Deck 22: The bureaucracy

Question 1

What government department employs the largest number of civil servants?

A)Human Resources and Skills Development
B)Treasury Board
C)Public Works and Government Services
D)National Defence

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Public servants in a department share four basic characteristics: they are expected to be expert, permanent, anonymous, and impartial.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The Auditor General is considered an agent of Parliament.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Official Languages Act of 1969 made the executive branch of government bilingual.

Question 5

Who handles human resources and financial and expenditure management?

A)Public Service Commission
B)Prime Minister's Office
C)Department of Finance
D)Treasury Board Secretariat

Question 6

What has helped to penetrate "the cloak of secrecy" within the Canadian bureaucracy?

A)the Access to Information Act and Information Commissioner
B)the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Commissioner
C)the Sunshine doctrine and the Sunset clause
D)the Ombudsman

Question 7

The CRTC, the Canadian Transportation Authority, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission are examples of royal commissions.

Question 8

What type of decisions are NOT functions of regulatory tribunals?

A)quasi-legislative
B)quasi-judicial
C)adjudicative
D)funding

Question 9

What are the Estimates?

A)the spending proposals of each government department and agency
B)Statistics Canada projections of the population growth
C)Statistics Canada projections of the unemployment rate
D)Bank of Canada predictions of the growth of the national debt

Question 10

The Department of Finance is an opponent of new department spending programs.

Question 11

The principle of individual ministerial responsibility means that ministers must resign for mistakes made by their officials.

Question 12

Every province except Nova Scotia has supplemented other means of controlling the bureaucracy with the appointment of an ombudsman.

Question 13

VIA Rail, Canada Mortgage and Housing, and the Bank of Canada are examples of regulatory agencies.

Question 14

Which statement best describes special operating agencies?

A)They are autonomous administrative units within the bureaucracy.
B)They are Canada's equivalent of the CIA and MI5.
C)They contain 67 percent of the Canadian public service.
D)They are staffed by exempt personnel.

Question 15

An elaborate, expensive investigation set up by the Cabinet to make recommendations on a significant policy problem is called a task force.

Question 16

In terms of workforce, the smallest department is the Department of Finance.

Question 17

How are government departments created?

A)through policies initiated by the Cabinet
B)through acts of Parliament
C)through constitutional amendments
D)through orders-in-council

Question 18

Which occupational category does nursing fall under?

A)Management
B)Scientific and Professional
C)Technical
D)Operational

Question 19

Which official provides an annual report of government funds that have been unlawfully or unwisely spent?

Question 20

Who heads the different branches within a department?

A)minister
B)deputy minister
C)branch ministers
D)assistant deputy minister

Question 21

What reforms to the bureaucracy were proposed by the Gomery Inquiry?

Question 22

What reforms were made to the bureaucracy under the New Public Management?

Question 23

How are responsibility and accountability managed in departments?

Question 24

How is the Canadian bureaucracy controlled?

Question 25

What is the purpose of Crown corporations?