Chapter 6 Objectives for Student Learning

The Constitution

After reading this chapter, students should be able to:

  • Differentiate between constitutional law and constitutional conventions and give examples of each.
  • Outline some of the functions performed by a constitution.
  • Identify the categories of rights and freedoms protected by the Charter.
  • Discuss the principal characteristics of parliamentary government in Canada.
  • Distinguish between the procedures used to amend the Constitution before and after 1982.
  • Explain the major changes proposed by the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord, and discuss the reasons for the failure of these two attempts to amend the Constitution.
  • Discuss the importance of the following sections of the Constitution Act, 1982: s.15, s.24, s.33, s.40, and s.52.
  • Explain how political practices such as responsible government, ministerial responsibility, and judicial independence work.
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