Chapter 15 Canada---Government and society

1、 I.PoliticsConstitution Canada, a self-governing member of the Commonwealth, is a federation of 10 provinces and three territories. The Canadian federal state was established in 1867 by The British North America Act. With the passing of the Constitution Act of 1982, the Canadian Constitution is enti

2、rely in the hands of the Canadians. The federal-provincial conferences are the most important conferences, which bring together administrative or political officials of the Canadian Government and of the ten provincial governments to resolve important issues. The Westminster system Canadas political

3、 structure is modeled after those of Britain and the United States, it can be described as both a federation like the U.S. and a constitutional monarchy like Britain. legislature executive judiciaryLegislative Power-parliament of Canada, which consists of two Houses: the Senate of 105members appoint

4、ed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister -Its functions primarily to accept or reject the suggestions of the House of Commons. House of Commons of 308 members apportioned according to provincial population. Laws must be passed by both Houses and signed by the Governor G

5、eneral in the Queens name. Executive Power-recognize Britains monarch, Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State. Governor General theoretically in practice Federal government-Prime Minister, cabinet provincial government-Lieutenant Governor Premier territorial government-less power Election are held at l

6、east every five years. The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons.Judicial Power-The laws of the federal Parliament apply to the whole country, while provincial statutes are valid only within their own territories. Four-level structure the Supreme Court the Federa

7、l Court of Appeal provincial courts of appealThe Federal Court, provincial and territorial the Tax Court superior courts provincial courts Political Parties Three main political parties: the Liberal Party-the largest one, has been in office in Canada for most of the Canadian history- -liberal social

8、 policy, moderate economic policy the Conservative Party-right-wing, formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance (加加 拿大聯(lián)盟）拿大聯(lián)盟）and the Progressive Conservative Party in December 2003. the New Democratic Party-left-wing Election-each province has its own electoral system, and there is a national el

9、ectoral system for the federal Parliament. Woman were given the right to vote in federal elections in 1918; Citizens aged 18 or older have the right to vote. The Chief Electoral Officer, the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer cannot vote. Five years, but usually at approximately four- year intervals, an

10、d they can be called at any time especially when no single party has a majority in the House of Commons. II Society Population -the second largest country in the world in terms of landmass, yet it ranks only 36th in terms of population-31 million in 2006 -about three quarters of the Canadian populat

11、ion is mainly concentrated along the southern border with the U.S. Multicultural Society language-linguistic duality two predominant languageEnglish, French One out of every six people reported having a mother tongue other than English or FrenchChinese, Italian, German, Punjabi（旁遮普語）and aboriginal l

12、anguages. Multiculturalism-34 ethnic groups (many of them keep their own distinctive cultural characteristics. A Royal Commission -cultural mosaic Canadian Multiculturalism Act Immigration into Canada racist immigration policy the World War II “point system” Canada has opened its door to immigrants

13、of all races and religions from any countries.From Citizenship and Immigration Canada-Skilled workers and professionals Skilled workers are selected as permanent residents based on their education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French, and other criteria that have been shown to help t

14、hem become economically established in Canada. All the information and forms you need to apply as a federal skilled worker are here. Note: The province of Quebec is responsible for selecting its own skilled workers. If you plan on living in Quebec, see Quebec-selected skilled workers for more inform

15、ation. The rules for applying as a federal skilled worker can change from time to time without notice, so make sure you visit this site regularly if you are considering immigrating to Canada under this category. III. EconomyNatural resources: water-Great Lakes, generate three quarters of electric po

16、wer mineral resources-Canadian Shield（加拿大地盾） The coalfield of Canada may be among the largest in the world. The third in the production of lumber in the world, because forests cover half of the land area. furs-are another valuable resource.Manufacturing: Food processing is the leading industry. The

17、manufacturing of transportation equipment ranks the second.Economy Today the worlds most important trading nations-export: manufactured or semi-processed materials, expertise. (partner-the U.S.) IV. Education Characters compulsory (age 616) free (citizens, permanent residents) different system (different provinces) Canada has no national or federal department of education. being comprehensive, diversified available, considerable financial commitment 2. Elementary, Secondary, Higher Education Elementary school- starts with 4 or 6 years old, vary from school to school, province to provi