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A Brief Introduction to…

CivicsBy Russell Clarey

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Table Of Contents3 - Overview

4 - Government

10 - Politics

15 - Law

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OverviewThe Civics course is broken up into three main units; Government,

Politics, and Law. Civics is a mandated course for all grade 10’s in many Canadian Provinces, including of course Ontario. There are two main reasons for this; first of which is that Civics provides students with a taste of both Politics and Law, providing students with insight into what courses they may be interested in taking in years to come. The second reason is that more politically educated youth provides Canada with young voters who actually understand what they want in a government, as well as just generally more youth voting. This then provides Canada with a Government that better represents our diversity of opinion, and will hopefully therefore serve Canada better.

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Government

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Key People In GovernmentEvery role in government is an important role, although there are some

roles that are more so than other. These include:• The Prime Minister.• The Ministers• The Speaker• The Governor General

It is important for youth to know and understand who these important people are, and what they do because again politically educated youth make better decisions for Canada, as well knowing how your country is run is also just a generally good thing to know.

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Prime MinisterEvery political party has a leader, who is usually determined by a vote

amongst that party’s members. After an election, the party that gets elected gets to form our government, and that party’s leader gets promoted to the position of Prime Minister.

Some of the things the Prime Minister is responsible for are:• Almost everything on the federal level (imports/exports, etc.)• He / She is our voice to the outside world • Proposing / Debating new laws and legislature• Appointing Ministers, and the Speaker

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MinistersMinisters are members of parliament (MP’s) that are in charge of a

certain government department. The Prime Minister picks the Ministers from members of his party, and can hire, fire, or shuffle around the Ministers at anytime.

Ministers are responsible for basically anything that relates to their department, and their main purpose is to assist the Prime Minister in managing their specific department.

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The SpeakerThe Speaker is appointed by the Prime Minister, much like the Ministers

are, and is usually a member of the Prime Minister’s party. The Speaker cannot vote on laws proposed in the House of Commons, nor can they propose laws. If they want to discuss a topic or propose a law they will go to the Prime Minister and have him / her propose it for them.

The Speaker’s responsibilities include:• Running the meetings (writes down ideas proposed, calls people to

speak, etc)• Acts as a mediator in metteings

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Governor GeneralThe Governor General, unlike other members of government, is not

elected by the citizens of Canada, nor is he / she appointed by the Prime Minister. Because the Governor General is the representative of the British Queen, he / she is appointed by the Queen, although the Prime Minister does give a recommendation to the Queen, which is almost always followed.

The two main jobs of the Governor General are:• To ensure the government is functional• To approve / check proposed laws

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Politics

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The Political SpectrumThe Political Spectrum is a system of classifying political parties based on their

platforms. Parties that are ‘Left-Wing’ are shown on the left, and usually have larger governments, and ‘Right-Wing’ parties are shown on the right, and tend to have smaller governments. The spectrum can also help us make basic assumptions of what a party’s platform may include. It is important for youth to understand the political spectrum because many may not be able to piece together a party’s platform, and understand what kind of government that party is proposing on their own.

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Left-WingLeft-Wing parties are generally about ‘We’ over ‘Me’, meaning that they

favour things such as public healthcare, and other social programs. The slight downside to said social programs is that taxes in a Left-Wing government tend to be higher.

Some common attributes of a Left-Wing government are:• Public healthcare / other social programs• High taxes• Rehabilitation and prevention programs for criminals• Dislike war / prefer negotiation• Progressive human-rights campaigns (women’s rights, gay right’s,

etc.)

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Right-WingRight-Wing parties are generally about ‘Me’ over ‘We’, meaning they

favour things such as private healthcare, and few to no social programs, because they believe people can do things for themselves. Because of the lack of social programs provided by a Right-Wing government taxes are typically low.

Some common attributes of a Right-Wing government are:• Private healthcare / few to no social programs• Low taxes• Tough-on-crime approach• Traditional social values / Human rights• Often prefer war over negotiation

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CentreParties in the centre of the political spectrum have a mix of attributes

from both Left and Right-Wing governments. Parties in the centre are the only parties that have ever been elected into power on the federal level in Canada. This is because they are less extreme in opinions compared to strictly Left-Wing, or strictly Right-Wing parties, as well they provide benefits from both the Left and Right side of the spectrum, enabling more diverse governments.

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Law

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Legal FundamentalsCanada has a collection of legal principles, in which our legal system is built upon.

Most of our legal fundamentals are inherited from the British system, because Canada was once a British colony. The fundamentals are complementary and are designed to protect the vulnerable, provide justice for the victim, and punish the guilty.

Presumption of Innocence :This principle means that anybody charged with a crime is presumed to be innocent. It

is then the job of the Crown, the legal representative of the Government, to prove that the accused is guilty.

Burden Of Proof :This principle means that the Crown must not only prove guilt, but do so without a

reasonable doubt. This means that the Crown must show adequate proof that the accused did in fact commit the crime, also, in the case of an arrest or a warrant, the Crown must show just cause to believe the individual committed the crime. Lastly this principle insures the vote of the 12-person jury must be unanimous, or else the accused must be released or retried.

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Legal Fundamentals Cont’dHabeas Corpus :

Habeas Corpus is Latin for “to have the body”. This principle ensures that no person should unlawfully detained or imprisoned. This principle goes hand in hand with the Burden of Proof, in that the crown must show just cause for detaining or imprisoning a person, otherwise that person must be released.

Right to a Fair and Speedy Trial :This principle ensures fairness of trials by many factors; an impartial jury of one’s peers,

a knowledgeable and unbiased judge, and strict rules governing evidence, appeals, etc. This principle also ensures that the judicial process must not be delayed, and must begin soon after the arrest.

Equality Before the Law :This principle ensures that all should be judged solely on the evidence with no

consideration of the person’s age, class, gender, religious or cultural background, etc. It also ensures that nobody, not even the Prime Minister is above the law.

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Legal Fundamentals Cont’dBritish Common Law :British Common Law is a collection of small principles that are ensured in our

legal system. These principles include; the right to be judged by a jury of one’s peers, protection against self-incrimination (to show oneself guilty), protection from double jeopardy (being tried twice for the same offence), and the use of precedent (using cases in the past to decide how a current case should be tried / what kind of punishment will be given, should the accused individual be found guilty).