Influencing Government

Social Studies 11- Government

Vocab:

Pressure group/ interest group- groups which share a similar viewpoint and try to influence government policy and decision making Lobbyist- someone paid to represent the interests of a pressure group to key decision makers in the government; this is often a paid position Civil disobedience- intentionally breaking or refusing to follow laws that are considered unjust, unfair

Read Pressure Groups and Lobbyists on pp. 258-60

1. What is the difference between an institutionalized pressure group and an Issue-oriented pressure group?

Read Applying Pressure on the top of p. 263-264

Describe the role of the lobbyist

Discuss the following with a partner: What are the pros and cons of pressure groups for Canadian democracy?

PROS CONS

Read Role of the Media on pp. 264-265 Describe how the media influences people’s opinion of the government in Canada

Read Media Concentration on pp. 265-66

Discuss the dangers of having one or two large corporations own and control most of the media

In China, the government controls the media.

Discuss how this affects the attitude of citizens towards its government

Read Civil Disobedience on pp. 266 -7

1. Give examples when civil disobedience has been used :

2. Has civil disobedience ever been used in China? What was the result?

Paragraph Response: Describe how citizens can influence their government in Canada:

______