Family

It is clear that Family is in fact an institution that is constantly evolving to meet the needs of our society, and that it reflects the individuality of different cultures. The family institution endures because of its ability to change. An overview of the term "family" will clarify its role as an institution.

The meaning of "family" in canadian society is defined as the role of a group of people who come together in a relationship; this relationship is one of the primary foundational institutions of our society. An institution is defined in many ways, one of which stands out. The act of instituting. "a custom, practice, relationship, or behavioral pattern of importance in the life of a community or society.":the institutions of marriage and the family. The family fits this definition because as stated above by the institutions of marriage and the family institutes a custom practise, relationship and behavioural patterns that play an important role in the life of a community or society. One of the ways in which the institution of family ads to society can be seen statistically through population growth. Families are created when two people come together in a relationship, often the by products of such relationships are offspring thus adding to the population. The more people coming together to form relationships the more likely the potential for procreation. Therefore the family is indeed an institution and does infect play an important role in society. However the structure of family was not always as it is today it has drastically evolved over the years.

The institution of family in Canada has changed greatly over time. One example of this is the decrease in the number of marriages over the years. For example statistics show in the year 1973 marriages per 1000 population reached just under 10,000 and were almost as high as they were in the 1940's when they reached just under 12,000 an all time high. However since 1973 the number of marriages have been in a...