Constitution rules and about changes
Consists of both written und unwritten (conventional ) rules
Minor adjustments are just as hard as major
More than a gov document
Key principle to the constitution
- Canadas constitution is the supreme law of the land, meaning all other laws must be consistent with the principle
3 key principles at the heart of constitution
Parliamentary democracy
Federalism
Indigenous treaty rights
Parliamentary democracy
- Means that citizens elect representatives to parliament and those representatives choose and hold accountable the government
- must be an opposition, required election atleast every 5 years
(Westminster parliamentary system) ‘
Parliamentary democracy in Canada is best understood as combination of 4 different facets:
I. Liberal democracy
2. Representative democracy
3. Constitutional monarchy
4. Responsible government
Liberal democracy
Those who run the government are elected to do so by the general public
Grounded by the rule of law
Rule of law
Principle that no one is above the law, and any powers granted to elected or non-elected officials must he conferred by legislation
Representative democracy
Most policy decisions are made by politicians elected by citizens to represent their interest
Shaped by territory, meaning that officials are elected to represent specific geographic riding
What is direct democracy
Citizens participate directly in decision making - rather than electing representatives
Form of government in which policies and laws are decided by a Majority of all these eligible rather than a body of elected representatives
(Ability of electorates to vote for or against laws and policies in a country)
Constitutional monarchy
Ultimate sovereignty rests with the crown, but exercised by elected officials
King Charles is the crown (head of state)
Represented in Canada by a Governor General (Mary Simon) and lieutenant generals (Mike savage NS)
Who is Mary Simon? What’s her significance
Governor General - native female, first native gg
responsible Government
Executive (PM and cabinet) are accountable to the elected legislature (parliament) and through it to the people
Gou must maintain confidence of parliament
How many times had federal gou lost confidence in House of Commons
Six
Federalism
Divides political powers among the central (federal) and multiple subnational (provincial) governments
Federations like Canada allow regional you with more autonomy
Combination of shared rules and divided authority is in the constitution
Constitutional order
The body of written and unwritten rules that govern all laws of Canada
How many seats is responsible Gov
Anything 172 and up bc 343/2 = 171.5
Constitutional laws
Original constitution was called BNA act
Used to have to request changes to you
Constitutional conventions
An unwritten rule that binds political actors to adhere to traditions of the constitutional order
Constitutional conventions range from
Customs, practices, norms
What has the court defined Canadas constitution as and why?
‘A living tree” because of the capable growth and expansion within its natural limits
What is Judicial review
The power of courts to examine laws, governments actions or policies and determine whether they are consistent with the constitution
Canadian confederation 1867
- BNA act British parliament melded with a more centralized form of American Gov
- sovereignty would start to be divided between federal and provincial gov (federalism)
- regional representation in the upper house (the senate)
What is patriating (patriatism)
Transforming the authority to amend the constitution from the British parliament to the autonomous country itself.
This made Canada fully sovereign in constitutional affairs.
What was the problem with the Path to Patriating the constitution.
1981 the idea was proposed
Deal was reached but Quebec never signed, Rene levesque Quebec premier wanted sovereignty - association with rest of cad (Quebec allowing themself to be politically independent from cad
