The Monarchy

The British monarch (Elizabeth II – since June 2) is Canada’s official head of state through which the entire authority of the gov-t is set in motion & in whose names laws are enacted. The Queen’s role is set out in the Constitution Act of 1867, & the same act gives the monarch commander-in chief status over Canada’s armed forces. She appoints the Governor-General on the PM’s recommendation. Only during royal visits to Canada she performs her ceremonial duties herself (like the opening of parliamentary sessions).

The appointment of the GG is usually 5 yy., but it may be extended to 7 yy. The GG executes all state documents, appoints judges to the Supreme Court of Canada on the advice of PM, opens & dissolves Parliament, invites the PM to form the gov-t.

The House of Commons is a 308-member elected federal assembly. Member elections are held every 5 yy. By-elections are held if a member dies or resigns between federal elections. All bills within federal jurisdiction must be passed by a majority of Members of parliament – the fundamental basis of gov-t in Canada. MPs usually belong to a political party & normally vote with their party on any proposed legislation. Occasionally, members mat sit as Independents (that don’t belong to any political party), or join another political party in the HC, but this happens rarely.

An important feature of parliament is the daily Question Period at which MPs question Cabinet ministers about their policies & actions.

Any member may introduce a bill, but this is usually done by a member of Cabinet. The gov-t is obliged to resign if a major piece of legislation introduced by the gov-t is defeated by a vote in the HC.

Provincial Gov-t. Parallels the federal gov-t in several ways. A Premier leads the gov-t by virtue of being leader of the party with the most support in the provincial legislature & forms a cabinet from the elected members of the government party. Members of a provincial legislature also represent constituencies & approve legislation within their jurisdiction. A Lieutenant-Governor is appointed by the Governor-General. The major difference between the provincial & federal systems: the provinces have no equivalent of the federal Senate, that is the provincial legislatures are unicameral.

A Premier must call a general election once every 5 yy. or less. The voters choose the candidates of their constituencies (not the Premier), the real competition is between the leaders of various political parties (each party’s position on a particular issue is a major consideration of the voter).

In provinces the Lieutenant-Governor represents the monarch, gives royal assent to legislation, opens & closes sessions of the provincial legislature, accepts the Premier’s resignation if the gov-t is defeated in the Assembly.

The federal system allows for differences in gov-t from province to province (for instance, Quebec’s civil law is mainly based on Roman & French legal practice while in other provinces – upon English common law). Provincial gov-ts have authority over the matters of civil law, civil rights, education, public health, management of public lands, & municipal gov-t. In areas such as health care, co-operation of federal gov-t & provincial gov-ts is essential. Regular conferences between the PM & the provincial premiers are called to set a common policy in these areas.

The 3 Canadian territories are governed by elected representatives. The Commissioner’s role (who is appointed by the federal gov-t) is similar to the role of Lieutenant-Governor: they follow the wishes of the elected representatives when exercising their authority. In the territories real gov-t is exercised by legislative assemblies.

The main political parties. In general, there’re more than 23 parties in Canada.

The Liberal Party (the Grits) – the oldest (founded on July, 1, 1867). Keeps to the principles of liberalism – observation of the rights (a bit to the left). Michael Ignatieff was elected leader of the party in May 2009. The incumbent leader is Justin Trudeau (since April, 2013).

The main policy directions:

- the spread of civil rights & civil liberties

- the establishment of the modern welfare state

- religious toleration

- development of globalization

The Conservative Party. Steven Harper – the PM & the leader of the Conservatives. (won 166 seats in Parliament).

Steven Harper: born in 1959, economist, worked in the Petroleum Industry. He’s unpopular.

The main policy directions:

- free enterprise (свободное предпринимательство)

- industrial activities

- stringent measures against crime, drug addicts, usage of toxic chemicals (to reduce greenhouse effect)

The New Democratic Party - an official party in opposition. Thomas Mulcair – the newly-elected leader. (103 seats in the Parliament out of 308). Hold to the principles of Social Democracy (to the left of the spectrum), has support of the less wealthy Canadians.

Block Quebecois (BQ). On the federal level they only have 4 seats in Parliament. The idea of separatism (leaving Canada) is not popular.

29. Highlight the mainstream dev-t of Canada in the 20^th & 21^st centuries. Canada in the world today.

By the end of the 19^th c. Canada began showing its economic potential. Agriculture, mining, forestry, fishing & manufacturing, stimulated by foreign investments, increased in scope. The construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1885: British Columbia was connected with the eastern provinces. Its construction was associated with the Pacific Scandal: the Canadian PM - John MacDonald – became involved in illegal deals which led to his resignation & nearly put an end to the entire railroad project. The Pacific project was finished after he regained power several 5 yy. later – the famous last spike was driven in the Monashee Mountains on November, 7, 1885. With the completion of the railway, Canada became a united political body.

As a result, there was a considerable increase of population in the western Canadian Provinces: in 1911 almost 25 % of Canadians lived west of Ontario (while in 1891 only 5 % lived in the West). 2 major factors contributing to this rapid settlement of the West were: 1) economic depression in the Eastern part of Canada which started in the 1870s (major industrial centres – Ontario & Quebec were particularly hit), & 2) the massive immigration campaign launched by the federal gov-t, offering free land, a new life, a golden future.

A major factor in the achievement of prosperity was immigration. People stampeded onto the western prairies to claim free homesteads at the remarkable rate of 300.000/ y. In 1897 gold was discovered in Klondike, & people moved even further to the west in search of their fortunes. This rush of immigrants led to the creation of the 2 new western provinces – Alberta & Saskatchewan in 1905.

The prairies were transformed into a land of wheat fields & prosperous cattle ranches. Meanwhile the E/p demand for wheat shot up: wheat prices climbed, the cost of shipping it fell, & the Canadian economy boomed.

The immigrants that arrived in Canada came from Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, and the USA – all in search of a better life. The opportunities in their homelands were limited (the Industrial Revolution raised the birth rate & decreased the death rate – there wasn’t enough land – a new class of landless peasants appeared). The Canadian gov-t’s promised 674 hectares of good farmland. For others, the move was a chance to become self-sufficient, an adventure. For some (like the Mennonites, Hutterites, & Doukhobors) religious persecution was the motive: they hoped they could worship in peace. The Slavs & Jews from Galicia faced persecution from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Jews also faced discrimination in Russia. Asians came to work on railroads.

The new settlers required goods produced in the eastern factories while in turn, they provided the food (wheat) for the growing urban population of central Canada and for export. By 1914 Canada was an integrated country with a strong east-west economy.

The rapid growth of international trade after 1896 meant more job opportunities. Canada received the advantage from the fact that the USA’s West was settled & the Canadian West became the last best West.

Soon a network of small villages, towns, & cities grew up to provide services such as road networks, livestock & grain markets, machinery, bankers, insurance agents. The needs for rails & railway wagons led to the growth of steel & other manufacturing industries in Ontario & Quebec.

In the first decade of the 20^th c., Canada welcomed more immigrants than ever: the population grew from 5.400.000 in 1901 to 7.200.000 in 1911. Important mineral resources were discovered – the economy boosted. Agriculture became more specialized – Canada became the bread-basket of the world. Cheap hydro-electric power stimulated the growth of industry.

The First World War struck the nation hard. As a Dominion of Great Britain Canada went to war automatically. But her army numbered only 3000 (at the beginning). During the war Canada sent over 600.000 men to fight on the battlefields of Europe. Over 60.000, or 1 in 10 never returned. The war helped breed a new Canadian nationalism. Canadian manufacturing industries exported 8 mln $ of goods to Britain in 1913-1914, & over 340 mln in 1918. When peace came in 1918, Canada insisted on signing the peace treaties itself & becoming a member of the League of Nations. The view of William Lyon Mackenzie King (the long-serving Canadian PM) that the dominions should be autonomous communities within the British Empire resulted in the Statute of Westminster (1931) & the gradual development of the Commonwealth of Nations with Canada winning the right to sign treaties on its own & becoming a completely self-governing dominion. Later, even the name “dominion” was dropped.

The Great Depression of 1929 severely affected national prosperity, particularly in the prairie provinces, where a series of dry yy. intensified the economic crisis.

The nation gained in national stature (рост) throughout the period between the two world wars. In 1919 the Canadian Parliament made it illegal for Canadians to accept British titles. In 1922 during a crisis in the Dardanelles Canada didn’t automatically send troops when requested to do so by Britain. In 1935 Britain’s Privy Council ceased to be Canada’s highest court of appeal. In 1939 Canada entered the WWII on its own. With the war won, Canadians turned their attention to independent & constructive participation in world affairs. Gradually the country asserted itself. Canada played a major role in working out the postwar trading world & in creating the United Nations in 1945. Canada & its diplomats played a crucial role in creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Canada participated in a variety of peacekeeping operations around the world. It was the golden age of Canadian diplomacy. In 1956 – Lester Pearson (the Secretary of State for External Affairs) won the Nobel Prize for his efforts in helping the British & French escape the consequences of their foolish involvement in the Suez Crisis.

The Conservative Party under John Diefenbaker won the elections of 1957. He was pro-British & hoped to shift the bulk of Canada’s trade from the USA to Britain. There was a desire to act as a restraining influence on the more reckless policies of Washington in the years of the Cold War.

The situation changed in 1984 when the Conservatives under Brian Mulroney came to power. One of its priorities was to restore good relations with the superpower to the south. The issue of free trade with the USA was always a very difficult one. It was negotiated in 1911 & arose again after WWII. However, the relations between 2 countries were cool in the late 1960 – early 1980.The Mulroney gov-t started the work of repair & reconciliation with the USA. In 1985 Mulroney & Reagan met in Quebec City in an atmosphere of extreme cordiality which led to an agreement on free trade in 1988. The Free Trade Agreement, despite the worries of Canadians, proved to be beneficial to Canadian interests. The next step was the conclusion of the North American Tree Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994 which included no only the USA & Canada, but Mexico as well.

Today, the USA remains the main trading partner for Canada: it buys more than 80 % of Canada’s exports, while Britain lies behind Japan & Germany as trading partners. In April 1982 Queen Elizabeth II visited Canada to give formal consent to the Canadians having complete control over their Constitution. Still, many Canadians have a sense of attachment to the Mother Country.

There’s a reasonably common opinion among Canadians that if Quebec separates from the rest of Canada, then the rest of Canada will break up – and if it happens, Canada’ll be absorbed by the USA. This is known as the 51^st State Idea. Canada has sought to minimize its dependence on the United States & to strengthen ties with Asia, Latin America & the EU. Such trends are evident with regard to Canada’s relations with Cuba, & her negative attitude to US embargo of Cuba. Until 1960s Canada had no national flag. In December 1964 a Bill was passed in favour of a new flag. In January 1965 the Queen gave her assent.

In the 1950s there was a resurgence of French nationalism, & when in 1960 Jean Lesage became premier of Quebec, he introduced a series of reforms which reorganized industry, limited the power of the Catholic church, & generally gave the people of Quebec a far more significant role in their province. Discontent erupted into violence in 1970. However, the referendum of 1980 showed that the majority of Quebeckers didn’t want to separate, they simply wanted a better deal within the federal system. I n 1995 another referendum revealed that the supporters of independent Quebec almost won, receiving 49 % support. The issue o Quebec independence continues to be a major source of dissent.

Canada’s stature in the world today stands high. By estimates she has won the reputation of a country with one of the highest standards of living. It belongs to the prestigious G-7 Club which includes the 7 most advanced countries of the contemporary world.

The G7, or G-7, is a group consisting of the finance ministers of seven developed nations: the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan. They are the seven wealthiest developed nations on Earth by global net wealth. The G7 represents more than the 63% of net global wealth ($241 trillions), according to Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report October 2013.^[1] The last meeting of the G7 took place in May 2013 in Aylesbury in the United Kingdom. Other meetings of the G7 are already planned. he forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought together representatives of six governments: France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, thus leading to the name Group of Six or G6. The summit became known as the Group of Seven or G7 the following year with the addition of Canada. In 1998, Russia was added to the group which then became known as the G8.

The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (also known as the G-20, G20, and Group of Twenty) is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank. The G-20 heads of government or heads of state have also periodically conferred at summits since their initial meeting in 2008. Collectively, the G-20 economies account for approximately 86% of the gross world product (GWP), 80 percent of world trade (including EU intra-trade), and two-thirds of the world population.

30. Describe the geographical Position of Australia. The main physical features of the country: the relief, rivers & lakes, the climate. Mineral wealth.

Australia (Lat. Australis – southern). Official name – the Commonwealth of Australia. The only country in the world that is also a continent.

The geographical position. lies entirely south of the equator, between the South Pacific Ocean & the Indian Ocean. About 11,000 km southwest of North America, 3,000 km southeast of mainland Asia.

50 million years ago – it broke away from the great southern continent Gondwanaland (incorporated Africa, South America and India).

The total area = 7,7 mln km². 6^th largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, USA, China, India). Population = over 22 million people. The density of population = 2 people per 1 km²

Spans 4 time zones. Coastline –apr. 28.000 sq.km.

Favorable geographic position. From mainland Asia it is separated by the Indonesian archipelago and the Timor Sea. New Guinea (the 2^nd largest island in the world) lies directly north. The northeast of A. is washed by the Coral Sea, where the Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides are to be found.

New Zealand lies about 2,000 km southeast of A. across the Tasman Sea. Tasmania is the only large island south of mainland A.

The main physical features: the eastern part is mountainous, the western – flat, desert-land.

90 % of the total area – plains and plateaus.