Grade 10 Civics Culminating Activity: Citizen’s Scrapbook (By: Gohulan Sivakumar)
LOCAL ARTICLES
1) TITLE: The Title of this article is “Toronto library strike: Job security the big issue again”.
AUTHOR:The author of this article is “Daniel Dale,” who is an Urban Affairs Reporter.
NEWSPAPER: The full name of the newspaper from which the article is taken is “The Toronto Star Newspaper”.
DATE:The day that the article appeared in the newspaper was on Monday, March.19th, 2012.
SUBJECT: The overall topic that this article is unfolding is essentially regarding about how the Librarians around Toronto have been going on strike in opposition to the Library Board. In addition, this article is talking about how there was a serious discussion on Sunday on the issue of job security that collapsed. Furthermore, this article is concerning about the outcomes of the strike such as the closure of 98 branches and the effects on roughly 2,300 workers. Finally, this article is regarding about how the Librarians in Toronto are demanding to deserve the job security and become a permanent worker.
THESIS:The major dispute between the Librarian workers and the Library Board situates a major stress and question mark on the future of the librarian workers.
EVIDENCE:Most importantly, the explanation for why the Librarian Union went on strike was because they failed to reach a deal with the Library Board. Furthermore, this issue has severely affected the library branches as well as the workers. This is because this issue has caused numerous branches in Toronto to close down and it has weakened the job security provisions by laying off majority of the workers. In addition, another reason why the Librarians are on strike is because of the fact that the part-time librarian workers are being laid off and because they believe that they deserve to have permanent shifts. In general, the library workers are blaming the Library board because of their unjust and unreasonable promises to the city on the topic of budget cuts.
SIGNIFIGANCE:There are many reasons explicating why this issue is imperative. The first reason why this issue is very important is for the reason that it’s concerning about the closure of libraries in Toronto. This is serious because a library plays a very crucial role in society. Libraries educate people about various topics from Genetic Engineering to Astronomy and it has been stated that its importance, as means of educating the public, is next to schools, colleges and universities. Furthermore, libraries permit everyone to be able to borrow books, magazines, journals, and newspapers and it has been stated that libraries enhance and expand your knowledge of the real world. As you can see, libraries play a very key role in everyone’s lives, however if they are being closed down, not only will it affect the citizens; it will also affect the librarians. If libraries are shut down, it will affect the people that come there since they come there for educational purposes. Furthermore, the closure of the libraries will affect librarians considering the fact that they will end up losing their jobs which would result as a major crisis.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/cityhallpolitics/article/1148830--toronto-library-strike-job-security-the-big-issue-again
2) TITLE: The Title of this article is “Toronto homeowners to receive new municipal property tax assessments”.
AUTHOR:The author of this article is “David Nickle”.
NEWSPAPER: The full name of the newspaper from which the article is taken is “www.insidetoronto.com”.
DATE: The day that the article appeared in the newspaper was on Friday, October.26th, 2012.
SUBJECT:The overall focus that the article is recounting is that according to the figures that were calculated by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), a great load of the homeowners in Toronto essentially will be paying higher property taxes. Furthermore, the article elaborates on why the property assessments are a very vital element of setting property tax rates. Also, the article states that even if the market value’s increase refers to an increase in property taxes, ultimately it all depends on whether that increase is greater or less than the average increase. Finally, because Ontario’s MPAC wants to arrange all the property assessments in an organized manner, Ontario’s MPAC mails out individual property assessments to owners around Ontario.
THESIS: An increase in the property assessment does not always indicate an increase in property taxes because it is the same increase for the calculated value of a home and the average in the municipality.
EVIDENCE:On the whole, Toronto homeowners have observed that since 2008, their assessments have increased by 22.8 percent, which was the previous occasion of when the provincial property assessment company examined the property values across Ontario. Additionally, Ontario’s MPAC stated how the property owners will recognize an average assessment increase of 5.5% within each year for the following four years. Furthermore, property assessments are crucial for setting property tax rates for the reason that the assessed value of your property is what is used to calculate how much property tax you will have to pay. In addition, the market value’s increase all depends on whether that increase is greater or less than the average increase because municipalities are not permitted to collect more or less taxes, as a result this leads to an assessment change. Last of all, even though Ontario’s MPAC is mailing individual property assessments to owners around Ontario systematically, the homeowners can still argue against the assessed value of their home by scheduling for a “Request for Reconsideration”.
SIGNIFIGANCE:The predominant reason for why this issue is important is because this is one of the contributing factors for how your community will evolve. Furthermore, having more land means paying more money to the government. With the money that is given to the government, portions of that money are given to schools, police departments and the firefighting departments. As a result, this affects the public that own houses for the reason that even though the taxes go toward the general public welfare, they are the ones who have to pay off their property tax to the government in order to continue possessing their land. Furthermore this also affects people who have businesses considering the fact that they have to pay for the land that they occupy. All in all, this issue negatively affects those who own any piece of land.
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/1313306-toronto-homeowners-to-receive-new-municipal-property-tax-assessments/
3) TITLE:The Title of this article is “Markham's deputy mayor won't support arena financial plan”.
AUTHOR:The author of this article is “York Region News”.
NEWSPAPER: The full name of the newspaper from which the article is taken is “www.yorkregion.com”.
DATE: The day that the article appeared in the newspaper was on Thursday, November.1st, 2012.
SUBJECT: The article is mainly concerning about how Markham’s deputy minister, Jack Heath, financially cannot support the framework behind the idea of a brand-new NHL-size rink that was projected in Markham. Additionally, the article is giving details about Jack Heath announcing a statement that is concerning about how the proposed financial framework is turning out to be a very contentious problem. Moreover, the article expands on how numerous taxpayers are in opposition to the idea of Markham being incorporated in the financial perspective of any Markham Sports, Entertainment as well as Cultural Centre. Finally, this article describes that Mr. Heath remains positive on the idea of Markham becoming a leading location intended for a National Hockey League team; however he does not have any indication that the dream will truly turn out to be the truth anytime soon.
THESIS:Because Markham's deputy mayor, Jack Heath, is financially unable to support the framework behind a new NHL-ready arena projected in Markham, GTA will need to be patient to see whether or not they will have their second NHL franchise.
EVIDENCE:First and foremost, because of the fact that Jack Heath believes the proposed financial framework is turning out to be a very contentious problem, Jack Heath called for the discussions regarding about the up to date financial model to be put to an end. Also, many taxpayers are against the idea of Markham being involved in the financial view of any Markham Sports, Entertainment and Cultural Centre because they see the risks that may affect them in the future and they don’t believe it is necessary and beneficial. Finally, Markham’s deputy minister, Jack Heath, financially cannot support the framework of a brand-new NHL-size rink considering the fact that it projected to be very costly. However, Jacky Heath emphasized that he would only provide assistance to the Site Plan, only if it is totally disconnected to the Financial Framework.
SIGNIFIGANCE:If you look at the overall picture, the deputy minister plays a huge role. In general, deputy mayors are members of the city council and they are given the authority to play the role of a mayor in the mayor’s absence. In this case, Markham’s deputy mayor cannot support the framework behind the idea of a brand-new NHL-size rink that was projected in Markham. Because of this, it will be tough for GTA to introduce their second NHL franchise in the new Markham centre. As a result, this will affect the public for the ones who are supporting this arena financial plan because they won’t be able to witness GTA’s second NHL franchise. Lastly, because everyone has to pay tax in order to make this area financial plan successful, this will affect the people who don’t want to support this arena financial plan.
http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1528673--markham-s-deputy-mayor-won-t-support-arena-financial-plan
PROVINCIAL/NATIONAL ARTICLES
1) TITLE:The Title of this article is “Ontario Liberals fall 1 seat shy of majority after by-elections”.
AUTHOR:The author of this article is the “CBC News”.
NEWSPAPER:The full name of the newspaper from which the article is taken is “www.cbc.ca”.
DATE:The day that the article appeared in the newspaper was on Thursday, September.6th, 2012.
SUBJECT:The overall area under discussion that this article is describing is how Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s “Liberal Party of Canada”, will continue to lead a minority government. In addition, this article is regarding about how Dalton McGuinty and his Liberals took place in Thursday’s intense races. Finally, the last major idea that this article is on the subject of is how it was very crucial for the Liberals to win in both Vaughan, which was formerly held by Liberal Greg Sorbara, as well as Kitchener-Waterloo, formerly in the possession of Progressive Conservative Elizabeth Witmer.
THESIS:Despite the fact that Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s “Liberal Party of Canada” wins in Vaughan, they miss the opportunity of succeeding in a majority government.
EVIDENCE:First and foremost, the explanation for how the Liberals achieved only a minority government is for the reason that Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals won only one of two seats in a pair of by-elections that took place on Thursday. Because of the fact that the Liberals only won one of the two seats, it resulted in them taking hold of 53 seats, which is 1 less of becoming a majority government. Furthermore, the reason why it was very crucial for the Liberals to win in both Vaughan and Kitchener-Waterloo was because if they did win, they would be able to return to their majority government status that they happened to lose in the previous October provincial election. Ultimately, the MP who won in the Vaughan region was Ontario Liberal candidate Steven Del Duca and the MP who won in the Kitchener-Waterloo region was NDP candidate Catherine Fife.
SIGNIFIGANCE:This issue is very significant considering the fact that it is regarding about Canada’s Parliament. Furthermore, this issue is signifying whether or not the “Liberal Party of Canada” will become the majority government in Canada’s Parliament. However, the “Liberal Party of Canada” obtained 53 seats which is 1 less seat off of a majority government; as a result they became the minority government. Additionally, this issue is imperative because the results of the by-election would have a major impact on the citizens of Canada. The first reason of why this will be the outcome is because the citizens that voted for the “The Liberal Party of Canada” may be frustrated with the fact that their party wasn’t able to become the majority government. In addition, the citizens that supported the opposing parties may also be frustrated, but for the fact that the party they voted for didn’t get as much votes when compared to the number of votes that the Liberals got.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/09/06/ontario-byelections.html
2) TITLE: The Title of this article is “Canada’s military watchdog issues urgent call for more mental-health experts”.
AUTHOR:The author of this article is “Bruce Campion-Smith,” who is an Ottawa Bureau Chief.
NEWSPAPER: The full name of the newspaper from which the article is taken is “The Toronto Star Newspaper”.
DATE:The day that the article appeared in the newspaper was on Monday, September.17th, 2012.
SUBJECT: The overall topic that this article is explicating about is how Canada’s war in Afghanistan imprinted a legacy of traumatized soldiers who may possibly need some assistance for another decade or so. Additionally, this article is describing how there is an enlisting campaign to encourage more mental-health specialists to get into the military. Furthermore, this article is unfolding how Pierre Daigle, the Canadian Forces ombudsman, recognizes how recruitment levels in the military’s mental-health system have declined a great deal below the level of what is needed. Finally, this article is explaining about the perspective of Peter Mackay, the Defence Minister, and how he intends on making a move on this issue.
THESIS:The true answer for getting to the bottom of the military mental stress issue is to be able to get more mental-health professionals to enlist themselves in military.
EVIDENCE: First of all, the clarification for why there has been traumatized soldiers is because of the fact that it is said that there has been collateral affliction in Canada’s military battle hostile to mental stress. Furthermore, the reason why there has been a recruiting campaign to promote more mental-health professionals is because of the fact that there isn’t enough health-care providers as well as caregivers. It is said that the number of health-care providers are at hazard of burning out because of the amount of workload that they have to complete. In addition, enlistments and hiring have increases in the ranks in 2010, however since then, it has been a major downfall in the amount of staffing levels that are in the military’s mental-health system. Finally, Peter Mackay, the Defence Minister, has made an effort in helping the military’s mental-health system by proclaiming $11 million in urgent financial support in order to boost mental health services as well as hire more frontline professionals, for example, psychologists.