Grade by Grade
C. Managing Canada's Resources and Industries · Managing Canada's Resources and Industries

Strategies for Sustainable Resources: Do They Work?

C2.3About 75 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe strategies that governments and industries use to make Canada's natural resources more sustainable.
  • I can evaluate how effective a strategy is, using criteria and evidence.
  • I can explain how different groups might judge the same strategy differently.

Words to know

regulation
A rule made by a government, under a law, that people and businesses must follow.
quota
A limit on how much of a resource can be taken, such as tonnes of fish.
total allowable catch (TAC)
The total amount of a fish species that may be caught in an area in a season.
moratorium
A temporary ban on an activity, such as fishing a species.
certification
Independent checking that a product or company meets a standard, such as FSC for forests or MSC for seafood.
protected area
Land or water set aside to conserve nature, such as a national or provincial park or an IPCA.
carbon pricing
Putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions so that polluting costs more and cleaner choices become cheaper.
effectiveness
How well a strategy achieves its goals, judged by evidence.
greenwashing
Making a product or company seem more environmentally friendly than it really is.

Hook: the fish that did not come back

For almost 500 years, cod off Newfoundland and Labrador seemed endless. Then, with bigger boats, new technology and catch limits set too high, the northern cod stock collapsed. In 1992 the federal government announced a moratorium: a ban on commercial fishing of northern cod. Tens of thousands of people in Newfoundland and Labrador lost their jobs, and whole communities changed.

The cod story shows what happens when a strategy fails. In this lesson you will look at strategies Canada uses to keep resources sustainable, and how to judge whether they work.

Government strategies

  • Laws and regulations. Ontario's Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994 requires forest management plans for Crown forests, approval before harvest, and renewal (replanting or natural regeneration) of harvested areas. The federal Fisheries Act protects fish and fish habitat.
  • Quotas and closures. Fisheries and Oceans Canada sets total allowable catches based on science; fisheries can be closed when stocks are low.
  • Environmental and impact assessments review major projects before approval, under laws such as the federal Impact Assessment Act (2019) and provincial laws.
  • Protected areas. Canada has committed to protecting 30% of its land and oceans by 2030. Parks and IPCAs protect ecosystems from development.
  • Mine closure rules. Ontario's Mining Act requires closure plans and money set aside (financial assurance) for cleanup.
  • Pollution and climate policies. Ontario finished phasing out coal-fired electricity in 2014. Canada uses carbon pricing for large industrial emitters (the consumer fuel charge was set to zero in April 2025), and regulations to reduce methane leaks from oil and gas.
How a fishery is managed: a feedback loop1. Scientists surveythe fish stock2. Government sets atotal allowable catch3. Fishers catchwithin their quotas4. Catch and stock dataare monitoredIf the loop breaks(bad data, quotas set too high),stocks can collapse
Fishery management is a loop. Science informs the quota, catches are monitored, and the next survey checks the result. When any step fails, as it did for northern cod, the stock can collapse.

Industry strategies

  • Forest certification: many Canadian forests are certified by independent systems such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). Auditors check practices like protecting streams and wildlife and respecting Indigenous rights.
  • Seafood certification: the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) blue fish label marks fisheries that meet its sustainability standard.
  • Mining standards: the Mining Association of Canada's Towards Sustainable Mining program sets standards for tailings, water, biodiversity and community relations, with public reporting.
  • Technology: water recycling in the oil sands; carbon capture and storage, such as the Quest project near Edmonton, which has captured and stored carbon dioxide from an oil sands upgrader underground since 2015; electric mining equipment; tree-planting programs.
  • Partnerships: agreements with Indigenous nations, communities and environmental groups.
Sustainable forest management cycle on Ontario Crown landPlan10-year forestmanagement planHarvestapproved areasonlyRenewreplant or naturalregrowthMonitorcheck regrowth,habitat, rulespublic and Indigenous consultation happens during planning
Ontario's Crown forests are managed in a cycle. Renewal is required by law, and monitoring checks whether harvested areas actually regrow.

Evaluating effectiveness

To evaluate a strategy, ask:

  1. Goal: What was it meant to achieve?
  2. Evidence: What has been measured? By whom? Over how long?
  3. Environment: Has the resource or ecosystem improved?
  4. Society: Who gained and who lost? Were communities, including Indigenous nations, involved?
  5. Economy: What did it cost, and who paid?
  6. Enforcement: Is it followed and checked?
  7. Perspectives: How do different groups see it?

Case: northern cod. The 1992 moratorium was intended to be short, but the stock recovered very slowly. In 2024, after Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists assessed that the stock had moved out of the 'critical zone', the federal government ended the moratorium and opened a limited commercial fishery. Some fishers welcomed this; some scientists and conservation groups worried it was too soon. Was the moratorium effective? It prevented further collapse, but recovery took more than 30 years, and the social cost was enormous. Many people conclude that the real lesson is to act before a collapse.

Case: Ontario's coal phase-out. The goal was cleaner air and lower emissions. Ontario's electricity became much cleaner, and the province reported far fewer smog days in the years after. The cost included building new generation and refurbishing nuclear plants, which affected electricity prices. Most analysts consider it effective for air quality and emissions.

Watch for greenwashing: a strategy is not effective just because a company says so. Look for independent data and audits.

Worked example

Modelled example: evaluate forest certification from several perspectives

Evaluate the effectiveness of forest certification (such as FSC) for Ontario's boreal forest.

  1. Goal: responsible forest management that buyers can trust.
  2. Forest company: certification helps sell to buyers who demand it; audits cost money and time. Overall: effective for market access.
  3. Environmental group: certification encourages stream buffers and habitat protection, but some argue standards are not strict enough to protect species like woodland caribou, which need large undisturbed areas. Overall: partly effective.
  4. First Nation: some standards (especially FSC's) require respecting Indigenous rights and seeking free, prior and informed consent, which can strengthen a nation's voice; effectiveness depends on whether it changes real decisions. Overall: depends on practice.
  5. Consumer: the label makes it easier to choose responsibly; most people do not know the differences between labels. Overall: useful but limited.
  6. Overall judgement: certification improves practices and transparency, but it works best combined with strong government rules and Indigenous-led planning.

Forest certification is partly effective: it improves practices and gives buyers information, but its success depends on the standard's strength, independent auditing and real influence on decisions.

Hands-on activity

Label hunt

You need: your kitchen, bathroom and recycling bin, and paper.

  1. Look for sustainability labels: FSC (a tick-and-tree logo) on paper towels, tissue boxes, cereal boxes or furniture; MSC (a blue fish with a check mark) on frozen or canned seafood; Fair Trade, organic or other labels.
  2. Record each label, the product and the company.
  3. With a grown-up, look up one label's website. Who runs it? What does it check? Who pays for audits?
  4. Decide: Is this label independent or created by the company itself? How could you tell?
  5. Write two sentences evaluating whether the label helps you make a sustainable choice.
Just for fun

Experienced tree planters in Canada can plant thousands of seedlings in a single day. That is a lot of bending over, so the trees are not the only ones growing stronger.

Your turn

1

Name three strategies governments use to make resources more sustainable.

2

Name two strategies used by industries.

3

What happened to the northern cod, and what strategy was used in 1992?

4

List four criteria for evaluating a strategy's effectiveness.

5

What is greenwashing? How can you avoid being fooled by it?

6

Why might a fishing family and a conservation group judge a quota cut differently?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a moratorium?

2

What does MSC certify?

3

In what year did Ontario complete its coal phase-out?

4

What does TAC stand for?

5

What share of land and oceans has Canada committed to protect by 2030?

More practice: on your own

1

Why does Ontario require mines to provide financial assurance?

2

Explain why the northern cod moratorium can be judged both a success and a failure.

3

How does a carbon price encourage sustainability?

4

Why might protected areas create conflict?

5

Give one strength and one weakness of industry-led sustainability programs.

Challenge

1

Evaluate carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a strategy for the oil sands from two perspectives.

2

Design a simple test to judge whether a forest management plan is effective after 10 years.

3

Use the cod example to explain the 'precautionary principle'.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

In what year did the federal government announce the moratorium on fishing northern cod off Newfoundland and Labrador?

2.

What does Ontario's Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994 require?

3.

What does the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label on a paper product show?

4.

Which is the best evidence that a sustainability strategy is effective?

5.

What was the main effect of Ontario's coal phase-out, completed in 2014?

6.

Why do different groups often judge the same strategy differently?

For parents and teachers

The cod collapse affected families deeply; if you have connections to Atlantic Canada, sharing those stories can make this lesson real. Encourage your teen to judge strategies with criteria and evidence, and to name whose perspective they are using. A label hunt at the grocery store is a quick, practical follow-up. Common difficulties: treating a strategy as effective just because it exists; forgetting the social and economic side of 'sustainability'; mixing up quotas (limits) with moratoriums (bans). Policies such as carbon pricing change often; check current news.