Invisible populations: LGBTQ people and federal health policy in Canada

This article reviews the state of federal health policy discourse toward the LGBTQ population in Canada. Despite the advent of greater attention to diversity and gender mainstreaming in federal public policy and the shift to legalized rights protections for LGBTQ people, symbolized by policies such as same‐sex marriage, LGBTQ health concerns continue to be marginalized in federal health policy. Based on a systematic review of federal policy documents and websites as well as a small number of interviews with federal policy‐makers, the research demonstrates the extent to which LGBTQ health concerns are rendered invisible in federal health policy. The article suggests several ways in which a commitment to gender‐based policy analysis could be expanded to take account of diverse health needs of LGBTQ Canadians.     

The federal government's banks: Financial services and public policy

Internationally, interest in and research on state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) have increased significantly, particularly in the developing world, where they play a vital role in national economies. The evolution of Canadian SOEs is, for the most part, largely absent from this literature. This article analyzes and evaluates the performance of three SOEs in the financial sector owned and operated by the federal government: Export Development Canada (EDC), the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC). The article seeks to evaluate the performance of these commercially oriented hybrid entities which are policy (and politically) sensitive to the needs of their single shareholder. There is evidence that these firms take on higher‐risk investments than their private sector counterparts, in addition to performing other politically significant policy roles. There is also evidence that, as publicly owned entities, they enjoy some significant advantages over other actors in the sector.     

Treaty federalism as a model of policy making: Comparing Canada and the European Union

Systematic analyses of Canada and the EU as comparable federal systems have been neglected for a variety of methodological reasons. Most importantly, neither body fits the mould of the dominant model of the American federal state. A revised conceptual framework can show, however, that Canada and the EU both provide a similar institutional and procedural environment for policy making: powers are shared rather than divided; policy directions are determined by executive negotiation rather than parliamentary deliberation; unanimity takes precedence over majority rule; and inter‐regional competition is moderated by a commitment to equalization.     

Partners in clime: Public‐private partnerships and British Columbia's capacity to pursue climate policy objectives

Governments are increasingly using public‐private partnerships (P3s) to draw the private sector into more active participation in infrastructure development. Climate action initiatives have not typically yielded profitable results for the private sector, and might therefore constrain the placing of conditions by governments on P3 arrangements. This article investigates a major P3 infrastructure project in British Columbia – the Canada Line extension to Vancouver's urban rail transit network – and concludes that the P3 organization did not constrain the government's capacity to pursue policy objectives for climate action. This counterintuitive result occurred because public sector leadership enabled an effective engagement with environmental policy priorities.     

Comparing accountability relationships between governments and non‐state actors in Canadian and European international development policy

This article examines the alignment of different governance arrangements and alternative accountability mechanisms in international development policy making in Canada and the European Union (EU), with a particular focus on relationships between governments and non‐governmental organizations. The Canadian case illustrates an entrepreneurial mode of governance that aligns with fiscal auditing and performance management mechanisms, while the networked governance model of the EU relies more heavily on accountability instruments of public reporting and deliberation. The article concludes that the European accountability regime likely provides policy makers with more opportunities for social policy learning but would be difficult to implement in Canada given the underlying action logic of the federal government.     

Comparing employment policy governance regimes in Canada and the European Union

This article assesses the performance of Canada's employment policy governance regime post‐1996 by explicitly comparing Canadian approaches to those used in the European Union (EU) through the open method of coordination (OMC). It concludes that Canada has moved so far along the decentralization continuum — with 13 provincial systems as well as a federal‐only system in place — that coordination, coherence, mutual learning and information sharing on a pan‐Canadian basis have been lost. While EU OMC approaches hold promise, to be realized stakeholders would need to become more engaged in the policy domain and provinces, rather than the federal government, must take the initiative for enhanced coordination.     

Multilevel policy from the municipal perspective: A pan‐Canadian survey

Building on in‐depth case studies and extensive theory‐building by Canadian multilevel governance scholars, this article identifies and describes multilevel policy involvement by federal, provincial, municipal, private, and NGO actors in three policy phases and eighteen policy domains that specifically involve local governments in Canada. Drawing from an original pan‐Canadian survey of municipal mayors and councillors, we show that municipal politicians see multilevel policy involvement as remarkably prevalent across many policy domains. Using an original measure of multilevel policy involvement, we identify the policy domains in which policy involvement is most concentrated or fragmented and then describe the correlates of this measure. Multilevel policy involvement, we argue, is more clearly associated with policy phase and policy domain than with municipal population or region. We conclude with a discussion of implications for future research.     

Evidence and equity: Struggles over federal employment equity policy in Canada, 1984–95

Abstract: This article traces debates about federal employment equity policy in Canada in the 1980s and 1990s, focusing specifically on the role of data and statistics in policy‐making. The authors interpret policy‐makers' extensive use of evidence‐based policy instruments in the implementation of employment equity as an attempt to offer a technical solution to the deeply politicized problem of workplace discrimination. By exploring policy debates from the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment (the Abella Commission) (1984) to the passage of the reformed Employment Equity Act in 1995, the authors show how recourse to evidence‐based deliberation failed to contain political conflict, because the meaning and use of statistical data became the object of political struggle among the main policy stakeholders. The article concludes by considering the implications of this case study for the broader comparative debate on the role of evidence‐based methods in policy‐making.     

Harmonization through emulation: Canadian federalism and water export policy

Abstract: This article explores the challenges of policy harmonization in a decentralized federal polity through a study of Canadian efforts to develop nationwide water export regulations over the past fifteen years. The Canadian experience in water export policy illustrates three different policy harmonization processes and suggests some of the effects that international free trade agreements have had on economic and environmental regulation in Canada. Prior to the introduction of free trade, the federal government attempted to deal with water exports through the imposition of uniform national standards. After free trade, however, harmonization efforts became more decentralized as federal power over export controls diminished but provincial powers over water‐taking remained untouched. Despite an effort towards harmonization through policy interface standardization in the 1999 Water Accord, successful harmonization did not occur as a result of intergovernmental cooperation. Instead, harmonization was eventually achieved through an extensive process of policy emulation, a phenomenon that has received relatively little attention in the literature on federalism and public policy, to this point. Sommaire: Le présent article examine les défis de I'harmonisation des politiques dans un système fédéral déentralisé, en étudiant les efforts canadiens déployés pour éla‐borer des règlements sur I'exportation de l'eau à I'échelle nationale au cows des quinze derniéres années. L'expérience canadienne dans le domaine de la politique de l'exportation de l'eau illustre trois différents processus d'harmonisation des politiques et préente certains impacts produits par les accords de libre‐échange internationaux sur la délementation économique et environnementale au Canada. Avant I'introduction du libre‐échange, le gouvemement fédéral essayait de traiter l'exportation de I'eau en imposant des normes nationales uniformes. Depuis le libre‐échange, cependant, les efforts d'harmonisation sont devenus plus dCcentralisés, tan‐dis que le pouvoir fédéral sur les contrôles des exportations a diminue et que les pouvoirs provinciaux dans ce domaine sont demeurés inchangés. Malgré un effort réalisé dam le sens de I'harmonisation de l'interface politique avec 1'Accord sur I'eau de 1999, la coopération intergouvemementale n'a pas menéà l'harmonisation. Par contre, on y est parvenu par le biais d'un vaste processus d'émulation politique, phénoméne qui jusqu'à ce jour est passé pratiquement inapercu dans la documentation sur le fédéralisme et la politique publique.     

Managing intergovernmental contracts: The Canada–Manitoba cooperation on regional economic development

This article uses organization theory to examine the strengths and challenges of contractual arrangements between the federal government's Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) and the Manitoba government to jointly manage regional economic development policy over the past two decades. This experience illustrates how strategies for managing intergovernmental cooperation on policy delivery are increasingly dictated by complex environmental forces, and how the survival of these contractual arrangements seems to rest on adaptive capacity in the face of constant change.     

Public health and collaborative governance

Abstract: The nature of governance in Canada, both horizontally (between federal departments) and vertically (between federal and provincial governments) is changing. Or is it? Two distinct trends seem to have emerged over the past decade: one towards horizontal coordination and one towards vertical collaboration. These trends are perhaps best exemplified by the Public Health Agency of Canada, which depends very emphatically on integrated relationships both with other federal departments and with provincial and territorial governments. Yet in the past year, severe criticisms have emerged regarding the agency's ability to meet its objectives. To what extent are these problems due to the failure of collaborative governance? On a wider level, have decision-makers been too insouciant about making importunate public policy decisions on an assumption of the viability of collaborative governance? This article argues that problems in vertical collaboration in public health have occurred largely due to failures in horizontal coordination within the national government.     

La fonction publique canadienne a perdu ses repères

Some thirty years ago, politicians in Anglo‐American democracies introduced a series of measures designed to give them the upper hand in shaping public policy and to push senior public servants to become better managers. The government of Canada was no exception. Politicians essentially decided to look to the private sector to improve public sector management. The efforts have failed, have been costly to taxpayers, and have knocked the federal public service off its moorings. The article argues that the public service needs to rediscover its roots and walk away from simple assumptions tied to economic self‐interest and deductive models and from the mantra that reforms inspired by the private sector can drive productive change in the public sector.     

Asymmetric decentralization of the administration of public safety in the Canadian federal political system

Canada's federal political system has to reconcile differences over the balance between shared rule and self‐rule concerning two bedrock principles of the constitutional government: the rule of law and democratic oversight of the exercise of the power of the state to ensure that it is not usurped. The hallmark of the administration of multilevel security governance in Canada is horizontal and vertical differentiation of diverse territorial and non‐territorial community values, preferences, interests and values has given rise to the asymmetric decentralization. This article maps the historical and constitutional roots, and then draws on examples in a survey of its institutional structure across three levels of government. It concludes by discussing the governance challenges that shared sovereignty and mismatched jurisdictional authorities pose for the effective and efficient provision of public safety in Canada.     

Administration in a national aboriginal organization: Impacts of cultural adaptations

Abstract: The Aboriginal Healing Foundation, established in 1998, is a self‐governing organization that administers a $350‐million fund for community initiatives across Canada to heal the legacy of physical and sexual abuse in Indian residential schools, including inter‐generational impacts. The foundation is required to adhere to terms of a funding agreement with the federal government, reporting to Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Drawing on the Aboriginal Healing Foundation's final report on its first mandate, 1998–2005, this article details adaptations of administrative practice introduced by the foundation, with the objective of clarifying how respect for cultural context can be implemented while maintaining high standards of administrative practice. Modified approaches and their impacts are examined in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and accountability.     

Does public reporting measure up? Federalism,accountability and child-care policy in Canada

Abstract: Governments in Canada have recently been exploring new accountability measures within intergovernmental relations. Public reporting has become the preferred mechanism in a range of policy areas, including early learning and child-care, and the authors assess its effectiveness as an accountability measure. The article is based on their experience with a community capacity-building project that considers the relationship between the public policy, funding and accountability mechanisms under the federal/provincial/territorial agreements related to child-care. The authors argue that in its current form, public reporting has not lived up to its promise of accountability to citizens. This evaluation is based on the standards that governments have set for themselves under the federal/provincial/territorial agreements, as well as guidelines set by the Public Sector Accounting Board, an independent body that develops accounting standards over time through consultation with governments.     

Redistributive federalism: Redistributing wealth and income in the Canadian federation

The Government of Canada has been engaged in a massive redistribution of wealth and income from some provinces – usually British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario – to the other provinces and territories. This redistribution has been accomplished through a number of federal government programs that may have been presented to the public as having nation‐wide applicability and not necessarily designed to meet the needs of any particular province or territory. These federal programs are part of a coherent redistributive whole, but each demonstrates how redistribution has been accomplished. They include transfer programs, such as Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing, that have explicitly addressed the horizontal fiscal imbalance. They also include transfer programs like the Canada Health Transfer, the Canada Social Transfer, labour market training and development, and infrastructure that have implicitly moved federal fiscal resources to various regions of the country. And they include direct federal spending programs like Employment Insurance, immigrant settlement and regional economic development. The extent of this redistribution is discussed, as are the reasons for this redistributive focus and the impact of such large‐scale federal transfers on provincial budgets. Finally, an assessment is made of why the degree of redistribution appears to have been reduced in recent years.     

Multilevel governance through a strategic lens: Innovation policy delivery in Ontario

The multilevel governance literature has matured into a widely used analytical framework for investigating policy processes that span multiple tiers of jurisdiction. However, there are still gaps in this literature. The main objective of this article is to address some of these gaps by proposing a strategic construct of multilevel governance that focuses on informal but longer-time horizons of interjurisdictional cooperation. This strategic approach expands the frame of analysis from prevalent emphasis in the extant literature on limited instances of interjurisdictional coordination to a greater emphasis on sustainable strategic multiscalar partnerships facilitated by municipal-level authorities and non-state actors. The article uses this strategic construct of multilevel governance to analyze the key institutional features of Canada’s innovation policy delivery in southern Ontario. This study illustrates how a strategic construct provides a richer understanding of the highly adaptive and fluid processes of multilevel governance in federal systems.     

Why electoral reform might improve representation and why it might make it worse

The debate over electoral reform has largely focused on representation in Parliament. However, the government largely controls policy‐making in parliamentary systems like Canada. This article shows that a more proportional system would increase the likelihood of coalitions. Because the dominant approach to studying representation in government, ideological congruence, suggests that reforming the electoral system would make no change to the level of representation, this article focuses instead on the representation of party preferences. It shows that multi‐party cabinets, common under proportional systems, involve a trade‐off between including more citizens’ preferred parties in government, while reducing the overall level of party preference representation.     

Birds of a feather? The role of partisanship in the 2003 Ontario government transition

The question posed in this article focuses on whether partisanship affects government transitions. The way governments assume power in Canada is an intriguing part of politics, but we have only a limited knowledge of transition mechanics. There has been no investigation into whether transitions have an inter‐governmental dimension, for instance, nor have transitions been studied with the government's partisan complexion in mind. This article addresses this gap in the literature by examining the 2003 Ontario Liberal transition through inter‐governmental and political lenses. Using indicators to assess the role and impact of partisanship, the Ontario case suggests that partisan complexions matter in how the transition process is planned and executed. The provincial team will seek advice on the matter from their federal cousins, for example, and will recruit experienced political staffers from Parliament Hill to be part of the new sub‐national government. Shared partisanship may also predict whether harmonious relations with Ottawa will prevail during the first several months in power. The article concludes by asserting that in provinces where political party organizations formally overlap or are informally intertwined across the federal divide, partisanship can play a role in determining how a new government prepares and implements its transition process.     

Rethinking policy capacity in Canada: The role of parties and election platforms in government policy‐making

Abstract: There is an ongoing debate in western industrialized democracies about the genesis of government policy capacity. This article examines this under‐explored issue by looking at the election campaign commitments made by political parties. The author reviews the election policy manifestos of the parties that governed in Canada from 1984 to 2008, some of the proposed policy changes advanced during election campaigns, and the actions taken by governing parties to fulfil those commitments. This research demonstrates that parties were relatively unconstrained in advancing detailed election platforms to the electorate and that they were able to fulfil, or partially fulfil, those commitments at fairly significant levels – particularly incumbent governments, who could draw on their governing experience and the policy advice given by the public service. The author contends that governing parties in Canada possess a high degree of policy‐making capacity and that they have the ability both to advance and implement fairly detailed plans for governing. These findings confirm that political parties are an important source of policy‐making capacity and that such capacity is enhanced by public‐service input.