1. Democracy: Principles of liberalism
Looking at Direct and Representative Government

2. Does the government serve the people or lead the people?
“The will of the people...is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.”
Thomas Jefferson (Third president of the USA).
It is important to consider whether the principles of classical liberalism can be applied in contemporary politics.
We will examine that most of these are the ideal to which most governments attempt to aim. Not a goal they are trying to meet.

3. To answer the question “does the government serve the people or lead the people”? We must consider the context in which political decisions are made. We must also consider how the governments are selected. All of this will be covered in the unit...

4. Democracy: a form of government in which power is ultimately vested in the people.
There are two forms of democracies:
- _____________________

5. Characteristics of Democracy:
People participate in _____________________ _____________________. (Direct)
People participate in deciding the issues _____________________ _____________________ and make laws in their interests. (Representative)

6. Liberalism in Direct Democracy:
A D.D operates on the belief that every citizen’s voice is important and necessary for the orderly and efficient operation of society.
Some philosophers argue in favour of this system as a true expression of liberalism.
However this is only practical with a small number of people.
Ancient Athens (world’s 1st democracy) practised this with a 5000 to person group.

7. Many liberal democracies practice certain elements of direct democracy.
Three important instruments are: _____________________ __________________________________________
The USA citizens can use initiatives to create legislation. ( they do this by getting people to sign a petition) if this is signed by a number of people it can force a public vote.

8. Ref: refer the decision to the people.
Referendums or Plebiscites: all citizens may vote on whether to accept or reject a proposed piece of legislation.
Ref: refer the decision to the people.
Pleb: asking an opinion of the people.
** In Canada we have only had 3 referendums**
Ex. Charlottetown Accord.
This was defeated.

9. Usually done through a petition.
Recall Election: voters may choose to remove an elected official.
Usually done through a petition.
In Canada, BC is currently the only province that allows recalls.
If enough registered voters sign a petition then a by-election is called and a new member will join parliament.

10. Representative:
Most modern liberal democracies, because of their size and complexity use a form of representative democracy.
Representative Democracy:
People vote for a person to represent them in government.
These representatives vote for the people’s wishes in government.
These representatives ______________________________________________________

11. In order to preserve the notions of democracy, the representative system is balanced with multiple parties that provide different political views.
Each Party keeps a close eye on each other.
There is a separation of powers. (Judicial, Executive, Legislative).
See figure 10-7 (p. 339) in your textbook for the complete list of the balances with ensure accountability.

12. I. The Branches of Government
i. Government is needed to bring order to society.
ii. To bring order, laws are passed.
iii. To pass these laws, the government uses three powers.
a. Executive: ___________________________
b. Legislative: ___________________________
c. Judicial: ___________________________
iv. Checks and Balances System
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13. The Branches of Government
iv. The type of government you have depends on how these three powers are distributed.
a. Dictatorship: One person (small group) have all the powers which allows them to create and enforce the laws.
b. Democracy: All powers equally distributed
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14. II. Branches of Government in Canada
i. The Executive:
a. Governor General: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
b. Prime Minister and the Cabinet: The Prime Minister selects a cabinet from fellow party members who have been elected to the House of Commons
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15. Branches of Government in Canada
ii. Constitutional Monarchy
a. A political system in which there is a King/Queen who must follow the rules of a Constitution
b. Constitution: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
c. Canada is a Constitutional Monarchy
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16. Branches of Government in Canada
c. Each cabinet minister is responsible for a government department – finance, defence, human resources, foreign affairs, etc.
control the department’s civil service
are responsible for implementing laws under their jurisdiction.
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17. Branches of Government in Canada
ii. The Legislative:
a. These guys turn bills (potential laws) into laws
b. Parliament made up of the HOC and the Senate The HOC (338 seats) is elected and the senate (105 seats) is appointed.
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18. Branches of Government in Canada
c. House of Commons: The most powerful part of the legislative branch.
Each MP represents a different constituency in Canada.
The party in power sits on one side, the opposition sits on the other.
There are 308 seats in the HoC
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19. Branches of Government in Canada
d. The Senate: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Act as a “sober second thought.” That is, it looks over bills passed by the HOC and can pass, modify, or reject the bill
e. A bill must pass the HOC, the Senate, and be signed by the Governor General before becoming a law.
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20. Branches of Government in Canada
iii. The Judicial:
a. The judicial branch in Canada is made up of the Supreme Court, the Federal Court and the Provincial Courts.
b. Independent Judiciary: judges cannot be removed from the bench by executive or legislative branches.
c. The Supreme Court: the highest court in the nation and members are appointed by parliament for life. It has the power to interpret and enforce laws.
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21. III. Parliamentary Democracy in Canada
i. Canada has a constitutional monarchy.
a. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
b. Also called a Parliamentary Democracy
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22. Parliamentary Democracy in Canada
ii. In Canada, we don’t elect people to represent us, we elect political parties.
a. Political Parties: groups of people with similar ideologies who try to influence politics.
b. In Canada, only two political parties have held power: Liberal and Progressive Conservative (PC)
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23. Parliamentary Democracy in Canada
iii. Once members of political parties are elected they go off to represent the people who voted for them.
a. They represent their constituency
b. Where they go depends on what level of government they are in.
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24. Parliamentary Democracy in Canada
iii. Canada has three levels of government:
a. Federal: looks after Canada as a whole. There is only one federal government in Canada.
b. Provincial: the provincial government is responsible for each individual province.
c. Municipal: the municipal government takes care of each city.
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