Test Bank The Constitution Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

The Constitution

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In a 2012 survey, how many Canadians could identify when the Constitution Act came into force?
   1. 50 per cent
   2. 60 per cent
   3. 80 per cent
   4. 100 per cent
   5. 30 per cent
2. Which of the following provinces is officially bilingual?
   1. Manitoba
   2. Quebec
   3. New Brunswick
   4. Nova Scotia
   5. Ontario
3. Which term refers to practices that emerge over time and are generally accepted as binding rules of the political system?
   1. Constitutional practices
   2. Constitutional laws
   3. Constitutional rules
   4. Constitutional conventions
   5. Constitutional precedents
4. What is seen as the legislature's main function?
   1. Holding elections
   2. Obstructing the public service
   3. Interpreting the law
   4. Making the law
   5. Implementing the law
5. What is seen as the executive's main function?
   1. Interpreting the law
   2. Holding elections
   3. Obstructing the public service
   4. Making the law
   5. Implementing the law
6. What is seen as the judiciary's main function?
   1. Obstructing the public service
   2. Holding elections
   3. Interpreting the law
   4. Making the law
   5. Implementing the law
7. How many Senate seats are the Maritime provinces guaranteed by the constitution?
   1. 15
   2. 24
   3. 50
   4. 10
   5. 4
8. Who said, "A nation is not more and no less than the entire population of a sovereign state"?
   1. Brian Mulroney
   2. Lester Pearson
   3. John A. Macdonald
   4. Sir Wilfrid Laurier
   5. Pierre Trudeau
9. What was considered the most controversial part of the failed Meech Lake reforms?
   1. Natural resource revenues
   2. Supreme Court appointments
   3. Recognition of Quebec as a distinct society
   4. Trade barriers
   5. Senate reform
10. What was a central nation-building exercise that the Constitution Act, 1867 required of the government?
    1. Selecting a flag
    2. Writing a national anthem
    3. Recruiting an army
    4. Building the Intercolonial Railway
    5. Appointing a new head of state
11. How many documents comprise the Canadian constitution?
    1. Two
    2. A series
    3. One
    4. Five
    5. Nine
12. How did Supreme Court of Canada describe the values and principles found in Canada's Constitution?
    1. "Legal statutes"
    2. "Founding beliefs"
    3. "National rights"
    4. "Constitutional conventions"
    5. "Internal architecture"
13. What does section 52(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 state?
    1. That the Constitution is the supreme law of the land
    2. That elections must be held at least every five years
    3. That provincial law is above the constitution
    4. That the prime minister is the head of state
    5. That the Constitution is based in British Common Law
14. Which term refers to the idea that so long as one level of government did not trespass onto jurisdictional turf that the Constitution assigned to the other level, it was free to do as it liked?
    1. Constitutional convention
    2. Constitutionalism
    3. The rule of law
    4. Parliamentary supremacy
    5. Federalism
15. Which constitutional document includes considerable detail on the rights of the "several Nations or Tribes of Indians . . . who live under our protection"?
    1. The Durham Report
    2. The Royal Proclamation of 1763
    3. The Constitution Act, 1982
    4. The Constitution Act, 1867
    5. The Quebec Act of 1774
16. What section of the Constitution Act, 1867 entrenched the principle of minority rights with the guarantee of minority religious education?
    1. 91
    2. 33
    3. 15
    4. 92
    5. 93
17. What is section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms described as?
    1. The federal section
    2. The legislative section
    3. The equality section
    4. The unamendable section
    5. The economic section
18. What are guaranteed in section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
    1. Fundamental freedoms
    2. Language rights
    3. Mobility rights
    4. Legal rights
    5. Democratic rights
19. What are guaranteed in sections 3-5 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
    1. Mobility rights
    2. Fundamental freedoms
    3. Democratic rights
    4. Legal rights
    5. Language rights
20. What are guaranteed in section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
    1. Mobility rights
    2. Legal rights
    3. Democratic rights
    4. Fundamental freedoms
    5. Language rights
21. Which politician argued that a distinct society clause in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms would promote the concentration of French in Quebec with harmful consequences for the status of the French-speaking minorities in the other provinces and for the English-speaking minority?
    1. Paul Martin
    2. Jean Chrétien
    3. Pierre Trudeau
    4. Lucien Bouchard
    5. Brian Mulroney
22. Parliamentary government was imported from what country to Canada?
    1. France
    2. Australia
    3. Italy
    4. United States
    5. United Kingdom
23. Who is Canada's head of state?
    1. The prime minister
    2. The lieutenant-governor
    3. The president
    4. The monarch
    5. The governor general
24. Who is the head of the cabinet?
    1. The Minister of Finance
    2. The Clerk of the Privy Council
    3. The prime minister
    4. The governor general
    5. The House Leader
25. The Executive Branch of government includes which of the following?
    1. Public servants
    2. Private members
    3. The Supreme Court
    4. The House of Commons and the Senate
    5. The governor general and the Cabinet
26. The term party discipline describes which parliamentary tradition?
    1. That MPs of a party vote as a unified block
    2. That MPs do not make false promises
    3. That MPs do not use foul language
    4. That MPs do not give themselves large pay increases
    5. None of the above
27. How many of the 42 governments elected between 1867 and 2011 fell because of defeat in the legislature?
    1. 16
    2. 36
    3. 26
    4. 6
    5. 10
28. What issue was at the centre of the 1926 constitutional crisis?
    1. The appropriate role of the governor general
    2. Political party financing
    3. Electoral fraud
    4. Voting rights
    5. The role of the senate
29. What was described in a 1991 report as "a major constraint on the effectiveness of elected officials in representing constituents' views and in controlling a government agenda which may be out of touch with citizens' concerns"?
    1. Bureaucracy
    2. Voter turnout
    3. Senate appointments
    4. The Supreme Court
    5. Party discipline
30. How long did Joe Clark's 1979 Progressive Conservative government last in power?
    1. Three years
    2. One month
    3. Nine months
    4. One year
    5. Five years
31. In 2008, what party did the Liberals attempt to form a coalition with?
    1. The Progressive Conservative Party
    2. The Conservative Party
    3. The Libertarian Party
    4. The New Democratic Party
    5. The Green Party
32. Which governor general granted Stephen Harper's request to prorogue Parliament?
    1. Michaëlle Jean
    2. Lord Byng
    3. Romeo LeBlanc
    4. David Johnston
    5. Adrienne Clarkson
33. What concept did liberal thinkers like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke use to explain why people consent to be governed?
    1. "State of nature"
    2. "State of society"
    3. "State of government"
    4. "State of being"
    5. "State of governed"
34. What year was the Charlottetown Accord defeated?
    1. 1982
    2. 1987
    3. 2006
    4. 1992
    5. 1968
35. In the 1980s, what dealt parliamentary supremacy a "major blow"?
    1. The prime minister
    2. The governor general
    3. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
    4. The Senate
    5. Political parties
36. What report argued that "willful ignorance of administrative inadequacies will not absolve a Minister from responsibility for failures within the department"?
    1. The Meech Lake Report
    2. The Victoria Report
    3. The Gomery Report
    4. The Macdonald Report
    5. The Charlottetown Report
37. What is found in section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
    1. Fundamental freedoms
    2. Language rights
    3. Mobility rights
    4. Democratic rights
    5. The notwithstanding clause
38. What is the retirement age for Supreme Court judges?
    1. 75
    2. 100
    3. 65
    4. 85
    5. There is no retirement age
39. What concept refers to the idea that judges are to be free from any and all interference in their decision-making?
    1. Separation of powers
    2. Ministerial responsibility
    3. Parliamentary supremacy
    4. Judicial independence
    5. Constitutional supremacy
40. What does section 24 of the Constitution Act, 1982 declare?
    1. That enforcement of the Charter shall be through the courts
    2. The separation of powers
    3. Constitutional supremacy
    4. Ministerial responsibility
    5. Judicial independence
41. What is the term used to describe a practice that enables governments to use the provincial and Canadian supreme courts to receive advisory opinions before acting or to thrust a politically volatile issue into the hands of judges?
    1. Parliamentary supremacy
    2. Reference
    3. Judicial independence
    4. Constitutional supremacy
    5. Draft legislation
42. In 2006, who appointed Michael Fortier to the Senate and then to the cabinet position of Minister of Public Works and Government Services?
    1. Stephen Harper
    2. Paul Martin
    3. Jean Chrétien
    4. Parliament
    5. The Supreme Court
43. When was the first permanent white settlement established in what would become Canadian territory?
    1. 1867
    2. 1608
    3. 1796
    4. 1812
    5. 1841
44. The preamble to the Constitution Act, 1867 states that Canada has adopted "a Constitution similar in Principle" to which country?
    1. United Kingdom
    2. United States
    3. France
    4. Russia
    5. Ireland
45. What Canadian city is SNC-Lavalin based in?
    1. Toronto
    2. Montreal
    3. Calgary
    4. Quebec City
    5. Vancouver
46. What was an early description of the Canadian Senate?
    1. "Congressional check"
    2. "Constitutional safeguard"
    3. "Sober second thought"
    4. "The elite chamber"
    5. "The permanent Legislature"
47. What did the 1982 Constitution Act accomplish?
    1. It transformed Canada's written Constitution from a set of British laws into Canadian constitutional laws that could only be changed by Canadians.
    2. It entrenched the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution.
    3. It established formal mechanisms for changing the Constitution.
    4. All of the above
    5. None of the above
48. In what year was the noted Reference on the Constitution Supreme Court decision made?
    1. 1875
    2. 1998
    3. 1867
    4. 1981
    5. 1960
49. Which provincial governments asked their provincial supreme courts if Trudeau's attempt to unilaterally patriate the Constitution was constitutional?
    1. Newfoundland
    2. Manitoba
    3. Quebec
    4. All of the above
    5. None of the above
50. Who made the five demands to which Brian Mulroney responded with the Meech Lake Accord?
    1. Richard Hatfield
    2. Robert Bourassa
    3. Peter Lougheed
    4. Pierre Trudeau
    5. Bill Davis
51. In a 2018 poll, how many respondents remembered being taught about the constitution in school?
    1. Eight in 10
    2. Four in 10
    3. Five in 10
    4. Nine in 10
    5. Seven in 10
52. What year was SNC-Lavalin charged with fraud and corruption?
    1. 1984
    2. 2005
    3. 2015
    4. 1972
    5. 1997
53. What portfolio did Jody Wilson-Raybould hold when she resigned from the Trudeau government?
    1. Defence
    2. Finance
    3. Indigenous Affairs
    4. Justice
    5. Veterans Affairs
54. Which minister resigned in solidarity with Jody Wilson-Raybould?
    1. Marc Garneau
    2. Bill Morneau
    3. Scott Brison
    4. Chrystia Freeland
    5. Jane Philpott
55. What was the name of the principle that any bill touching on matters of language or religion in either Canada East or Canada West had to be approved by a majority of legislators from both Canada East and Canada West?
    1. Double majority principle
    2. Parliamentary supremacy
    3. Religious-language test
    4. Responsible government
    5. Confidence vote
56. What year was the Canadian Bill of Rights passed?
    1. 1982
    2. 1960
    3. 1972
    4. 1867
    5. 1992
57. What year was the Meech Lake Accord introduced?
    1. 1987
    2. 1992
    3. 1960
    4. 1972
    5. 1867
58. Who granted Joe Clark's request for an election in 1979?
    1. Pierre Trudeau
    2. Robert Stanfield
    3. Ed Schreyer
    4. Ed Broadbent
    5. Romeo Leblanc
59. How many provinces are required to amend the constitution as it relates to the governor general?
    1. Six
    2. Seven
    3. Eight
    4. Nine
    5. 10
60. How many provinces are required to amend the constitution as it relates to the composition of the Supreme Court?
    1. Six
    2. Seven
    3. Eight
    4. Nine
    5. 10

True or False Questions

1. A constitution is a necessary condition for democratic politics.
2. While a constitution empowers the state to act, it also limits power.
3. The 1992 Charlottetown Accord is an example of successful constitutional change.
4. Canada has an elected Senate.
5. The Canadian Constitution guarantees equality of the French and English languages.
6. The Constitution Act of 1982 created the country of Canada.
7. Quebec is the only officially bilingual province in Canada.
8. The Privy Council formally includes all members of the present and past cabinets.
9. Party discipline is very weak in Canada.
10. The Clarity Act of 2000 was created to ensure that Parliament can review the wording of any future referendum question.
11. Most Canadians have a strong and accurate idea of what is included in their country's constitution.
12. Before 1982, the relations between individuals and the state in Canada were defined by the courts mainly in terms of federal and provincial legislative powers.
13. The Constitution Act, 1982 commits Ottawa and the provinces to the reduction of economic disparities between regions of the country.
14. The Quebec Act of 1774 recognized the rights of Catholics in Quebec.
15. The Constitution Act, 1867 did not entrench the principle of minority rights.
16. A 2018 IPSOS poll found that 90% of respondents remembered being taught about the constitution in school.
17. Constitutional conventions are those practices and understandings that emerge over time and are generally accepted as binding rules of the political system.
18. Canada's constitution guarantees seven seats in parliament to representation of Indigenous Canadians.
19. The 1992 Charlottetown Accord guaranteed group representation in parliament.
20. The Canadian Constitution is one document.
21. Section 52(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 states that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and that all government action must be in conformity with the Constitution.
22. Fundamental political freedoms are guaranteed in section 2 of the Charter.
23. The Constitution Act, 1867 states that the legislature must meet at least once every five years.
24. Equality rights are entrenched in the Constitution through section 15 of the Charter.
25. The 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights applied to both federal and provincial levels of government.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is a constitution significant to political life?
2. What is the role of constitutional conventions in the Canadian political system?
3. What is the principle of federalism?
4. What is the rule of law?
5. What is parliamentary supremacy?
6. What are the fundamental political freedoms guaranteed in section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
7. Where are language rights found in the Canadian constitution?
8. What is the structure of Parliament in Canada?
9. What are three of the various functions performed by a constitution?
10. In 1998 the Supreme Court of Canada issued a ruling on the question of whether secession by Quebec would be constitutional. What did the court decide?
11. What was the 1986 Supreme Court Charter decision on the democratic principle?
12. What are the democratic rights guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
13. What are the mobility rights guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
14. What are the equality rights guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
15. What is the Privy Council?

Essay Questions

1. The written constitution is a sort of road map that can be, in some important ways, misleading about how Canadian government operates and where power lies. Discuss some of the differences between the written constitution and the unwritten constitution, and the importance of each for understanding Canadian politics.
2. In an important sense the events stretching from the passage of the Constitution Act, 1982, through the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords, to the 1995 Quebec Referendum, and the 1998 Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of Quebec secession represent one continuous narrative. Discuss these events, explaining their significance.
3. Explain the principles of Canadian parliamentary democracy. Does the reality of how Parliament operates conform to these principles?
4. In 2008 and again in 2009 it appeared that the government of Canada might change without an election being called. Explain the circumstances that existed, how matters were resolved, and whether you believe that the rules of the constitution were respected.
5. "Canada has gone from a situation where the rules for amending the constitution were not entirely clear to one where the rules are clear, but it is now almost impossible to change the constitution in significant ways." Discuss this statement, explaining why you mainly agree or disagree with it.
6. What two sets of relations does a constitution deal with?
7. Explain the principle of federalism. How is the principle expressed in the federal and provincial governments?
8. How does the Constitution Act, 1982 extend language rights?
9. How are indigenous rights recognized in the Constitution Act, 1982?
10. Explain how ministerial responsibility works.