2nd Term - Blog #1 - YCJA

1. What is the YCJA?

The YCJA (Youth Criminal Justice Act) was made to attempt to create a more effective balance between the rights of youth offenders and the safety of society. Similar to that of the YOA, the new YCJA legislation focuses on rehabilitation of young criminals, however, the YCJA is much tougher on young offenders, where as the YOA was not.

2. Explain the new balance in the act.

The YCJA focuses more on the rehabilitation of young offenders instead of harsh punishments such as jail. The YCJA wants to ensure that children/teens learn from their mistakes, as opposed to having them escalate in to more serious problems (which may happen if one were to be sentenced to imprisionment). The YCJA allows anyone who is fourteen or older and has commited a serious crime to be tried in an adult court. It also attempts to assist young criminals with re-intergration into society.

3. Photo of a 'gang'.

Blog #7 - Martin Luther King Jr.

Impact:

Martin Luther King Jr. is commonly reffered to as an extreme human rights icon. He was an activist that played a significant role in the African-American civil rights movement; abolishing racial discrimination against African-Americans (as well as other ethnecities). King began as a civil rights activist early in his career, where he first persued being a Baptist minister. From this point on he would continue to flourish his ideas and opinions in regards to civil rights, resulting in him becoming the youngest person to receive a Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination through civil disobedience (just like Ghandi and Mandela) and other non-violent doings. In many ways, he helped to flourish and pave way for oncoming African-American generations.

Photo of Martin Luther King Jr.

Blog #6 - Nelson Mandela

1. Describe Mandela and the Apartheid movement in South Africa.

Nelson Mandela is an incredibly admirable individual as he played a large role in the Apartheid (meaning separateness) movement in South Africa. Mandela is an extreme anti-apartheid activist; though at times he has endured conflict and struggles (such as being imprisoned) in regards to his fight for equality and freedom for African-Americans, his persistence has proven to be worth-while. He was inaugurated as the first democratically elected African-American State President of South Africa on 10 May 1994 - June 1999, changing the lives of many fellow African-American citizens.

2. How did Mandela suffer to promote his cause?

Similarly to Ghandi, Mandela illustrated many examples of promoting civil disobedience. He endured many critics and received many punishments during his fight for freedom; one of which consisted of him being imprisoned for a few decades- approximately 27 years. During this time he continued to protest and promote equality. His suffering in prison, however, benefited him in some aspects: he became the President of South Africal, won the Nobel Peace Prize, and received honorary degrees from more than 50 international universities.

3. Photo of Nelson Mandela.

Blog #5 - Ghandi

1. Definition of "Civil Disobedience".

The active refusal to obey certain laws, demands and commands of a government, or of an occupying power due to the belief that the law is immoral.

2. What are some examples of Ghandi's civil disobedience?

Ghandi, a famous political and spiritual leader of India, is a human being that is a prime example pertaining to civil disobedience. He first exploited civil disobedience by becoming an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the resident Indian community's struggle for civil rights. In 1915, after returning to India, Ghandi organized peasants, farmers, and urban labourers in protesting against discrimination and excessive land-taxes. He also lead ubiqitous campaigns for numerous controversies occuring through out the nation, and even fasted as a way of purification and protest. Ghandi's persistence to protest landed him in jail several times, where he continued to fight and protest for his rights & the rights of others. Each time Ghandi was imprisoned he was released shortly after, as he never used or indirectly caused violence or crime.

3. Photo of Ghandi.

Blog #4 - Craig Keilburger

1. What is the purpose of "Free the Children"?

"Free the Children" is the world's leading youth-driven charity, allowing over 50,000 children in poverty countries (Asia, Africa, Latin America) the right to formal education. "Free the Children" is an activist group consisting of more than 1000 Youth in Action Groups; these privileged adolesence have helped provide daily education to underprivileged children, built more than 500 schools, established over 23,000 alternative projects to assist women and their families in achieving sustainable incomes, and more. The ideal purpose of "Free the Children" is to maintain equality in the sense that all children- underprivileged or not- should be granted the same rights to schooling, housing, financial stability, education, etc.

2. What effect does Craig Keilburger have on your life?

As well as being the founder of "Free the Children", Keilburger is also the co-founder of the universal concept "Me to We". Keilburger's ubiqitous involvement in both international developments enlightens people, that are more privileged than others, to involve themselves with the lives of the underprivileged. His concepts and ambitions influence people, such as myself, to not take things for granted & to become more involved with children that don't have what we do. MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

3. Photo of Craig Keilburger.

Blog #3 - Tommy Douglas

1. Why is Tommy Douglas known as the "Greatest Canadian"?

Tommy Douglas is well-known throughout Canada, and well deserving of his title of the "Greatest Canadian". He became the leader of the Saskatchewan CCF (Co-operative Commonwealth Federation), and lead the first socialist government in North America, which were both extremely large accomplishments. Further, Douglas was the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan for 17 years before he resigned. In the 17 years that he held the title of Premier of Saskatchewan he managed to: remove sales tax from food and meals (reducing the provincial debt by 20 million dollars), grant pensioners free medical, dental, and hospital services, as well as free treatment of certain diseases, and more. By 1959, 12 years after introducing universal hospitalization at a $5 fee per year, Douglas announced the newly created Medicare Plan which was universal, pre-paid, publicly admininstered, and of very high quality.



2. What effect does Tommy Douglas have on your life today?

Without Tommy Douglas' persistent ambition and success, humanity today (in Canada) may not be as blessed as we are to have free medical attention; leaving many people to strive & pay for their own health care, which in some cases may not be easily attained. Being an adolescent of only 16 years old, I'm not financially well-off enough to pay for my own medical or anything of the sort, which might essentially lead to me with numerous health conditions/illnesses and perhaps- more drastically concerned- death. Tommy Douglas made a huge impact on my life, as well as millions of others.



3. Photo of Tommy Douglas.

Blog #2 - Nelly McClung

1. Explain the importance of McClung and the Persons Case in terms of women's rights in Canada.

In 1929, Nellie McClung and four other women presented a petition demanding that women be considered as 'persons' in the section of the British North American Act which define the Canadian Senate. These feminine activists wanted to present equality with women's and men's rights. This was an extremely courageous act, because up until that point women had been excluded from the term as it only pertained to men. McClung and the four women won the Persons Case: the judicial decision that women as "persons" had the right to be appointed to the non-elected Canadian Senate.

2. Explain how she was an activist.

Nellie McClung was a very well-known feminine activist in the early 1900's. She wrote a series of novels, as well as short stories & articles pertaining to women and their rights using satirical methods of humor. McClung was also a very popular speaker in demand throughout the West. Her writing and speaking began to catch the attention of people which essentially led to her winning the Persons Case. She toured different countries & fought for different rights for women, such as: better rural health care, equality in the Divorce Act, and much more. As well as all of these examples of her activism, she ran for political office as a Member of the Legislative Assembly which she won and held until 1926.

3. Photo of Nellie McClung.