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JPE 251HF
Introduction to Environmental Policy and Law in Canada
Fall 2024
Tuesday 1-3pm
Instructor: Professor Andrea Olive
Office Hours: Tuesday 3-4, Wednesday and Thursday 1:30-4pm, Davis Building 3294
Email address is [email protected] but please attend office hours if you have questions.
Any changes to office hour times will be announced during class on Tuesday.
Teaching Assistants
Vanita Clare ([email protected])
Megan DeVries ([email protected])
Note: You can email Vanita with questions related to tutorial only. All questions about substantive
course material and grades should be directed to the Professor during office hours.
Course Description
This course serves as an introduction to environmental policy and law in Canada. The primary intent
is to provide an overview of the political context in which environmental policy is made and
implemented. The course begins with an overview of the Canadian parliamentary system and
policymaking process. We then move to an overview of environmental history in Canada and
explore policy and law related to water, air, and chemical pollution in the country.
Course Objectives
- Outline and define the parameters of environmental policy and law in Canada. - Demonstrate that decisions about the environment are made in a political arena. - Connect policy/legal outcomes with the policy making and judicial processes. - Provide a forum to debate environmental issues using credible and adequate evidence. - Create a space in which students can develop a passion for nature. - Explore a variety of policy tools that can be used by government to protect the environment. Student Learning Outcomes
Students who complete this course will be able to
- Construct a policy memo that integrates knowledge of an environmental issue and proposes several possible policy solutions. - Explain the impact federalism has on policy and law in Canada. - Describe the three types of policy tools that exist and explain how each one is used by the government to confront environmental issues.
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Required Books (at UTM bookstore)
Olive, Andrea. 2019. The Canadian Environment in Political Context. Toronto, Ontario: University of
Toronto Press.
Simon, Matt. 2022. A Poison Like No Other. Island Press. (ISBN:9781642832358)
Other Required Reading
CBC News online https://www.cbc.ca/news
Throughout the semester it is expected that you will keep up to date on Canadian environmental
news. We will be discussing current events on a weekly basis. I have chosen CBC because it is open
access (no paywall).
Assignments
Tutorial Participation and Assignments 20% (on-going; note that you will be completing in-person
assignments/reflections/exercises during tutorial)
Midterm 15% (during class on October 8)
Policy Memo
Draft 5% (completed during Tutorial on October 3)
Second draft 10% (submitted in Tutorial on November 7)
Final complete draft 15% (submitted in Tutorial on November 28)
Final Exam 35% (during UTM exam period)
Schedule of Classes & Tutorials (Any changes to readings will be announced in class)
Class
Date
Topic Reading Tutorial
Date
Tutorial Topic/Assignment
Sept 3 State of Environment
None Sept 5 Introductions
Sept 10 Canadian Institutions Chapter 2 Sept 12 Institutions
Sept 17 Policy Actors Chapter 3 Sept 19 No Tutorial
Sept 24 Policy Process Chapter 3 Sept 26 Actors & policy process
Oct 1 Environmentalism
Page 82-93 Oct 3 Policy Memo Draft 1- Complete
in Tutorial
Oct 8
Midterm Midterm Oct 10 No Tutorial
Oct 15 Risk Management None Oct 17 Risk
Oct 22 Air & Water
Governance
Chapter 6 and
pages 163-168
Oct 24 Policy memos & writing
mechanics
Oct 29
BREAK BREAK Oct 26 No Tutorial
Nov 5 Chemical Governance Pages 168-173 Nov 7 Policy Memo Draft 2 – Submit
in Tutorial
Nov 12 Poison Like No Other Simon,
Chapters 1 & 2
Nov 14 No tutorial
Nov 19 Poison Like No Other Simon,
Chapters 3 & 4
Nov 21 Microplastics
Nov 26 Poison Like No Other
Course conclusion
Simon,
Chapter 5
No 28 Final Policy Memo – Submit in
Tutorial
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University, Department, and Program Policies
Prerequisites
Prerequisites are strictly checked and enforced and must be completed before taking a
course. By taking this course you acknowledge that you will be removed from the
course at any time if you do not meet all requirements set by the Department of
Political Science. Further information can be found in the Academic Calendar.
Communication
By enrolling in this course, you are agreeing to be added to the Political Science Department Student
listserv.
Professor Olive has scheduled office hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each week. If
any adjustments are made to those hours, it will be announced during class on Tuesday. Please make
use of these office hours and do not email Professor Olive with questions.
There is no Quercus page for this course. You should keep track of your own grade. If you would
like to know your grade or discuss your performance in the course, please attend office hours. Do
not email the Professor or TAs for your course grade.
Submission of work
All assignments, including the policy memo, must be completed and/or handed in during tutorial.
The midterm exam will take place during class (11-1pm) on October 8th. The exam will be written
and submitted during that class session.
Missed midterm test
If anytime throughout the term you encounter unforeseen circumstances outside of your control
that are impacting your ability to attend your test, you may apply for special consideration using
the UTM Special Consideration Request application. Otherwise, students who miss a term test will
be assigned a grade of zero for that test.
A request for special consideration must be submitted within 3 days of the missed test via the UTM
Special Consideration Request application (https://uoft.service-now.com/utm_scr). This request
must explain the reason for missing the test and include appropriate documentation, e.g. Verification
of Student Illness or Injury form. A student whose explanation is accepted by the department may
be granted a makeup test. The department will assign the date(s) for makeup tests, administer them,
evenings and Saturdays/Sundays included, and will inform the students. If the student is granted
permission to take a makeup test and misses it, they will be assigned a grade of zero for the test
unless a valid reason for their absence is provided.
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Late assignments
Late assignments will be subject to a late penalty of 5% per day (not including weekends) of the total
marks for the assignment. In this course, assignments will be submitted on Thursday during tutorial.
If it is submitted after your tutorial but before 4pm on Thursday, it is -5%. If it is submitted Friday
before 4pm, it is -10%. If it is submitted Monday before 4pm, it is 15% late. If it is submitted
Tuesday before 4pm, it is -20%. If it submitted Wednesday before 4pm, it is -25%. All late
assignments must be submitted to the Political Science Department in the MN building. Late
assignments will be stamped with a time mark.
Assignments submitted five calendar days beyond the due date will be assigned a grade of zero.
Assignments handed in AFTER the work has been returned to the class cannot be marked for
credit.
Accommodations due to late registration into the course will NOT be approved.
If you are unable to meet the deadline of your assignment/paper due to unforeseen circumstances,
you may apply for an extension of time using the UTM Special Consideration Request
application (https://uoft.service-now.com/utm_scr). This request must be submitted within 3 days
of the missed deadline. The request must explain the reason for missing the deadline and include
appropriate documentation, e.g. Verification of Student Illness or Injury form.
Each request for special consideration is carefully reviewed by the department/course instructor
based on the information provided and approval is not guaranteed.
ACORN Absence Declaration
Students who miss an academic obligation during the term (i.e., in-class assessment, quiz, paper or
lab report) may use the ACORN Absence Declaration Tool (AD) to record an absence in one or
more courses. Students may utilize this option once per term for a single absence period of up to
seven consecutive days. The declaration period must include the day of declaration and may include
past and/or future dates, for a total of up to 7 calendar days.
NOTE: YOU CANNOT USE THIS FOR THE MIDTERM on OCTOBER 8th!
If you are absent on October 8th, you MUST follow the procedure above for missed midterms and will be required to
provide supporting documentations.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is essential to the pursuit of learning and scholarship in a university, and to
ensuring that a degree from the University of Toronto Mississauga is a strong signal of each
student’s individual academic achievement. As a result, UTM treats cases of cheating and plagiarism
very seriously.
The University of Toronto’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters outlines behaviours that
constitute academic dishonesty and the process for addressing academic offences. Potential offences
include, but are not limited to:
In papers and assignments:
1. Using someone else’s ideas or words without appropriate acknowledgement.
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2. Submitting your own work in more than one course without the permission of the
instructor.
3. Making up sources or facts.
4. Obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on any assignment.
On tests and exams:
1. Using or possessing unauthorized aids.
2. Looking at someone else’s answers during an exam or test.
3.
Misrepresenting your identity.
In academic work:
1. Falsifying institutional documents or grades.
2. Falsifying or altering any documentation required, including (but not limited to) doctor’s
notes.
Generative Artificial Intelligence
This course policy is designed to promote your learning and intellectual development and to help
you reach the course learning outcomes.
• The use of generative artificial intelligence tools or apps for assignments in this course,
including tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and other AI writing or coding
assistants, is prohibited.
• The knowing use of generative artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT, Gemini,
Microsoft Copilot and other AI writing and coding assistants, for the completion of, or to
support the completion of, an examination, term test, assignment, or any other form of
academic assessment, may be considered an academic offense in this course.
• Representing as one’s own an idea, or expression of an idea, that was AI-generated may be
considered an academic offense in this course.
• Students may not copy or paraphrase from any generative artificial intelligence applications,
including ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and other AI writing and coding assistants,
for the purpose of completing assignments in this course.
• The use of generative artificial intelligence tools and apps is strictly prohibited in all course
assignments unless explicitly stated otherwise by the instructor in this course. This includes
ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and other AI writing and coding assistants. Use of
generative AI in this course may be considered use of an unauthorized aid, which is a form
of cheating.
All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be investigated following procedures outlined in the
Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. If you have questions or concerns about what constitutes
appropriate academic behaviour or appropriate research and citation methods, you are expected to
seek out additional information on academic integrity from your instructor or from
other institutional resources.
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Accessibility Services Statement
Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. In particular, if you have
a disability/health consideration that may require accommodations, please feel free to approach me
and/or Accessibility Services as soon as possible.
Accessibility staff (located in room 2240, Student Services Hub, Davis Building) are available by
appointment to assess specific needs, provide referrals, and arrange appropriate accommodations.
Please call 905-569-4699 or email
[email protected]. The sooner you let us know your needs
the quicker we can assist you in achieving your learning goals in this course.
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