Defining Moments
By: Tajinder, Amninder, Jabir
WW1: Canadian Identity
World War 1 was a critical standing point in finding and establishing the Canadian identity, the actions which had occurred in this war were of the greatest influences in the creation of its identity. Some of these actions which had occurred would be certain battles and events during that time that would lead Canada to what it would be this day. The Battles lead Canada to its identity was the battle of Vimy Ridge
The battle at vimy ridge would have to be a defining moment because it had many events which brought on much prosperity to Canada. The battle also led many of the other countries as well as the soldiers of Canada to work together. The battle which had seemed to be impossible to win was won even with the low amount of resources, and the horrid terrain and artillery fire from everywhere. With the victory of this battle Canada had many achievements, but they finally saw themselves as not just as part of a British colony, but as Canadians. This also got Borden to demand that Canada itself would sign the treaty of Versailles as an independent nation. The finally achievement this battle had given Canada is that they got a seat of their own in the league of nations.
WW2: Technological Advancement
The Canada arm, Canada's most famous technological advancements and it is literally used by hundreds of countries. it had made its space debut on the space shuttle Columbia (STS- 2) on November 13th, 1981. The design of this arm, which is known as the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System had set a trail for Canada's close collaboration with NASA in human space flight.
The shuttles Canada arm closed off with 30 years of operations when it retired with the Space Shuttle program after the STS- 125 mission. But its legacy still stays strong. Thanks to the Canada arm, Canada has established a international reputation for robotics. As this invention was so famous they even made a Canadarm2 which is currently on the ISS (International Space Station). In conclusion, Canada arm has a extremely excellent record and has inspired many engineers to develop new and innovative technology, we should look back at this as a defining moment in Canadian history.
Post war #2 Womans rights
In 1960's, women's rights activists demanded that Prime Minister Pearson establish the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. Its report contained many recommendations; some examples would be providing daycare services for women who work outside the home, establishing wages based on skills and responsibilities rather than gender, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender or marital status and many, many more.
While the movement of women had begun to evolve in the 1950s and 1960s, in the 1970s it intensified when women from all social, economic and cultural backgrounds started to fight back against stereotypes that were in Canadian society. One of the priorities of the women's movement was to cold the wage gap between men and women, they also demanded better education opportunities for women and new initiatives in education, which include eliminating sexism, and encouraging females to apply for courses that are being dominating by men. In conclusion, the Royal Commission was a vital key in what made women able to be on the same playing field as men.
Canada Today: Immigration and Multiculturalism
Currently, Canada is an extremely diverse nation as it has about people from every (different) country, although it was not always like this. Canada’s diverse community is said to be one of the many pros of Canada today. It is said about Canada that Canada's level of acceptance is an amazing example of how leading nations should be. But with that being said, there tends to be a lot of controversy on the uprising surrounding this “multiculturalism” (such as the Muslim religious dagger has to be ruled as either a matter of safety or an expression of religion). Canada does not easily accept refugees into work, so the refugees look up to the government for support. This is why a nation being multicultural can lead to conflict but it is a way we should be, accepting of all people from different races.
There is certain factor that influences a person that wants to come to Canada. Canada has more farm land, better jobs, growing economy and safety. Although the charter of rights and freedom says that the immigration policies are free of racial discrimination, there is some racism that comes here and there, openly. The immigration process needs the immigrant to get 67 out of 100 on the point system, to be qualified as an immigrant. Also with all of the immigrants, Canada's population greatly increased (in 2004, Canada's population reached 32 million and since 2001, Canada's total population has grown by 3%, or 925,000 people). From the provincial point of view, population growth between 2001 and 2004 was greatest in Western Canada. In 2002, 229,121 new immigrants came to Canada. Ontario attracted the largest number of immigrants, (which was 58% of all immigrants that year). With all of the immigrants, Canada is also Canada today.