Lesson Plan: Government Regulation of Industry

Lesson Plan

Before Exploring

Ensure that students are familiar with the following terms:

Tariff: A tax levied on goods imported into a country. For example, a 10% tariff levied on an imported car priced at $20,000 would increase the price to $22,000.

Quota: The maximum amounts of goods that can be imported during any period of time.

Subsidy: A payment made to a producer (e.g., a farmer) to encourage production of a particular product.

Outline the Opportunity

Direct students to the topic Canada's Wine Renaissance on the CBC Digital Archives website. They will view the clips titled "Free trade: crisis or opportunity?", "Selling the farm", "VQA introduced" and "European Protectionism -- a Fundamental Injustice.".

As they view, students should look for answers to the following questions:

What forms of government regulation, both in Canada and abroad, affect the wine industry?

What have governments done to regulate their countries' wine industries? Based on what you see in the clips, how do the actions of different countries vary?

How do the actions of European governments affect Canada's wine industry?

How do the actions of the Government of Canada affect European wine producers?

Revisit and Reflect

Ask: Based on what you have learned about the wine industry, what is your position on government regulation of industry? Ensure that students provide a rationale and use examples to support their responses.

Extension

Students can research to find other international trade agreements in which Canada participates (for example, NAFTA, CIFTA, FTAA). For each, students summarize the other countries or regions involved, when the agreement was signed, and what goods or services the agreement covers.