Outcomes
PA5.1 Describe Canada's political evolution.
PA5.2 Explain the purposes and functions of governance structures in Canada, including First Nations systems and those patterned on the Westminster parliamentary system.
PA5.3 Develop an understanding of the nature of the treaty relationship between First Nations and Canada's federal government.
Section 1: Canada: The Road to Democracy helps students understand basic concepts of democracy, the origin of the term democracy and the history of democracy in Canada. Students will also find out more about key documents that help define Canadian democracy, including the Constitution Act, 1982, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Section 2: Canada’s System of Government helps students expand their knowledge of Canada’s system of government, including the three levels of government and their respective powers.
Section 3: Canada’s Democracy in Action contains information about Canada’s representative democracy and how parliamentarians get to Parliament: elections, campaigns and voting.
Section 4: The Business of Parliament, the largest in the booklet, leads students through a lively exploration of the two-chamber system of Canada’s national Parliament, what each Chamber does, the role of the Monarch and Governor General, and the roles and responsibilities of key parliamentarians, including the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the Speakers. Students are encouraged to follow a Senator and a Member of Parliament through their busy day, follow the process of passing a bill and look behind the scenes on Parliament Hill.
Section 5: Parliament in Motion empowers students to get involved in democratic processes by encouraging them to identify important issues and determine appropriate actions they could take.