Diefenbaker and Equality

    Diefenbaker promoted a lot of equality. While he was in power he created the Bill of Right and made the House of Commons bilingual.  Diefenbaker always said the Bill of Rights was needed to take a stand again discrimination based on all the different factors, and when he made the Bill of Rights it did stand up against discrimination and fight for the equality of all people.  The Bill of Rights declares the dignity and worth of a person, it includes certain human rights and freedoms.  When these rights and freedoms were guaranteed in the law for the first time it was a very important step in equality for Canadians.

     Deifenbaker also took a very important step towards equality for Canadians when he started translating the House of Commons' debates.  This was a step towards bilingualism, but bilingualism was a big part of equality at the time because of the Quebec people who claimed they were deprived of speaking French. Since January 1959 every word spoken in the House of Commons is translated simultaneously. All people in the House of Commons can say anything they want in their own language and be confident they will be understood.  Translating in the House of Commons was a big step towards bilingualism which was also an important act of equality especially for the French.

http://www.sasktourism.com/about-saskatchewan/personalities-in-our-past/john-diefenbaker

The Jewish Question

     'The Jewish Question' was the name given to the debate over the appropriate status and treatment of Jews (the debate has been going on since the 17th century).  However in Nazi Germany,1933 'the Jewish Question'  mostly referred to the sense that having Jews in Germany was a problem for the country. This term was also used by advocates to increase antisemitism during Nazi reign in Germany.  When Hitler came to power he decided the Jewish race was going to be totally annihilated he called his plan  'the final solution to the jewish question'.  'The final solution to the jewish question' was the total genocide of the Jews also known as the Holocaust.  Hitler carried out this total genocide with mass open air shootings, concentration camps and extermination camps.  In total around 6  million jews were killed most of which were killed in extermination camps such as Auschwitz and Belzec, where the sole purpose was to kill jews, mainly by gassing them but also from working them to death in poor conditions.

Canada's Contributions to D-day

          Canada contributed as much as they could to D-day, 15 000 Canadians landed at Juno beach 335 of which died that first day as well as 700 men injured. Canada didn't just give men for fighting, but also gave paratroopers, tanks, planes, and anything they could.  Canadian soldiers lost many lives but successfuly stormed and secured Juno beach on D-day. Canadians were able to take previous failures like the Dieppe Raid and learn as much as they could from it, Canada ended up being the only group to meet their objectives on D-day when everyone else failed to complete their tasks. I think Canada's contributions to d-day were very important  because they were smart enough to learn from previous mistakes, but also they never gave up and in the end they were successful.

Fear in Canada's Propaganda

                                         

During World War Two I think the government's approach to getting people to help in the war effort was fear.  In the victory bonds advertisement above it shows a lady holding her baby and they're being grabbed by hands with enemy symbols on them,  this represents how the enemy will attack Canada's people unless you buy victory bonds.  Much like the second picture which shows an enemy Japanese man who is attacking a woman.  The advertisement's point is that if you don't buy war bonds the Japanese will attack and harm Canada and its citizens.  Both these advertisements are images of frightening situations which contain a simple solution, buy war/victory bonds.  The government used scary propaganda to frighten the people of Canada into doing what they wanted them to do.

Canada's Independance During the Great Depression

     When the stock market crashed in 1929 U.S citizens lost everything, in one day 10 billion dolars were lost.  After that business closed, banks had no money, items were being repossesed, and 14 billion people were out of jobs.  All this trouble led to the Great Depression and the decade known as the "Dirty Thirties".  But it wasn't just the U.S who went through hard times, when their economy crippled it had an effect on most of the other countries around the world.

     If Canada claimed its full independance after world war one like they said why did troubles in the U.S affect Canadians?  Some arguements say that Canada was not independant because of their struggles due to the failing economy in the U.S, but the other countries that experienced the depression were thought of as very strong independant nations too.  Canada's best and most important trading partner was the U.S, when their economy dropped so did their trading indusrty... alot.  Which left Canada with no good trading partners and a major industry decrease.  Canada's economy depended greatly on their trades so when demands decreased and prices dropped the impact was huge.  All factories, businesses, and farmers, that produced anything for trade, had to lay off workers, decrease production and some businesses shut down all together, because Canada's plentiful resources were no longer in high demand. This left many people jobless and moneyless relying on churches and charities for everyday needs.  The lack of trade led to the lack of businesses the lack of jobs the lack of money and the decreased economy. 

     Europe also went through similar situations with their trade which led the depression to europe aswell. 
Europe was known as a very strong, independant, and important nation and it went through all the same struggles as Canada.  Europeans lost money, jobs and their economy just as Canada did.  So I do not think that Canada wasn't independant just beacuse they were affected by the crippling US, so were other Countries around the world who were very strong and important.  Each and every country relies on other countries for food, and goods so when one country has troubles other countries will suffer, however It in no way means they aren't independant.

Borden's Contribution to the Canadian Identity

           Canada is an independant strong country, however I don't think we'd be exactly where we are today if it weren't for prime minister Borden.  Borden insisted that Canada's role in the war was very important. He would not let Canada pull out and when no men were enrolling, he insisted upon conscrption.  Because of Canada's role in the war we were able to sign the Treaty of Versailles on our own, we got a seat in the Peace conference, as well as the Imperial War Cabinet, all of which added to Canada's identity of a independant nation.  So, what if we had ended up pulling out of the war? We wouldn't be independant, instead Canada would still be just another British colony.  Borden was the person responsible for our role in the war.  When people wanted to pull out he knew that if Canada's role in the war continued we would gain great things from it. While many people at the time hated borden for sending our people to war, in the end Borden was a huge contributer to the Canadian identity and helped Canada become its own nation.

multiculturalism: As a part of the Canadian Identity

This picture shows a whole bunch of hands, all of different skin colors, coming together to lift up a globe with a Canadian flag. I think this demonstrates how Canada welcomes people of all different races and nationalities into our country/society.  When people and families from other countries immigrate to Canada they are able to feel at home even though they're home was once miles and miles away. We Canadians give them a home away from home by welcoming everyone here with open arms.  Also this picture shows how in Canada everyone can work together, live together and learn together without being judged or discriminated.  Canada does not favor certain people for their nationality, but rather everyone is given the same opportunities to succeed.   By sharing our country with people all around the world and working together we demonstrate multiculturalism, equality, sharing, and kindness. I believe all of those qualities are a major part in just some of the Canadian Identity 


http://www.agvstudyabroad.com/study-in-canada.html