Social Studies 20 - Home



Understanding international issues

Fill out the following survey

|Issues |Agree Disagree |

|Canada needs to send more troops to Afghanistan to encourage global stability |1 2 3 4 5 |

|Canada should promote greater sovereignty over the Northwest Passage (arctic waterways) | |

|Canada must encourage all provinces to take adequate measures to protect the environment. |1 2 3 4 5 |

|Canada should spend more money to alleviate (reduce) poverty in Canada’s cities before we send money to other | |

|countries. |1 2 3 4 5 |

|Canada should be encouraging the United Nations to do more to solve the crisis in Darfur. | |

|Canada should include a mandatory amount in every federal budget to meet their Millennium Development Goal commitments |1 2 3 4 5 |

| | |

| |1 2 3 4 5 |

| | |

| |1 2 3 4 5 |

(Internationalism: 1, 3, 5, 6 Nationalism: 2, 4)

Answer the following questions:

▪ How do these issues relate to Canada’s foreign policy?

▪ What were your opinions regarding these issues?

▪ According to your answers, would you want to see Canada’s foreign policy focused more on national priorities or internationalism?

READ

Protectionism: a nation chooses to impose duties or tariffs (taxes) in order to protect domestic industries

By the late 1920s, memories of World War One were starting to fade, and nation-states were re-establishing their economies – until the Stock Market in New York crashed in October, 1929. It was not just the Stock Market Crash that caused the Great Depression, but that was a major part of it. Money that was invested vanished and people began to save their money instead of spending it. That meant the stores were selling less, which meant the production of the factory went down, which meant people lost their jobs, and they spent less money in the stores. And because of international trade, this cycle started to flow throughout many parts of the world.

One solution to this brutal cycle is to encourage citizens to purchase goods made locally. That way the local factory would be able to increase production, which meant they would have to hire more people, and those people with new jobs would have more money to spend. During the Great Depression, many nation-states were trying to do just that by increasing tariffs to limit international trade. If an apple from Washington state had a tariff on it, it would cost more and Canadians would be more likely to purchase a B.C. apple instead. That would support the local farmers, who would have more money to spend in other areas.

Unfortunately, history has shown that this method of protecting your economy usually does not work. If your local industries are protected, they are less likely to compete which means they can charge higher prices without having to improve the quality of their goods. Competing with businesses that can supply goods and services at the lowest price means consumers may choose to purchase goods from another country. This will not help the local industry, but does allow consumers to have more goods for the same dollar.

|“'Buy American' rule in U.S. stimulus bill could cost Canada jobs: Harper, Clement point to U.S. obligations under international treaties” |

| |

| |

|There is unsettling news for Canada in U.S. President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill, or at least in the version approved Wednesday night by the|

|House of Representatives. |

| |

|It says that steel used in public projects under the $819-billion US plan must be made in the United States, an idea likely to cause trade disputes and|

|block sales by Canadian mills…. |

| |

|Asked about the issue during question period in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed that it was a serious matter and a serious |

|concern for the government. |

| |

|“I know that countries around the world are expressing grave concern about some of these measures that go against, not just the obligations of the |

|United States but, frankly, the spirit of our G20 discussions,” Harper said. |

| |

|“We will be having these discussions with our friends in the United States and we expect the United States to respect its international obligations.”… |

| |

|Industry Minister Tony Clement also did not hide his unease…. |

| |

|"…the United States has treaty obligations that they have signed on to — NAFTA is one, the World Trade Organization is another — and we expect the |

|United States to live up to its treaty obligations of open and fair trade."… |

| |

|There are already complaints from overseas about what's being called the "Buy American" rule…. |

| |

|In Brussels, the European Union warned Thursday that it would protest the provision, the Associated Press reported. Europe will not "stand idly by and |

|ignore" a provision that "prohibits the sale or purchase of European goods on American territory," EU spokesman Peter Power said. |

| |

|In Toronto, CBC business reporter Jeannie Lee said there is a great deal at stake for Canada — and especially for southern Ontario, where Canada's |

|steel industry is concentrated and where the global slump has already gutted the auto industry. |

| |

|Canadian steel plants produced almost 16 million tonnes of steel in 2007, employing about 32,000 people and, by one estimate, supporting 140,000 |

|indirect jobs, she said…. |

| |

|Last Updated: Thursday, January 29, 2009 | 3:20 PM ET |

| |

Self-Check Assignment

With the information you have just read explaining protectionism, as well as your own understandings, fill in the following chart.

|Definition of protectionism: |

|Benefits of protectionism |

|1. |Example |

|2. |Example |

|Disadvantages of protectionism |

|1. |Example |

|2. |Example |

|Is the proposed policy of “Buy American” supporting the goal of internationalism – why or why not? |

Sharing of Understandings

Canada and the goal of internationalism

Chose one case study from both lists

For each of the case studies you have chosen, find an article or video explaining what Canada’s role has been – does Canada support these international initiatives or not?

We have included some hints for sites that may be effective, but you may find your own articles if you choose.

*While you may want to start with a site like Wikipedia in order to have a better understanding of the issue, you may not use a Wikipedia or similar site as the article your include in your assignment.

List One

▪ Canada and the International Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

o A good site to look at is the Amnesty International Canada website (amnesty.ca)

▪ Put a search in for “International Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”, and you should find a page talking about how Canada sets positive examples.

o Another good side to look at is the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada website (ainc-inac.gc.ca)

▪ Put a search in for “Fact Sheet on the International Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”, and you should find a page explaining the Canadian government’s position on the declaration.

▪ Canada and the Kyoto Protocol

o A good site is cbc.ca

▪ Search for “Canada and Kyoto” and you will find an article titled “Canada-Kyoto timeline” that will give a good overview.

o Another place to look is to Google “Canada anti-Kyoto” to find an article talking about nations who are opposed to Kyoto

▪ OR another issue you / your teacher have chosen

List Two

▪ Canada and the Montreal Protocol (Ozone Layer)

o A site you could go to is the Green Party of Canada (greenparty.ca)

▪ Do a search for “Montreal Protocol” and you should be able to find a good article on the anniversary of the Montreal Protocol written on the 16th September 2007.

▪ Actual link ()

▪ Canada and the International Criminal Court

o A good site you could go to is the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (international.gc.ca)

▪ Put in a search for the “International Criminal Court” and you should be linked to a page called “Canada and the International Criminal Court” that will provide a variety of links explaining Canada’s role with the creation and support of the court.

▪ OR another issue you / your teacher have chosen

Your assignment

PART ONE

A maximum one page write up that includes:

(your answers can be in complete sentences or in point form)

- a link to the article/video with proper citation

- a brief explanation of why your article/video was the best choice to clearly explain Canada’s position - was there enough information, was there bias?

- an explanation of the two issues you have chosen

- a description of Canada’s attitude toward the two issues – what is Canada doing?

Proper citation information and formatting

Creator of Site. (date created or updated: ). Title of page – in italics. URL. (date visited:)

BBC News (updated: March, 2011). Afghanistan Country Profile. (visited September, 2011)

PART TWO

Choose one of the issues you have researched and create a propaganda poster that explains whether or not the Canadian government supports internationalism.

You are creating a poster for the Canadian government explaining their position on the issue, so you will need to include

▪ Information on the issue

▪ The Canadian position on the issue

▪ Reasons for the Canadian position on the issue AND its relation to internationalism (is it nationalist or internationalist?)

Remember that a propaganda poster must be

▪ Informative

▪ Concise

▪ Eye Catching

|Is the propaganda poster |Limited |Satisfactory |Excellent |

|Informative |Student demonstrates a confused |Student demonstrates an acceptable |Student demonstrates a confident |

| |understanding of the issue. The |understanding of the issue. The |understanding of the issue. Explanation |

| |explanation of Canada’s position is |explanation of Canada’s position |of Canada’s position is thorough and |

| |vague or unrelated. |regarding the issue is straightforward |perceptive. |

|Making connections |Limited attempt to discern the role |Satisfactory explanation of the role of|Limited attempt to discern the role of |

| |of internationalism in Canada’s |internationalism in Canada’s position |internationalism in Canada’s position to |

| |position to this issue |to this issue |this issue. |

|Concise |There is either too much information,|Choice of information to include is |Choice of information to include shows a |

| |or too little information to |appropriate, although some areas are |confident control of summarizing an issue|

| |effectively communicate information |cluttered or insufficient | |

|Creativity (eye catching) |Stylistic choices are awkward, |Stylistic choices are adequate but may |Stylistic choices contribute to an |

| |creating a confusing image |not be engaging |appealing overall image that is |

| | | |convincing and engaging |

Lesson Summary

In this lesson you looked at a variety of issues that influence Canada’s foreign policy and evaluated how Canada’s actions demonstrate our support (or lack of support) for internationalism. By looking at a variety of issues, you can better understand what your position is – what government policies would you like to see Canada implement in regards to internationalism?

Going Beyond

*Alternate assignment

Have students look at one issue and find two countries that have opposing views; for example, the International Criminal Court – the position of the United States and the position of Canada. They could do the propaganda poster with this approach instead of the one provided above.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download