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Civics and the Constitution

C

cda

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so all you who have children in school 12th and below

Do they teach civics and the Constitution in school???



 
Hate speech is a Canadian concept under our charter of rights and freedoms. We have the freedom of expression, with the exception of hate speech, which the supreme court has well defined here (Must be public, seen by the majority as prejudiced at the time, etc.). I do find it interesting that fundamental civics are bleeding across our borders into both our nations. I often see people claiming they have the right to free speech here.
 
tmurray said:
Hate speech is a Canadian concept under our charter of rights and freedoms. We have the freedom of expression, with the exception of hate speech, which the supreme court has well defined here (Must be public, seen by the majority as prejudiced at the time, etc.). I do find it interesting that fundamental civics are bleeding across our borders into both our nations. I often see people claiming they have the right to free speech here.
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In the past it was very common for people to say "It's a free country, go ahead and do it if you want", we seldom hear that anymore, it's not a free country anymore, I'd date the change to the 1964 Civil Rights Law, which should have been held unconstitutional but hasn't. I remember reading in a British publication several years ago: "Americans have a severe guilt complex over slavery." The problem, as I remember it, was most accepted the civil rights law as redress for prior grievances suffered by the slaves, but women and activist groups for other so-called minorities jumped on the bandwagon and forced inclusion as aggrieved parties, some not even minorities like women who are the majority.

BTW T Murray, I read that your banks are collapsing over mortgage failures, that surprises the heck out of me since it's my understanding that you don't have low down payment loans like we have, what's your take on this?
 
My kids did not have the opportunity to take Civics, it was not offered.

One of the best classes I took in Jr. High, the teacher brought in newspapers and magazines, asked us to pick a current news event article each day and provide our opinions. Great discussions and the teacher didn't try to mold us into party zombies.

Learned about different forms of government and the government branches roles.

The judge in the 6th district (CA) did not take civics apparently!
 
conarb said:
BTW T Murray, I read that your banks are collapsing over mortgage failures, that surprises the heck out of me since it's my understanding that you don't have low down payment loans like we have, what's your take on this?
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My understanding on the issue, which I will admit is tenuous at best, is that the biggest problem is the Toronto and Vancouver markets. Under federal law, 20% down is required, but you can place as little as 5% down, provided you insure the mortgage through a company like the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (this is how CMHC receives a lot of its funding). This means that even if there are mass defaults and the bottom falls out of the real estate market, there are some protections in place for the banks and ultimately everyone else.

The Toronto and Vancouver markets are subject to a bubble that has been reported for years. I remember reading a CBC article that stated there were occasions of people selling the house they had purchased for 30% more than when they purchased it a year ago. The big concern isn't if the bubble will pop and drop the bottom out of these two markets, but when. Some banks are certainly curbing their new investments in these two markets to mitigate the potential losses.

So, I don't think there is currently a collapse, or certainly not one as sensational as the one the US experienced recently, but it is certainly coming. On a side note, if you have not seen the Big Short, the movie about the US mortgage crisis, it's very good and from what I saw was actually quite close to what actually happened. I knew nothing about the finances involved and it did a phenomenal job of explaining it.
 
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