CBC Archives

Ask students: What moral issues could countries that are part of a military alliance have? What happens the more members there are in the alliance?

Direct students to the topic One For All: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site. They will review Clips #5 and 6, including the Did You Know? and Story sections. As they review the clips, students will answer the questions on the download sheet Canada’s Dilemma in NATO.

As a class, share the results of the students’ research. Write the following quotations on the board. Explain that each statement represents a position on the defence plan Canada developed in response to the threat of nuclear force in the 1960s.

1. “Canada is passing the buck to the rest of us.”
2. “…Canada can become a leader, indeed a hero, among the struggling, frightened, and frustrated middle nations of the world …”

Have each student choose the statement that represents his or her personal view and make a poster that illustrates the statement.

Ask students to explain and justify their positions, using their posters as visual aids. Display the posters in the classroom.

Students can choose one of the displayed posters and write a journal entry describing why they do or do not agree with it.