Governing Canada's economic zone

Abstract. This paper looks at some aspects of extended Canadian maritime jurisdiction. It explores the development and acceptance of the concept of the 200-mile economic zone at the United Nations Third Law of the Sea Conference. It considers the relationship between the multilateral negotiations on the 200-mile economic zone, and the 1977 200-mile fishing zone introduced by the Canadian government unilaterally, and concludes that extensive control over resource and non-resource issues will be extended over a 200-mile zone, but in a fragmented and piecemeal fashion. New political relationships and institutions will emerge in the zone of extended coastal jurisdiction. As well, new areas of conflict, both intra-national and international, will emerge. The political problems the Canadian government will face, such as allocating an expanded national fishery between its inshore and offshore sectors, are suggested. Finally, administrative and political structures that could help to ensure the good government of the new zone are described. This might include a House of Commons Standing Committee on Ocean Affairs, to provide an integrated rather than the present fragmented perspective on ocean matters; and provisions to provide representation for environmental and consumer groups as well as for existing special interest groups such as those connected with the oil and fishing industries. Sommaire. Cet article analyse quelques aspects de l'extension de la juridiction maritime du Canada. L'auteur y examine le développement du concept de la zone économique de deux cent milles marins à la Troisième Conférence du droit de la mer des Nations Unies. Il établit la relation entre les négotiations multilatérales de la zone économique de 200 milles et celles de la zone de pěche de 200 milles établie unilatéralement par le gouvernement du Canada en 1977. Il conclut qu'un contrǒle dans le domaine des ressources physiques, comme dans d'autres domaines, sera étendu à une zone dépassant 200 milles mais d'une manière partielle et progressive. De nouvelles relations politiques et institutions seront établies dans la zone soumise à la juridiction étendue. On peut également s'attendre à de nouveaux conflits domestiques et intemationaux. On mentionne des problèmes politiques qui se poseront au gouvernement canadien comme le partage entre les secteurs de pěche cǒtière et de pěche en haut mer. Enfin les structures administratives et politiques qui pourraient assurer un gouvernement efficace dans la nouvelle zone y sont décrites. Elles pourraient inclure une commission pennanente de la Chambre des Communes sur les affaires maritimes qui traiterait des problèmes maritimes dans une perspective intégrée au lieu de le faire, comme aujourd'hui, d'une façon fragmentaire. Il serait aussi nécessaire que soient représentés les groupes d'environementalistes et de consommateurs ainsi que ceux qui s'occupent, à l'heure actuelle, du pétrole et des industries de la pěche.     

Parenthood,Childhood and Injury: Some Dilemmas for the Law of Torts

This paper looks at some recent developments in the law of torts. It looks in particular at the emergence of civil claims with respect to child abuse and the confinements effected by traditional limitation periods in relation to those claims. It examines in particular in the first section the House of Lords decision in Stubbings v. Webb to the effect that civil claims over child sex abuse were time barred, and the subsequent unsuccessful appeal to the European Court of Human Rights which ruled by seven votes to two that there had been no violation of articles 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is also noted that the Court ruled unanimously that there had been no violation of article 8; and by eight votes to one that there had been no violation of article 14. The paper turns in the second section to what have been called actions for wrongful birth, arguing that here we see the law of torts taking a more protective role, one which must be set side by side with the child abuse actions examined in the first part of the paper. Throughout the paper, both English and Australian law is canvassed. The major claims in this paper relate to what the author terms a singularly adult picture or rights and wrongs reflected in the law of torts.     

Martin Luther King's Civil Disobedience and the American Covenant Tradition

Daniel J. Elazar introduced the covenant idea to political sciencein his four-volume work, The Covenant Tradition in Politics.As he showed, American government and society are indebted tocovenant ways of New England Puritans and their doctrine, "federaltheology". Puritan covenants fostered polities whose framesof government and patterns of civil order established a federalmatrix antecedent to modern American federalism. The moral orientationof covenant has also influenced modern American political thought,as evidenced by the public philosophy articulated by the Rev.Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement(1954–1968). In such works as "The Letter from the BirminghamCity Jail," King challenged his contemporaries' ideas aboutlaw and justice, Americans with an opportunity to examine moderncovenant practice.     

Incentives,challenges, and dilemmas of TANF: A case study

This paper compares the incentives inherent in TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the U.S. welfare system in place after the 1996 reforms, with those of TANF's predecessor, AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), using the experience in one state, Wisconsin, as an example. Is the new program successful in avoiding the “poverty trap” of the old welfare system, in which the marginal tax rates imposed on earnings and benefits were so high that they discouraged work effort outside a narrow earnings range? As women receiving assistance begin working more hours and earning more, income‐conditioned benefits (Food Stamps, EITC, Medicaid, and subsidies for child care) are reduced and withdrawn, in effect constituting a “tax” on earnings. Under TANF, there is more support for these families, at least in Wisconsin, and so economic well‐being should be higher for most women with earning in this range than it was under AFDC. But marginal tax rates under TANF remain high, and in some income ranges they are higher than under AFDC. Once in the work force, former TANF recipients have earnings over the long run that expose them to very high marginal tax rates, which decrease the benefits of working harder and make it very difficult to gain full eonomic independence. Evidence from other sources suggest that most low‐skilled women have earnings in the same range and so are likely to face similar reductions in benefits such as child care subsidies or the EITC as their earnings increase, even if they are not receiving welfare‐related benefits. © 2002 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

The Contingent Effects of Risk Perception on Risk-Taking Behavior: Adolescent Participative Orientation and Marijuana Use

Viewing marijuana use as a risk-taking behavior, we find that the perception of high risk related to regular use of marijuana has no simple direct effect on that risk-taking behavior. Rather, the effect of risk perception is contingent upon the extent of youth participation in activities such as going to parties, going to bars, attending concerts and visiting friends. The perception of risk suppresses marijuana use most effectively in the context of activities where such a risk-taking behavior is most prevalent. These findings are congruent with recent literature on actions of risk-taking that takes into account the subjective meaning orientation as a moderator between perception and action. These lead us to conclude that a behavioral-specific approach can augment the conventional approach to common factors underlying the youths' proneness to problem behaviors.