Ch10 Test Questions & Answers The Administrative State

CHAPTER 10

The Administrative State

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the bureaucracy's role in government?
   1. To implement policies
   2. To formulate policies
   3. To replace ineffective policies
   4. To vote on policies
   5. To veto policies
2. Which term refers to the practice of making decisions about the distribution of public resources based on friendship, family, loyalty, or in exchange for benefits of other sorts?
   1. Bartering
   2. Favouritism
   3. Patronage
   4. Condescension
   5. Obedience
3. Which term refers to hiring and promotion decisions based on attributes deemed relevant to competent performance of a job?
   1. The employment principle
   2. The merit principle
   3. The brokerage principle
   4. The inheritance principle
   5. The patronage principle
4. When was the merit principle adopted?
   1. The passage of the Civil Service Amendment Act, 1908
   2. The passage of the Federal Bureaucracy Act, 1910
   3. The passage of the Constitution Act, 1867
   4. The passage of the Civil Service Act, 1918
   5. The passage of the Administrative Service Amendment Act, 1920
5. Which of the following is true about the politics-administration dichotomy?
   1. It held that only elected politicians should make choices between competing values and interests that would be embodied in laws.
   2. The proper function of non-elected state officials was to implement these choices without regard for their personal views and preferences.
   3. It was an important aspect of progressive thought about the democratic state in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
   4. All of the above
   5. None of the above
6. Which of the following is not an act passed in relation to the Canadian administrative state?
   1. The Civil Service Act
   2. The Civil Service Amendment Act
   3. The Public Service Modernization Act
   4. The Public Service Employment Act
   5. The Civil Service Commission Act
7. What did the Supreme Court rule in Fraser v Public Service Staff Relations Board?
   1. That public servants should be allowed non-job-related criticism of government policy
   2. That the claimant should be prohibited from running for public office
   3. That the claimant was not engaged in "whistleblowing"
   4. That the prohibitions were "over-inclusive and went beyond what is necessary to achieve the objective of an impartial civil service"
   5. That public servants should not be allowed to discuss non-job-related government policy
8. What rights did the claimant (and others) argue were infringed in Osborne v. Canada (Treasury Board)?
   1. Their right to receive government services in the official language of their choice
   2. Their rights to free speech and freedom of association
   3. Their mobility rights
   4. Their right to receive private-sector services in the official language of their choice
   5. Their equality rights
9. In Haydon v. Canada (Treasury Board), how could the claimant have been engaged in "whistleblowing"?
   1. By bringing public attention to government actions or policies she believed endangered national security, based on her careful examination of the facts
   2. By bringing public attention to government actions or policies she believed endangered the environment, based on her careful examination of the facts
   3. By bringing public attention to government actions or policies she believed endangered societal law and order, based on her careful examination of the facts
   4. By bringing public attention to government actions or policies she believed endangered public health or safety, based on her careful examination of the facts
   5. By bringing public attention to government actions or policies she believed endangered international relations, based on her careful examination of the facts
10. What is the dichotomy to be considered for all civil servants accused of "whistleblowing"?
    1. The balance between their right to follow their own conscience and their duty of loyalty
    2. The balance between their right to free speech and their duty of absolute secrecy
    3. The balance between their personal thoughts and beliefs and their duty of loyalty
    4. The balance between their right to free speech and their duty of loyalty
    5. The balance between their freedom of association and their duty of loyalty
11. Which term refers to a state that is active in attempting to shape society and influence its direction?
    1. The negative state
    2. The advancing state
    3. The positive state
    4. The progressive state
    5. The effectual state
12. The 1970s marked the beginning of what some social and political commentators, particularly on the left, began to call what?
    1. The advancement of the state
    2. The stalling of the state
    3. The crisis of the state
    4. The stagnation of the state
    5. The rebirth of the state
13. To which of the following did the crisis of the state refer?
    1. The apparent inability of governments to prevent a national financial crisis
    2. The apparent inability or unwillingness of governments to finance the welfare state policies put in place over the previous 40 years
    3. The apparent inability of legislatures to rule on policies supporting federalism
    4. The apparent inability of sitting governments to pass budgets in the House of Commons
    5. The apparent inability or unwillingness of governments to pass welfare state policies for 40 years
14. Which of the following is not true about the Keynesian consensus?
    1. It was largely discredited in many Western democracies in the 1980s.
    2. It is in no way related to the accumulation of government spending deficits.
    3. It declined and deteriorated in response to an increase in government debt.
    4. It was increasingly challenged in economics and policy-making communities.
    5. It was the belief that governments could and should manage their economies through fiscal policy measures.
15. Which of the following is the accumulation of government spending deficits over two or more years?
    1. Real gross domestic product
    2. Increased financial demand
    3. Demand decrease
    4. Supply increase
    5. Debt
16. Which of the following is true about representative bureaucracy in democratic societies?
    1. The composition of the bureaucracy should reflect in fair proportion certain demographic characteristics of society.
    2. Affirmative action programs and quota hiring are used to achieve this goal.
    3. It will be seen as having greater popular legitimacy than a bureaucracy that does not reflect a nation's demography.
    4. All of the above
    5. None of the above
17. Which of the following was the most important source of state revenue for all government levels in recent years?
    1. Sales taxes
    2. Personal income tax
    3. Consumption taxes
    4. Corporate income taxes
    5. Contributions to social security plans
18. As of 2019, how many people did the federal public sector employ?
    1. 52,900
    2. 295,000
    3. 29,500
    4. 530,000
    5. 5,290
19. Which of the following is not true about the Broadcasting Act?
    1. It delegates to non-elected officials the power to make rules that flesh out the general terms of the statute they implement.
    2. The CBC and CRTC must determine the meaning of vague objectives set down in the Act.
    3. It is a key law regulating television, radio, and telecommunications in Canada.
    4. All of the above are true.
    5. None of the above is true.
20. Which of the following is true about the practice of patronage?
    1. It is highly inappropriate for the prime minister to award government contracts based on political favouritism.
    2. It may be permissible if the prime minister appoints a loyal friend and partisan ally to the PMO.
    3. It is unacceptable if the prime minister appoints loyal friends and partisan allies to the bureaucracy, the courts, senior positions of the military and RCMP.
    4. Both B and C
    5. All of the above
21. Which of the following was considered essential to a modern, professional bureaucracy?
    1. A right-leaning government
    2. A well-trained administrative state
    3. A well-equipped administrative state
    4. A politically neutral public service
    5. A partisan public service
22. Which of the following is not true about the Civil Service Act, 1918?
    1. It extended the merit principle in hiring only to the "inside service" in Ottawa.
    2. It was passed by Robert Borden.
    3. It was passed in response to ongoing concerns about patronage in the public service.
    4. It extended the merit principle in hiring to federal positions outside of Ottawa.
    5. It was passed under a Conservative government.
23. Which of the following is true about the 1908 and 1918 reforms to the Civil Service Act?
    1. They permitted public servants to belong to political parties and attend their meetings.
    2. They permitted public servants to donate money to political parties, but not belong to a party.
    3. They permitted public servants to express their political views freely by making public speeches or publishing articles in newspapers.
    4. They placed strict limits on the rights of public servants to participate in politics beyond voting.
    5. They permitted public servants to make campaign contributions.
24. Which of the following is not true about the Public Service Employment Act, 1967?
    1. It gave the Public Service Commission the authority to grant unpaid leaves of absence to public servants running for office.
    2. It addressed the 1908 and 1918 reforms to the strict limits placed on public servants by the Civil Service Act.
    3. It did not address the tension between the obligation of political neutrality and citizens' rights imposed on public servants.
    4. It omitted attending political meetings and contributing money from the political activities that were off limits to public servants.
    5. All of the above are true.
25. Supporters of the positive state included which of the following groups?
    1. Liberal intellectuals in the United States
    2. Socialist thinkers in the United Kingdom
    3. Progressive movement intellectuals in Canada
    4. Both A and C
    5. All of the above
26. Until the 1970s, what was the only serious representational factor taken into account in public service recruitment and promotion?
    1. Ensuring adequate visible minority representation in the management ranks of the bureaucracy
    2. Ensuring adequate representation of disabled people in the management ranks of the bureaucracy
    3. Ensuring adequate female representation in the management ranks of the bureaucracy
    4. Ensuring adequate Indigenous representation in the management ranks of the bureaucracy
    5. Ensuring adequate francophone representation in the management ranks of the bureaucracy
27. John Porter's analysis of the senior federal bureaucracy during the 1950s did not show which of the following?
    1. That British, French, and Jewish ethnic groups were significantly represented
    2. That women and visible minorities were almost completely absent
    3. That individuals of British origin were dominant
    4. He showed all of the above.
    5. He showed none of the above.
28. When were old concerns about fair linguistic representation joined by efforts to promote and recruit women, visible minorities, Indigenous Canadians, and persons with disabilities?
    1. When the Public Service Employment Act was enacted
    2. When the Civil Service Act was enacted
    3. When the Public Service Commission was created
    4. As the Canadian population began to grow younger
    5. As the ethnic composition of Canadian society changed
29. Which of the following is true about affirmative action programs?
    1. They are established by the Treasury Board.
    2. They are monitored by the Public Service Commission.
    3. They are the only method used during hiring processes in the federal bureaucracy.
    4. Both A and B
    5. All of the above
30. What per cent of total government revenues did corporate income taxes account for in 2017?
    1. 13-14 per cent
    2. 31-33 per cent
    3. 2-3 per cent
    4. 50-51 per cent
    5. 21-22 per cent
31. During the 1980s, rather than on mandatory quotas for group representation, affirmative action programs relied mainly on which of the following?
    1. A point system
    2. A system of employment targets
    3. A system of demographic targets
    4. A system of ethnic minority targets
    5. A system of economic targets
32. Governments that have instituted affirmative action and quota hiring have done so chiefly for what reasons?
    1. For economic reasons, to receive maximum equalization payments for following the rules
    2. For political reasons, such as national unity
    3. For bureaucratic reasons, because such practices are shown to increase business efficiency
    4. For diplomatic reasons, to appear democratic
    5. For ethical reasons, because it is quite simply the right thing to do
33. How has the idea and implementation of representative bureaucracy been problematic?
    1. One must consider what constitutes "fair proportion."
    2. One must consider the extent to which other values like efficient performance and equal rights for all are compromised by such a policy.
    3. One must consider which groups should be singled out for representation.
    4. Both A and C
    5. All of the above
34. What led to major public service reforms and Canada's first policy of representative bureaucracy?
    1. Comparatively few persons with disabilities were found in senior levels of federal bureaucracy.
    2. Comparatively few Indigenous persons were found in senior levels of federal bureaucracy.
    3. Comparatively few women were found in senior levels of federal bureaucracy.
    4. Comparatively few French Canadians were found in senior levels of federal bureaucracy.
    5. Comparatively few visible minorities were found in senior levels of federal bureaucracy.
35. Canada's first policy of representative bureaucracy came under whom?
    1. Pierre Trudeau and Joe Clark
    2. Louis St. Laurent and John Diefenbaker
    3. Pierre Trudeau and John Turner
    4. Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau
    5. Lester B. Pearson and John Diefenbaker
36. Which of the following is an alternative source of expert policy advice to cabinet?
    1. Caucus
    2. The Senate
    3. Party backbenchers in the House of Commons
    4. Former MPs
    5. Central agencies
37. As of 2019, what was the combined employment of government employees at the provincial, territorial, and local levels?
    1. 1 million
    2. 496,000
    3. 94,000
    4. 694,000
    5. 69,000
38. Which of the following is a function performed by organizations within the administrative system?
    1. The production of goods and operation of services sold to buyers
    2. The disbursement of funds to individuals and groups
    3. The adjudication of applications or interpretation of regulations
    4. Both B and C
    5. All of the above
39. Who is the employer of public servants?
    1. The minister under whom they serve
    2. The Treasury Board
    3. The Privy Council Office
    4. The Prime Minister's Office
    5. The governor general
40. Which of the following is not one of the main components of the bureaucracy?
    1. Agencies
    2. Crown corporations
    3. The public service
    4. Tribunals
    5. Civil servants appointed by the Prime Minister
41. Which of the following is true about the public service?
    1. Affiliated organizations perform commercial functions and operate at arm's length of the government.
    2. The public service includes the CRTC, the National Transportation Agency, and the National Energy Board.
    3. This part of the bureaucracy functions with a great deal of independence from government compared to other parts of the bureaucracy.
    4. This part of the bureaucracy is most directly under the authority of cabinet.
    5. This part of the bureaucracy includes the Auditor General's Office.
42. Which of the following is true about agencies and tribunals?
    1. This part of the bureaucracy is most directly under the authority of cabinet.
    2. Affiliated organizations perform regulatory, research, and advisory functions.
    3. This part of the bureaucracy includes the Auditor General's Office.
    4. Agencies and tribunals include the Canadian National Railway and Air Canada.
    5. Affiliated organizations perform commercial functions and operate at arm's length of the government.
43. Which of the following is true about crown corporations?
    1. Affiliated organizations perform regulatory, research, and advisory functions.
    2. This part of the bureaucracy is most directly under the authority of cabinet.
    3. This part of the bureaucracy includes the Auditor General's Office.
    4. Affiliated organizations perform commercial functions and operate at arm's length of the government.
    5. Employees of this part of the bureaucracy are employees of the Treasury Board.
44. Which of the following is part of the bureaucracy, yet reports directly to Parliament?
    1. The Auditor General's Office
    2. The Commissioner of Official Languages
    3. The RCM and Canadian Forces
    4. Both A and B
    5. All of the above
45. Which of the following is part of the bureaucracy, yet is separate from cabinet and has a distinct legal status?
    1. The Public Service Commission
    2. The Commissioner of Official Languages
    3. The Auditor General's Office
    4. The Treasury Board
    5. The RCMP and Canadian Forces
46. Fundamentally, what is globalization about?
    1. The downsizing of states
    2. International interdependence
    3. How the world has become a "smaller" place
    4. Both A and C
    5. All of the above
47. In 2019, what was the number of total public-sector employees in Canada?
    1. 360,000
    2. Over 3 million
    3. 1,360,000
    4. 136,000
    5. 36,000
48. What is meant by "state capacity"?
    1. The ability of states to protect itself from external military threats
    2. An appropriate level of revenue going to debt relief every year
    3. The ability of the state to carry out its functions free from external interference
    4. An adequate stream of revenue to cover all state expenses
    5. The ability of the state to support a country's population growth
49. Which of the following characterized a new phase in the development of the Canadian administrative state in the early to mid-1960s?
    1. Dramatic growth in revenue and expenditure
    2. Dramatic growth in personnel
    3. Dramatic growth in programs
    4. Both A and B
    5. All of the above
50. Between 1965 and 1975 the number of federal public servants increased by what percentage?
    1. 40 per cent
    2. 50 per cent
    3. 30 per cent
    4. 70 per cent
    5. 60 per cent
51. How many major departments existed in the Canadian federal government in 1873?
    1. 20
    2. 40
    3. 10
    4. 30
    5. 50
52. How many major departments existed in the Canadian federal government in 1960?
    1. 52
    2. 12
    3. 72
    4. 32
    5. 92
53. How much does annual federal spending exceed today?
    1. $360 billion
    2. $36 billion
    3. $3.6 billion
    4. $160 billion
    5. $16 billion
54. What did "inside service" refer to?
    1. Public servants with permanent contracts
    2. Public servants who worked outside of Ottawa
    3. Public servants who worked inside buildings
    4. Public servants who worked in Ottawa
    5. Public servants who was related to a politician
55. Which prime minister did Tony Turner write a song about?
    1. Brian Mulroney
    2. Justin Trudeau
    3. Stephen Harper
    4. Jean Chrétien
    5. Paul Martin
56. Which university's economics department had a number of connections to the bureaucratic elite in the 1930s?
    1. Carleton University
    2. McGill University
    3. University of Ottawa
    4. University of New Brunswick
    5. Queen's University
57. Who accused Ottawa bureaucrats of being complicit with the Liberal Party and the representatives of American capital?
    1. George Grant
    2. Arthur Meighen
    3. R.B. Bennett
    4. Robert Borden
    5. John A. Macdonald
58. Which group of elite bureaucrats did Prime Minister John Diefenbaker distrust?
    1. Capital insiders
    2. Ottawa mandarins
    3. Ottawa senators
    4. Civil administrators
    5. Federal leaders
59. By 1997 what per cent of total federal expenditure was on debt charges?
    1. 30 per cent
    2. 15 per cent
    3. 20 per cent
    4. 10 per cent
    5. 25 per cent
60. What year did a string of fourteen straight federal budget surpluses come to an end?
    1. 2008
    2. 1993
    3. 1997
    4. 2000
    5. 2003

True or False Questions

1. The merit principle requires the government bureaucracy to hire based on experience and education. Once you have the job, seniority determines promotion.
2. A positive state is one that is active in shaping society and influencing its direction.
3. During John Diefenbaker's government, the bureaucracy actively worked against him.
4. Most of Canada's revenue comes from sales tax and corporate tax.
5. The Canadian Government owns Air Canada and Petro-Canada.
6. The federal public sector employs approximately 29,000 people.
7. The deputy minister is a member of cabinet who is responsible for making sure their bureaucracy department follows through with government legislation.
8. When laws are given to a bureaucracy department for implementation, it becomes that department's job to interpret it, often at the discretion of whoever reads it first.
9. The Canadian government requires that 20 per cent of bureaucratic employees be visible minorities.
10. Canadian state spending as a share of its GDP has decreased overall since the early 1990s.
11. During the first year after Confederation, the government of Canada spent about $14 million.
12. In 1873, the federal government had 100 major departments.
13. Provincial and local governments do not outspend and out-tax the federal government.
14. Robert Borden's Conservative government passed the Civil Service Act in 1918.
15. In 1953, just under a fifth of the bureaucratic elite had taught in university at some point.
16. In Lament for a Nation, George Grant praised the relationship between the Liberal Party and senior Ottawa bureaucrats.
17. Between 1965 and 1975, the number of federal public servants increased by 50 per cent.
18. By 1997, the federal government was out of debt.
19. The neo-liberal ideology is founded in big government, more regulation and less reliance on the markets.
20. In the twenty-first century a handful of key deputy ministers dominate the policy-making process.
21. Indigenous Canadians account for close to 20 per cent of all executives in Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, but have much lower levels of representation in other parts of the federal bureaucracy.
22. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Air Canada, Canadian National Railway, and Petro-Canada have been privatized.
23. It has been estimated that about one-third of the revenues of the roughly 170,000 non-profit organizations in Canada comes from government sources.
24. Expenditures by all governments in Canada amount to about 10 percent of GDP.
25. Corporate income taxes in 2017 accounted for about 54 per cent of total government revenues.

Short Answer Questions

1. How big is the Canadian bureaucracy today?
2. What is the politics-administration dichotomy?
3. What is meant by the "positive state"?
4. What is whistleblowing?
5. What was the "crisis of the state"?
6. What is state capacity?
7. What are some examples of how the Canadian state has been affected by globalization?
8. Within the Canadian bureaucracy, what are agencies and tribunals? Provide an example.
9. Within the Canadian bureaucracy, what are crown corporations?
10. What was the Haydon v. Canada (Treasury Board) case about?
11. What is patronage?
12. What is the merit principle?
13. What were some of the changes that the Public Service Employment Act introduced?
14. What are crown corporations?
15. What is employment equity?

Essay Questions

1. Canadian bureaucracy was dramatically transformed from a system based on patronage in the early years after Confederation to one based on professionalism and non-partisanship. Discuss the factors and laws that contributed to this transformation.
2. "The era of the 'Ottawa mandarins' has long been replaced by that of the technocrats in a state where influence is now much more widely dispersed than in the decades immediately after World War II." Discuss this claim.
3. What have been the consequences of globalization for the form, functions, and performance of the administrative state in Canada?
4. Sociologist John Porter once observed that only those of British and French ethnic ancestry were significantly and fairly represented in the Canadian bureaucracy. What measures have been taken to increase the representativeness of the bureaucracy and to what degree have they been successful?
5. The bureaucracy is, in fact, a complicated structure consisting of different institutions, performing various functions and with relationships to the government of the day that are not identical. Identify and explain the functions of departments, crown corporations, and regulatory agencies.
6. Describe the growth in the federal government from Confederation to the 1960s.
7. Discuss the contributions of Oscar Skelton to the federal public service.
8. Discuss the current state and size of public sector employment in Canada.
9. Discuss the debate surrounding targets and quotas in addressing gender representation in government.
10. Discuss the roles and current career paths of deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers.