Canadian Public Administration
Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
Canadian Public Administration examines the structures, processes, and principles underpinning the management of public affairs in Canada at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels. The course explores the historical development of Canadian governance, the roles and responsibilities of public servants, and the relationships between political executives, the bureaucracy, and the public. Key topics include administrative law, policy-making processes, intergovernmental relations, ethics in public service, and contemporary challenges facing public administration, such as Indigenous governance, diversity, accountability, and digital transformation. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how Canadian public administration contributes to the effective functioning of democratic government and the delivery of public services.
Recommended Textbook
Public Administration in Canada 2nd Edition by Paul Barker
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17 Chapters
419 Verified Questions
419 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: What Is Public Administration
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Sample Questions
Q1) "Excessive bureaucratic influence" focuses on the large role of public servants in the making of public policy, and a belief that they decide on major policy initiatives.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which of the following best describes the "post-deficit" era?
A)the federal government's first fiscal surplus in nearly 30 years in the late 1990s
B)the global recession of 2008-2009
C)former Prime Minister Stephen Harper's attempt to re-balance the budget in 2014
D)the oil shocks of 1973
Answer: A
Q3) The term public administration is more easily defined than explained.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: Values and Ethics in Public Administration
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Q1) What is the agency responsible for overseeing appointments to the federal public service called?
A)Public Service Employment
B)Service Canada
C)Public Service Commission
D)Ethics Commissioner
Answer: C
Q2) How is a disposition to distinguish right from wrong is best described?
A)as equity
B)as responsiveness
C)as neutrality
D)as integrity
Answer: D
Q3) Who made the distinction between objective and subjective responsibility?
A)Carl Friedrich
B)Herman Finer
C)Frederick Mosher
D)Paul Thomas
Answer: C
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Public Administration and Organization Theory:
The Structural Foundation
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Sample Questions
Q1) One of the main criticisms of Weber's work was that he spent too much time on the human side of organizations and not enough on the structural aspects of bureaucracy.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Which of the following is <b>NOT</b> an ideal type of bureaucracy as outlined by Max Weber?
A)office management based on arbitrary decisions
B)full-time employment
C)system of hierarchical authority
D)use of written files
Answer: A
Q3) According to Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick, what does the concept of span of control in an organization refer to?
A)the rules and regulations necessary to control the actions of employees
B)no subordinate reporting to more than one supervisor
C)authority and responsibility co-existing
D)the number of subordinates who report to one supervisor
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Public Administration and Organization Theory:
The Humanistic Response and Beyond
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why was open systems theory an important development in the theory of organizations?
A)It recognized the impact of the external environment on the organization.
B)It recognized that there was more than "one best way" to organize the environment.
C)It focused on formal relationships and how they structured patterns of work.
D)It demonstrated that organizations should be perceived as static, stable structures.
Q2) According to Maslow, which category of needs do food, shelter, and clothing fall under??
A)physiological
B)safety
C)belongingness
D)esteem
Q3) Contingency Theory is a form of modern structural theory.
A)True
B)False
Q4) According to the open systems approach, technology is an output.
A)True B)False
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Public Administration and Organization Theory:
The New Public Management, Governance, and Beyond
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following was launched by the federal government in 1995 to improve client satisfaction with government services through the use of service standards?
A)Quality Service Initiative
B)La Releve
C)Increased Ministerial Authority and Accountability
D)Program Review
Q2) How can we best describe Canada's approach to public sector reform with the adoption of New Public Management?
A)more moderate and less discernible than the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.
B)the most extreme approach in the Western world
C)about the same as the UK, New Zealand, and Australia
D)nonexistent since Canada never adopted the NPM model
Q3) New Public Management places an emphasis on client-centred delivery of services.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Open government fosters citizen engagement.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Government Departments and Central Agencies
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Q1) Which of the following is a cabinet committee?
A)Prime Minister's Office
B)Treasury Board Secretariat
C)Treasury Board
D)Privy Council Office
Q2) Which of the following is a central agency?
A)Department of Justice
B)Department of National Defence
C)Department of Finance
D)Employment and Social Development Canada
Q3) Deputy ministers of departments usually change when governments change.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following statements describes the Privy Council Office?
A)It provides partisan political advice to the Prime Minister.
B)It is staffed by career public servants.
C)It is politically operationally sensitive.
D)It is headed by the Chief of Staff.
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Chapter 7: Crown Agencies
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Q1) Alberta has privatized the retailing of liquor.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Ministers and Cabinet do not have any say in appointing directors and chairs of corporation boards and agencies.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What is the name given to a corporation whose mandate relates to industrial, commercial, or financial activities, but that also belongs to the state?
A)government department
B)Crown corporation
C)regulatory agency
D)administrative tribunal
Q4) Which of the following is a regulatory agency?
A)Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC)
B)Canada Post
C)National Energy Board
D)Canada Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission ( CRTC)
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Alternative Service Delivery ASD
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Sample Questions
Q1) There are about 14 different service agencies in Canada.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Special operating agencies must report to the deputy minister.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which term is synonymous with "joined-up government"?
A)public-private partnerships
B)public-public partnerships
C)special operating agencies
D)community enterprises
Q4) Which of the following is the Confederation Bridge an example of?
A)company-owned-government-operated (COGO)
B)build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT)
C)government-owned-company-operated (GOCO)
D)service agency
Q5) Statutory agencies have low commercialization but a high degree of government control.
A)True
B)False
Page 10
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Chapter 9: The Executive and the Bureaucracy
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Q1) Which of the following central agencies have an advisory relationship to the Prime Minister?
A)Treasury Board Secretariat and the Prime Minister's Office
B)Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council Office
C)Treasury Board and the Prime Minister's Office
D)Privy Council Office and the Department of Finance
Q2) No one can influence a minister's proposal.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following central agencies was involved in the Senate scandal in 2013?
A)the Prime Minister's Office
B)the Privy Council Office
C)the Department of Finance
D)the Treasury Board Secretariat
Q4) Central agencies are not allowed to intervene or influence a minister's proposal.
A)True
B)False
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11
Chapter 10: Interdepartmental and Intradepartmental Relations
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Q1) Which of the following was <b>NOT</b> part of the minister's office prior to 1984?
A)private secretary
B)executive assistant
C)policy advisor
D)chief of staff
Q2) Which of the following describes a Memorandum to Cabinet?
A)a vertical initiative
B)a horizontal initiative
C)a mixed initiative
D)a Crown initiative
Q3) There are no individual statutes to specify the duties of the minister in relation to the department.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Interactions between different departments are called intradepartmental interactions.
A)True
B)False
Page 12
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Chapter 11: The Legislature and the Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer reports to the House of Commons and Senate through Scrutiny of Regulations.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Currently, how many standing committees exist?
A)2!
B)10!
C)12!
D)24!
Q3) Which agency is also considered a watchdog agency that reports annually to Parliament on whether departments have kept proper financial records?
A)Office of the Information Commissioner
B)Office of the Auditor-General
C)Office of the Privacy Commissioner
D)Office of the Ethics Commissioner
Q4) The Office of the Ethics Commissioner administers the Conflict of Interest Code.
A)True
B)False
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Page 13
Chapter 12: The Judiciary and the Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which section of the <i>Constitution Act</i> of 1867 confers on the federal parliament exclusive jurisdiction over the making of criminal law?
A)Section 91!
B)Section 96!
C)Section 99!
D)Section 100!
Q2) What does <i>ultra vires</i> mean?
A)"hear the other side"
B)"no one should be a judge in his or her own case"
C)"first among equals"
D)"beyond the power"
Q3) The judiciary is independent from the executive and the legislative branches of government.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Section 7 of the <i>Charter of Rights and Freedoms</i> stipulates that everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Intergovernmental Administrative Relations
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Q1) Which of the following is considered to be the most important "peak" institution?
A)First Ministers' Meeting
B)Western Premiers' Conference
C)Council of Atlantic Premiers
D)Council of the Federation
Q2) What is the name given to the permanent committee of all the deputy ministers of finance from the federal, provincial, and territorial governments?
A)First Ministers' Conference
B)Continuing Committee of Officials
C)Council of the Federation
D)Council of Premiers
Q3) The interaction between intergovernmental generalists and specialists within each order of government is known as intergovernmental bargaining.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Emergency federalism was only applied during the Depression era.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Non-Governmental Actors and the Bureaucracy
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Q1) At which level of public involvement does social media play a significant role?
A)Level 4!
B)Level 3!
C)Level 2!
D)Level 1!
Q2) Lobbying and advocating are very similar activities.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What is the term given to the legitimate means by which groups and individuals try to influence government decisions through direct contact with politicians and public servants?
A)lobbying
B)public opinion polls
C)judicial action
D)free-riding
Q4) News reports thrive better on expected news items than unexpected ones.
A)True
B)False
Page 16
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Chapter 15: The Management of Human Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) Even though cuts were made to the public service in the 1990s, there was annual growth in the size of the public service until 2011.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The Treasury Board Secretariat is one of the major agencies that deals with Human Resource management at the federal level.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Casual employees can only be part-time employees.
A)True
B)False
Q4) When was the <i>Civil Service Act </i>passed?
A)during the Patronage Era (Pre-1918)
B)during Patronage to Merit (1918-1945)
C)during Roots of Reform (1946-1966)
D)during Failure of Reform (1979-1989)
Q5) According to a 2001 survey, the morale of public sector employees has risen.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 16: Representative Bureaucracy and Employment
Equity
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Q1) Which category encompasses most of the low-paid and low-skilled positions?
A)administrative support
B)operational
C)executives
D)administrative and foreign service
Q2) Visible minorities are the only designated group that has been historically over-represented in the federal public service.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Public Service Commission is ultimately accountable to Parliament for the overall integrity of appointments to the public service.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which province does <b>NOT</b> have any pay equity law or framework?
A)Ontario
B)Alberta
C)Prince Edward Island
D)Manitoba
Page 18
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Chapter 17: The Budgetary Process
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Q1) What is the date range for the fiscal year for both federal and provincial governments?
A)September 1 to September 1
B)January 1 to December 31
C)April 1 to March 31
D)April 1 to December 31
Q2) Line-item budgeting only measures inputs used.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Omnibus bills covering the budget are lengthier than normal budget bills.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The Treasury Board releases the budget consultation papers.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Who makes the final decisions on the contents of the budget?
A)Minister of Finance
B)Treasury Board Secretariat
C)Cabinet Committees
D)Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
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