The structure of____________ systems plays a significant role in determining who gets elected and what groups of interest are going to be the most influencial on local agendas
Electoral a.k.a Electoral systems
define Democracy
is the right to elect one’s government freely
Voting elegibility in Canada
A voter is required to be a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older, who has lived in the city or province for several months or a year.
What are plebiscites and referendums?
Plebiscites and referendums are a form of direct democracy. However, Plebiscites are advisory (consultative) while referendums are mandatory(binding) in most places.
______and______ are not common in federal governments and provincial governments but are used more frequently in municipal governments.
Plebiscites and referendums
With referendums, an individual has the opportunity to__________vote on a particular issue that has been placed on a_____________agenda
Directly… Public
What are the 3 negatives/potential negatives of plebiscites and referendums?
- small groups of people with political, information, or economic resources can manipulate the majority of voters to side with their views or choices.
- Putting bylaws to citizen votes raises a possibility of a “tyranny of masses”.
- Average citizens may not have civic education to have that much voting power.
The ward system operates with one or two councillors elected from______________________city.
a specific territory within a
The at-large election system elected by city council to represent the views of all__________city.
citizens in the
The role of a Mayor
A mayor is a member of the governing council as well as the head of the municipal corperation.
Regional governments do not have a mayor. Instead, they have___________
a chairperson
“mayor” for Aboriginal council_________
“mayor” for township or village ___________
chiefs
reeve
What are the functions of a mayor? 4
- presides over council and maintain order
- acts as a ceremonial leader of the community
- signs all bylaws and ensures they are carried out
- communicates information to the council, citizens, and other govts.
What does a municipal council possess?
they possess the legal powers delegated to them by the province
Municipal council facts 3
- size of upto >50
- bring issues from residents to governing bodies
- pass by-laws eg smoking, anti-idling
What are special-purpose bodies?
- Are local service agencies that open up additional ways for citizens to be represented in public decision-making.
- local service agencies such as schools or library boards.
Citizen petitions are a form of__________
Citizen petitions can be about 4 things..
- protest
4 things:
Road signs, traffic
municipal taxes increase
unwanted facilities
neighbourhood organizationsTwo ways to engage the public outside of the electoral process
Public driven - protests
Govt. driven - using gatekeepers as a way to hear from the underrepresented groups which increase public participation.
Cities are often portrayed as being overrun by__________and________
Single issue politics and NIMBYism
NIMBYism stands for?
Citizens that stand against government bodies from building anything in their local area, Not In My BackYard.
Characteristics of Neighbourhood/community associations
Good credibility among community
geographical boundary
bring up quality of life issues
characteristics of issue-oriented groups
defined interests : poverty reduction
often adversary
often relay on municipal govt for funding
charcteristics of Nimby groups
narrow self-interest
smaller affected group
protest for specific facility/projects
Role of chambers of commerce
- interests in local business and industry
- influence at all govt. especially on economy development
- role in providing alternatives for service delivery for municipal govt. such as waste collection.
