Unit Five: Challenges and Opportunities
Overview of Unit Five
Making a Democracy Work: Entering the Decision-Making Processes
Social cohesion within a society is enhanced when the members of that society
feel that they have meaningful access to the decision-making processes that
affect their lives
.
The challenge of involving all citizens in national decision
making is difficult for nations that are geographically large and ethnically
diverse, like Canada. Not all populations within the Canadian nation have felt
that they have had equal access to and influence over collective national decision-making
processes. Our nation's future will greatly depend on how the constituent populations
interact.
Throughout Canada's history as a nation, not all peoples have had equal influence
and control over the decision making that affects their lives. For many decades,
the Canadian political decision-making processes excluded large segments of
the population. The elites that controlled political and economic decision making
were reluctant to relinquish their power. Indeed, the constitutional dialogue
leading to the formation of Canada, was primarily a dialogue between two linguistic
communities, French-speaking Quebec and the English-speaking population in the
other regions of British North America. Most citizens of the new nation had
not been directly involved or consulted in the deliberations. It was also a
dialogue among males. Both women and the First Nations peoples were largely
excluded from the process.
The political and economic decisions that surrounded Confederation reflected
the interests/agendas of those involved in the deliberations, namely, the political
and economic elites of Central Canada.
The domination of national decision making by any one segment of the population
or any one region, as existed at the time of Confederation, has been challenged
throughout the 20th century. New realities will not permit such a closed process
aimed at nation-building. Populations, such as women, First Nations peoples,
visible minorities, and labour, who have felt marginalized in terms of national
and societal decision making, continue to challenge systems and institutions
that impede their quests for equality of opportunity.
A large segment of Quebec's francophone population views the political status
quo as not protecting its cultural identity and is seeking political changes
to secure its cultural well-being. Some elements of that community are advocating
that only Quebec, standing as an independent nation, can secure French Canada's
identity and well-being.
The ethnic composition of the nation has changed greatly during the last decades
of the century. The desire/commitment, for an increasingly diverse nation and
peoples to successfully fashion a nation in which all citizens can maintain
their identities, and fully participate in national and societal decision making,
is still to be determined.
High levels of unemployment and inflation, that characterized the late 1970s,
made it increasingly difficult for government to continue to finance universal
social programs. The economic slowdown ignited a debate as to the role of government.
The ideological tenets that supported government intervention in the marketplace
and the development of a social safety net were now being challenged. The perception
that policies that had worked in the past no longer worked contributed to a
growing sentiment that the intrusiveness of government was responsible for many
of the ills facing western societies.
The neo-conservative political-economic paradigm challenged the concept of
interventionist government, placing the blame for the West's economic woes largely
on government. It found a ready audience throughout Western Europe and North
America. Throughout the western democracies, political movements that advocate
limited government achieved electorial successes. The neo-conservatives pointed
to the high levels of government debt as proof of the inefficiencies and "failure"
of state-management of national economic life.
The Mulroney government, elected in the early 1980s, reflected that new ideology.
The new government's priorities included making government less intrusive in
the workings of the marketplace, reducing the role of government, and seeking
a close economic and political relationship with the United States. The proposal
for a free trade agreement with the United States renewed the debate between
continentalists and nationalists over Canada's relationship with the United
States.
The Mulroney government had received considerable electorial support within
the province of Quebec. Mulroney promised to bring Quebec into the constitution.
There were unsuccessful attempts at constitutional renewal throughout the 1980s
and early 1990s. The consequences of those constitutional failures are still
emerging.
New global realities have emerged, in the last decades of the 20th century,
which increasingly interconnect the well-being of Canadians and the Canadian
nation with events and policies that originate beyond Canada's borders
.
The
ability of Canadians to develop coherent policies in response to the new realities
will greatly influence the long-term well-being of the Canadian nation.
Core Material for Unit Five
Core material appears in bold type on the pages that follow. The remainder
of the material in this unit is not core material; teachers may choose to work
through all, some, or none of this material. This material should be seen as
an opportunity to individualize instruction for students with different levels
of intellectual ability and motivation. Teachers may also choose to substitute
locally-developed material in optional areas where it is appropriate. Such material
should reflect community interests and must also meet the skills, values, and
concept objectives of the course.
Unit Five: Foundational Objectives
Foundational Objective 1
Know that within the Canadian community, seeking of new relationships that
satisfy the needs of an increasingly diverse society is proving to be a difficult
process.
Core Concepts
Diversity
- Know that the Canadian community had become increasingly diverse since
the end of the Second World War, and that Canadians of non-British, non-French
and non-Aboriginal backgrounds sought both recognition of the nation's diversity,
and meaningful participation in all aspects of Canadian life.
- Know that as the nation became more culturally diverse, various ethnic
groups became more assertive about preserving their cultural heritage and
reinforcing their position within the Canadian community.
Identity
- Know that populations, within the Canadian community, feel that their ability
to influence societal and national decision making has been limited.
- Know that groups within Canadian society seek to maintain and/or enhance
their group's cultural identity, and economic and political well-being.
- Know that groups will seek to influence societal and political decision
making in a manner that supports the group's goals.
- Know that changing attitudes and actions on the part of both Aboriginals
and non-Aboriginals are changing the relationships between the two peoples,
and in the process, changing the Canadian nation.
- Know that changing immigration demographics are creating new dynamics in
terms of relations among the peoples of Canada and have brought prominence
to the debate of what it means to be Canadian.
- Know that many non-British and non-French groups disputed the Report of
the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism's emphasis on the bicultural
nature of the nation.
Inequality
- Know that significant populations within the Canadian community have felt
that they have historically not being allowed to enjoy equality in terms of
rights and opportunities.
- Know that those populations have pressed for equal opportunities to participate
in societal and political decision making.
- Know that in the decades following suffrage, Canadian women still had not
achieved equality in terms of income, participation in politics and career
opportunities.
- Know that many Aboriginal people have viewed the history of relations with
government as being a history in which the national interest always took precedence
of the interests of Aboriginal peoples.
- Know that prior to the White Paper, Aboriginal peoples were largely excluded
from meaningful participation in decision making at both the national and
community levels.
Immigration
- Know that there was significant opposition by segments of the Canadian
population to admitting immigrants who were not from the British Isles or
the United States.
- Know that xenophobia is a fear and/or intense opposition to internal minority
groups because of their perceived foreign connection.
- Know that, at the beginning of the 20th century, some Canadians believed
that Eastern European and Asian immigrants were a threat to established British,
Anglo-Saxon values and institutions.
- Know that restrictive immigration policies found support within the Canadian
labour movement.
- Know that existed considerable opposition to Asian immigration has existed.
- Know that new realities are impacting relations between new Canadians and
the existing populations.
- Know that in the last decades of the 20th century the number of immigrants
from Asia, Africa and Latin America has grown.
- Know that changing immigration demographics are having social, economic
and political ramifications for Canadian society.
- Know that this immigration has created new dynamics in terms of relations
among the peoples of Canada and has brought prominence to the debate of what
it means to be Canadian.
Assimilation
- Know that assimilation occurs when one culture imposes its values, beliefs,
and practices on other cultures, with the goal of having those cultures adopt
its values, beliefs, and practices.
- Know that through agencies such as the Department of Indian Affairs, the
federal government established the goals and priorities of policies directed
at Aboriginal people.
- Know that the assimilation of Aboriginal peoples remained the desired option
of government.
- Know that there were societal expectations that immigrants to Canada should
undergo a process of assimilation and adopt Canadian values, practices and
beliefs.
- Know that immigration policy has always reflected a dialectic between the
desired population increase, the impact of immigration on established "Canadian"
assumptions and values, and the racial and ethno-cultural composition of the
country.
- Know that the Immigration Act of 1952 prohibited immigrants from entering
Canada for reasons of nationality, geographic origin, peculiarity of custom,
unsuitability of climate, and probable inability to be "readily assimilated."
Foundational Objective 2
Know that Canadian society and its institutions are seeking to meet the
challenges that arise within an increasingly diverse society.
Core Concepts
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Know that the Charter guaranteed the traditional freedoms of speech, association,
conscience, and religion, and prohibited discrimination on the basis of colour,
sex, or creed.
- Know that the Charter broke new constitutional ground respecting mobility
rights, equality rights, minority-language education rights, gender equity,
and multiculturalism.
- Know that the Charter allowed for affirmative action programs on behalf
of women and minorities, recognized language rights, and the right of English
and French minorities to education in their own language.
Multiculturalism
- Know that since the 1960s, government policies have not promoted the assimilation
of immigrants.
- Know that the Canadian Bill of Rights, introduced in 1960, rejected discrimination
on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or sex.
- Know that in 1962, the Diefenbaker Government introduced new regulations
that ended the use of race and national origin as reasons for the exclusion
of immigrants.
- Know that the Trudeau Government, in October 1971, proclaimed "a policy
of multiculturalism within a bilingual Framework." The government pledged
to provide support to all Canadian cultural groups in combatting discrimination.
- Know that the policy was based on the following principles:
- support and assistance for cultural groups to overcome cultural barriers
to full participation in Canadian society;
- promotion of the interaction among all cultural groups in the interest
of national unity;
- assistance for cultural groups to maintain and develop their cultures;
and,
- assistance for immigrants to acquire at least one of Canada's official
languages.
- Know that the Constitution Act of 1982 declared that the Charter be interpreted
in a manner consistent with the "preservation and enhancement of the
multicultural heritage of Canada."
Accommodation
- Know that accommodation occurs when two or more cultures, living in close
proximity, maintain their own identity while sharing specific aspects of the
other cultures.
Aboriginal Rights
- Know that some organizations maintain that Aboriginal peoples possess certain
Aboriginal rights arising from their ancestors' occupancy of the land since
time immemorial.
- Know that both the abandonment of the White Paper and the federal government's
adoption of the policy of First Nations' control of education, were direct
results of concerted lobbying efforts by First Nation political leaders and
groups.
- Know that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides for the recognition
of the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of Aboriginal peoples (Inuit,
First Nations, and Métis).
- Know that the Constitution Act of 1982 defined Aboriginal peoples to include
the Inuit and Métis. Prior to the Act, the Métis had enjoyed
no form of constitutional recognition.
- Know that Section 32 of the Constitution Act provided constitutional recognition
for Canada's Aboriginal peoples and entrenched existing aboriginal and treaty
rights. Those rights were to apply equally to males and females.
Constitutional Renewal
- Know that the Constitution Act of 1982 consists of a renamed British North
America Act, an amending formula, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
- Know that Quebec did not recognize or accept the patriation of the Constitution
and the terms of the Constitution Act of 1982.
- Know that the Meech Lake Accord and the referendum on the Charlottetown
Accord revealed the continuing disagreement among Canadians regarding the
role of the federal government in Canadian Confederation.
- Know that the Meech Lake Accord provided for an expansion of provincial
powers.
- Know that the five major points of the Meech Lake Accord were:
- Quebec was recognized as a "distinct society;"
- three of the nine Supreme Court judges were to be from Quebec;
- constitutional amendments about the structure or power of government
required the agreement of all ten provinces;
- provinces could "opt out" of new federal programs and establish
their own matching programs with federal money; and,
- Quebec was given control over immigration policy within the province.
- Know that there was significant opposition to both the terms of the Accord
and the process used to arrive at those terms.
- Know the several provincial legislatures did not ratify the Accord by the
established deadline and the Accord was thereby nullified.
- Know that major provisions of the Charlottetown Agreement included:
- recognition of Quebec's distinctiveness and of its need to promote
the French language, culture and civil law;
- the New Brunswick legislature and Parliament of Canada would entrench
the principle of two linguistic communities in that province;
- a social and economic union would be enforced through stated common
objectives shared by the provinces and federal government;
- the principles of equalization and regional development would be re-enforced;
and,
- there would be a commitment by all governments to reduce internal trade
barriers between the provinces and to work together to form a stronger
economic union.
- Know that the federal government decided to put the measure to a vote in
a national referendum. On October 26, 1992, the Canadian public had an opportunity
to vote yes or no to the proposed Charlottetown Accord.
- Know that the referendum on the Charlottetown Accord was defeated in a
nation-wide referendum.
- Know that the failed attempts to reach a constitutional agreement with
Quebec produced political consequences at both the federal and provincial
levels.
Foundational Objective 3
Know that there is a debate over the role of government in securing the
well-being of members of the society.
Core Concepts
Ideology
- Know that the paradigms of reform liberalism, democratic socialism, and
neo-conservatism, each defines the relationship between the people and the
government, and the role government has in securing the economic and social
well-being of the citizenry.
- Know that the advocates of the differing political paradigms compete for
the support of the Canadian public.
- Know that there is an ongoing debate over the proper relationship between
the state (government and its policies) and the marketplace (economic activity).
Neo-conservatism
- Know that the tenets of neo-conservatism represented an ideological challenge
to the tenets that created the safety net, and were to define the political
debate on the role of government.
- Know that neo-conservatism shared many of the ideological tenets of classical
liberalism.
- Know that the major tenets of neo-conservatism include:
- The marketplace is the generator of economic activity and prosperity
and is best able to distribute goods and services.
- Government intervention in the workings of the marketplace is undesirable
and should be limited.
- Individuals should assume a greater responsibility for their individual
well-being.
- Know that the policy orientation and a number of actions of the Mulroney
government were influenced by the economic theories of the U.S. administration
of Ronald Reagan and Britain's Margaret Thatcher.
- Know that neo-conservatism which called for a limited role for government,
and the promotion of economic globalization, did not go unchallenged.
Foundational Objective 4
Know that international forces represent a challenge to the ability of Canadians
to exercise sovereignty over national and societal decision making.
Core Concepts
Economic Well-being
- Know that by the early 1970s, the prosperity that Canada and the other
industrialized nations had enjoyed for 30 years was being challenged by new
international competitors including Japan, Taiwan, Korea and other Pacific
rim nations.
- Know that the formation of trading blocs, such as the European Community,
restricted access for Canadian exports to a number of foreign markets.
Free Trade
- Know that a major foreign policy goal of successive Canadian governments
has been to secure international markets for Canadian exports and to promote
attempts to reduce trade barriers at the international level.
- Know that Canada's dependency on U.S. markets has increased throughout
the 20th century.
- Know that the wealth obtained by the exporting resources to external markets
has contributed to the high standard of living enjoyed by most Canadians.
- Know that based on a percentage of gross national product, Canada is the
world's largest economic trader.
- Know that economic considerations, with the goal of enhancing the economic
well-being of Canadians, are important considerations in the formulation of
Canadian foreign policy.
- Know that both continentalist and nationalist sentiments have influenced
the foreign policies and actions of successive Canadian governments.
- Know that there emerged a consensus among the major trading nations, in
the early 1980s, that the free trade of goods and services between nations
be encouraged and that restrictions on free trade be reduced/eliminated.
- Know that the ensuing debate over the merits of a free trade agreement
with the United States divided the Canadian public and placed regions of the
nation in opposing camps.
Globalization
- Know that those who accept the presence of "globalization" articulate
a view of the world that has implications for individual nation-states.
- Know that nations are viewed as being an integral part of a world-wide
economy. The well-being of any nation/region will depend on how it fares
in the world-wide marketplace.
- Know that technology has facilitated mobility of capital, raw materials
and consumer goods that has led to national economies becoming increasingly
interdependent.
- Know that this integration demands that individual states co-ordinate
their national economies and policies, to reflect this world-wide marketplace.
Sovereignty
- Know that manifestations of globalization, such as the reduction in international
trade barriers, has challenged the sovereignty of nation-states including
Canada.
- Know that political boundaries and national sovereignty, appear to have
been marginalized by global economic and environmental forces that demand
integration, interdependence and uniformity on a transnational scale.
- Know that national political and economic agendas are increasingly vulnerable
to the demands and forces and players in the international marketplace.
- Know that some multinationals possess the resources to compete for influence
with nation-states in establishing national agendas and priorities.
- Know that international organizations, such as the General Agreement on
Trade and Tariffs, have the power to influence the economic policies and trade
practices of individual nations.
- Know that while economics and ideology tied Canada closely with the United
States, there were Canadians who were concerned about the implications of
that close relationship.
- Know that Canadian nationalists have been concerned about the influence
of the Americans on the Canadian political, cultural and economic agendas.
Foundational Objective 5
Know that dialectical thinking is a system of reasoned exchange between
points of view in which the merits of each case (thesis) are discussed and evaluated.
Dialectical Evaluation
- Know that dialectical evaluation is the process of:
- gathering information;
- defining the issues within the information;
- testing the viewpoints for factual accuracy;
- testing the viewpoints for their morality;
- evaluating the factual and moral testing; and,
- forming a conclusion about the issue.
Criteria
- Know that criteria are rules or standards which are accepted and used to
provide a consistent basis for making judgements.
Evaluation
- Know that in determining whether a viewpoint is based on a legitimate moral
principle, a variety of moral tests could be applied, including:
- role exchange: is the principle still considered valid when it is applied
to oneself?
- universal consequences: would the principle still be considered valid
if everyone behaved according to its dictates?
- new cases: is the principle still valid when it is applied to a different
but logically relevant case?
Foundational Objective 6
Know that every society will evolve, through debate and consensus, assumptions
and practices concerning certain key societal relationships.
- Know that within each society, there will exist a divergence of views concerning
key societal relationships, including:
whether it is valid for a society to apply contemporary values and beliefs
in the process of evaluating the values and beliefs of past generations
and societies;
- whether it is fair to attribute particular beliefs and values to an
entire population;
- whether the majority, within the society, have the "moral"
right to define the practices and assumptions that govern relations among
groups within that society;
- whether social change is a product of changing societal attitudes and
assumptions or the result of legislative actions by government;
- whether governments should institute measures that further the well-being
of particular populations;
- defining the role of the marketplace and of government, in determining
the well-being of the populace; and,
- whether external forces represent a significant challenge to the ability
of Canadians to maintain their sovereignty over the decision-making processes
that affect their collective well-being.