Rearranging the deck chairs: A political economy approach to foreign policy management in Canada

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the 1982 reorganization of the Canadian government's institutions and processes of foreign economic policy. The paper argues that the reorganization is most fruitfully seen as a response to changes in the international political economy, and an attempt to link foreign economic policy to domestic industrial strategy. Sommaire: Cet exposé a pour but d'analyser la réorganisation survenue en 1982, des institutions et des processus concernant la politique économique étrangère du gouvernement canadien. Selon l'article, on devrait envisager cette réorganisation comme une réponse gouvernementale à l'évolution de l'économie politique mondiale, et comme une façon d'établir des liens entre la politique économique étrangère et la stratégie industrielle nationale.     

Do Defense Attorney Referrals for Competence to Stand Trial Evaluations Depend on Whether the Client Speaks English or Spanish?

Criminal defense attorneys (N = 142) responded to a survey asking them to read a vignette describing a Hispanic defendant charged with assault and rate the severity of the defendant’s mental illness and likelihood of referring him for an evaluation of competence to stand trial (CST). The vignettes varied in terms of whether the defendant spoke English or Spanish, and whether his mental illness symptoms were obvious or ambiguous. Overall, attorneys rated the Spanish-speaking defendant as less mentally ill than the English-speaking defendant, and were less likely to refer the Spanish-speaking defendant for a CST evaluation. Attorneys who perceived more logistical barriers to seeking a CST evaluation in their local communities were less likely to refer the defendant for a CST evaluation, but only when the defendant spoke Spanish. These findings suggest attorney decisions were influenced by language, although further research is needed to identify the mechanism of this influence.     

Too Much, Too Late: The Advocacy Act in Ontario

This paper examines the concept of government‐based social advocacy on behalf of vulnerable people in the community. It uses as a case example the Ontario Advocacy Act, a statute that was surrounded by controversy through its short life. The more general question raised is whether the ideas of government‐based advocacy are fundamentally conceptually untenable, or whether the fault lay with the specifics of the act and its implementation. As governments globally cut back on social supports for vulnerable people, the need for advocacy and support are self‐evident. This paper explores the broader viability of this one, specific type of response.