Sunday, April 27, 2014

Official Power: Contemporary Canada, Apr. 28-May 2

This week will see several positive events which will interrupt our class schedule. Nonetheless, the show must go on... Blue group: If you were absent last Friday, this is what we did:

Monday: Orange, Red, Repeaters:
We will be missing Wednesday, thus we have lots to cover:
(1) HOMEWORK: purple sheet completed (Metis): 4 questions and a timeline (p. 144-146; p. 160)
-having completed this will HELP you with tomorrow's assessment task...

(2) TASK: In-class summary
Discuss how the power relations between Aboriginal groups and the Canadian government has changed since Confederation. Your notes and the reading in the textbook are all you need as sources of information...

(3) NOTES: Aim: Understand influence that the Church had in Quebec society & politics and their relations since Confederation (1867)...
-Make sure you have the booklet that includes aboriginal and church relations with the British authorities. The third page has a reading I included that is very valuable about the decline of the Catholic Church since the end of WWII, especially as of the Quiet Revolution. It discusses the secularization of Quebec society!

Church homework:
Homework:
-read the textbook: p. 152 (bottom); p. 154; 155-156, (doc. 74, 77-education, social affairs)
-bklt, p. 3 - Church and state... answer task 3

Read about the history of Earth Day.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Contemporary Canada: 1867-2014, part 1: Apr. 23-25

Read textbook, pp. 144-146 and p. 160. Answer the four questions on loose-leaf:
1. Who were the Metis? How did they react to the threat to their territory?
2. How did the government respond to the Metis rebellions?
3. What happened to Riel as a result of the second rebellion?
4. Prove that Aboriginal groups today exercise more power than they did at the end of the 19th century. Use evidence.
5. Make a timeline along your loose-leaf, 1867-2012. Place the following in chronological order:
-Signing of the James Bay-Northern Quebec Agreement
-Saskatchewan and Alberta are established as new provinces
-Adoption of the Indian Act
-Metis’ publish demands in their Bill of Rights
-Aboriginals gain the right to vote
-Canadian courts upheld Aboriginal peoples ancestral rights stemming from treaties signed
-Hanging of Louis Riel

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Official Pwr: Apr. 8-11

See bottom for election coverage.

All groups should have completed the pink booklet about official power during the period, 1791-1840. Only the sec. 5's are without the corresponding notes, their binders and their texts, as they were in D417 during the evacuation. We will pick up where we left off on Tuesday, day 8. I will post the notes by Monday. Come collect your books around 8:45, Tuesday morning.

Sec. 4's: If you have your texts, please read pp. 123-130. This will help you to understand what we'll do with lightning speed. It corresponds to p. 3 & 4 of your homework AND it will help you with your essay. Pages 131-133 are also important, if you want to move ahead. Pay specific attention to the picture on page 131. How are the people expressing their demands to the colonial authority? This was illegal at the time!

Next week: We will finish notes about how the Constitutional Act, 1791, established a government structure that created the "illusion" of democracy. In fact, it created tensions and power struggles between the legislative assembly and the Governor and his councils. In the assembly, a party developed that wanted to reform government and make it "responsible" to the electorate. The growing problems in power relations was ONE of the causes of the rebellion in Lower Canada, 1837.

Read about Thursday's (Apr. 3) student protests in Montreal, here. Also, read this "look back" at the Quebec election campaign, which was mostly painful and acrimonious.

Some stats about this election from this CBC website: Could show up as bonus questions!
- Quebec's chief electoral office reported a voter turnout of almost 53 per cent as of 5:30 p.m.
- More than a million Quebecers cast votes in the advance polls (about 20%)
- Across Quebec, a total of 814 candidates are running for election
- 6,012,440 people are registered to vote
- This is the second time Quebecers have gone to the polls in the past 19 months.




Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Charter of Values

An ex-student of mine, Supriya D., who is now a lawyer, is featured on this news program in its exploration of the Charter: