Description

1. Start by watching Rick Mercer’s comedic take on Canada’s uncertain energy future: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KfHpQC7AlU
2. Next, have students read the following piece for a brief background on the history of the concept of sustainability: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/sustainable-development
3. They should follow this up by reading about Canada’s energy policy. The following is an excellent article dissecting the natural resource governance and management throughout Canadian history. It also provides a concise background to the history of Canada’s National Energy Program (NEP). http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/energy-policy
4. Next, students should explore what the various major federal political parties say about energy policy. This Globe and Mail article has links to all of the party platforms: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/compare-the-party-platforms/article1964156/
5. Divide class into three groups, and assign each group one of the three major federal parties (Conservative, Liberal, NDP). Give them about 10 or 15 minutes to synthesize a summary of this party’s energy policy as outlined in their platform and have them report back to the rest of the class.
6. Students should then read “Will Canada's Election Reshape Its Climate Policy Landscape?” This article provides a brief overview of what implications the most recent federal election has for the sustainable energy and climate change policy at the national level. http://theenergycollective.com/derekwong/56907/federal-election-reshapes-canada-s-climate-policy-landscape

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   Task

7. Complete the following Technology Familiarity Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K9TM7X7
8. Each class should conduct some research to find out what their “local energy reality” is. What are the main sources of power generated and used in your region/province? How much energy does your province import/export? Is the energy generated by and used in your province green? sustainable? clean?
9. Each class should construct a blog posting in the student Blogs section on this “local energy reality.” The title of the blog post should contain the school name and the province/territory that your school is from.
10. Each class should also post one response to the “local energy reality” blog posting of a school from another province/territory.

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    Learning Objectives

    Provide students with a brief recent history of Canada’s approach to sustainable energy followed by a brief investigation of current policy approaches of the major national parties. Students will also be encouraged to explore energy production and consumption issues local to them.

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    Continue to Week #2: Contemporary Government Policy and Practice »