Youth Criminal Justice Overview

School Success

• Maintain a positive attitude and growth mindset; reflect on existing knowledge and skills.
• Be prepared to learn; always bring necessary materials.
• Complete all assignments, even if not for marks; practice leads to improvement.
• Set small, achievable goals; avoid trying to do everything at once.
• Review material daily; ensure understanding of the day's content.
• Ask your teacher for help; teachers are available to assist.
• Prioritize rest, exercise, and a balanced diet; good sleep, physical activity, and healthy food improve concentration and energy.

Know Your Learning Style

• Visual learners: learn best by looking at and working with pictures, good at puzzles, imagining things, and reading maps/charts.
• Auditory learners: learn best by saying, hearing, and seeing words; good at memorizing dates, places, names, and facts.
• Kinesthetic learners: learn best by touching, moving, and figuring things out using manipulatives; good at physical activities and learning through movement.

Studying Tips

• Organize work, starting with challenging material first.
• Divide content into manageable chunks.
• Alternate between different subjects to maintain motivation.
• Begin each study session with a quick review of previously covered material.

Mind-Mapping (Webbing)

• Write the key concept in the center of the page.
• Write down related facts, ideas, and events, linking them to the central concept with lines.
• Use colors or symbols to emphasize different pieces.

Index Cards

• Write a keyword or question on one side of the card.
• Write the definition or answer on the reverse side.

Memorization Techniques

• Association: relate new learning to something you already know.
• Mnemonic devices: create sentences to remember a group of items.
• Acronyms: use the first letters of words to form a new word.
• Visualizing: try to see a diagram, chart, list, map, or sentence the way it appears in your notes.

Multiple Choice Strategies

• Read the questions before the sources.
• Do not pick answers with unfamiliar words.
• Eliminate distractors (cross them out).
• Choose the best answer, not necessarily the "correct" one.
• Reread the exam and use the given time.
• Do not change your answers unless extremely confident.

Chapter 1: Canada's Federal System

• Government: the body with power to make decisions for a society.
• Governance: the process of governing (making decisions as a government and putting decisions into action).
• Constitution: describes governance in Canada; sets roles of governor general and the 3 branches of government; describes decision-making authority.
• Monarch of Britain: represented in Canada by the governor general, formal head of state, not actively involved in Canadian government.
• Executive Branch: proposes and puts laws into action, led by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
• Legislative Branch: makes laws, represents regions' interests (House of Commons, Senate).
• Judicial Branch: applies and interprets laws (Supreme Court, Provincial/Territorial Courts).
• Majority Government: a political party winning a majority of seats in the House of Commons.
• Minority Government: a political party winning the most seats but not a majority.
• Supreme Court: highest court in Canada.
• Law-making steps (House of Commons/Senate): First Reading, Second Reading, Committee Stage, Report Stage, Third Reading, Royal Assent.

Chapter 2: Canada's Youth Justice System

• Fair and Equitable: governed by rules that apply equally to all, taking individual needs and circumstances into account.
• Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA): deals with 12-17 year olds; allows some to face consequences like counselling, community service, etc.; prohibits adult sentences for 12-14, allows them for 14+ with serious crimes; protects privacy; allows most to avoid criminal record.
• Factors determining consequences: seriousness of offence, history of offender, attitude, circumstances.
• Objectives of YCJA: prevent crime by addressing the circumstances underlying behaviour; rehabilitate and reintegrate those who commit offences; ensure meaningful consequences.

Chapter 3: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Individual Rights

• Fundamental freedoms: express opinions, choose religion, peaceful meetings/demonstrations, association.
• Democratic rights: vote for MPs, new government every 5 years.
• Mobility rights: move anywhere in Canada, earn a living, enter/leave/stay in Canada.
• Legal rights: free from unreasonable imprisonment/search and seizure, fair trial (innocent until proven guilty).
• Equality rights: free from discrimination based on race, religion, gender, age, disability.
• Case Studies (1): First Nations and the Indian Act(1876), Canadian women and the right to vote(1918)
• Case Studies (2): Internment of Ukrainian Canadians(1914), Internment of Italian Canadians(1940), Internment of Japanese Canadians(1941).

Chapter 4: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Collective Rights

• Affirm: to validate and express commitment to something.
• Collective identity: shared identity of a group.
• Collective rights: rights guaranteed to specific groups (First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Francophones, Anglophones) in Canadian society.
• Legislation and Collective Rights: (Indian Act, Historic and Modern Treaties, Manitoba Act, Canada's Constitution).

Chapter 5: Immigration

• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA): establishes categories of those who can come to Canada for permanent residence.
• Immigration Categories (2006): Refugees (13%), Family Class (28%), Economic Immigrants (55%) Others (4%).
• Objectives of IRPA: save lives and offer protection to people who are displaced or persecuted; fulfill and affirm Canada's international commitments to protect refugees.

Chapter 6: Economic Systems

• Economics: the production, distribution, and consumption of goods/services within a society.
• Economic Systems: ways societies organize production, distribution, and consumption.
• Economy: resources and processes involved in production, distribution, and consumption.
• Basic Economic Questions: What is needed/wanted? How will it be produced? Who will get it?
• Factors of Production: Land, Labour, Capital, Entrepreneurship.
• Economic Continuum: Positions on a continuum from planned economy (more government involvement) to market economy (less government involvement).
• Crown Corporations: Companies owned by the Canadian government to offer products/services to Canadians.
• Market economy principles: Competition (rivalry among producers to sell products to consumers), Supply and Demand (relationship connected by cause and effect related to price).
• Equilibrium: (state of balance between supply and demand).

Chapter 7: Consumerism

• Consumerism: An economic and social system encouraging goods/service consumption to achieve well-being.
• Factors Affecting Consumer Behaviour: Identity (values), Health & Safety (laws, warnings), Jobs (choices, employment), Environment (effects on air, water, land), Marketing (advertising).
• Marketing Techniques: Bandwagon effect, Emotional appeal, Glittering generalities, Plain folks appeal, Scientific appeal, Testimonials.
• Boycott: Decision of consumers to stop buying a product to bring about change.

Chapter 8: Social Programs and Taxation

• Health Insurance: Agreement by companies to pay for health services in exchange for monthly/annual fees. Benefits include profit made from difference between service cost and fee collected. Includes private health care (funded by individual) and public health care (funded by taxes).
• Social Programs (e.g., Canada Health Act, Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance): Purpose is to support those who are ill or struggling. Underlying value is collectivism.
• Types of taxes: Goods and services tax (GST), federal sales tax; Income tax (based on income percentage); Sales tax (paid at time of purchase, based on percentage).
• Taxation models: taxation policies of political parties/governments. Includes tax evasion (not reporting economic activity), Underground economy/Black Market (illegal economic activity).

Chapter 9: Political and Economic Issues

• Climate Change: Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, due to GHG build-up.
• Kyoto Protocol: Agreement between countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Political Platforms: Official policies of political parties that reflect the issues they care about; used to gain voter support.