Is there a “glass ceiling” on the inclusion of women in Canadian government?

eText: Cochrane, C., Blidook, K., & Dyck, R. (2017). Canadian politics: Critical approaches (8th ed.).
course textbook

Length: 500–750 words (two to three double-spaced pages)
The annotated bibliography accomplishes two important objectives. It is both a specific and focused proposal of the essay you will write for Assignment 4, and it is a compilation and summary of academic sources that you will use to help you write this essay. The overall goal is essentially to allow your tutor to see what you intend to do and offer constructive advice that will allow you to draft a stronger essay. The topic you select for the annotated bibliography should be the same as the one you will focus on for your major research paper in this course. If you do decide to change topics—although such change is not recommended—you must only do so with the permission of your tutor. Changing topics defeats the purpose of this assignment.
Note: Because Assignments 3 and 4 are related as explained above, they must be handed in separately. That is, you must wait until you have received feedback and a grade for Assignment 3 before completing and submitting Assignment 4. If Assignment 3 suggests that certain changes or clarifications need to be made for Assignment 4, these changes and clarifications are expected to be made. If they are not made, or are not made properly, your grade for Assignment 4 will suffer accordingly. The grade for the essay is not based solely on addressing the concerns noted in your annotated bibliography, but submitting an essay that repeats or ignores concerns raised in the annotated bibliography is one way to guarantee a lower grade on the essay. Once again, submitting the essay at the same time as the annotated bibliography is defeating the purpose of this assignment. This will require some time management planning on your part.
Select no fewer than three and no more than six academic, refereed scholarly works that relate to the topic of your major research paper. All current students have access to the AU Library to search for relevant scholarly articles. At least two (2) of the articles selected must have been published since 2005.
A refereed or peer-reviewed publication is one that has been blind reviewed—that is, the reviewers do not know who wrote the proposed publication and the author of the publication does not know who has reviewed their work—by at least two qualified peer reviewers. While the peer-review process is no absolute guarantee of complete accuracy, it is far more likely to result in accurate information than information obtained elsewhere. These articles are longer on average than newspaper or magazine articles, usually between 15 and 30 pages. This is why simply using your internet browser is not an acceptable method of research. Almost all library books and journal articles found in any university databases have been peer reviewed. The AU Library database or an equivalent university database elsewhere is a good place to start. The AU Library staff are professionals and are there to help you. Please call and take advantage of their expertise if you require assistance with your research. While the library is the contact for assistance with research efforts, if you have any other questions about this assignment, contact your tutor.
Note: Your textbooks and assignment readings do not count as sources that you can use, but the bibliographies and lists of references contained in the Study Guide and in both of the textbooks are of course recommended as places to begin your search for sources. Also, journalistic sources (i.e., newspaper articles and online websites) are often fine, especially for up-to-date information about current events and informed opinions about current affairs, although they do not count as scholarly, peer-reviewed sources.
Begin the assignment with a brief paragraph (around 150 words) explaining your response to the essay topic chosen, either one of the topics below or an alternate that you have discussed with your tutor. Whatever topic you choose to examine, clearly explain your approach to it in the first paragraph of the assignment. This is essentially a statement of thesis upon which you will build your major research essay (Assignment 4). Note that this thesis statement must be fairly specific. For instance, if you selected a question on a premier or prime minister, it is not sufficient to simply say that this individual had an impact on federalism and your essay will examine this impact. This is already given in the topic itself, and such a “thesis” will not allow your tutor to give you any advice for strengthening the essay. Be specific: what impact do you mean, and how was this impact demonstrated? The more specific and focused your initial thesis statement is, the stronger your analytical effort in the actual essay can be.
After this initial proposed thesis, provide a précis of each work selected during your research effort. The précis does three things: 1) it is a summary of the thesis of the article; 2) it is an explanation of the evidence the author examines to support the thesis described in point 1; and, 3) most importantly, it explains how you intend to use the article in your own proposed essay. (This is why you must be clear and specific in your initial paragraph—if the proposed thesis is not expressed well in the opening paragraph, it will be impossible to forge a strong link between the reference and your own essay.) The précis should total around 80 words. An excessively lengthy précis (i.e., over 100 words) is going to result in a poorer précis, so be very careful to use your words wisely. The annotated bibliography must be submitted and marked prior to submitting the major research paper.
For purposes of this assignment, a “scholarly work” is a refereed book, a book chapter, or an article published in a scholarly journal. Before preparing the annotated bibliography, you should consult the political science research and writing guide .
You should also pay special attention to the tutorial on using Google Scholar . Google Scholar can save you considerable time because it is properly employed and linked to our university database. At no time are you to use any internet search engine other than Google Scholar for your assignments unless your tutor gives you express consent to do so.
Topics
Topic 1: Electoral Reform
Canada has a single-member constituency—plurality vote electoral system (sometimes called “single member plurality” or “first past the post”). Some want to maintain this electoral system, while others support some manner of reform. Examine the main arguments on both sides and then state and explain your own position. Make sure that your essay both clarifies why you take the position that you do and addresses the arguments of those who disagree with your position.
Topic 2: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Examine some of the positive and negative effects of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the Canadian political system. Has it provided a new avenue for disadvantaged groups to change public policy? Has it eroded the role of Parliament? Does it strengthen or weaken democracy?
Topic 3: Women and Politics
Is there a “glass ceiling” on the inclusion of women in Canadian government? If so, what factors account for the less than equal numbers of women in government positions, and what, if anything, do you think should be done about it? (Consider both elected and nonelected officials.)
Topic 4: Indigenous Peoples and Canadian Democracy
In what ways have the interests of Indigenous (Aboriginal) peoples been addressed in our political system? In your view, do more changes need to be made to Canada’s institutions and/or policies to make them more responsive to Indigenous needs? In particular, is it more useful to emphasize the sovereignty and distinctiveness of Indigenous Canadians in order to accomplish this task or to instead emphasize their integration into mainstream society?
Topic 5: Interest Groups and Social Movements
There has been an increase in both interest group activity and “new social movements” in recent years. How have political parties been affected by this growth and mobilization of interest groups and “civil society” organizations?
Topic 6: Voter Participation in Elections
Political scientists have observed a general decline in voter turnout in Canada and in other advanced democracies since the 1980s. Do you see this as a problem? Explain why or why not. If you consider that low voter turnout is a problem, what institutional reforms and/or other reforms would be most effective in bringing more citizens back in to the electoral process? Feel free to use comparisons with other countries (e.g., USA, Britain, or Australia) to make your points.
Topic 7: French-Speaking Canadians
In what ways have French-speaking Canadians both inside and outside Quebec had their distinctive language, culture, and political identity recognized within Canada? What are the best arrangements for recognizing this distinctiveness across Canada and why? Be sure to consider both the powers of the Quebec provincial state as well as the policies of the federal government and the country’s constitutional arrangements, including the federal-provincial distribution of powers and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Topic 8: Party Discipline and Parliamentary Democracy
Explain what party discipline is and the role it plays in Canadian parliamentary democracy. With respect to this role, is the current level of party discipline appropriate for the requirements of parliamentary democracy?
Topic 9: Canadian Democracy and Senate Reform
What is the role of the Canadian Senate? Historically, there have been various reforms suggested to improve the exercising of this role. Would any reform proposal accomplish this? Do the 2016 Senate reforms, which aimed at making the Senate a more independent, less partisan body, meet your criteria for an improved Senate?
Topic 10: Multiculturalism
Official multiculturalism has both advocates and detractors. Familiarize yourself with the arguments for and against the policy and then identify your own position about the advisability of multiculturalism. Your argument must explain your own position clearly and then offer a well-reasoned and respectful response to the arguments of your opponents.
Topic 11: Bilingualism
Official bilingualism refers to the policies, constitutional provisions, and laws that ensure legal equality of English and French in the Parliament and courts of Canada. It is intended to protect the linguistic rights of English- and French-speaking minorities in different provinces and to ensure a level of government services in both languages across Canada where numbers warrant. Consider the progress or lack of progress of official bilingualism in Canada over the past half-century. To what extent has it achieved its goals? Has it helped national unity? What changes, if any, would you recommend to official bilingualism policy?
Topic 12: Minority vs. Majority Government
Distinguish between majority and minority governments and coalition governments. Which of these forms of party government results in a better functioning of the parliamentary system? Explain your position.

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