Social Organization
Many different types of social organizations are present within Canadian society to deal with the universal
problems of ordered social life. All social organizations have as one of their major objectives the organization of
people into levels, strata, or classes. This organization allows a society to live together in relative harmony.
Families in their many different organizational forms provide for the needs of both adults and children.
Use the following link http://multiculturalcanada.ca/Encyclopedia/A-Z/a11/4 to gain a better understanding of the
family organization of the aboriginal people (Dakota/Nakota) who lived in the Saskatchewan area. Comment on
the following:
Prosperity/Generosity:
Marriage:
Dealing with tension and conflict:
Status of women:
Kinship Ties:
Use this same site to compare/contrast another group to the aboriginal group above. Some good choices would be
Russian, American, Chinese, Portuguese, or Turks. Scroll down the left hand side to make a selection.
Group: __________________
Prosperity/Generosity:
Marriage:
Dealing with tension and conflict:
Status of women:
Kinship Ties:
Educational organizations aid in the socialization process and in the transmission of culture from generation to
generation
The Council of Ministers of Education in Canada website http://www.cmec.ca/pages/canadawide.aspx provides an
overview on Canadian education. Use the site to help answer the following questions.
Which level of government is responsible for education in Canada?
Scroll down to the flow chart which displays the structure of education in Canada. Click on it to enlarge.
Note that Saskatchewan is represented by the 3rd flowchart that is shown.
How does Saskatchewan education differ from that of Nova Scotia?
How does Saskatchewan education differ from that of Alberta and Manitoba?
How does Quebec’s education system different from that of the other provinces?
Political organizations meet the needs of making collective decisions
What are the fundamental policies of the following Canadian federal political parties (list a few points)? Use the
Maple Leaf website http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/2008-election-campaign-political-party-platforms or
the Politic Watch website http://www.politicswatch.com/parties.htm to access information on the parties listed
below.
Conservative Party of Canada
New Democratic Party of Canada
Liberal Party
Le Bloc Quebecois
Green Party
Economic organizations meet the material needs of society
A countries economy is very complete. Use the Wikipedia site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Canada
to comment of the follow aspects of Canada’s economy.
Canada’s economic position in the world
International Trade
Service Sector
Manufacturing
Energy
Agriculture
Changes over Time
Many changes have occurred in Canadian social organizations over the last hundred years. Generally speaking;
family structure has become less formalized where at one time most families consisted of two parents and a large
number of children, education has changed dramatically in that there is far more information that a person is
expected to be able to retain and process, political systems now need to provide direction for a far more diverse
culture than at any time in Canadian history, and economically Canadian individuals are now influenced more by
factors which are not of their own making.
Explain how these changes have affected the life of the average individual living in Canada today.