Monday, February 10. 2020

Today's schedule is A-AG-BCD

A & D Blocks Legal Studies - Today we'll look at what we didn't get to last week: Rodriguez v British Columbia (Attorney General), 1993 - which deals with Section 7 of the Charter (life, liberty and security of the person) and R. v. Tessling, 2004 - which deals with Section 8 of the Charter (search and seizure) We will then finish sections 7 - 14 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (legal rights section) and then we'll talk about equality and look at section 15 of the Charter. After that we'll look at the difference between prejudice and discrimination. We'll look at discrimination in Canada I'll have you work on the following questions: page 54 q 1-3; page 56 q 1, 2 and 5.

B Block Human Geography - Today's key question is "Why Does Population Growth Vary among Regions"? and it's kind of an important one to look at. Although population rates vary among countries, the model for a similar process of change in a society’s population is the demographic transition. So we'll look at the model...it looks like this:

I'll have you fill in the chart on the week three work package with characteristics describing each stage in the demographic transition model (CBR, CDR, NIR, etc.) along with the amount of growth of each stage (low, high, decreasing aka moderate) etc.

Consider Bulgaria. Bulgaria is projected to have the fastest-shrinking population in the world. It's already lost a fifth of its population since the 1990s. But what does this mean for those who remain? Bulgaria's dwindling population numbers happen in part because a lot of young adults have left the country so the birth rate is low but the Bulgarian government does not see immigration as a possible solution to the country's dwindling population. So...stage 4 (maybe 5) in the DTM. What should they do?

You'll also need to look at the ideas of Thomas Malthus (Malthusian theory)

I'll have you fill in a chart on the various theories of population growth and we end with this question:

Paul and Anne Ehrlich argue in The Population Explosion (1990) that a baby born in a developed country poses a greater threat to sustainability than a baby born in a developing country because people in developed countries place much higher demands on the world’s supply of energy, food, and other limited resources. Do you agree with this view? Why or Why not?

We'll also play around a bit on Gapminder to visualize these statistics

C Block Criminology - Today we will be in the learning commons/library working on our second journal / blog entry. I would like you to tell me what you think about crime trends here in Canada / B.C. Specifically, I want you to tell me what you think about drug related crime. Violent and property crime patterns are generally decreasing however one area that is clearly on the rise is drug possession, trafficking, importing, and exporting (specifically possession of Heroin, non-Heroin Opioids, and Methamphetamine). Although in 2018 Quebec (23,068) and Ontario (20,937) had a higher number of drug related offences, BC (18,247) has always been a province where drug crime has been a problem. Look below...

In addition to this Stats Can states, "British Columbia has consistently had a relatively high rate of police-reported drug offences. Regardless of the type of drug or the type of offence, the rates of drug crime in British Columbia have been among the highest in Canada for 30 years. In 2007, the total drug crime rate in this province (654 incidents per 100,000 population) was more than double the rate in Saskatchewan, the next highest province. In accordance with the province as a whole, relatively high rates of drug offences are found in the census metropolitan areas (CMA) of Vancouver, Victoria and Abbotsford. Along with Trois-Rivières and Gatineau, these cities have reported the highest rates in Canada for the past five years. The rates in Vancouver and Victoria have been among the highest in the country since 1991".

So....Today you will need to write your thoughts on the following: Why has British Columbia consistently had high rates of police reported drug offences? Use what you've learned about crime theories and your own thoughts on crime theories to answer why.

Once you've done this, then find an article about a recent drug crime here in B.C., make a link to the news article on your blogsite and then write how crime theories explain the crime (Look at this news about a 35 kilogram cocaine bust off in the Kootenays or this news about six people arrested in Saanich for 26 litres of GHB gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid a date-rape drug, 100 grams of crystal meth, four ounces of heroin, 16 grams of marijuana and $20,000 cash or this news about police seizing 55 kilograms of cocaine, 47 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and more than a kilogram of heroin in Surrey. You could also check out this incident in 2019 of a bust 9.3 kg of fentanyl and analogues; 7.6 grams of W-18 mixed with caffeine and fentanyl; 2.6 g of carfentanil mixed with fentanyl, heroin and caffeine; ketamine; cocaine; MDMA; U-47700; 4-ANPP; alprazolam; synthetic cannabinoids; a Glock 17 handgun with ammunition; Olympic Arms PCR 99 semi-automatic rifle with ammunition; more than $195,000 in Canadian currency; and 2.19 Bitcoins. OR you could check out an RCMP seizure here in Courtenay of cash, cell phones and what is believed to be fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and prescription drugs). Don't forget excellent crime news websites are the CANOE CNews Crime site...or the Toronto Star Crime site...or  Global News Crime site...or the Huffington Post Canada Crime ...or the Vancouver Sun Crime Blog