The Constitution Of Canada Federalism Full Test Bank Ch.4

CHAPTER 4

The Constitution of Canada: The British North America Act, 1867, the Constitution Act, 1982, the Future of Federalism, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

TRUE/FALSE

1. In R v. Morris, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that B.C.’s Wildlife Act, Section 27(1)

limited the Tsartlip Indian Band’s hunting rights.

2. Constitutions are different from all other forms of statute law in that they are entrenched

legislation which can only be changed by a specific amending formula.

3. In Canada, we have a bicameral form of national government. This means that we have a

national parliament and provincial legislatures.

4. One reason that Canada, in the twentieth century, sought full autonomy from Britain was because the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council overturned a Canadian statute abolishing criminal appeals to that body.

5. The British Privy Council’s decision in Nadon v. R and the King-Byng Affair, set the stage for the passage of the Statute of Westminster.

6. The 1964 Fulton-Favreau amending formula required the unanimous consent of all provinces and the federal government to make most amendments to Canada’s constitution.

7. W.R. Lederman, a constitutional scholar, called for the ‘patriation’ of the constitution in 1967 to allow for its domestic amendment.

8. The Constitution Act, 1982 incorporated the procedures set out in the Victoria Charter of 1970 for its amending formula.

9. The seven-fifty formula requires a total of fifty-seven Senators to vote in favour of a constitutional amendment.

10. The Constitution Act, 1982 was held by the Supreme Court of Canada to not apply to Quebec because Quebec refused to ratify the document.

11. The Meech Lake Accord was never ratified because the 11 first ministers who negotiated the terms could not agree on whether Quebec should have a veto over constitutional amendments.

12. The Charlottetown Accord proposed considerable change to the structure of the Senate including a particularly controversial provision that would have created an elected Upper House.

13. The Bill of Rights, 1960, enacted by John Diefenbaker, was an entrenched constitutional document because it was enacted by Parliament to govern federal law.

14. In the case of R. v. Drybones, the Supreme Court used the Bill of Rights to strike down provincial legislation.

15. All inequality is inherently evil and therefore contrary to the provisions of section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

16. The list of rights in section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a closed list and therefore if the infringed right is not in the list, the Charter can not apply.

17. Subsection 15 (2) of the Charter allows for the inequality of some when a government initiative is designed to promote the equality of other previously disadvantaged.

18. One criticism of the Charter has been that the emphasis on individual rights tends to obscure the importance of collective rights.

19. In R. v. Oakes, the Supreme Court established a two-part test for the application of section 1 of the Charter.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. What has been described as a mirror reflecting the national soul?

a. constitutional law

b. criminal law

c. nationalism

d. culture

2. Which statement best summarizes the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R. v. Morris, regarding the provincial Wildlife Act?

a. The Act overrides section 88 of the Indian Act.

b. The law significantly conflicted with treaty rights.

c. The methods and means of native hunting are frozen in time.

d. The law prohibited night hunting for all citizens due to the inherent danger.

3. Which statement exemplifies the most significant difference between constitutional law and any other form of statute law?

a. Constitutional laws can only be introduced in the Senate.

b. Only a limited number of constitutional laws can be passed per year.

c. Constitutional law cannot be changed unless the amending formula contained therein is applied.

d. Constitutional laws cannot be signed by the Governor General or Lieutenant Governor of a province.

4. Which three expressions of constitutional law define the powers of government and the rights of citizens?

a. the Bill of Rights, Statute of Westminster, Meech Lake Accord

b. the British North America Act, 1867, the Constitution Act 1982, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

c. the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, the Code of Hammurabi, and the Napoleonic Code.

d. The Fifth Amendment, the Bill of Rights, and the Criminal Code.

5. Which statement best describes the history of the British North America Act, 1867?

a. It was a statute of the British Parliament.

b. It was a treaty between Canada and Great Britain.

c. It was ratified by all 10 provinces before it came into force.

d. It was enacted by the governments of Upper and Lower Canada.

6. A conference of Britain’s colonial Dominions resulted from decisions like Nadan v. R. and the King-Byng affair of 1926. What was the overall result of the conference?

a. The Imperial Conference of 1928 confirmed the unity of Empire in government and in law.

b. The Royal Proclamation of 1930 declared the primacy of British law in all the Dominions.

c. Future British laws no longer applied to Canada and its provinces as declared in the Statute of Westminster.

d. All British statutes were no longer applicable to the Dominions as declared in an amendment to the British North America Act.

7. Which statement best defines the outcome of the “patriation” of Canada’s Constitution?

a. It made Canada’s Constitution more patriotic.

b. It made Canada responsible for amending the Constitution.

c. It made it illegal for men to be paternalistic towards women.

d. It made a constitution that requires Parliament to be more patronizing towards the provincial legislatures.

8. How many kinds of constitutional amendment schemes are in the Constitution Act, 1982?

a. 2

b. 5

c. 4

d. 3

9. According to your textbook, there are two key amendments to Canadian constitutional law embodied in the Constitution Act, 1982. What are these two key amendments?

a. an amending formula for future constitutional amendments and the elevation of a rights document to constitutional status

b. an amending formula for future constitutional amendments and the abolition of parliamentary supremacy

c. the elevation of a rights document to constitutional status and the abolition of parliamentary supremacy

d. the elevation of a rights document to constitutional status and the severance of all legal ties with the monarchical tradition

10. According to the Constitution Act, 1982, what provision applies if changes are made to the structure of the Supreme Court of Canada?

a. Every province has a right to veto the changes.

b. Unaffected provinces have no right to veto the changes.

c. Only affected provinces have a right to veto the changes.

d. No province has a right to veto the changes except Quebec or Ontario.

11. Which statement best describes how Sections 91 and 92 establish the distribution of legislative power?

a. They identify which laws must still be approved by the British monarch.

b. They identify which powers belong to the legislatures and which belong to the courts.

c. They identify which laws are money bills and require unanimous consent of the House of Commons.

d. They identify which laws must be enacted by the federal Parliament and which are reserved to the provincial legislatures.

12. When a province passes legislation that is wholly within the powers set out in Section 91 of the Constitution Act, 1982, the courts can declare which of the following?

a. The law is intra vires the powers of the provincial legislature.

b. The law is ultra vires the powers of the provincial legislature.

c. The law is an example of concurrent powers.

d. The constitution has no application.

13. Which statement best describes the outcome of the “peace, order, and good government” provision set out in section 91 of the British North America Act?

a. It prevents the provinces from enacting their own laws.

b. It gives police the authority to search private residences in the interest of public safety.

c. It allows the provinces legislative authority over matters specific to their jurisdictions.

d. It gives the federal government residual power over areas of jurisdiction not specified in sections 91 or 92.

14. Which situation best defines co-operative federalism?

a. It describes the process where bills pass unopposed by the opposition in the legislature.

b. It describes the process where bills approved in the House of Commons will be automatically approved by the Senate.

c. It describes the process where a matter of federal jurisdiction has been delegated to provincial entities usually in the area of fiscal mechanisms.

d. It describes the process whereby the federal government shifts the balance of power between the provinces to ensure all provinces are treated equally.

15. Who negotiated the Charlottetown Accord?

a. all of the first ministers, all of the leaders of the then three major national political parties, as well as aboriginal and territorial leaders

b. all of the first ministers, all of the leaders of the then three major national political parties, but no aboriginal and territorial leaders

c. all but one of the first ministers, all of the leaders of the then three major national political parties, as well as aboriginal and territorial leaders

d. all of the first ministers, as well as aboriginal and territorial leaders and the leaders of two of three major national political parties, but not the Liberals, led by Pierre Trudeau

16. What provision was included in the Charlottetown Accord?

a. A provision for a separate legal system for aboriginal nations

b. A provision for the creation of an aboriginal territory in Canada

c. A provision for aboriginal peoples to opt out of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

d. A provision for the recognition of the governments of aboriginal peoples as constituting one of the three orders of government in Canada.

17. What was the first major decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that rendered sections of a federal statute, the Indian Act, inoperable?

a. R. v. Butler

b. R. v. Oakes

c. R. v. Drybones

d. Attorney General of Canada v. Lavell

18. Which statement best explains how the tradition of parliamentary supremacy has been affected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

a. The judiciary now has to approve all laws in Canada before they become operative.

b. The provincial legislatures can amend the constitution without the consent of Parliament.

c. Section 1 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms unequivocally guarantees our rights and freedoms.

d. The court can declare validly enacted laws inoperative, if they contravene the rights guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

19. Which statement best describes the applicants’ challenge in Halpern v. R., 2003?

a. The Indian Act was unconstitutional.

b. The reach of police powers violated individual rights.

c. Legislation prohibiting same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

d. Section 8 of the Narcotic Control Act was unconstitutional.

20. What is a fundamental freedom guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

a. freedom of association and freedom of religion

b. freedom of religion and freedom to bear arms

c. freedom of occupational mobility and freedom to bear arms

d. freedom of association and freedom of occupational mobility

21. Which of the following best explains why the decision in R. v. Askov dismissed weapons and threatening charges against the accused and his associates without hearing the evidence?

a. The case took too long to get to trial.

b. The accused could not afford a lawyer.

c. The accused was not read his “rights” when he was arrested.

d. The allegations threatened the “life, liberty, and security” of the accused.

22. Which statement best describes the outcome of the proclamation of section 24 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

a. Any evidence, however obtained, is admissible in a court of law.

b. Any evidence, however obtained, is inadmissible in a court of law.

c. Illegally obtained evidence is excluded if its admission would bring the administration of the law into disrepute.

d. Illegally obtained evidence is included if its admission would bring the administration of the law into disrepute.

23. When does the Charter of Rights and Freedoms apply?

a. It always applies only if Parliament or a provincial legislature specifically agrees to the enacted law being subject to it.

b. It always applies to the laws of Parliament or provincial legislatures unless the law specifically states that it will not apply.

c. It always applies to the laws of Parliament but only if a provincial legislature specifically agrees to the enacted law being subject to it.

d. It always applies to the laws of a provincial legislature but only to Parliament if it specifically agrees to the enacted law being subject to the Charter.

ESSAY

1. In the Halpern decision how did the Supreme Court deal with the arguments advanced by the Attorney-General of Canada. Describe each argument and the court’s response.

2. On two separate occasions the Government of Canada has attempted to negotiate a package that would entice Quebec to ratify the Constitution Act, 1982. What were the names of the packages brokered? What were the key considerations of each? Why were these packages not adopted?

3. Why was the Canadian Bill of Rights not considered to be a constitutional document? How did the non-constitutional status of the Bill of Rights effect its operation? Would the decision in Attorney General of Canada v. Lavell have been different if the Bill of Rights had been constitutionally binding?

4. In the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions in R. v. Oakes and Saskatchewan v. Whatcott, the court considered the application Section 1 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. What decision did the court reach in each case?? What were the reasons for each decision? What was the effect of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the court’s decision?

5. Discuss the Cannabis Act as it relates to the concept of co-operative federalism, delegation, and, interdelegation.