Early childhood education and care reform in Canadian provinces: Understanding the role of experts and evidence in policy change

In over half of Canada's provinces, a recent commission has recommended major reform of ECEC systems; in response, provincial governments in nearly all cases have chosen to implement full‐day kindergarten funded by the province and delivered through public schools. We analyze the commission processes that led to changes to investigate the relationship between experts, policy makers, and policy outcomes. Our analysis of processes in BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and PEI leads us to conclude that governments rarely fully implement the programs supported by the evidence base and recommended by their own experts. Instead, recent policy changes have been driven by a highly selective and path‐dependent approach to the complex issue of early childhood care and education.     

“In the shadows of hierarchy”: Intergovernmental governance in Canada and the European Union

The articles in this issue suggest that intergovernmental governance takes a different form in Canada and the EU, raising questions about the transference of practices and institutions from one to the other. In both systems, non‐hierarchical modes of governance provide coordination in social policy. Hierarchy also plays a role, though not in a manner that one might expect. In the EU, hierarchy is tempered by members' direct participation in policy formulation. In Canada, hierarchy is important, but within rather than between governments, resulting in executive dominance of the intergovernmental process at the expense of devolving power to civil society and sub‐provincial governments.     

Region‐building: Western Canadian joint cabinet meetings in the 2000s

Abstract: Joint cabinet meetings are increasingly used for inter‐governmental dialogue, at both international and sub‐state levels. Provincial governments in western Canada, in particular, have employed the joint cabinet meeting format, and, between 2003 and 2009, nine such joint cabinet meetings were held. The resulting inter‐provincial collaboration at these meetings produced over thirty inter‐provincial agreements. Using the details of these particular joint cabinet meetings as a case study, this article considers three questions: First, why do governments hold joint cabinet meetings? Second, are joint cabinet meetings effective mechanisms for inter‐governmental policy‐making? And, third, particular to the Canadian context, what are the implications of joint cabinet meetings for federalism and democracy? The author argues that joint cabinet meetings are designed to build relationships and trust between governments and to allow a “whole‐of‐government” approach for inter‐governmental policy‐making. The joint cabinet meeting model appears to facilitate expedient inter‐governmental policy‐making, but the effectiveness of the resulting policies depends on the political will of the participating governments. Furthermore, in the Canadian context, joint cabinet meetings have the potential of reinforcing regionalism and the undemocratic tendencies associated with executive federalism.     

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.     

British Columbia's relations with the United States

Abstract. The objective of this study was to develop a profile of the international behaviour of Canadian provincial governments. This was done by studying British Columbia's relations with the United States. The provincial government was divided into three levels of authority (bureaucratic, ministerial and premier), data were gathered in interviews with all departments in the government, and supplemented by five historical case-studies of intensive relations between b.c . and u.s . governments. Numerical data which were assembled were used to prepare a conceptual framework of provincial international behaviour. This framework revealed that: the Bureaucratic actor is the most actively involved with U.S. governments, a variety of mechanisms are used to conduct relations, the majority of subjects are within provincial jurisdiction, and the principle motivating factor was the perceived interests of the provincial government in a particular situation. A significant finding was that b.c. had deh'berately involved the international sector as a source of leverage over the federal government, although it was noted that the u.s. undoubtedly is a special case for provincial activities. The study concluded that there are extensive international activities by the provinces, and that by their nature, they are likely to expand in the future. This would seem to require improved means of accommodating provincial government interests in the formulation of foreign policies by the federal government.     

论“河南公安精神”认知与践行之路径

"河南公安精神"是近年来河南公安工作再创辉煌的"三个法宝"之一,弘扬"河南公安精神"有其现实必然性。河南各级公安机关必须准确认识河南公安工作在省内经济社会所处的历史方位,始终保持良好的精神状态和工作状态,主动适应社会转型,为中原崛起、河南经济社会的平稳转型恪尽职守,切实担负起党和人民赋予的重大政治责任和历史使命。为此,必须深化对"河南公安精神"认知路径的建构,必须搭建能够使其进一步升华的可见路径。     

The temptation of provincial criminal law

Under s.91 (27) of the BNA Act, 1867, the Federal Parliament has the exclusive authority to legislate “criminal law.” This has not stopped the provinces from passing “quasi‐criminal” laws that are difficult to distinguish from criminal law. Recent legislation regarding “public fighting” and civil remedies for criminal acts suggest there are few legal obstacles to enacting provincial criminal law. This article identifies such provincial criminal laws, explains how the modern doctrines of federalism might invite and allow for their enactment, and discusses impacts on criminal justice policy and administration. It highlights the discretion afforded the Crown and police in charging individuals under the federal Criminal Code or similar provincial laws (or municipal by‐laws). While provincial or local laws may allow for more efficient law enforcement, they do so at the expense of the procedural guarantees associated with the criminal law.     

Constraints on provincial and municipal borrowing in Canada: markets,rules, and norms

Abstract: A common concern with fiscal decentralization has been the increased risk of macroeconomic instability. Sub national governments may behave in a fiscally irresponsible fashion. Central governments may feel obligated to bail out insolvent lower‐tier governments. Control over the fiscal tools needed for macroeconomic management may be lost. However, if the basic political and economic incentives facing decision‐makers are correctly structured, prior controls may not be needed. Canada offers a clear example of the strength of market and political budget constraints in the face of very soft ‐ indeed, non‐existent ‐ hierarchical constraints at the provincial level. However, Canada also offers an equally clear example of almost the opposite in the highly controlled and tightly constrained world of local government. These constraints were developed as a response to historic fiscal crises, with some modification since. Both systems were largely effective in coping with recent crises. Countries, like individuals, may learn from experience and inculcate norms of behaviour that constrain their actions even when none of the more obvious forms of hard budget constraint would seem to be applicable at the margin.     

法德刑事侦查制度比较研究

法德是大陆法系国家的典型代表,但是由于诸多因素的影响,两国的刑事侦查制度,在组织、程序、人事等方面又存在一定的差异.这主要是两国历史背景、国家结构形式、外来因素影响和现代化侦查制度的改革等的不同造成的.     

Third wave,third sector: A comparative provincial analysis of the governance of third sector relations

Across Canada, provincial governments are engaged in a “third wave” of consultations, policy dialogues, and policy alignment strategies with the third sector. Unexplored to date is how provincial governments internally administer their third sector file. This internal configuration could have important implications for internal adherence to cross‐cutting policy mandates as well as third sector policy implementation and bilateral collaboration agreements. This is a new point of analysis for public administrators and third sector intermediary organizations alike. This comparative analysis of network governance structures in eight provincial governments reveals that some structures are more compatible with policy alignment and implementation than others.     

Cities and places in provincial policy agendas

This article uses a new dataset of coded Alberta Throne Speeches from 1906 to 2017 to identify patterns of provincial policy attention to place and urban place across policy issues and time. We discuss three main findings. First, provincial attention to place and urban place is influenced by policy domain: place‐based attention is generally absent in some policy domains, such as macroeconomic policy, and prevalent in others, such as health care. Second, place‐based attention is patterned over time, with a noticeable peak in the post‐war “province‐building” years and distinct troughs in other periods. Finally, we discuss the related but distinct patterns of attention to place and urban place across policy domains and time.     

Research use capacity in provincial governments

Despite advances in research‐informed public policy, research remains underutilized in government. To develop a firmer understanding of governmental capacity to use research in decision making, we investigate Canadian provincial ministries overseeing education, higher education, and science and technology. The findings from semi‐structured interviews indicate that capacity to generate and access research is limited. However, we find evidence of a recent change in which provincial agencies sought to bolster capacity with research use strategies and by leveraging relationships with researchers. Leaders’ support for well‐coordinated research use initiatives also seems critical to instilling a culture of research‐informed decision making in government agencies.     

Federal‐provincial overlap and civil servants: The case of occupational training in Quebec and Ontario

Abstract: Over the years, many analysts concerned with how federations work have presented the reduction of federal‐provincial overlap and duplication as a way of decreasing intergovernmental tensions. While some have presented such overlap and duplication as inevitable or even beneficial, few have tried to establish how overlap really works and whether it is a real problem or one created mostly by the provincial governments who wish to take issue with problems of federal funding, joint management and accountability. Despite the fact that, ultimately, public officials are in the best position to determine whether federal‐provincial overlap is causing inefficiencies, even fewer studies have focused on how they manage their relationship in areas where two orders of government are involved. Thus, the best possible source of information on how overlapping sectors are managed has been left out. This article examines how federal and provincial officials in Quebec and Ontario have managed their relationships in a particularly contentious sector: occupational training. Sommaire: Plusieurs auteurs intéressés au fonctionnement des fédérations ont, au fil des années, eu tendance à présenter la réduction des empiètements et recoupements fédéraux‐provinciaux comme une façon de décroître les tensions intergouvememen‐tales. Certains auteurs ont présenté de tels chevauchements et dédoublements comme inévitables, voire bénéfiques, mais peu d'entre eux se sont penchés sur le véritable fonctionnement de ces empiètements et s'ils sont un problème réel ou principalement créé par les gouvernements provinciaux désireux d'engager une contro‐verse sur des questions de financement, de gestion commune et d'imputabilité. Bien que les fonctionnaires soient, ultimement, les mieux placés pour évaluer si les recoupements fédéraux‐provinciaux constituent des sources d'inéfficience, peu d'écrits font état de la façon dont les fonctionnaires gèrent leurs relations lorsque les deux ordres de gouvernement sont impliqués. Ainsi, la meilleure source d'information sur la gestion de ce type de recoupements nous manque. Dans cet article, nous examinons comment des fonctionnaires fédéraux et provinciaux au Québec et c'n Ontario ont géré leurs relations dans un domaine particulièrement conflictuel: la formation de la main‐d'æeuvre.     

外商直接投资对中国省域内收入分配的影响研究

关于外商直接投资对收入分配的影响效果,学界存在分歧.本文从中国省域内收入分配效应角度入手,选取1995-2010年中国省际面板数据,运用固定效应变截距模型,实证检验现有观点在中国的适用性.结果显示：外商直接投资扩大中国居民收入差距.究其原因是：外资企业采取“两头在外”和技术封锁的经营战略,低技术层次的内资企业难以融入外资企业的产业链,收入分配制度改革遇阻,内、外资企业薪酬制度差异.鉴此,本文提出：中国应提高外资企业的在华根植性,鼓励外资公司转让关键技术,适当限制过高收入,完善社会保障制度,实行财政转移支付制度,大力推进教育培训事业和国内外交流合作,健全知识产权制度.     

关于公安机关在新一轮海西建设中积极作为的若干思考

《国务院关于支持福建省加快建设海峡西岸经济区的若干意见》的出台，标志着我省推进海西建设战略进入了新的历史阶段。公安机关作为国家重要的刑事司法和行政执法机关，必须迅速把思想和行动统一到党中央、国务院的战略决策和省委、省政府的部署要求上来，以保障先行为己任，在思想上大胆突破，开拓思维；在工作上找准定位，积极作为；在行动上务实创新，扎实推进；在组织上因势借力，强化保障，在主动融入、积极服务海西建设大局的同时，把握机遇，推动公安事业持续发展，当好维护社会安定稳定的保障者、服务经济社会发展的护航者、推动对台交流的促进者和科学发展理念的践行者。     

Assessing policy capacity in Canada's public services: Perspectives of deputy and assistant deputy ministers

Abstract: The state of policy capacity within Canada's various levels of government has for some time been the subject of discussion both within the public services themselves and among the academic research community. Drawing on the results of a 2006 survey of deputy and assistant deputy ministers working in Canada's federal, ten provincial and three territorial governments, this article presents assessments made by the most senior leadership. The survey results show that ninety per cent of deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers agree that policy capacity has changed but that the change is not uni‐directional. Both improvements and decline in policy capacity were observed, although assessments of decline were somewhat more pronounced. Moreover, improvements in policy capacity were found to be associated with a reduced focus on direct service delivery, a greater concern with long‐term planning, and the presence of a political leadership interested in innovation. Conversely, declining policy capacity was found to be linked to centralization of power, the loss of institutional memory, and “churning” within the ranks of the executive leadership. Additionally, level of government was also observed to be linked with change in policy capacity, with provincial deputies reflecting more negatively on policy capacity decline in their government than deputies at other levels.     

云南省公安机关涉法涉诉信访问题的思考

公安信访工作是公安工作的重要组成部分。近年来,涉法涉诉信访问题总量居高不下,大量信访人常年流落在外,部分信访人员采取极端手段向行政机关施压,已经成为影响社会稳定的重要因素。鉴于云南公安信访工作实际问题,就目前云南省公安涉法涉诉信访案件呈现的特点,对形成这一局面的原因进行探析。     

因地制宜加快贵州城镇化进程的思考

贵州省委、省人民政府《关于加快城镇化进程促进城乡协调发展的意见》中指出,加快贵州省城镇化进程、促进城乡协调发展,是构建"和谐贵州"、实现经济社会发展历史性跨越、全面建设小康社会的重大战略问题,事关全局,事关长远,事关全省各族人民的根本利益。贵州要因地制宜加快城镇化进程。     

Taxing the tempted: Personal addictions,sustainable revenues and the public good

The regulation of gaming, tobacco and alcohol is challenged by new realities. First, fewer people are convinced that government regulation of these indulgences is consistent with a rights‐based society. Second, while provincial budgets have continued to climb, the revenues drawn from “sin taxes” (excise taxes from tobacco and alcohol and revenues from gambling) have declined as a proportion of total revenues. As a result, these taxes will not cover the important social and health care costs triggered by the new permissiveness. This study contributes to budget theory by examining the changing policy landscape and sheds light on how Canadian provinces in particular have attempted to balance individual rights, social oversight and provincial revenues. It concludes by speculating on other addictive products that could soon be framed as worthy of taxation.     

Crowdsourcing as a new instrument in the government's arsenal: Explorations and considerations

Governments have made strides in “crowdsourcing” yet the concept has not been defined as a tool in either policy‐making or in delivering services. The article identifies different forms of crowdsourcing and argues that existing taxonomies for governing instruments insufficiently account for crowdsourcing as a strategic tool in its arsenal. Focusing on the most important types of crowdsourcing drawn from the federal, provincial and municipal levels, it explores the limits of crowdsourcing and issues it raises for governance and administration. The cases reveal how crowdsourcing can help the state meet needs by activating crowds into accomplishing tasks. Using crowds is more than a procedural novelty: it opens new venues for direct contact between the state and citizens that can affect the force and direction of decision making.