St.
Thomas University
Department of Political Science
Political Science 2106
Canadian Politics
Fall 2004
Professor T. Bateman
HCH 204
460-0356
bateman@stu.ca
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 - 11:30am
Introduction
This course is
a comprehensive introduction to Canadian politics and government. It
will examine Canadian government's enduring principles and institutional
characteristics underlying the flux and ephemera of daily political
activity. It will also examine several aspects of the political condition
of the country that continue to animate political life, among them:
1. National unity
Quebec and the
Rest of Canada
Centralization versus decentralization and who does what in Canadian
federalism
2. Canadian Citizenship
subject versus
active citizen
pluralism versus uniformity
rights-bearers versus members
3. Democracy
Representation
Participation
Choice
Fairness
4. Canadian Sovereignty
Security and
Economy
Continentalism and Globalization
Required Texts for Fall, 2004
James Bickerton
and Alain-G. Gagnon, eds., Canadian Politics. Fourth edition. (Peterborough:
Broadview, 2004). CP
Robert Campbell,
Leslie A. Pal, and Michael Howlett, eds., The Real Worlds of Canadian
Politics: Cases in Process and Policy. Fourth edition. (Peterborough:
Broadview, 2004). RW
George Grant, Lament
for Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism. [1965] (Ottawa: Carleton
University Press, 1989).
A reading package
will also be available for purchase in HCH 206 for $5.00. RP
Other Resources
www.mapleweafweb.com
www.irpp.org
www.canada.gc.ca
www.cric.ca
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/politics.htm
http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/index.html
Requirements
This half of POLS
2106 will count toward 45% of your final grade. The second half of 2106
will count 55% toward the final grade.
Requirements for
fall, 2004:
Unscheduled quizzes,
presentations 10%
Mid-term exam 20%
Book review 20%
Short paper 20%
Final exam* 30%
100%
* Note: Final exam
date is December 8, 2004. Do note make conflicting travel arrangements
Important Information
1. Unless
otherwise noted, the Political Science Department Guidelines will govern
this course.
2. Students' travel arrangements must accommodate the exam schedule.
3. Plagiarism will be penalized to the full extent of STU policy.
4. All out-of-class assignments must be word-processed. No hand-written
work will be accepted.
5. All such assignments must be stapled once in the top-left corner.
No covers or folders, please.
6. Repeated absences from lectures may result in removal from this course.
7. If the professor must correspond with students via email, each student's
"stu.ca" email address will be used.
8. Out-of-class assignments are to be handed in at the beginning of
class. All others will be considered late. Late assignments will be
penalized one point per day late. If a 10 point assignment is late,
1/10 will be deducted. If a 30 point assignment is late, 1/30 will be
deducted.
9. Electronic submissions of assignments will not be opened or accepted.
Lecture Outline and Readings
This term's schedule
comes in three parts, and roughly one month will be devoted to each
part. You will be told in class what readings to have completed for
subsequent classes.
1. Society,
political culture, and citizenship: What does it mean to be Canadian?
i) Socio-demographic
portrait
ii) Political
Culture in flux
Grant, Lament for a Nation
Brooks, "Political Culture in Canada" CP
Nevitte and Kanji, "‘New' Cleavages, Value Diversity, and
Democratic Governance" CP
ii) Citizenship
Kymlicka, "Citizenship, Communities, and Identity in Canada"
CP
2. The Constitution
i) The Principal
Constitutional Texts, Patriation, and Commentary
Constitution Act, 1867 RP
Constitution Act, 1982 CP
Simeon and Robinson, "The Dynamics of Canadian Federalism"
CP
LaSelva, "Understanding Canada: Federalism, Multiculturalism,
and the Will to Live Together" CP
ii) "Mega-Constitutional
Politics" post-Patriation
Meech Lake Accord RP
Charlottetown Accord RP
Gibbins, "Constitutional Politics" CP
3. Institutions
of Canadian Government: Complexity and Dysfunction
i) The Executive
Savoie, "Power at the Apex" CP
Pal, "‘New Public Management' in Canada" CP
Whitaker, "The Security State" CP
ii) The Legislature:
House of Commons and Senate
Docherty, "Parliament: Making the Case for Relevance" CP
Bottomley, "Locked and Loaded: Gun Control Policy in Canada"
RW
iii) The Judiciary
Bazowski, "The Judicialization of Canadian Politics" CP
Lochead, "Whose Land is it Anyway?" RW
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