Regulation as a political question

There are at least two frameworks within which the debate on proper institutional arrangements for regulation can be carried out. One rests on seeing the various possibilities as instruments and its central concern is with the most efficient means for achieving regulatory objectives. The second framework views regulation as an essentially political act. It focuses on adapting our choice of institutional alternatives to take account of valued features of our existing political world. It also involves an understanding of how our choice of institutional alternatives actively shapes that world and thus helps to form our regime or the way of life to which we aspire. These two frameworks are examined with special attention being given to the political view.     

Recent changes in the cabinet decision-making system in Ottawa

Abstract: In 1984 significant changes were made in the institutions and procedures which support cabinet decision-making in the Government of Canada. The changes instituted by prime ministers Turner arid Mulroney are summarized in the context of the evolution of the cabinet decision-making system since the Second World War. The principal ways in which the system put in place by Prime Minister Mulroney differ from that prevailing in the latter years of Prime Minister Trudeau's administration are described. The differences include: a larger cabinet; fewer cabinet committees; simplified procedures and fewer expenditure envelopes within the Policy and Expenditure Management System; the consolidation of public service support for cabinet committees within the Privy Council Office, the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Department of Finance; and changes in the interdepartmental consultation process. Sommaire: En 1984, des changements importants ont été apportés aux méthodes et institutions servant le processus décisionnel du Conseil des ministres du gou-vernement canadien. Les changements institués par les premiers ministres Turner et Mulroney sont résumés ici et situés dans le contexte de I'évolution subie par le système décisionnel du Conseil des ministres depuis la deuxième guerre mondiale. L'auteur décrit les principales différences entre le système mis en place par le premier ministre Mulroney et le système qui fonctionnait pendant les dernières aiées de I'administration Trudeau. L'administration Mulroney se distingue notamment de I'administration précédente par les caractéristiques sui-vantes: un plus grand Conseil des ministres; une réduction du nombre de comités du Conseil des ministres; des procédures simplifiées et moins d'enveloppes de dépenses dans le cadre du Systéme de gestion des politiques et des dépenses; une concentration du soutien fourni par les fonctionnaires aux comités du Conseil des ministres au sein du Bureau du Conseil privé, du Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor et du ministère des Finances; et enfin une modification du processus de consultation interministérielle.     

Public support for punishing white-collar crime: Blaming the victim revisited?

It is commonly asserted that white-collar crime flourishes because the public is unaware of its costs and indifferent to its control. Survey data collected in Illinois indicate, however, that the public perceives white-collar offenses to have greater economic and moral costs than conventional street crimes, though not to be as violent. More notably, our sample displayed strong support for the criminal sanctioning of white-collar offenders. Public attitudes thus do not appear to be either a major obstacle to attacking upper-world criminality, or its source. It is suggested that attempts to blame the public for its immense victimization serve only to divert attention from the real structural conditions that underlie both high rates of white-collar crime and the reluctance of the state to bring the lawlessness of the advantaged within the reach of the criminal law.     

Toward reorganization of government services: An analysis of the police role

The lack of consensus regarding the overall role of police in society creates numerous operational and management problems. This article examines the police role from theoretical and applied standpoints in an effort to determine consensus areas. It is postulated that role diffusion has created problems affecting police productivity. Finally, other peripheral government agencies are examined along these same lines and suggestions for the reorganization of public service agencies are proposed in an effort to increase overall government productivity.     

Physician Participation in Executions: Care Giver or Executioner?

The "medicalization" of the death penalty has ignited a debate, by those within the medical profession and by others outside it, about the appropriateness of physicians participating in state-sponsored executions. Physicians participating as "agents" of the State in executions argue that their presence ensures a more humane execution. Opponents argue physician participation violates the Hippocratic Oath which states clearly that physicians should never do harm to anyone. How any physician, who is dedicated to "preserving life when there is hope," can argue that taking the life of a healthy person because the state commands it is in the patient's best interest, and does not conflict with the goals of medicine is beyond comprehension. Physician participation in executions is unethical because it violates the four basic principles that govern medical ethics: respect for persons, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice.     

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