Read the following passage.
A. In June 1990, a member of the Manitoba Legislature held an eagle feather and refused to let a constitutional deal go forward. The Meech Lake Accord included the five demands that Quebec had made before it would sign the Constitution of 1982. Premier Gary Filmon led a minority government, and he needed the consent of every member just to introduce the motion for debate. Eight times between June 12 and June 21, when the Speaker asked if there was unanimous agreement, Elijah Harper said, "No, Mr. Speaker." The legislature adjourned without a vote, and the accord failed when Newfoundland premier Clyde Wells also refused to allow a vote on it.
B. His path there had begun far to the northeast of Winnipeg. He was born on March 3, 1949, on the Red Sucker Lake First Nation, and he was raised by his grandparents, who taught him the Cree language and culture. From the age of eight, he spent unhappy years at three residential schools run by churches. At the University of Manitoba he helped form a Native association with two future national chiefs, Ovide Mercredi and Phil Fontaine. He became chief of Red Sucker Lake at 29, and in 1981 he was the first Treaty Indian elected to the Manitoba Legislature. He later served as a cabinet minister, but he left the cabinet after a minor car accident in 1987 when he had been drinking.
C. Harper said he blocked the accord because Aboriginal people did not have adequate participation in Canada's political process. "I don't want to do this," he told Filmon before one crucial session, "but I have to do it for my people." His quiet refusal made him an overnight celebrity, and some people wore T-shirts with his photograph on them. The Canadian Press named him its Newsmaker of the Year for 1990, and in 1991 he received the Stanley Knowles Humanitarian Award. A television film about those weeks, Elijah, was made in 2007.
D. In 1993 Harper moved to federal politics and won the vast northern riding of Churchill for the Liberals, but he lost the seat in 1997. In December 1995 he brought 3,000 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to Hull, Quebec, for a Sacred Assembly that sought a spiritual process for resolving political problems. In 1999 he was appointed chair of the Indian Claims Commission, which dealt with land disputes between First Nations and the federal government. He also called for the abolition of the Indian Act, which he said treated Aboriginal peoples "like children."
E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.
Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: C
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph C. It gives his reason: Aboriginal people did not have adequate participation in Canada's political process. Not enough participation in the political process is the same idea as having too little say in how the country is run.
Passage Reference: Harper said he blocked the accord because Aboriginal people did not have adequate participation in Canada's political process.
Tips: The statement gives his own reason. Look for the place where he explains why he acted.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A shows how he stopped the motion, eight refusals in the legislature. But it never explains why he did it.
- B: Paragraph B tells his story from birth to 1987. He is a First Nations leader there, yet no complaint about political participation appears.
- D: The fourth paragraph does give one of his views, about the Indian Act. But that is a later stance and not the reason for blocking the accord.
- E: His reason is written out at the start of Paragraph C, where he points to weak Aboriginal participation in politics.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: From the age of eight, he spent unhappy years at three residential schools run by churches.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph B says he spent unhappy years at three residential schools. Later he became a chief and a member of the legislature. It never links the two. Why he entered politics is not explained anywhere in the passage.
Tips: Two facts in one paragraph are not a cause. Check whether the text actually says one led to the other.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Notice that paragraph A is set in June 1990 and shows him already in the legislature. How he came to politics is not discussed.
- B: Paragraph B mentions both his unhappy schooling and his later political posts, but it gives no cause for his move into politics.
- C: Look at paragraph C: it explains why he opposed the accord in 1990. That is a different question from why he first sought office.
- D: The fourth paragraph follows his federal career and later roles, starting in 1993. His reasons for entering public life are not there.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: In December 1995 he brought 3,000 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to Hull, Quebec, for a Sacred Assembly that sought a spiritual process for resolving political problems.
Why this is correct: In December 1995 he brought 3,000 people to Hull, Quebec, for a Sacred Assembly, as paragraph D reports. The assembly sought a spiritual process for resolving political problems. The accord fight was in 1990, so this came some years later.
Tips: Quebec appears twice in the text. Ask whether the paragraph is about the accord or about a meeting he called.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Quebec is named in Paragraph A only because the accord held its five demands. No gathering takes place there.
- B: His childhood, his university years and his time in Manitoba politics fill paragraph B, all before 1990.
- C: In paragraph C, the writer shows how Canadians reacted to him in 1990 and 1991. He does not organize any meeting there.
- E: Paragraph D describes the 1995 Sacred Assembly in Hull with 3,000 people, so the gathering is reported.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: He was born on March 3, 1949, on the Red Sucker Lake First Nation, and he was raised by his grandparents, who taught him the Cree language and culture.
Why this is correct: The second paragraph says he was raised by his grandparents, who taught him the Cree language and culture. Grandparents are relatives, being raised is being brought up, and culture covers traditions.
Tips: Find out who brought him up when he was a child. Check that the same sentence says what he learned from them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Notice that paragraph A stays inside the legislature in June 1990. His family and upbringing play no part there.
- C: Paragraph C quotes him speaking of 'my people'. But it does not say who raised him or what they taught him.
- D: Paragraph D starts in 1993 with his federal seat and says nothing about his childhood home.
- E: Look at paragraph B: it names his grandparents as the people who raised him and taught him Cree language and culture.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: The legislature adjourned without a vote, and the accord failed when Newfoundland premier Clyde Wells also refused to allow a vote on it.
Why this is correct: The first paragraph ends by saying the accord failed when Newfoundland premier Clyde Wells also refused to allow a vote on it. 'Fell apart' matches 'failed', and Wells, the Newfoundland premier, is the leader who stopped the vote.
Tips: Two premiers appear in the text. Only one of them is linked to the failure of the accord.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Notice that paragraph B follows Harper from his birth to his first seat and his cabinet post. No other premier or legislature appears.
- C: Filmon is named in Paragraph C. But only as the premier Harper spoke to before a session, and Filmon wanted the motion to go ahead.
- D: Paragraph D deals with his federal seat, the Sacred Assembly and the Claims Commission. No premier is mentioned.
- E: Clyde Wells of Newfoundland, who also stopped a vote, closes Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: He later served as a cabinet minister, but he left the cabinet after a minor car accident in 1987 when he had been drinking.
Why this is correct: In paragraph B, the writer says he served as a cabinet minister. He left the cabinet after a minor car accident in 1987 when he had been drinking. A cabinet job is a government post, and the accident happened after he had been drinking.
Tips: He loses a seat in another place too, but in an election. Find where the reason is about driving and alcohol.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: The first paragraph talks about Premier Filmon's government and its motion, but Harper holds no post in it and no accident occurs.
- C: His reason for the refusal, and the fame and prizes that followed, make up paragraph C. He leaves no job there.
- D: Notice that paragraph D does show him losing his federal seat in 1997. But that was an election loss, not a resignation after an accident.
- E: The accident and his exit from the cabinet both appear in the final sentence of Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Eight times between June 12 and June 21, when the Speaker asked if there was unanimous agreement, Elijah Harper said, "No, Mr. Speaker."
Why this is correct: Paragraph A says that eight times between June 12 and June 21, Harper answered the Speaker's question with 'No, Mr. Speaker. Eight refusals is 'repeatedly', and June 12 to June 21 is less than two weeks.
Tips: 'Repeatedly' means again and again. Look for how often he said no, then check that the two dates are less than two weeks apart.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Look at paragraph B: it ends in 1987 and does not reach the events of June 1990.
- C: The third paragraph quotes what he said to Filmon before one session. But it does not count how many times he said no.
- D: Notice that paragraph D begins in 1993 in federal politics and does not return to the Manitoba vote.
- E: The count of eight refusals and the June dates are both set out in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: The Canadian Press named him its Newsmaker of the Year for 1990, and in 1991 he received the Stanley Knowles Humanitarian Award.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph C: the Canadian Press named him Newsmaker of the Year for 1990. In 1991 he received the Stanley Knowles Humanitarian Award. The accord was blocked in June 1990, so both came within about a year.
Tips: Compare the years of any recognition with June 1990.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: In paragraph A, the writer tells the story of the refusals themselves. Nothing is given to him there.
- B: Paragraph B lists firsts from his early career, such as his 1981 election, which are not prizes after the accord.
- D: The fourth paragraph gives him a new job in 1999, chair of a commission, but that is an appointment, not an honour.
- E: Both honours, with the years 1990 and 1991, are named in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: He also called for the abolition of the Indian Act, which he said treated Aboriginal peoples "like children."
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph D ends with his position. He called for the abolition of the Indian Act, which he said treated Aboriginal peoples 'like children'. To abolish a law is to remove it. Treating people like children is not treating them as adults.
Tips: In paragraph C, the writer also gives one of his views. Find the one about getting rid of a law.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A is about a constitutional deal and Quebec's demands, not about a law he wanted to end.
- B: Paragraph B stays with his upbringing and his first years in office. It records no opinion of his about any law.
- C: The third paragraph gives his complaint about weak participation in politics, which is a different point from removing a law.
- E: His call to end the Indian Act, and his words 'like children', close Paragraph D.
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