Issues for Canadians: Discusses citizenship, identity, and quality of life in the context of Canadian governance and economics.
Authors: Patricia Lychak (Senior Author), Darrell Anderson Gerrits, Alain Nogue, Jim Parsons.
Copyright: 2008 by Nelson Education Ltd.
Introduction:
Focuses on issues impacting citizenship and identity in Canada.
Explores opportunities and challenges in building an inclusive society with a good quality of life for all Canadians.
Highlights diverse responses to issues based on individual and collective identities.
Addresses how responding to issues affects quality of life, perspectives, points of view, and rights.
Key questions:
How does governance in Canada affect you and all Canadians?
How does economic decision making in Canada affect you and all Canadians?
Definitions:
Issue: A topic related to citizenship, identity, and quality of life with differing views.
Perspective: Shared values and ideas within a common language, culture, and history.
Point of View: Individual opinions and preferences based on personal experiences.
Quality of Life: A measure of personal and collective well-being.
Rights: Legally established permissions for individuals and groups.
Society: A social system sharing geographic region, identity, culture and political and economic institutions for communal benefit.
Governance:
Relates to how nations govern themselves and citizen participation.
Involves rights (e.g., bilingualism) and institutions (e.g., courts).
Addresses:
The structure and function of Canada’s political system’s affects on decision-making.
The role of Canada’s political system in building an inclusive society.
The effect of individual and collective rights on government actions.
The impact of government decisions on quality of life and personal values.
Definition: Governance is the process of governing.
Definition: Political system is the structure of government.
Economics:
Involves using resources to create and distribute goods and services.
Affected by individual and government decisions.
Addresses:
The effect of economic decisions on the quality of life of Canadians.
How individual values shape economic decision making in Canada and the United States.
The impact of government decisions on quality of life and personal values.
Definition: Economic system is how a society organizes production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Factors Affecting Quality of Life, Citizenship, and Identity:
Personal values, language, traditions, and basic needs (food, security) are key.
Quality of life connects to political and economic issues.
Elder Albert Yellowknee (Bigstone Cree Nation):
Highlights traditional ways, morals, and language.
Emphasizes spirituality and balance.
Stresses the importance of formal education and learning from other cultures.
Points out that ceremonies are always spoken, not written.
Sandra Vidakovic (Bosnian refugee):
Prioritizes safety, public health care, and family time.
Values education and contributing to society.
Dolorèse Nolette (Franco-Albertan school superintendent):
Emphasizes the importance of speaking and living in French.
Values recognition and openness to French language and culture.
Issues: Exist because people value and believe different things.
Criteria for Identifying an Issue:
Involves a topic with a wide range of responses that impacts quality of life, citizenship, or identity.
Framed as an unbiased, open-ended question.
Requires an informed response with clear reasons and examples.
Requires critical thinking and personal reflection.
Requires understanding and appreciation of multiple perspectives.
Requires background knowledge and research.
Example: Gun Control
The topic of gun control raises questions about individual rights, safety and security, and economic costs.
Issue Question: Should gun ownership be restricted in Canada?
Responses to the Question: Some believe this restricts individual rights, while others believe this is to increase safety for all. These can come from law-abiding citizens, First Nation members, and law enforcement officials.
Steps to Respond to the issue:
Identify the Topic: What individuals and groups are most affected by this topic or idea?
First Response: What is your initial personal opinion on the issue?
Central Issue: What is the most common or important question asked about the topic?
Informed Position: What do you believe is your most relevant, supported, and informed response to the issue?
Further Response: What additional relevant and reliable sources can you find that will help you to learn more about the issue?
Action: What action do you need to take on this issue?
Chapter 1: How Effectively Does Canada’s Federal Political System Govern Canada for All Canadians?
Canada has several levels of government, including local, provincial, and federal. Chapter focuses on the federal government.
Explores governance in Canada — the processes and structures that guide how Canada’s government goes about governing.
Governance: Creates opportunities and challenges in responding to views and perspectives of Canadians.
Executive Branch:
* Includes the Prime Minister (PM) and the Cabinet.
* Prime Minister is the head of Canada’s government.
* Cabinet members have responsibilities for different government departments and agencies.
* Cabinet proposes most ideas that become laws and runs the day-to-day business of the government.
Political Party: A group of people who have similar ideas about how government should respond to issues.
Legislative Branch:
* Includes the House of Commons, the Senate, and the Governor General.
* Also called Canada’s parliament.
* House of Commons is the major law-making body.
* Members of Parliament (MPs) debate, study, and vote on laws.
Electoral system: Voters elect MPs to represent a riding.
Majority Government If a political party wins the majority of seats in the House of Commons, it always forms the government.
Minority Government If a political party wins the most seats in the House of Commons, but not the majority of seats, it usually forms the government. To stay in power, however, this party would need to negotiate for the support of at least one other party in the House of Commons, to ensure that more than 50 percent of MPs in the House would vote for the government’s proposals.
An MP has many roles — being a legislator, being a voice for your constituents
Key responsibilities: To represent their constituents and to create legislation for the peace, order, and good government of all Canadians.
Popular Vote: the total votes cast in an election, as different from the total seats won in an election
Senate: Senators are appointed. Represent the interests and rights of Canada’s regions, and minorities. Cannot propose laws that create or spend taxes.
Judicial Branch - Supreme Court: Interprets and applies all law in Canada, including the rights of Canadians.
Persuasive Communication: The Persuasiveness is the ability to convince someone of something.
State your idea.
Know your audience.
Support your ideas with evidence.
Choose Format.
My plan - Organize points
Law Making:
A law becomes a law after each of the processes in both The House of Commons and Senate accept the bill, then after Royal Assent of the law.
Royal Assent: Bill becomes law after the Governor General or other royal figure gives Royal assent to the law.
First nation needs: aboriginal peoples need to see representation and inclusion of their leaders and their ceremonies symbols and practices in the political processes and institutions of the Canadian state
Issues affecting laws. Some include:
* Bill C-30 is to have a law proposed to increase the production of crops for biofuels, as a way to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases.
* Bill C-19 is to have a proposed law to make street racing a criminal offence, whether you are in government or opposition, you have an important role to perform.
* Bill C-321 proposed to establish a National Hockey Day in recognition that “hockey has served as a unifying force throughout our history, is an important component of our contemporary national identity, and is considered a corner- stone of our unique Canadian culture.”
The media:
The role is to provide citizens opportunities to communicate their needs and concerns about political issues.
Lobbyist:
Voice the views of groups on issues the fact their members, products and services including the federal political system then provide different perspectives in depth expertise on many issues
Bias:
* Is the type of thinking rooted in a person's point of view
* An unbalanced perspective on particular viewpoints in the news
Canada's federal political system creates opportunities and challenges for people to participate as active citizens
Government sometimes make decisions to influence consumer behaviour