme cases of misconduct So the judiciary is independent, even though appointments are under the full control of the Prime Minister and Cabinet The Charter empowers judges to enforce it. But judges have gone further than their explicit powers