We’ve just recently gone through our election process in Canada and you’ve been fortunate enough to have time to discuss and learn about this decision-making power through real, current events.

Some other examples related to parliament and the ways decision-making is fairly made and balanced in Canada are included below:

1. 1. Parliament/Provincial Legislative: What’s the difference between minority and majority governments? And what examples have we had of them in Canada’s recent government? Find out what number of seats the different parties had that allowed for the party forming the government to be designated as either a majority or minority government.
      • House of Commons Floor Plan – seats per party & per province
      • Per Federal Riding – number of voters per MP & area covered by their riding
      • List of Canadian Parliament of past years – look at the difference in composition through the decades
        • 1.For how many years did the Canadian government exist with just two parties, compared to more recent elections where there are more recognized, Official Third Parties? Pick one Canadian government term and comment on what you notice or find interesting about its composition or make-up.
        • 2. Look at the makeup of the 41st Canadian Parliament – what looks so different about that one or is so unique about how it came to be? Explain how it differs so much to the 42^nd Parliament composition that followed it.
      • Canada’s 43rd Parliament – list of seats per party, etc
        • 3. Based on the calculation of seats per party in the current government, is it easy or more challenging for parties to carry out their desired decisions? Answer for the leading party and the opposition party.
        • 4. Based on the calculation of seats per party in the current government, is it easy or more challenging for parties, both ruling and opposition, to carry out their desired decisions?
      • Party representatives elected per province – look to see how varied, or not varied, the elected members representing a certain party are by province
      • Party Representatives elected per province – a better look per province on this seating chart here
        • 5. What observation can you make about the values or ideology of Canadians based on who/what party members they elected in their local ridings by province?
      • List of Standing Committees: these are the groups that meet to discuss issues and hear from experts in these areas before creating new bills or voting on them
   2. Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition:
      • • 1. Non-confidence of minority governments: examples of minority governments that have had votes of non-confidence against them
                6. Looking at the list of Canadian federal governments that lost votes of confidence in the House of Commons, which one on the list is unique in its outcome and why? 
          2. CBC Archives: Paul Martin’s government falls after non-confidence vote

   3. Regular Elections:
      • 7. Explain the circumstances behind Canada’s last potential election and how it was resolved without an election. How does the 41^st Parliament outcome hint to reasons why government parties may want to avoid a triggered election?

4. Supreme Court of Canada:

• • SCC Cases in Brief website – decisions made on cases before the court
    • For comparison, here is the website that lists the number of Saskatchewan court cases for the Court of Queen’s Bench, the highest level of court in a province that deals with the most serious cases and offences. Each province has their own list of cases heard per year, similar to this list.
  • SCC home page – check for Live hearings video feed
    • Looking at the SCC page of cases ruled on located here, answer the following:
      • 8. Count how many cases the Saskatchewan Court of Queen Bench heard in 2020 so far. Then count how many cases the S.C.C.  heard in 2020, 2019 and 2018. What does it tell you about the types of cases this court chooses to hear or the access to this level of Canadian court justice, if the number of cases per year is fairly low? 
      • 9. Find/identify the following types of cases. In one sentence, summarize one of these cases.
        • two cases of the Crown versus an individual
        • one case of a province versus another party,
        • and one case of an individual versus Canada.

5. Freedom of the Press:

What do this morning’s Russian newspapers say about the results of the detailed @Bellingcat investigation into the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny & claims about an FSB hit squad? Nothing. #ReadingRussia @BBCNews @BBCWorld https://t.co/Qj2XB1ZSOG pic.twitter.com/u99dGs1xCl

— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) December 15, 2020

• • Public Safety Minister to investigate after serious offender moved to minimum security prison
    • 10. In December, 2018, Canadian media published the concerns of the father of a young girl who was kidnapped/murdered in 2009. His concern/anger was over learning the convicted killers of his daughter had been transferred to minimum and medium security locations. The issue was brought up by Opposition Party members (Conservatives) in the House of Commons in 2018 and responded to by Liberal party members. 
      • a) Search and list at least four Canadian media sources that published the reports of the initial move and concern of the father. Write their article titles, dates, and source publishers below. 
      • b) Identify the final outcome of the issue brought up by media and addressed by Parliament. Cite your source for your answer.