What is Government? Why do we have it? Where does it come from? Political Parties Ideologies

What is Government? Government is a complex structure of politicians, bureaucrats, agencies, organizations and laws Types of government vary: What types can you name?

democracy Canada, US, GB, Germany, France, Scandinavia, Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, NZ, Japan, South Korea....etc. parliamentary = GB, Australia, NZ, Germany... presidential = US, France, South Korea, Mexico... constitutional monarchy GB, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium... absolute monarchy Saudi Arabia tyranny North Korea oligarchy South Africa (until 1994) – now a democracy...

 Canada is a “Democracy” and we use a Parliamentary system:  Democracy – political parties can be created, free elections, voting, free speech, freedom of the press...  Parliamentary – 2 “houses” of government – House of Commons (lower house - elected) and the Senate (upper house - appointed)  These 2 houses work together to run the country.

 We are a “constitutional monarchy” – the BNA Act (constitution) is based on British tradition and we have a Queen (monarchy)  Canada was established as the “Dominion of Canada” in 1867 with the British North America Act (BNA)  Our government is also a “federal system” – the powers of government are divided between the federal (national), provincial and municipal (local) levels of govt.

 Do we need government? YES/NO - Why?  What does government do for us? - Services (water, roads, electricity, schools), law & order, organization and structure…  What does government prevent us from doing? - Breaking the law, doing whatever we want…  What would happen if we had no government? - anarchy? - no services, no law & order….

True or False? 1. Queen Elizabeth is the Queen of Canada 2. The Queen is Canada’s Head of State 3. The Canadian Forces, Post Office and Civil Service function in her name 4. “God Save the Queen” is the royal anthem 5. The Queen refers to the Cdn. Govt as “my govt” 6. New citizens swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen 7. No bill can become law until it receives “royal assent” (the Queen’s approval)

 In Canada, the federal govt. has been dominated by 2 political parties since 1867: - Liberals and Conservatives  But, at both the federal and provincial levels, other parties have emerged: - NDP, Bloc Quebecois, Green… - Communist, Marijuana, Rhino…  All of these parties want to gain and exercise power, and once in power, they want to implement their “political platform”: - a parties statement of ideas and principles - how they feel the country should be governed

 A political parties “platform” is based upon its “ideologies”, or system of beliefs, values and morals  Different ideologies are often called “right wing” or “left wing”: - right wing = limited govt. involvement in the economy and society; individual freedoms, espec. to make $; tough on crime; lower taxes; free trade... - left wing = govt. should create economic, social and political equality; promote rehabilitation vs. punishment and incarceration of criminals; higher taxes to pay for social programs...

 These ideologies are then compared on a “political spectrum” which helps to organize the political parties and their beliefs  BUT... - right and left labels don’t always apply - you might be left on some issues and right on others - parties can also shift their beliefs over time Communism (L) NDP Liberal Conservative Facism(R)