Deck 6: The Legislature

Question 1

How many legislatures exist across Canada?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 10
D) 14

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Canada operates on the principle of ________ which require executives to ________ in order to continue ruling.

A) responsible government; maintain the confidence of their respective assemblies
B) parliamentary government; maintain partisan control over a majority of seats in the legislature
C) good government; invite members of the opposition to join cabinet
D) All of the above

Answer 2

A

Question 3

At the federal level, Parliament is a ________ legislature, while provincial and territorial legislatures are ________.

A) bicameral; unicameral
B) elected; appointed
C) unicameral; bicameral
D) two-tiered; single-tiered

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What is the confidence convention?

A) the practice under which a house leader must maintain the support of caucus
B) the binding rule under which a government must relinquish power when it loses a critical legislative vote
C) the norm according to which every legislator must maintain the confidence of the monarch's representative
D) None of the above

Question 5

The House of Commons is ________.

A) located in Ottawa
B) meant to represent the interests of the common people
C) the lower house of the Canadian Parliament
D) All of the above

Question 6

Which of the following is not a responsibility of the House of Commons?

A) reviewing provincial legislation and policies to ensure they are constitutional
B) supervising, authorizing, and otherwise holding to account the executive
C) passing laws and resolutions to govern the country
D) representing Canadians when debating the pressing political issues of the day

Question 7

Which of the following statements about the Canadian Senate is false?

A) It is intended to provide sober second thought to legislation passed by the House of Commons.
B) Its seats are distributed unequally among provinces.
C) It is comprised of members chosen by the leaders of each political party represented in the House of Commons.
D) None of the above

Question 8

Which of the following statements is correct?

A) The Senate was originally designed as a counterweight to the House of Commons by providing Canada's lower classes with representation in Parliament.
B) Senate seats are based on a regional formula, which grants some smaller provinces a relatively greater say in national decision making than their population size would otherwise allow.
C) Senators are elected by members of the House of Commons.
D) The Senate has the authority to veto federal appointments and void international treaties.

Question 9

What was unusual about Prime Minister Harper's approach to the Senate?

A) He ignored the regional formula and only appointed Senators from Western Canada.
B) He expelled all Conservative senators from his party caucus.
C) He referred several questions to the Supreme Court of Canada regarding Senate reform.
D) He convened senate nominee elections to determine a pool of appointees to the Senate.

Question 10

How many senators are allocated to Newfoundland and Labrador?

A) 24
B) 6
C) 4
D) 1

Question 11

What does crossing the floor refer to?

A) when the member of the legislature leaves one political party to join another party
B) when the governor general enters the House of Commons to sign a bill into law
C) when a parliamentary page delivers a message to the speaker
D) when a member of the legislature votes against the party line

Question 12

What is the arrangement in which the governing party controls at least half of the seats in the legislature?

A) minority government
B) majority government
C) coalition government
D) consensus government

Question 13

What is a manufactured majority?

A) a majority government in which the governing party gained fewer than half the votes in the previous general election
B) a government in which no single party controls at least half of the seats in the legislature
C) a government in which the governing party wins the majority of seats in southern Ontario
D) a government in which cabinet members are affiliated with two or more parties

Question 14

The ________ is the forum where elected officials convene to discuss the issues of the day, to debate motions, and to vote.

A) foyer
B) gallery
C) chamber
D) balcony

Question 15

Which of the following statements is correct?

A) The speaker of the House of Commons is elected in a secret ballot by other members.
B) Once elected, the speaker continues to represent constituents in his or her district.
C) The speaker is not required to renounce any party membership.
D) All of the above

Question 16

What is parliamentary privilege?

A) the legal immunity afforded to members of the legislature against any form of criminal or civil prosecution
B) the legal immunity afforded to members of the legislature for anything they do or say, anywhere and at any time, while they are an elected official
C) the legal immunity enjoyed by members of the legislature for things done or said in the course of their duties in the chamber
D) the legal immunity that is afforded to members of the legislature for any crimes they may commit while abroad

Question 17

Who is responsible for ruling on matters related to parliamentary privilege?

A) the governor general
B) the speaker
C) the prime minister
D) the Supreme Court

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of actions/behaviours for which a member of parliament or a government as a whole can be found in contempt?

A) disobeying accepted practices
B) ignoring a ruling of the speaker
C) obstructing the business of the legislative assembly
D) All of the above

Question 19

Who is the member of the legislature responsible for the overall performance of his or her party in the legislative process?

A) deputy minister
B) auditor general
C) speaker
D) house leader

Question 20

Typically, the leader of the party with the second-most seats in the legislature is usually which of the following?

A) deputy prime minister
B) leader of the official opposition
C) minister of finance
D) speaker

Question 21

The party whip is a member of the legislature responsible for:

A) ensuring that parliamentary procedure is followed
B) keeping time during question period
C) ensuring caucus members toe the party line
D) None of the above

Question 22

Which of the following is an example of a sanction that members of parliament could face if they fail to adhere to party discipline?

A) not being allowed to vote on bills and motions in the House of Commons
B) being admonished (reprimanded or warned) by the governor general
C) not being allowed to run under the party banner in the next election
D) None of the above

Question 23

Party leaders may exercise the authority to do which of the following?

A) choose which parliamentarians may ask questions in the legislature
B) instruct parliamentarians how to vote in the legislature and in committees
C) assign parliamentarians to legislative committees
D) All of the above

Question 24

What is a bill or motion in the legislature on which party members, except members of cabinet, are allowed to vote however they choose without sanction?

A) free vote
B) censured vote
C) secret ballot vote
D) whipped Vote

Question 25

The auditor general does which of the following?

A) employs accountants who examine public-sectoring spending
B) reports to the legislature, not the government
C) issues reports that offers recommendations for improving the management of public funds
D) All of the above

Question 26

Each session of the legislature begins with _______, includes ________, and ends with ________.

A) an inauguration; a series of elections; vote of confidence
B) a throne speech; a series of sittings; prorogation or dissolution
C) a report from the auditor general; a lengthy debate over the report; acceptance of the report
D) the selection of a governor general; a series of free votes; Question Period

Question 27

Most parliaments consist of ________ legislative session(s).

A) over a dozen
B) six to nine
C) two to five
D) one

Question 28

In an effort to reset the legislative agenda, what does the first minister do every year to three years?

A) ask for a dissolution causing a general election
B) appoint a new governor general or lieutenant governor
C) approach the governor general or lieutenant governor for a prorogation of the legislature
D) call a midterm election

Question 29

What does "died on the order paper" refer to?

A) bills that are voted down in the legislature.
B) bills that are proposed in cabinet but never introduced by the government in the legislature
C) bills that are still before the legislature when the legislative session is closed
D) bills that are rejected by the party whip

Question 30

Standing orders are the body of rules governing the conduct of:

A) the legislature
B) media in the press gallery
C) visitors to the public gallery
D) party discipline

Question 31

All of the members of a political party who hold a seat in the legislature form:

A) a convention
B) a cabinet
C) a caucus
D) a committee

Question 32

Distribution of seats in the House of Commons is based primarily on _____, while representation in the Senate is based primarily on _____.

A) partisanship; consensus
B) gender; ethnicity
C) a numeric formula; the discretion of the governor general
D) population; region

Question 33

Question Period gets all of the attention, but the real business of the legislature tends to occur in ________.

A) private members business
B) speaker's chambers
C) statements by ministers
D) parliamentary committees

Question 34

What is a piece of draft legislation tabled in the legislature known as?

A) a bill
B) an order
C) a motion
D) a prorogation

Question 35

Once passed, a piece of draft legislation tabled in the legislature can be called which of the following?

A) a law
B) an act
C) a statute
D) All of the above

Question 36

________ deal with matters that apply to a small subset of the Canadian population, while ________ apply to society as a whole.

A) government bills; opposition bills
B) opposition bills; government bills
C) private bills; public bills
D) public bills; private bills

Question 37

Only ________ can introduce legislation that involves government spending and revenue.

A) the first minister
B) senators
C) backbenchers
D) members of cabinet

Question 38

What are laws that address a wide variety of public policy issues in a single document known as?

A) omnibus legislation
B) legislative accords
C) cabinet packages
D) None of the above

Question 39

Fixed-date election laws:

A) define the election cycle as six years.
B) are designed to constrain the power of the first minister to call an election at will.
C) are constitutionally-binding on the government.
D) All of the above.

Question 40

A filibuster is a coordinated effort:

A) Among cabinet ministers to protest the passage of a bill
B) on the part of the media to induce cabinet ministers to respond to questions in a scrum
C) among government members to avoid answering questions during Question Period
D) among non-government members to delay the passage of a bill

Question 41

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

A) Consensus government is a system of governance that operates without political parties.
B) Two of three territories operate under the system of consensus government.
C) Consensus government requires all laws be passed by unanimous consent in the legislature.
D) In consensus government, legislators decide who should form cabinet.

Question 42

What is the process by which a legislative session is closed in anticipation of a new speech from the throne being delivered known as?

A) Closure
B) Prorogation
C) Dissolution
D) Recess

Question 43

A bill introduced by a cabinet minister is referred to as a ________ bill.

A) private
B) public
C) government
D) private member's

Question 44

The jurisdictions of ________ and ________ are noteworthy in that they do not have political parties represented in their legislature.

A) Northwest Territories; the Yukon
B) Nunavut; Prince Edward Island
C) Prince Edward Island; the Yukon
D) Northwest Territories; Nunavut

Question 45

The maximum time an MP can serve in the House of Commons without facing an election is ________, while the maximum term for a senator is ________.

A) 57 years; for life
B) for life; 57 years
C) 4 years; 6 years
D) 5 years; 45 years

Question 46

What event occurs to replace a legislator between general elections?

A) midterm election
B) by-election
C) snap election
D) fixed-date election

Question 47

Among federal and provincial legislatures, ________ governments are most common while ________ governments occur least frequently.

A) partisan; consensus
B) majority; coalition
C) coalition; majority
D) consensus; minority

Question 48

What is the style of government within a legislature in which political parties are absent?

A) coalition government
B) corporate government
C) consensus government
D) responsible government

Question 49

Why are seats in most Canadian legislatures arranged on opposite sides of the chamber?

A) to facilitate adversarial debate
B) to foster consensus-building
C) to allow room for the monarch's representative in the centre
D) to symbolize the division between the upper and lower classes

Question 50

Which principle encourages members of the legislature to challenge each other to repeat any offensive remarks outside the chamber?

A) parliamentary privilege
B) confidence convention
C) responsible government
D) ministerial responsibility

Question 51

To maintain a majority government at the federal level, the governing party must control at least half the seats in both the House of Commons and the Senate.

Question 52

Historically, the basis for appointing senators was loyalty to the party in power.

Question 53

The number of seats in the House of Commons is fixed and cannot change.

Question 54

Coalition governments are common in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Question 55

In general, members of the legislature cannot sue each other for things said on the floor of the chamber.

Question 56

Earned majorities are more frequent than manufactured majorities at the federal level.

Question 57

Some of Canada's most enduring and significant policy milestones were developed in minority government situations.

Question 58

Coalition governments are very common at the federal level in Canadian politics.

Question 59

There have been more than two coalition governments at the provincial level.

Question 60

The speaker typically behaves in a partisan manner, taking an active role in legislative debates and caucus meetings.

Question 61

Members of the opposition must respond to questions from government ministers during Question Period.

Question 62

While floor crossing is prevalent in other Commonwealth countries, it is has only occurred once in Canadian history.

Question 63

In general, the number of sitting days of Parliament is increasing.

Question 64

Parliament committees consist solely of members of the governing party.

Question 65

The only time the federal Parliament lasted for more than five years was during a coalition government.

Question 66

All provinces have unicameral legislatures.

Question 67

Canadians must submit an online application if they wish to be considered for an appointment to the Senate.

Question 68

A manufactured majority is one in which the governing party fails to elect members of the legislature from every province.

Question 69

The whip is a highly partisan position.

Question 70

The auditor general is an independent officer of the legislature responsible for scrutinizing public spending.

Question 71

Prorogation is always a controversial affair in Canadian politics.

Question 72

The typical Canadian legislature passes well over half of the private members' bills introduced for First Reading.

Question 73

All provincial legislatures (except Quebec's National Assembly) are bicameral, allowing for the representation of regional interests in the upper house.

Question 74

The House of Commons and Senate were built on opposite ends of Parliament Hill to signify their adversarial relationship: the Senate atop the hill (as the upper chamber), and the House of Commons at the bottom (the lower house).

Question 75

The leader of the second-largest party in the House of Commons must serve as the leader of the official opposition.

Question 76

Dissolution always precedes a general election.

Question 77

Standing orders exist to constrain the ability of the Crown to act without the legislature's approval.

Question 78

Performances in Question Period are highly spontaneous, not scripted.

Question 79

In Canada, a bill introduced by a backbencher is less likely to be passed than one introduced by a cabinet minister.

Question 80

Closure is to a filibuster as prorogation is to a parliamentary session.