Tech Connections 5

National Interest-

The decisions that the government has to make are sometimes made based on the national interest of Canada and its citizens. An example of this in history would be the disagreement between Pierre Trudeau and Peter Loughee over the oil industry in Canada. Each wanted what was in the best national interest of their responsibilities, Canada and Alberta. Another example of national interest in Canada, which doesn’t have to do with the government directly, is the strength of the Canadian dollar, whether it is high or low may affect the well being of Canadians.

Peacekeepers-

Canada often plays a peacekeeping role in today’s global society. Sometimes between countries and sometimes within them. UN soldiers go into other countries and help them solve their problems diplomatically and without hurting each other. An example of this is The Second Congo War that began in 1999 and ended in 2010. The Democratic Republic of Congo and five regional states signed The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement in 1999, after which, the UN monitored and insure that the agreement was kept to.

Peacemaking-

While peacekeeping can be effective, sometimes peacemaking is needed in order for peacekeeping to occur. UN peacekeepers may be sent in to find a resolution to the problems in a country, as was done for the civil war in Libya. However if one or both sides refuse to cooperate like Muammar Gaddafi did in this case, by instead choosing to continue killing citizens, the UN soldiers must use more forceful methods. Sometimes this can mean simply threatening to use force, which then may cause people like Gaddafi to back off to an extent and maybe even surrender.

Policy-

A policy is much like a procedure or guideline, which is made in the national interest of the people of a nation. It is a plan of action put in place to achieve a goal. An example of a policy in Canada would be if the Canadian government wanted to strengthen the Canadian dollar, the policy they would make in order to do so could be something like, starting to trade with more countries in attempt to strengthen the economy, which in turn could strengthen the Canadian dollar. A policy can either be Domestic or Foreign.

 Domestic Policy- A plan of action that is put into place within a country. One of Canada’s domestic policies is an economic policy. The government wants to achieve a stronger economy so they make an economic policy every year, which is a budget for the spending that year and what amount of money will be spent on which areas of the country.

Foreign Policy- A plan of action that is put into place between countries. Canada has a foreign policy which pertains to it’s relations with the United States. This includes something like passport and border security, which links to the national interest of safety and security within Canada.

 Gross Domestic Product- A country loses and gains money throughout the course of a year. Many things can contribute to this loss and gain; for instance, the success of businesses and citizens, trade with other countries, government budgets and cuts, and taxes. And that’s only to name a few. At the end of the year all of these factors are combined and totaled up to result in an approximate total income for Canada or income per person.