GLD2OR
Political Party Platforms
Liberal Party
Role of the Government
Some government presence ensuring basic services to everyone
Taxes
Base tax rate on income, with taxes reduced as government revenue from other sources increases
Health Care
Controlled by the government and is regulated by the Canada Health Act
Environment
Research is funded for
alternative energy resources
current pollution sources
Social Services
Finance social programs
Daycare
Affordable housing
Service for senoirs
Increased pensions
New Democratic Party (NDP)
Role of the Government
More government presence in society and economy
Taxes
Higher income paying more taxes than lower income
Use higher taxes to maintain government programs
Health Care
Controlled by government
Fully publicly-funded
Environment
Increase government spending on research into alternative energy sources
Social Services
Financially prioritize social programs
Daycare spaces
Increased financial aid to cities
Service for seniors
Affordable housing
Conservative Party
Role of the Government
Limited government presence to reduce high spending of money
Health Care
Mixture of publicly funded and private health services
Taxes
Reducing taxes to increase the purchasing power of citizens to maintain economic growth
Environment
Increasing fines on private companies and industries polluting
Increased research on alternative energy resources
Social Services
Providing tax incentives to help with affordable housing and service to seniors
Green Party
Role of the Government
Strong government presence
Healthy
communities
Environmentally friendly industries
Discourage waste and pollution
Taxes
Reduce individual taxes and increase taxes on pollution producing industries
Use taxes to fund further research on environmentally friendly power
sources
Health Care
Encourage healthy lifestyle
Increase funding for public health care
Environment
Improve the environment everywhere
Social Services
Fund basic social services
Early education
Affordable housing
Safe food and water
Bias in the Media
Different forms of biases
Bias through selection and omission
Choosing to use specific news items instead of others
Some details ignored or shown to change the reader's opinion
Bias through placement
Stories on the first page are more important
The bottom of the news is info that readers will most likely not read
Organization is very important
Bias by headline
Many people only read the headline of an article
Some articles can be summarized right from the headline
Too much excitement and exaggeration may be added where not needed
Bias by word choice and tone
Use of positive or negative connotation
Too much exaggeration may be used on words where not needed
Bias by photos, captions and camera angles
Flattering or unflattering photos
Captions under photos can have exaggerated word choice
Photos can also influence opinion
Bias through use of names and titles
Labels and titles used to describe people, places, and
events
Bias through statistics and crowd counts
Inflation of numbers
Bias by source control
Always consider where the news item comes from
Some sources include
A reporter
Elected or appointed government officials
Executives
Police or fire officials
An eyewitness
Non-Governmental Organizations
Non-profit organization
Exists local, national, or international level
The idea is to perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions
Forms of funding
Membership fees and dues
Donations
Small donations from individuals
Large donations from corporations or wealthy individuals
Income from sales of goods or services
Grants from other non-profit organizations
Examples
Khalsa Aid
Mighty Earth
Canadian Red Cross
The United Way
CARE Canada
Fair trade
Definition
When producers in developing countries are paid a fair price for their work from companies in developed countries
Principles
Fair price
Fair labour conditions
Democratic and transparent organizations
Community development
Environmental stabilty
What does it guarantee
Independent, third party inspection by Fair Trade institutions
Stable minimum wage
Receive a community development premium for projects
Protect the environment and maintain biodiversity
Comply with international and domestic labour laws,
Civic Issues
Social Societal Issues
Can occour anywhere
Examples
Sexism
Ablism
Bullying
Inequality
Bullying
Weak
Physical health
Mental Health
Academics
Emotional Health
Racism
Inequality
Bullying
Political
Corruption
Exploitatiion
Riots
Economical
Gap between rich and poor
Environmental issues
Religious
Discrimination
Being a Civic Role Model and a Responsible citizen
Informed Citizen
Knows about democratic decision making and what it means to be a
responsible citizen in a global, national and local setting.
Active Citizen
Can think critically about issues of civic importance
Who knows how to participate
Can collaborate with
others
Make decisions
Resolve conflicts
Knows when to get involved with issues of civic importance.
Works with others to make a difference.
Purposeful Citizen
Understands
Role of the citizen
Personal values
Perspectives of others
Reflects upon their thoughts and actions
Personally Resposible Citizen
Acts responsibly in their community
Works & Pays taxes
Obeys Laws
Recycles, gives blood
Volunteers to lend a hand in time of crises
To help solve social problems and improve society citizen must
Have good character
Be honest
Be responsible
Abide by the law
Participatory/Active Citizen
Active member of community organizations
Organizes community efforts to care for those in need
Knows strategies for accomplishing collective tasks
Know how government agencies work
To help solve social problems and improve society citizen must
Within established
systems and community structures.
Take leadership positions
Actively
participate
Justice Oriented Citizen
Critically assesses structures which
Social
Political
Economic
Seeks out and addresses areas of injustice
Knows about
Social movements
How to effect systematic change
To help solve social problems and improve society citizen must
Question and change
established systems and structures
Power and Privilege
6 types of power
Physical (police and militia)
Wealth
State action (government - law bureaucracy)
Social Norms (peer to peer expectations)
Ideas (ex. Individual liberty, racial inequality)
Numbers (power in numbers)
3 laws of power
Power is never static (always increasing or decaying)
Power is like water (flows like a current - politics harnesses that flow)
Power compounds (power begets more power)
Inequality
Unequal acess to opportunities
Example
Justice
Fixing the system or problem to provide equality
Example
Equity
Custom tools that identify and address inequality
Example
Equality
Evenly distributed assistance and opportunities
Example
Votership in Canada
Why people may not choose to vote?
Lack of political knowledge
More likely born in Canada
Less likely to be married
Better educated
Slightly less religion
Earn less income
Lack of interest in politics
Trust in the system
Media influence
Alternative Voting Systems
Preferential System
Advantages
Always have a stable, majority
government
Best represents the views of all
voters
Disadvantages
Can be a very time consuming
process
This can be quite costly as well
Proportional System
Advantages
It represents the wishes of the voters better
Disadvantages
It can result in greater
fragmentation of voters making it
difficult to form majority
governments
The minority government would be very slow
Canada's Electoral System
"First past the post"
Issues
Gerrymandering
Re-drawn riding boundaries to set up a sure win for a particular politicalparty
Regionalism
Political power determined by population
Minority Rule
Winner has more ridings than its competitors but less than half of all the ridings combined
1 vote per person
1 winner per riding
Candidate with the most votes wins
Party with the most ridings wins
Advanced Voting
Voters who may be busy on election day can vote earlier
There are 4 days of advanced voting
Elections Canada is responsible for running all federal election
Elections are held on the third week of October every four years
Have to be eligible to Vote
Canadian Citizen
At least 18 years of age
Proof of identity and address
Use government issued ID including name photo and address
Use two pieces of ID, both have a name and one has address
Use two pieces of ID, both have a name and have one person to confirm your address
Have to be registered
You can call Elections Canada
You can register on their website
You can register at your local polling station
How does voting work?
1) Election worker greets you to a table
2) Show proof of identity and address
3) Election worker will hand you a ballot
4) Go behind the screen, mark and hand back your ballot
5) Put your ballot in the box
Rejected/Spoiled ballots
A rejected ballot cannot be taken because it was not properly marked
Political Spectrum/Compass
A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another.
The political left
Religion
Separation of church & government
Culture
Culture is a battleground
Society
Progressivism & accepting
counter-culture
Health Care
National health care system
Taxes
Higher taxes to support social
services
The Budget
Use government money to support programs, even if it means borrowing money to do it
Crime & Punishment
Rehabilitation in the criminal
Spending
Government will spend to stimulate economy
Social Assistance
Government assistance provided
health care support
Economics
Government aid & involvement
Crown corporations
nationalization of economy
Political Philosophy
Equality of outcomes
Social Scale
Socially liberal
Progressive values
Moving forward on civil liberties
Socially conservative
Traditional values
including family life
keeping status quo on moral issues
keeping status quo on family life
Fiscal Scale
Fiscally liberal
Higher taxes
More government spending
More government
involvement
Free Market
Fiscally conservative
Low taxes
Low government spending
Less government
intervention
Free Market
The centre
Many people fall in a category slightly left or slightly right
few people agree with both points on both sides
Political Ideology
a set about the role of government and how society should work
The political right
Religion
Governments support church &
religion
Culture
Important to defend
Society
Tradition & moral order
Health Care
User pay system
Taxes
Lower taxes so free enterprise can
flourish
The Budget
Balance the budget, even if it
means cutbacks
Crime & Punishment
Harsher penalties, including capital punishment
Spending
Cut government spending & reduce involvement
Social Assistance
Individual burden
Economics
Business & free enterprise;
decentralization of economy
Political Philosophy
Equality of opportunities
Leadership Styles
Autocratic
Characteristics
Tell others what to do
Messages are passed down
Relies on Discipline
Rules never change
Limited discussion
When Effective
Time is limited
Emergency
No established vison
Large number of people
When Ineffective
No loyalty or trust
members have some skills
New ideas are needed
Examples
Workplace-Boss
Sports-Coach
Germany-!930s-1940s
Democratic
Characteristics
Interpersonal approach
All group members are involved
Leader asks for some input
Entire group shares in decisions
When Effective
Goal is personal growth and satisfaction
Instructing or teaching
To increase morale
There is ample time
When Ineffective
Group lacks motivation
Group lacks knowledge, skills and experience
Leader lacks communication
High degree of conflict is present
Examples
Canada
U.S.A
Laissez-Faire
Characteristics
Leader gives little/no direction
Leader is only a source of info
No person appears in charge
When Effective
Participants are self motivated
Participants are educated and skilled
Plenty of time
Routine is familiar
Sense of team already exists
When Ineffective
Participants are not educated and skilled
Low sense of team
Time is urgent
Examples
Somalia
Workplace-Boss
Charter of rights and freedoms
Constitution act
Made Canada its own country
Created in 1982
Protesting
Common forms of arrests from protesting
Causing a disturbance
Common nuisance
Mischief
Unlawful assembly
Rioting
Conspiracy of committing a crime
Guarantees the freedom of expression
freedom of
association
freedom peaceful assembly
It is important to know the rules of law beforehand
5 charter freedoms
Freedom of conscience and religion
Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression
Freedom of the press and other media of communication
Freedom of peaceful assembly
Freedom of association
6 charter rights
Equality Rights
Right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination
Cannot be discriminated based on
Race
Religon
Age
National or ethnic origin
Skin
Mental or physical disability
Official Language Rights
The right to receive government services in either English or French
Language Education Rights
The right to have one's children educated in the language of their parents
Legal Rights
Any person charged with an offence has the right
to be informed without unreasonable delay of the specific offence
tried within a reasonable time
Mobility Rights
right to enter
remain in
leave Canada
Democratic Rights
Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election
Social Determinants of Health
Reflects the conditions that we live in
where we sleep
where we work
where we play
Includes various categories
Education
Income
Early Child Development
Employment
Social Environment
Physical Environment
Branches of Government
Legislative
House of Commons
Members elected by voters
Senate
Members appointed by Prime Minister
Held in Canada by Parliament
Power to make laws
Judicial
the power to find a person innocent or guilty
Courts
Supreme Court
Highest court in Canada
Provincial and Federal Courts
Executive
Carry's out laws
Power held by Queen and Governor General
Prime Minister
The leader of the majority party
The Cabinet
MP's selected by the PM
Democracy
A political system in which the people of a country rule through any form of government they choose to establish
Meets diverse needs of people
People make decisions that reflect the will of the majority
Democratic citizens take responsibilities of living democratically
Obstacles/objections to democracy
Ethnic Differences and Conflicts
Differences among ethnic groups can create disunity
People believe that authoritarian governments are better than democratic ones
Obeying one leader there will be no disunity
A Large Gap Between Rich and Poor
Democracy needs a large
middle class in order to work
common in many developing countries
A Low Literacy Rate
Will have problems
Free press allows public issues to be examined and discussed
People that cannot read cannot participate
2 types of democracy
Representative Democracy
Citizens vote for people to represent them in
the government
Direct Democracy
Every citizen directly participates
The democratic citizen
Open communication
Communicate openly in issues that shape their community, nation, and world.
Mass participation
Participate individually and collectively in issues that shape their community, nation, and world.
Human dignity
Protect and uphold the dignity of all people
Respects the rights
Respect the rights of others
Works for the common good
Has a sense of responsibility for other people
Personal Freedoms
Freedom of conscience and religion
Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression
Freedom of the press and other media of communication
Freedom of peaceful assembly
Freedom of association
Political Freedoms
Speak freely
Form associations
run for office
Vote without being intimidated
Rule of Law
EVERYONE must adhere to the same laws
Laws should be known, predictable, and impartial.
Political Equality
Every citizen has the same right
To vote
Run for office
Speak on public issues
Common Good
Work towards what will make the most people safe, secure, and happy
Should have a sense of responsibility and caring for others
Levels of Government
Federal(or National)
Ran by the Prime Minister
Responsibilities
National Defence
Banking and Currency
Foreign Affairs
Immigration and Citizenship
Criminal Law
Communications
Canada Post
Agriculture
Fisheries and indigenous issues
Subtopic
Provincial
Ran by the Premier
Responsibilities
Education
Health Care
Driver's Licenses
Adoption
Sports and Recreation
Labour Legislation
Social Services and Highways
Workplace safety and rights
Natural Resources
Municipal(or local)
Ran by the Mayor
Responsibilities
Libraries and Community Centres
Firefighters
Garbage collection and recycling
Building Permits
Land Zoning
Public Transit
Snow Clearance
Parks and Recreation
Road maintenance