The Language of Canadian Politics: A Guide to Important Terms and Concepts.

Katrine Mallan is a health instructional librarian in the Health
Sciences Library at the University of Calgary.

The Language of Canadian Politics is an essential desktop reference work for anyone interested in the discourse of Canadian politics, including students, professionals, or the general public. The concise essays cover more than 500 contemporary and historical subjects, including institutions, ideas, concepts, programs, processes, laws, events, etc. Essays on topics from the distant past are included due to their continued relevance on Canadian political discourse and the political scene at large. Contemporary topics have been updated to include the most recent political developments since the previous edition, such as the 2005 Federal Civil Marriages Act in the essay on Gay and Lesbian Rights. Among the new entries is an essay on the enactment of the federal Anti-Terrorism Act in 2001. Useful cross-references assist the reader to navigate from one entry to other related entries, following a chain of concepts and ideas as they relate to one another. URLs leading to additional background information, usually found on government websites, are included with the caveat it is easy to lose one’s way in the sea of online information.

In all, The Language of Canadian Politics is an absolutely useful resource for understanding Canadian government and politics.