Passive Voice

Why do we write with the passive voice?

A. We dont know who did something
o My wallet was stolen. (We dont know who the thief is.)
B. It doesnt matter who did something
o
C. We want to focus on the receiver of an action (and here, we often use by
to indicate who did the action)
o Bob was hit in the face by a bird. (We choose to make Bob the
focus/priority of the sentence, but we will still include the
information about the bird.)
D. We want to have good flow between sentences/ideas
o At the garage sale, we found a painting. It was painted by Picasso.
(The two sentences are connected by the painting, so it makes better
sense to prioritize the painting in the second sentence and use the
passive voice.)
E. Someone wants to avoid taking responsibility for doing something
wrong/bad (hide/omit facts or details, hide guilt/culpability)
o The report wasnt submitted on time. (The writer/speaker chooses
not to identify who didnt submit the report to avoid blaming the
person who did it, or, to hide the fact that he was late.)
F. To disassociate yourself from actions your disagree with (similar to avoiding
responsibility for something, but to lay blame on others)
o It was decided that the party would be held at the karaoke bar. (The
writer/speaker doesnt say we decided, possibly because he/she
does not agree with the decision to have the party at the karaoke
bar.)
Example:

On January 27, 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan stated in his State of the
Union Address;
And certainly it was not wrong to try to secure freedom for our citizens held in
barbaric captivity. But we did not achieve what we wished, and serious mistakes
were made in trying to do so. We will get to the bottom of this, and I will take
whatever action is called for.

Why did President Regan use passive voice here? Who do

you think made mistakes?
Read these examples of passive voice (in bold). Who is trying to
avoid responsibility? Why do they want to avoid this
responsibility?
Write the sentence again in active voice. How does the tone
change?

1. Cigarette ads were designed to appeal especially to children.

2. The Exxon Company accepts that a few gallons might have been spilled.

3. If your account isnt settled, your electricity will be turned off.

4. Your application has been rejected.

5. Shots were fired into the crowd of protestors. Commented [AA1]: The police are omitted from this
sentence to erase the image from the minds of the reader:
Consider the active, which would be far more damning:
Police fired shots into the crowd of protestors.

6. A mistake was made that resulted in an overcharge to your account that

has now been corrected and will be shown on your next statement.
7. I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of
my speech ... which were considered offensive Commented [AA2]: An active sentence would probably
accept responsibility, would read like Im sorry I offended
you.

8. Speed is considered to be a related factor in the accident. Commented [AA3]: The driver is omitted, so, it could read
The driver was speeding.

9. The President advised that certain members of Congress were being laid
off.
Read this article. Notice the use of passive voice.
What is the purpose of the passive voice in this article? Why
does the spokesman use active voice and not passive voice?

Teenagers rescued after 3-day ordeal in Paris

catacombs
Two teenagers were rescued from the catacombs beneath Paris on Wednesday after
getting lost in the pitch-black tunnels of the underground burial ground for three days.
The two, aged 16 and 17, were taken to hospital and were being treated for
hyperthermia after being found by search teams and rescue dogs in the early hours of Commented [AA4]: Subjects are the priority, plus, as the
focus, it makes sense to keep them as the focus of each part
the morning. "It was thanks to the dogs that we found them," a spokesman for the Paris of the sentence, so the actions of others take a back seat.

fire service told AFP at the end of the four-hour operation. Commented [AA5]: Its a spokesmans job to elevate the
accomplishments of their organization, so it would make
sense to use active voicewhy would a spokesman avoid
A network of around 250 kilometres (150 miles) of underground tunnels forms a maze taking responsibility for a rescue?

beneath Paris, with only a small section open to the public at an official visitors' site in
southern Paris. Entering the other galleries has been against the law since 1955, but
daredevil school children, explorers and alternative partygoers are known to access
them through secret entrance points.

The transfer of human remains from Parisian cemeteries to the tunnels began towards
the end of the 18th century for public health reasons, with the bones of approximately
six million people found there.

The ambient temperature in the dank narrow passageways is about 15 degrees Celsius
(59 degrees Fahrenheit).

It is not known who raised the alarm about the missing teenagers or why they got lost.
The operator of the Catacombs museum, a popular attraction where the queues are
sometimes several hours long, stressed that no-one had ever got lost in the two-
kilometre (over one mile) of tunnels open to the public.
 Read this article. Underline any passive voice you notice. Circle
any active voice you notice.

In which cases is passive voice used? How is it usedto prioritize

the receiver of an action, or to hide responsibility?
How is active voice used?
Who do you think may have written this article?
a) InfoUkes: An Information Resource by Ukrainians
b) The Canadian Government

Give a reason to support your answer.

The purpose of these pages is to inform the general population about the Canadian
Government's First National Internment Operations during the period of 1914-1920
which interned Ukrainian Canadians in Concentration Camps across Canada.

With the outbreak of World War I, the government implemented the War Measures Act
(1914) as a result of an Order In Council. The government imprisoned 8,579 "enemy
aliens" of which over 5,000 were Ukrainians who had emigrated to Canada. It also
meant an additional 80,000 individuals (of which the vast majority were Ukrainians)
were obliged to register as "enemy aliens" and then required to report to local
authorities on a regular basis. Government frequently seized property and bank
accounts of enemy aliens and detainees.

Detainees were used to develop Canadian infrastructure as "forced-labourers". They

were used to develop Banff National Park, the logging industry in Northern Ontario &
Quebec, the steel mills in Ontario & Nova Scotia, and in the mines in British Columbia,
Ontario & Nova Scotia. Canadian corporations benefited so much that the government
continued the internment two years after the end of World War I.

Detainees who attempted to escape were shot and killed by Canadian guards.

To this date it has not been determined what was the driving force for the Internment.
Was it due to wartime xenophobia and war fever, or the Economic benefits of a forced-
labour system, or bigoted-driven emotions against Canada's first non-Official language
speaking immigrants? The truth is that it was probably due to mixture of these reasons.
Unfortunately, the War Measures Act formed the basis for future government
incursions on the Civil liberties of Citizens and immigrants to Canada. The government
used this act as the basis of the internment of the Japanese Canadians in 1941 and the
French-Canadians (or Quebecois) in 1970. The government always implemented this this
act via an Order in Council, rather than through approval via the democratically elected
parliament. Internment camps in Canada inspired the Germans use of internment
camps during the second world war.

It is obvious to many Ukrainian Canadians that this is a part of Canadian history that the
Government does not wish the general public to learn about. This belief is strengthened
by the government's destruction of a large percentage of the government documents
about Canada's First National Internment Operations in the 1950s.

During a previous Conservative Government the Government of Canada made overtures

under Brian Mulrooney, Prime Minister of Canada to settle the Internment issue as he
had with the Japanese Canadian Community. For reasons that are not clear, the Prime
Minister did not pursue these negotiations.

In 1993 Jean Chretien, then the Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Liberal Party
of Canada, promised in a letter to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress to settle this issue.
On October 25th, 1993, the Jean Chretien became the new Prime Minister of Canada.
During his 11-year reign, he refused to negotiate with the Ukrainian Community on this
issue and reneged on his promise to the Ukrainian Community.

In November, 2002, Project Roll Call was released. This was a document listing the
names of all the Internees that could be found from various sources. As the government
destroyed the original records in the 1950s, this list was pieced together from
documents in the National Archives and other historical archives. This was followed up
by a Postcard sent out via Inky Mark, MP in an attempt to contact the potential
descendants of Internees to let them know about this sad chapter in Canadian history
and requesting that they contact their MP on this issue.
Compare the use of passive and active voice in this article to the
previous article. What are the differences? Is either text objective?
Which text/authorship might be more reliable?

Internment in Canada
When the First World War began in 1914, there was widespread suspicion in Canada that
immigrants from enemy countries Germany, Austria-Hungary, and later Turkey and Bulgaria
might be disloyal. Labelling them enemy aliens, the federal government passed regulations
which allowed it to monitor and even intern some of these immigrants. Merchant marines and
military reservists were also interned. During and immediately after the war, 8,579 enemy
aliens were interned as prisoners of war across the country.

The Camps
Women and children were not subject to internment, yet some had little choice and
accompanied their male relatives into the camps. Only two, Spirit Lake (pictured) and Vernon,
were set up to receive families.

Camps were set up mostly in Canadas hinterland. Some were used for several months, while
others operated through to 1920. In most camps, men were divided by ethnicity and by class.
First Class prisoners were primarily German officers and their civilian equivalents. Second Class
prisoners were mostly civilian enemy alien labourers from Austria-Hungary.

National Parks
During the war, the government reduced the budget for national parks. Parks Commissioner
J.B. Harkin therefore obtained permission to use enemy alien internees as low-cost labour. Four
internment camps opened in Canadas western national parks: at Banff, Jasper, Mount
Revelstoke and Yoho. Internees did a variety of work, including constructing roads and clearing
land. Through their labour, the internees played an important part in building Canadas western
national parks.

Banff
The internment camp in Banff was established at Castle Mountain in July 1915, then moved to
Cave and Basin that November. Internees in Banff lived and worked in basic conditions, though
some rough treatment was reported. Some internees resisted, and escapes were common. The
internment camp in Banff closed in July 1917. The remains of former sites of internment are
few, but are a testament to this little-known episode in Canadas history.
Teacher Instructions

Select articles from a variety of sources, but on the same topic, that will illustrate various uses
of the passive voice and active voice. Commented [AA6]: This will allow material to be
timely/relevant, and, for instructors to choose or edit
Encourage learners to analyse the use of passive and active voice. Who has agency? Who is materials for the level of the learners
being prioritized? What information is being hidden? What does this tell you about the power
of grammar to empower readers (with knowledge) or disenfranchise (by hiding/omitting
information)? How has this affected peoples understandings of Canada or issues in Canada?
Finish with a length-appropriate writing topic where learners reflect on how grammar can
reflect power relationships. Commented [AA7]: Learners should look at the
differences in use between present perfect (which is often
Suggested articles: used to celebrate or note achievements or significant
impacts) versus passive, which is often used to hide
On Ukrainian Internment inconvenient truths And should reflect on how a readers
understanding of the world can be manipulated, and so
readers should be savvy and careful and critical consumers
https://cdnhistorybits.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/canadian-concentration-camps/ of information
https://www.google.com/url?hl=en-
GB&q=http://news.nationalpost.com/opinion/lubomyr-luciuk-remembering-a-time-
when-canadians-were-
caged&source=gmail&ust=1498975971262000&usg=AFQjCNEAQsOM0QQAfC-
ztsexHHzbYi7yPQ
On Japanese Internment

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/japanese-internment-banished-
and-beyond-tears-feature/
http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP14CH3PA3LE.html

On the Komagata Maru

http://globalnews.ca/news/2708235/what-was-the-komagata-maru-incident-and-why-
does-it-matter/
http://komagatamarujourney.ca/incident
On the 60s Scoop

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixties_Scoop
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-punishing-sixties-
scoop/article34051027/
http://globalnews.ca/news/2898190/what-was-the-60s-scoop-aboriginal-children-
taken-from-homes-a-dark-chapter-in-canadas-history/
On the Chinese Head Tax

http://www.roadtojustice.ca/laws/chinese-head-tax
http://www.culturalcentre.ca/chinese_albertan_history/policies.htm
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-head-tax-in-canada/
On Canada 150
http://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/paula-simons-canada-celebrate
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/06/30/facing-the-truth-makes-
for-a-worthy-celebration.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/country-canada-indigenous-1.4184923
Commented [AA8]: My colleague and I selected articles
from each of these categories and jigsawed a reading
comprehension exercise (which I cannot find) but we
developed three questions for each category and learners
were responsible for reading ONE article each and then
answering the questions as a group/class. They also
completed the Treaties and Nations reading exercise, which I
have sent you, too, and later they watched interviews with
Trudeau about his concepts of what
multiculturalism/diversity should be in Canada. Learners
wrote compare/contrast paragraphs and essays describing
racism past, present, and future in Canada.

Relevant Issues

https://www.ubyssey.ca/news/on-whose-land-we-sit-the-difference-in-indigenous-
engagement-between-ubco-and-ubc-vancouver/?platform=hootsuite
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/9-questions-about-idle-no-more-1.1301843
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/street-checks-edmonton-police-aboriginal-
black-carding-1.4178843
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-
1.4171256/former-conservative-mp-says-trudeau-trying-to-whitewash-history-by-
renaming-langevin-block-1.4171623
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/indigenous-forced-labour-sugar-beet-
farms-1.4165272
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/radio-station-indigenous-vancouver-
ckur-1.4163238
http://www.idlenomore.ca/story
http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/art-collaboration-kainai-calgary-1.4184838
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/canada-inclusion-prasanna-
ranganathan-1.4169187
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/lethbridge-police-carding-formal-compaint-
1.4183185