The Political economy of regulating occupational health: the Ham and Beaudry reports

Abstract. The article examines the content and findings of the report of the Ham Royal Commission on the Health and Safety of Workers in Mines (in Ontario), and the preliminary report of the Beaudry inquiry into health in the Quebec asbestos industry. The reports are analyzed in relation to a case study (on the Matachewan asbestos plant) and in the broader context of the main variables in the political economy of regulating occupational health (and hazardous substances). These variables include the market economy and the production cycle, the role of organized labour, federalism, and the choice of governing instruments, the organizational forms for regulation, the relationships between regulation-making and regulatory compliance, the openness of regulatory processes, and the scientific and laymen's conflicting approaches to evidence and causal knowledge. The analysis suggests that by far the heaviest causal weight in explaining past regulatory inadequacies should be placed on the raw economics of regulating occupational health and on how this has been aided and abetted, by design or by neglect, by interdepartmental jurisdictional conflict. The two reports reinforce the continuing need, intellectually, to link policy with administrative behaviour and to relate both to the Canadian industrial system. Sommaire. L'auteur de cet article examine la teneur et les conclusions du rapport de la Commission royale Ham sur la santé et la sécurité des mineurs (en Ontario) et le rapport préliminaire de l'enquěte Beaudry sur la santé dans l'industrie de l'amiante, au Québec. Il analyse ces rapports en relation avec une étude de cas (une exploitation d'amiante dans la Matachewan) et dans le contexte plus large des différentes variables de l'économie politique régissant la santé au travail (et les produits nocifs). Ces variables comprennent l'économie du marché et les cycles de production, le rǒle de la main d'oeuvre syndiquée, le fédéralisme et le choix des instruments gouvernementaux, les formes institutionnelles de réglementation, les rapports entre l'élaboration des réglements et la façon dont ils sont respectés, l'ouverture du processus de réglementation et les conceptions opposées des scientifiques et des profanes face aux faits et à la connaissance des causes. Il se dégage de cette analyse que les principales causes des carences régle- mentatoires sont les préceptes économiques de la réglementation de la santé au travail et la façon dont, sciemment ou par défaut, les conflits de juridiction départementaux ont joué dans le měme sens. Les deux rapports réitèrent la nécessité constante de relier, intellectuellement, la politique au comportement administratif et d'établir les relations de l'un et de l'autre avec le système industriel canadien.     

Nuclear power,private attorneys general,and the regulatory process

Abstract. The appearance of citizen intervenors or private attorneys general in nuclear hearings or proceedings in the United States has raised a number of issues about the regulatory process. One of these issues deals with the legitimacy of private attorneys general as spokesmen of the public interest. Another is the appropriate response a regulatory agency should extend to these groups, considering their lack of knowledge, familiarity, and expertise in a very complicated subject in science and technology. Still another is the desirability of financially assisting these groups with public funds so as to enable them to make a full, complete, and strong presentation of a case in regulatory proceedings. In this article, the author addresses himself to these issues. He favours the recognition of these groups as consistent with the democratic process, regardless of their lack of specialized knowledge in the area of nuclear power. Furthermore, he supports the concept of public funding of responsible groups if they are judged to make a contribution to a meaningful, productive, and substantive discussion of atomic power, especially its impact upon the environment and public health and safety, Finally, he sets the parameters within which these groups must operate as a safeguard against excessive litigation. Sommaire. Le fait qu'aw Etats-Unis de simples citoyens ou des procureurs généraux privés aient comparu à des audiences ou réunions consacrées à l'énergie nucléaire a soulevé un certain nombre de questions portant sur le processus de réglementation. L'une d'elles concerne la question de savoir si un rocureur général privé peut se faire légitimement le porte-parole de l'intérêt public. Une autre consiste à déterminer dans quelle mesure un organisme de réglementation doit tenir compte de l'opinion de ces groupes, étant donné leur manque de connaissances, de familiarité et d'expertise dans un sujet scientifique et technologique très complexe. Une autre question encore est celle de l'opportunité d'octroyer une aide financière à ces groupes, aide provenant des fonds publics, pour leur permettre de présenter leur cas pleinement, complètement et vigoureusement, lors des audiences réglementaires. L'auteur de cet article se préoccupe de ces problèmes. Il est en faveur de reconnaitre l'existence de ces groupes conformément au processus démocratique, même s'ils ne sont pas des experts dans le domaine de l'énergie nucléaire. Il est aussi en faveur de leur financement à partir des fonds publics dans la mesure où ils peuvent contribuer aux débats sur l'énergie atomique de façon positive et productive, surtout quant à son impact sur l'environnement, la santé publique et la sécurité. Finalement, il indique les paramètres à l'intérieur desquels ces groupes doivent opérer, comme sauvegarde contre des recours abusifs.     

试论加强和改进理工科学生思想政治教育工作

理工科学生综合素质的高低对于我国未来的科技进步和经济、社会发展至关重要.当前理工科学生的思想道德和人文素质令人堪忧,加强和改进理工科学生的思想政治工作有着重要意义.     

试论政治现代化的生态限度及其超越

政治现代化指政治结构在科技革命和市民革命的推动下所经历的由传统政治意识形态向适应现代工业文明或信息文明发展要求的政治意识形态的演变过程;政治现代化的实现有着多方面的生态限度。要实现对生态限度的超越以促进政治现代化,必须重塑政治——自然生态、政治——经济生态、政治——伦理生态以及政治——社会生态。     

Planning without guidance: Canadian defence policy and planning, 1993–2004

Abstract: The decade between the release of Canada's 1994 White Paper on Defence and its 2005 International Policy Statement was a period of crisis within the Canadian Forces. The Forces' operational tempo increased significantly even as the defence budget was cut by a quarter. Defence issues were perceived to have very little profile in Ottawa, and military officers felt their concerns were not being heard. Despite rapid changes in the global security environment, dramatic budget cuts, and frequent deployments, the government failed to update its policy guidance to reflect these new challenges. However, the Canadian Forces gradually learned to survive in the absence of political guidance. Defence planners initiated a number of reforms aimed at anticipating future missions, preserving combat capabilities, and winning more resources. Drawing on a series of interviews with senior military officers and civilian officials at the Department of National Defence and a reading of the relevant literature on Canadian defence policy and strategic planning, the author examines the process of adaptation, focusing particular attention on the adoption of capabilities-based planning for resource allocation and mitigating risk. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these developments for civil–military relations in Canada and presents a case for institutional reform.     

Graduate education in Canadian public administration: antecedents,present trends and portents

Abstract. Education in Canadian public administration has undergone some significant changes in the past decade. One of these changes with profound educational implications is the relationship between political science and public administration. The authors examine the nature and extent of this relationship by first discussing the intellectual origins of modern Canadian public administration. This is done by reviewing important aspects of the American wing of the field, pointing out divergences from, as well as contributions to, the Canadian experience. Then Canadian public administration's potential in the political economy tradition is discussed, contrasting the field's early development with the malaise it experienced in the 1960s. Reasons for the field's revival are given, the new programs in Canadian public administration are analysed, and the conditions which have created institutional independence for public administration are critically discussed in light of the uneasiness created in political science by this institutionalization. The authors conclude by arguing that although separation has opened some wounds in field and discipline this institutionalization would, in the long run, leave the study of government and public affairs in both political science and public administration considerably strengthened. Sommaire. L'enseignement de l'administration publique canadienne a subi des modifications importantes au cours des dix dernières années. L'un de ces changements qui a des implications éducatives profondes est le rapport entre le science politique et l'administration publique. Les auteurs examinent la nature et la portée de ce rapport en considérant tout d'abord les origines intellectuelles de l'administration publique contemporaine au Canada. Ils le font en étudiant les aspects importants de l'école américaine de cette discipline et en dégagent ce qui la distingue de l'expérience canadienne ainsi que ce qu'elle a apportéà celle-ci. Ils envisagent le potentiel de l'administration publique canadienne dans la perspective de l'économie politique traditionnelle en opposant ses premiers développements au malaise ressenti pendant les années 60. Ils donnent les raisons du renouveau qui se manifesto dans ce domaine, analysent les nouvelles causes de l'indépendance institutionnelle de l'administration publique à la lumière du malaise créé en science politique par cette institutionalisation. Les auteurs concluent en declarant que bien que la séparation ait été responsable de heurts à la fois théoriques et pratiques, elle renforcera considérablement, à la longue, l'étude du gouvemement et des affaires publiques en science politique comme en administration publique.     

数学方法与政工研究

运用数学方法是社会科学研究的一种现实趋势。数学方法对政工研究的渗透和影响主要有三个领域：一是政治工作测评；二是思想信息分析；三是政治工作方案决策与预测。由于政工教研人员缺乏数学知识，政工科学本身的不成熟，政工研究的数学化程度还不够高。相信随着知识军事的到来，数学方法的运用必将促进政工研究的科学化     

Do Canadian university students in Political Science and Public Administration learn to perform critical appraisal?

The ability to critically appraise empirical studies of any type is a prerequisite to evidence‐informed policy making. We scanned the syllabi of all Canadian university undergraduate and graduate programs in public affairs, public administration, public policy and political science. Our findings suggest that evidence‐informed policy is not yet institutionalized in most public administration and political science training curricula. We conducted a systematic review of prospective experimental and quasi‐experimental studies examining the effect of university courses aimed at training social sciences students in critical appraisal, but did not find such a study.     

Navigating the principle of open court in the digital age: The more things change,the more they stay the same

The belief that courts should be open to the public is a guiding principle of the Canadian legal system. This article examines the principle of open court in the digital age by analyzing policies governing live text‐based communication in Canadian courtrooms. We argue that courts have and have not responded to the changing digital landscape. While Canadian journalists have the ability to use live text‐based communication in courts, the general public does not despite new affordances provided to them by digital technologies. This article explores the tensions between administrative judicial independence, open court, and digital technology.     

An Analysis on “Lipset Hypothesis”——A Review of Relationship Between Economic Development and Democracy in Western Academia

The relationship between economic development and democracy is an important research topic in political science. Since Lipset proposed the argument that “economic development promotes democratization” in 1959, this thesis has been exerting profound influence on academic circles, known as “one of the most prominent theories of the social science” and “one of the best sustained by the evidence” in comparative politics. “Lipset hypothesis” was examined repeatedly during the half a century. It met with fierce criticisms. For instance, some scholars questioned the positive effects of the economic developent; some revised the linear causal logic between economic development democracy; and some raised “political process explanation” and “exogenous explanation” as alternative theories. Scholars who supported “Lipset hypothesis” responded to the criticisms. Their research made the causal relationships between economic development and democracy more explicit, expanding the theoretical space and explanatory power of “Lipset hypothesis”. However, with the change of reality and the development of society, the debates on this issue will continue.     

国外新制度主义政治学研究述评

新制度主义政治学作为当代西方政治学研究的主导范式,不仅推动了政治科学研究内容的更新,还进一步拓展了政治科学的研究领域,为制度理论的建构和发展做出积极的贡献。本文主要从制度研究的适用领域与政治学本位视角、新制度主义政治学内在争论的焦点、新制度主义政治学的权力基础、新制度主义视阈下政治制度研究的整合与超越四个方面,对国外新制度主义政治学的研究现状与理论发展进行综合性的评述。     

“Man plans,God laughs”: Canada's national strategy for protecting critical infrastructure

Critical Infrastructure Protection seeks to enhance the physical and cyber‐security of key public and private assets and mitigate the effects of natural disasters, industrial accidents and terrorist attacks. In 2009, several Canadian governments published the National Strategy and Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure (NS&AP), a framework for governments and the owners and operators of critical infrastructure – largely in the private sector – to collaborate on the security and increased resiliency of Canada's critical assets. Drawing on the social science risk literature, audits, and a three‐year research and education project, this article argues that the strategy of relationship building, collaborative risk management and information sharing is under‐developed and limited by market competition, incompatible institutional cultures, and legal, logistical and political constraints. The NS&AP should better delineate risks and identify how governments can work with industry, and acknowledge the paradox between trust and transparency, the role of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprise, and how risk management processes can vary.     

Health system performance reporting in Canada: Bridging theory and practice at pan‐Canadian level

Public reporting is increasingly used to enhance accountability and transparency and stimulate performance improvement in the public sector. In Canada performance reporting in the health sector is still in development, and involves a large number of actors. This article reports on the results of a recent intervention by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) to develop a platform for pan‐Canadian performance reporting ( http://www.yourhealthsystem.cihi.ca ). It describes approaches taken to: develop a conceptual framework; engage the public in the definition of performance reporting priorities; and select indicators for public reporting. This article also discusses conceptual, methodological and operational challenges as well as a proposed evaluation strategy.     

Creating business out of bright light: Scientists and the commercialization of synchrotron‐enabled research

Governments have attached a high priority to the commercialization of science and technology as a foundation for participation in the “new economy.” Scientists typically view their work in less commercial terms and focus on making contributions to knowledge. When governments invest in large‐scale scientific infrastructure, like synchrotrons, they are increasingly concerned about the business and employment outcomes. This study examines the attitudes of synchrotron scientists at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan toward government expectations and programs supporting commercialization. The scientists are, as a group, ambivalent toward strong commercialization efforts and feel that the expectations of government are unrealistic. Many, however, appreciate the financial and political requirements to focus on commercial activities, and a significant number see both research and societal benefits in engaging actively with private sector partners.     

Interest aggregation and Canadian politics: The case of the Central Bank

Abstract. The following article focuses on the processes whereby an initial demand for the formation of a central bank in Canada was eventually transformed into policy. In the analysis, the groups for and against the formation of the bank are identified, the environmental factors which made demands for a central bank credible are examined, and the role of the political parties in translating demand into policy is looked at in some detail. This analysis sheds light not only on the formation of the central bank, but also on the nature of the Canadian political process in general. Sommaire. L'article suivant traite les processus par lesquels une demande préliminaire pour la formation d'une banque centrale au Canada devint enfin la politique. Dans l'analyse on identifie les group pour et contre l'établissement de la banque, on analyse les facteurs dam le milieu qui ont rendu les demandes pour une banque centrale rentables, et on met en relief le rôle des partis politiques dans la transfonnation d'une proposition en une politique. L'analyse éclaire non seulement la formation d'une banque centrale mais aussi la nature du processus politique canadien en général.     

加拿大卖淫现象的犯罪学研究状况

加拿大犯罪学界对卖淫现象进行了长期卓有成效的研究,从中可以鉴识出加拿大社会对卖淫现象的态度变迁以及犯罪学界对卖淫现象研究的主要趋势和研究重点。加拿大犯罪学者对待卖淫现象的科学理性态度以及在研究过程中所提倡的实证研究方法可以为我国学者在类似的研究中提供借鉴。     

Regulating on the run: the transformation of the crtc as a regulatory institution

Abstract: This article examines the transformation of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (crtc) as a regulatory institution caught in the midst of massive technological change in the converging broadcasting and telecommunications industry. Focusing on the last decade, the article assesses institutional change in relation to five aspects central to current regulatory institutional analysis: 1) the contemporary nature of an independent regulator in relation to ministers, regulated interests and the public; 2) the characteristics of both quasi-judicial and quasi-political regulatory functions; 3) changing views of regulatory compliance; 4) changing relations between competition and other framework regulators; and 5) the internationalization of regulation both through international trade regimes and through the effects of globalization on regulated industries. The analysis shows that the crtc is being transformed as a regulatory institution but that it has not been as pared back as have some other federal regulators, nor have the changes gone as far or as fast as the telecommunications revolution would lead one to expect. Each of the five institutional features examined conveys part of the reasons for change, but they also show how institutional directions and trade-offs for the crtc do not all pull in the direction of deregulation and contraction. Sommaire: Cet article examine la transformation du crtc, en tant qu'institution de réglementation confrontée à une évolution technologique massive, à la croisée des chemins de l'industrie de la radio/télédiffusion et de l'industrie de la télécommunication. L'article, qui porte sur la derrière décennie, évalue son évolution en fonction de cinq aspects essentiels a I'analyse des organismes chargés de la réglementation: 1) la nature actuelle d'un organisme de réglementation indépendant par rapport aux ministres, aux intérêts réglementés et au public; 2) les caractéristiques des fonctions de réglementation quasi-judiciaires et quasi-politiques; 3) 1'évolution des points de vue concernant le respect de la réglementation; 4) l'évolution des relations entre les organismes chargés de réglementer la concurrence et ceux chargés d'autres activités, et 5) la mondialisation de la réglementation par les schémas de commerce international et par les effets de la globalisation sur les industries réglementées. L'analyse montre que le crtc subit des changements en tant qu'institution de réglementation, mais qu'il n'a pas fait l'objet d'autant de coupures que d'autres organismes fédéraux de réglementation, aussi le rythrne et la portée de son évolution restent inférieures à ce qu'on aurait prévu, compte tenu de la révolution des télécommunications. Chacune des cinq caractéristiques institutionnelles examinées précisent les raisons du changement, mais elles montrent aussi que toutes les orientations et tous les compromis institutionnels ne mènent pas néessairement vers la déréglementation et le rétrécissement du crtc.     

Should algorithms be regulated by government?

There has been, and continues to be, an explosion in the use of algorithms across the economy and society. There are growing concerns about how algorithms are being used and whether they are accountable. This article reviews the literature on the issue of algorithms in several key areas, such as fairness, accountability, and transparency. The article examines arguments on why algorithms should be regulated, and it explores the available literature to identify how a potential Canadian regulatory framework may be developed.     

刑事科学技术综合训练考核初探

事科学技术综合训练是将模拟犯罪现场勘验及物证检验结合起来的综合训练．是融合情景教学、案例教学、实践教学于一身的综合教学方法．是符合培养具有实战能力刑事科学技术人才的一种现代教学模式。本文结合我院刑事科学技术系在刑事科学技术综合训练中的实践。从考核评定依据、过程及其优化等方面探讨该综合训练的考核机制。以求制定一套更加完善的考核方案，使考核更加客观、公正。达到真实的反应学生的实际能力，检验教学效果的目的。     

Policy versus practice: Third party behaviour in Canadian elections

Third party campaigners are widely noted to have the power to change the landscape of an election. Yet, in Canada, we know little about whether there is consistency behind third parties' motivations, expectations and strategies, or how these motivations parse with those of the legislators who are attempting to regulate their behaviour. This article explores these factors using data from Canadian federal elections from 2004 to 2015. Merging qualitative interviews and survey data of third parties with quantitative evaluations of third party and political party campaign spending, we assess whether the strategic motivations of third parties reflect the intentions and design of campaign policies that regulate their actions. The United Kingdom regulatory regime is briefly reviewed as an example of an alternative policy approach.