What Roles Do We Have as Canadian Citizens?

Canadian Civics Concept Map

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What Roles Do We Have as Canadian Citizens? by Mind Map: What Roles Do We Have as Canadian Citizens?

1. Uphold Their Duties To...

1.1. Their Community(s)

1.1.1. Community Membership

1.1.1.1. Defining "Community"

1.1.1.1.1. "A social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage"

1.1.1.2. What Communities do You Belong to?

1.1.1.2.1. Geographical

1.1.1.2.2. Social

1.1.2. Community Helpers / Leaders

1.1.2.1. Identification

1.1.2.1.1. A community helper is "Any person who helps with our health and overall well-being."

1.1.2.1.2. A community leader is "a designation, often by secondary sources (particularly in the media), for a person widely perceived to represent a community"

1.1.2.2. Links to Community

1.1.2.2.1. Friends

1.1.2.2.2. Coaches

1.1.2.2.3. Teachers

1.1.2.2.4. Drivers

1.1.2.2.5. Medical Professionals

1.1.2.2.6. Youth Counsellors

1.1.2.2.7. Child / Senior Care

1.1.2.2.8. Cultural Leaders

1.1.2.2.9. Police

1.1.2.2.10. Firefighters

1.1.2.2.11. Religious Leaders

1.1.2.2.12. Athletes

1.1.2.3. How do They Help?

1.1.2.3.1. Safety

1.1.2.3.2. Support / Well Being

1.1.2.3.3. Health

1.1.2.3.4. Learning

1.1.2.3.5. Arts / Culture

1.1.2.3.6. Environment (e.g. garbage clean-up)

1.1.2.3.7. Representation

1.1.3. Following Laws

1.1.3.1. Crime and Punishment

1.1.3.1.1. Judicial Roleplay

1.1.4. Giving Back

1.1.4.1. Volunteering

1.1.4.1.1. Community Service

1.1.4.2. Charity

1.1.4.2.1. Choosing Causes

1.1.4.3. Practical Application

1.1.4.3.1. Find Local Causes

1.1.4.3.2. Determine Eligible Activities

1.1.4.3.3. Determine Costs

1.2. To Oneself

1.2.1. Self-reliance

1.2.1.1. Becoming educated

1.2.1.1.1. Life Skills

1.2.1.1.2. Options after highschool

1.2.1.2. Finding employment

1.2.1.2.1. Career Path Exploration

1.2.1.2.2. Job Searching

1.2.1.2.3. Professional Writing

1.2.1.2.4. Interview Skills

1.2.1.3. Economics

1.2.1.3.1. Budgeting

1.2.1.3.2. Savings and Investments

1.3. To the Government

1.3.1. Voting

1.3.1.1. Political Parties

1.3.1.1.1. Party Platforms

1.3.1.1.2. Liberal

1.3.1.1.3. Conservative

1.3.1.1.4. NDP

1.3.1.1.5. Green

1.3.1.2. Election Process

1.3.1.2.1. Governed by the Canada Elections Act and administered by an independent agency, Elections Canada.

1.3.1.2.2. The Canada Elections Act requires that each general election is to take place on the third Monday in October in the fourth calendar year after the previous poll

1.3.1.2.3. Canadians vote for their local Member of Parliament (MP), who represents one specific constituency (riding) in the House of Commons.

1.3.1.2.4. Every Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older has the right to vote

1.3.2. Campaigns

1.3.2.1. The minimum length of a campaign is 36 days and the maximum length of the campaign is 50 days.

1.3.2.1.1. The Prime Minister will generally keep a campaign as brief as is legal and feasible, because spending by parties is strictly limited by the Elections Act.

1.3.3. Media Literacy

1.3.3.1. The purpose of being information and media literate is to engage in a digital society; one needs to be able to understand, inquire, create, communicate and think critically. It is important to effectively access, organize, analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a variety of forms

1.3.3.2. Digital Citizenship

1.3.3.2.1. The ability to responsibly use appropriate technology to communicate, solve problems, and access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information to improve learning in all subject areas and to acquire lifelong knowledge and skills in the 21st century.

1.3.3.2.2. In general, many students are better networked through the use of technology than most teachers and parents, who may not understand the abilities of technology.

1.3.3.3. Current Events

1.3.4. Taxes

1.3.4.1. Types

1.3.4.1.1. Taxes fund various public expenditures. Some examples of what the government provides or subsidizes:

1.3.4.1.2. Income

1.3.4.1.3. Sales

1.3.4.1.4. Property

1.3.4.1.5. Sin

2. Understand the Government

2.1. Levels

2.1.1. Federal

2.1.1.1. Responsible for the federal administration of Canada

2.1.1.2. The British North America Act gives Parliament responsibility over national defence, money, banking, bankruptcy, Aboriginal affairs, citizenship, marriage and divorce, shipping, railways, fisheries, interprovincial and international trade, the post office, criminal law, penitentiaries, census and statistics, weights and measures, patents, and copyrights, radio and television broadcasting, aviation, pipelines, and telecommunications

2.1.2. Provincial

2.1.2.1. Responsible for public schooling, health and social services, highways, the administration of justice, and local government

2.1.2.2. Provincial taxing powers are limited to direct taxation within the province — for example, personal and corporate income taxes, consumer taxes and certain property taxes

2.1.3. Municipal

2.1.3.1. Local council authority providing local services, facilities, safety and infrastructure for communities

2.1.3.2. Manage the local policing and firefighting stations in large towns / cities

2.1.3.3. Local transportation, mostly relating to small roads and local train tracks

2.1.3.3.1. May operate bus and train services.

2.1.3.4. School boards are often voted in directly by the people and funded by the municipal government itself from the taxes it collects.

2.2. Branches

2.2.1. Legislative

2.2.1.1. House of Commons and Senate

2.2.1.1.1. House of Commons is made up of elected Members of Parliament, each representing a riding (voting area) and are members of a political party

2.2.1.1.2. Senate is composed of governor-general appointed (not publicly elected) individuals

2.2.1.2. Legislative Assembly

2.2.1.2.1. Public policymaking and administration is controlled by a Cabinet similar to Federal but headed by a Premier

2.2.1.2.2. Functions are to consider through debate new laws and changes to existing ones

2.2.1.2.3. Made up of Members of Provincial Parliament that are voted in by the public

2.2.1.3. City Council

2.2.1.3.1. There are usually 10−20 councillors in one council.

2.2.2. How Laws are Made

2.2.2.1. First Reading

2.2.2.1.1. Any idea for a new law or a change to current law is written down. The idea is now called a bill. The bill is printed and read in the House it is starting from.

2.2.2.1.2. If a bill originates in the Senate, the bill is identified with the letter S and given a number; for example, Bill S-4. If a Bill originates in the House of Commons, it is identified with the letter C and given a number; for example, Bill C-78.

2.2.2.2. Second Reading

2.2.2.2.1. The bill is given a Second Reading in the House it is starting from (Senate or HOC).

2.2.2.2.2. Parliament officials (senators or MPs) debate the idea behind the bill. They consider questions such as, “Is the idea behind the bill good?” “Does it meet people’s needs?” “Who will be affected by this bill?”

2.2.2.2.3. If the House votes for the bill and it passes this stage, it goes to a committee of the House, which usually meets in a smaller committee room outside the Chamber.

2.2.2.3. Parliamentary Committee

2.2.2.3.1. Hearings or special meetings are held where different people inside and outside government can make comments about the bill.

2.2.2.3.2. The committee can suggest changes or amendments to the bill when it gives its report to the House.

2.2.2.4. Third Reading

2.2.2.4.1. The bill is debated again.

2.2.2.4.2. If it passes Third Reading, the bill then goes to the other House where it goes through the same stages.

2.2.2.5. Royal Assent

2.2.2.5.1. Once both the Senate and the House of Commons have passed the bill in exactly the same wording, it is given to the Governor General for Royal Assent (final approval), and it can become law.

2.2.2.5.2. During the ceremony to receive Royal Assent, bills that have to do with taxes and financial matters are tied with a green ribbon; all others are tied with a red one.

2.2.3. Executive

2.2.3.1. Head of State

2.2.3.1.1. Currently Queen Elizabeth II

2.2.3.1.2. Represented by Governor General (Federal) and Lieutenant Governor (Provincial)

2.2.3.2. Prime Minister

2.2.3.2.1. Usually the head of the political party in power and is the head of the government.

2.2.3.3. Premier

2.2.3.3.1. Provincial premiers ordinarily hold the position of President of the Executive Council and enjoy the same pre-eminent status as head of their provincial governments as prime ministers hold in relation to their federal Cabinet colleagues.

2.2.3.3.2. The party loyalty of individual members of the Assembly, the power of the party leadership to maintain discipline, and the government's control of the timetable of the Assembly ensure that the work of the Legislative Assembly is dominated by the premier

2.2.3.4. Mayor

2.2.3.4.1. The elected head of the municipality

2.2.4. Judicial

2.2.4.1. Supreme Court

2.2.4.1.1. The highest court of law in Canada

2.2.4.1.2. Consists of nine justices, which include the Chief Justice of Canada.

2.2.4.1.3. The court's duties include hearing appeals of decisions and, on occasion, delivering the court's opinion on constitutional questions raised by the federal government.

2.2.4.1.4. By law, three of the nine justices are appointed from Quebec because of Quebec's use of civil law.

2.2.4.2. Superior Courts

2.2.4.2.1. The Court has jurisdiction over criminal, civil, and family cases

2.2.4.2.2. Composed of over 300 federally appointed judges serves millions of people throughout the provinces, each with a region (jurisdiction) overseen by one of eight Regional Senior Judges

2.2.4.3. Municipal Court

2.2.4.3.1. Court staff schedule court cases, maintain court records and files, collect fines and fees, enforce civil orders, provide justice information to the public, and facilitate the delivery of other justice services, including civil and family mediation programs, victims' services and legal aid services