522)SECTION 12: CANADA'S ECONOMY; The Stephen Harper Government's Citizenship Guide; Quotes Of Minister Jason Kenney

Among the tens of thousands of people from six continents who visit my Blog there must be a significant number who may show an interest in becoming Canadian citizens now or in the future. Consequently I am showcasing on my Blog the Stephen Harper Conservative Government's magnificent new Citizenship Guide for prospective Canadian citizens unveiled on November 12th 2009, the day after Rememberance Day. When I read the online version of this booklet I came away feeling a deep sense of awe and admiration for the country I have lived in for the past 36 years, 5 as a landed immigrant and 31 as a citizen. Indeed this booklet should not just be required reading for prospective Canadians but also for established Canadian citizens of all ages. It's always refreshing to remind ourselves about our secular democracy-its evolution, history, system of government, regions, rights and responsibilities, justice system, economy, symbols, achievements and much, much more. The text of the booklet has been carefully researched and well written and the many photographs wisely chosen. While I have reproduced all the text from the Guide in the following Blogposts one cannot fully appreciate the material without also looking at the photographs and their captions. For that reason each Blogpost has two links to the original page on the Citizenship And Immigration Canada(CIC) website, one at the beginning and one at the end of the post.

On another forum I made the following comment to commemorate Rememberance Day on November 11th 2009: Canada is a stable secular democratic state with a solid, longstanding and admirable history. It is not a disparate bunch of autonomous multicultural fiefdoms as some political parties would have you beleive. Canada is the Magna Carta(1215), War of 1812, British North America Act(1867), Boer War(1899-1902), Vimy Ridge, Ypres and Paschendale(1914-1918), Dieppe, Monte Cassino, D-Day, Juno Beach, Belgium and Holland(1939-1945), Korean War(1950-1953), Cold War(1917-1989), Vietnam War(1960's) and Afghanistan(post 2001).

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/discover/section-12.asp

Study Guide – Discover Canada
The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship

SECTION 12: CANADA'S ECONOMY

A trading nation

Canada has always been a trading nation and commerce remains the engine of economic growth. As Canadians, we could not maintain our standard of living without engaging in trade with other nations.

In 1988, Canada enacted free trade with the United States. Mexico became a partner in 1994 in the broader North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with 360 million people and nearly $500 billion in yearly trade and investment.

Today, Canada has one of the ten largest economies in the world and is part of the G8 group of leading industrialized countries with the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Japan and Russia.

(Pictures)
From left to right:
Oil pumpjacks in southern Alberta,
Atlantic lobster
Hydro-electric dam on the Saguenay River, Quebec



Canada’s economy includes three main types of industries:

(Picture): Lumber truck

Service industries provide thousands of different jobs in areas like transportation, education, health care, construction, banking, communications, retail services, tourism and government. More than 75 % of working Canadians now have jobs in service industries.

Manufacturing industries make products to sell in Canada and around the world. Manufactured products include paper, high technology equipment, aerospace technology, automobiles, machinery, food, clothing and many other goods. Our largest international trading partner is the United States.

Natural resource industries include forestry, fishing, agriculture, mining and energy. These industries have played an important part in the country’s history and development. Today, the economy of many areas of the country still depends on developing natural resources, and a large percentage of Canada’s exports are natural resource commodities.

(Pictures)
From Left to Right:
Car assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario
Port of Vancouver

Canada enjoys close relations with the United States and each is the other’s largest trading partner. Over three-quarters of Canadian exports are destined for the U.S.A. In fact we have the biggest bilateral trading relationship in the world. Integrated Canada-U.S. supply chains compete with the rest of the world. Canada exports billions of dollars worth of energy products, industrial goods, machinery, equipment, automotive, agriculture, fishing and forestry products, and consumer goods every year. Millions of Canadians and Americans cross every year and in safety what is traditionally known as “the world’s longest undefended border.”

(Pictures)
From Left to Right:
Research laboratory,
RIM’s BlackBerry
Ice wine grapes, Niagara Region, Ontario


(Picture): The Peace ArchBlaine, Washington

At Blaine in the State of Washington, the Peace Arch, inscribed with the words “children of a common mother” and “brethren dwelling together in unity,” symbolizes our close ties and common interests.


http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/discover/section-12.asp


Quotes Of Canadian Minister Of Citizenship, Immigration And Multiculturalism Hon. Jason Kenney(2009):

1)When you become a citizen, you're not just getting a travel document into Hotel Canada.
2)I think it's scandalous that someone could become a Canadian not knowing what the poppy represents, or never having heard of Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Dieppe or Juno Beach.
3)We mention freedom of conscience and freedom of religion as important rights but we also make it very clear that our laws prohibit barbaric cultural practices, they will not be tolerated, whether or not someone claims that such practices are protected by reference to religion.
4)I think we need to reclaim a deeper sense of citizenship, a sense of shared obligations to one another, to our past, as well as to the future, a kind of civic nationalism where people understand the institutions, values and symbols that are rooted in our history.


Easy Nash