Having Your Say

Try Having Your Say in 10 seconds

Asking, or telling? Tap a situation. Could anyone answer back? Just to touch — nothing is recorded.

Learn — lessons that teach first, best in this order

1. 1Lesson 1Start hereHow governments listenElections, town halls, hearings, nation-to-nation talks. Be the mayor, run a real consultation, and learn the duty to consultTeaches: How governments listen — and the duty to consultYou will use: a timeline · a sort · questions · a role to play · casesOntario B3.5, B3.6Test yourself on lesson 1 →
2. 2Lesson 2ReadyDifferent views, real actionWhy a farmer and a miner honestly disagree. Six things a citizen can do — five of them before you can voteTeaches: Different views, and how citizens actYou will use: four voices · cases · questions · a sort · an inquiryOntario B3.8, B3.9Test yourself on lesson 2 →

Play with it — any time, nothing recorded

• LabJust playConsultation LabChoose how the town listens. See which groups are really heard — the least-heard group is the score
• GameJust playHave Your SayEight situations, six kinds of action. Pick the one that reaches the people who can change it
• StoryRead and decideThe Council MeetingTwenty-eight kids, no votes, one dangerous corner.

Why it matters today

• The sign on the fence

  'Notice of public meeting' means the town must listen before it builds. This world shows you how to be in the room.

• Five things before you can vote

  A petition, a letter, a presentation, a clean-up, a question at a meeting — none of them needs a birthday.

• Why they disagree

  A farmer and an environmentalist can both be honest and still disagree. Hearing that is a skill, and it starts here.

Words you will meet

Tap a word. The lessons explain each one the first time it appears.

• consult

  To ask people what they think BEFORE deciding, listen, and be ready to change the plan. Governments have a legal duty to consult First Nations, Métis and Inuit.

• petition

  A written request signed by many people and given to the government that can act on it.

• perspective

  The way a person or group sees something, shaped by who they are and what they want.

• reserve

  Land set aside for a First Nation under the Indian Act and governed by its band council.

• citizen

  A member of a country, with rights to claim and responsibilities to keep.

What Ontario asks

The 2018 curriculum expectations this world teaches, in the Ministry’s own words. 4 of the course’s 35.

• B3.5 describe different processes that governments can use to solicit input from the public

  describe different processes that governments can use to solicit input from the public (e.g., elections, town hall meetings, public hearings, band council meetings, Métis general assemblies or community council meetings, commissions of inquiry, Supreme Court challenges, processes for granting easements, referendums, nation-to-nation discussions with First Nations and/or Inuit governments), and explain why it is important for all levels of government to provide opportunities for public consultation

• B3.6 demonstrate a basic understanding of what is meant by the federal and provincial governments’ having a duty…

  demonstrate a basic understanding of what is meant by the federal and provincial governments’ having a duty to consult and accommodate First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, and describe some circumstances in which this constitutional right for Indigenous peoples might apply (e.g., when considering proposals to run pipelines through traditional territory or mining development projects that would affect First Nations communities; when developing agreements about the extraction of natural resources on treaty land)

• B3.8 explain why different groups may have different perspectives on specific social and environmental issues

  explain why different groups may have different perspectives on specific social and environmental issues (e.g., why oil industry representatives, farmers, environmentalists, and the Alberta government might differ on development of the oil sands; why the federal government and First Nations band councils might have different perspectives on housing problems on reserves

• B3.9 describe some different ways in which citizens can take action to address social and environmental issues

  describe some different ways in which citizens can take action to address social and environmental issues (e.g., by determining the position of their local candidates on various issues and supporting/voting for the one whose position they agree with; through the court system; by organizing petitions or boycotts; by volunteering with organizations that work on specific issues; by writing to their elected representatives or to the media; by creating or participating in art projects that bring attention to an issue)