End of Year Civics Assignment 1. Why did the elections “started?”
When Canadians wanted to have select representatives in power and create a democracy where they get fair say

2. What are the major parties running for the election?
The Liberal Party, Conservative Party of Canada and New Democratic Party are the major parties running for the election.

3. Who are their leaders?
Conservative: Hudak,
Liberal: Wynne
NDP: Horwath.

4. In one paragraph describe each party’s platform.
The Liberal Party Platform deals with the topics of: equality of opportunity, true fiscal responsibility, clean environment, affordable access to postsecondary education, universal public health care, open, fair and strong democratic representation and evidence based crime policy. They believe and stand by the idea: when people and families are given the chance to succeed the economy will grow and Canadians become stronger which through equality of opportunity is important, turning deficits into surplus and making the economy flourish while creating good jobs across the country, becoming a clean energy economy, Canadians deserve affordable education, every Canadian deserves equal level of high quality and timely health care by an adequate and sustainable health system, exploring Parliamentary and Electoral reform in order to influence the institution with democratic principles to make a more meaningful and effective representation, and addressing the root causes of crimes and trying to keep our community safe. Stephen Harper, the leader of the Conservative Party created his “Here for Canada” policy platform which fixated on five priorities: creating jobs through training, trades as well as low taxes, support families using the Family Tax Cut and offering more aid to the seniors and caregivers, eliminating the deficit by 2014-2015 via controlling the spending and cutting waste, making our streets safe by implementing new laws to protect the elderly and the children and standing on guard for Canada through investing in the advancing of the development of Canada’s north, where they learn and track down on human smuggling as well as strengthening the Canadian Armed Force.

5. Explain the ads or campaigns that each party has in use (what are they targeting, do they tell you their platform or do they poke holes at other parties)
A majority of the ads tell us why we shouldn’t vote for the other parties rather than just say their values and what they can bring if elected. Most don’t explain their platform, if they do its no more than a sentence on posters and on commercials.

6. What are the major issues that the public has with each party? Explain
The Liberals have received mixed reactions with their legalization of marijuana. There are some who approve of this, but others that are strongly against it because that it is a gateway drug and can lead on to an addiction.
The Conservatives have received very bad attention due to the fact of their Million Jobs plan, it’s been mentioned as a tough sell for voters.
The NDP has had issues with the media saying that they are trying to turn Canada into the US with their job plan. It’s also been reported that the totals aren’t adding up.

8. Based on the results which party are you most likely to vote with (if you could)
I would vote for the Liberals. On the spectrum I got a 54 which implies that I’m center wing. I like their policies because they offer more freedom for Canadians and aren’t strict with the choices we make (abortions) and they have a good platform to achieve.

a. What would you tell someone who is getting ready to vote?
To do their research, learn about the candidates and who is running. Don’t vote for who your friends are voting for, vote for whoever reaches to your wants and needs. It’s your say who should run the province, so make it count.

9. Based on where you live, which is your riding?
I live over by St Clair West, therefore my riding is Davenport.

b. Who are the candidates in your riding?
The 2 Candidates in my riding are: Braden Root-McCaig for the Liberal Party and Andrew Cash for the New Democratic Party. There is currently no Conservative Member of Parliament representing the Davenport riding.

c. What is their platform?
Andrew Cash has been working hard to bring arts, culture and urban issues to the House of Commons. Through his National Urban Worker Strategy Bill, he’s standing up for the rights of self-employed, freelance, contract, part-time employees and unpaid interns. He has been working to make life more affordable through initiatives like his campaign to stop Pay-to-Pay fees. He is also fighting for a cleaner environment and more availability to public transit in the GTA through his campaign to stop the dirty diesel trains running from between Union Station and Pearson Airport and support the idea for clean, electric trains.

d. Where is their office located, (can you easily reach them and contact them)
There is no mention of where is office is located, but due to me being in the area it shouldn’t be a challenge to find it. It would be easy to contract them through phone or email.

Reflection
After taking this course, I now have a large view and concept of what civics is and what it means to me. I thought it was going to be boring textbook work but right as we started we went straight into making skits to show the history of civics. Before I had no idea the Queen had symbolic control over Canada, or even that the bills in the House of Commons can take months or years to finally pass into law. I also learned what the Canadian parties did and what their values are, including the leaders and who they are. I enjoyed the course; it was interesting debating in class as well as discussing where and what happened to the famous missing Malaysia plane. Overall, I found that civics isn’t a boring class that everybody is forced to take, it’s a class where we can learn what is happening around in the world and be taught how we should respond to news and that our opinion is always valid.

This course really broadened my perspective of civics and sparked an interest in politics and debating about arguments. This course was important because it opens your eyes and makes you pay more attention to what is going on around the world. Without it, I’d be oblivious to what is happening all around us, globally and locally, that is not what an active citizen does. If we don’t pay attention to what our representatives do, or even follow the news, they could do whatever they wanted and we wouldn’t even know. It has been an interesting year in civics, I would rate it as one of my favourite courses of this year. It should have been a full year course because it would have provided more of an impact of Canadian civics.