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This paper explores the relationship between federalism and the policy design of labour market policies in two liberal welfare state regimes – Canada and the United States – addressing the following research question: How do variations in policy design intersect with federalism in both countries and how can these variations provide powerful, self-reinforcing or self-undermining feedback effects over time? Combining the literatures on the varieties of federalism, the liberal welfare regime, and policy design and feedback, the paper shows that paying close attention to federalism is necessary to understand diverse national policy designs that produce self-reinforcing feedback effects over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between Canada, one of the world's leading immigration countries and a country that often serves as an international 'poster child' for well managed migration, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), an intergovernmental organisation that provides migration-related services for Canada and many other countries. Despite growing awareness about the role of the IOM in migration politics, a research gap remains regarding how states cogitate and evaluate their partnership with the IOM. This article draws on publicly available government evaluations, conducted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which speak to the strongly inter-dependent, but also highly ambivalent reality of collaboration between Canada and the IOM. In exploring and discussing the nature of this relationship, the article also speaks to the particularities of 'migration management' and the larger transformations in global migration governance reflected in Canada's partnership with the IOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widely held view is that effective action on climate change requires commitment by national governments to international agreements. Developed nations like Canada and Australia continue to fall short in their commitments to emissions reduction targets established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Australia refused to ratify its Kyoto commitments until 2008 and Canada withdrew its commitment in 2011. Subnational governments in both countries have been active in developing policy responses to climate change yet remain largely excluded as serious policy partners in national mitigation and adaptation initiatives. This paper utilizes Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework to consider why subnational governments address climate change and the main factors shaping their policy choices. The experiences of the Australian state of Victoria and the Canadian province of Ontario provide examples through which to explore the factors contributing to climate policy opportunities and constraints faced by subnational governments in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the framing of public policy related to infant food insecurity in Canada by examining multiple levels and jurisdictions where infant feeding and food security policy merge. It identifies that both policy areas position breastfeeding as the solution to infant food insecurity, primarily isolating policy within health domains. Overall, this paper provides a critique of policy in relation to what we know about the challenges of maintaining breastfeeding as the sole nutrition strategies for infants and the barriers of access to alternative food for infants within the context of low-income circumstances in high-income countries such as Canada. It argues that infant food insecurity is a matter that requires better conceptualization and broader policy responses beyond health policy aimed at shaping infant feeding practice. An informed merging of infant feeding and food security policy could provide the framework for policy development to address the structural relations that make breastfeeding unsustainable, particularly for low-income women, as well food insecurity outcomes that stem from not breastfeeding in low-income circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the interest in assessment of policy consulting in recent years has been related to financial and budgetary matters. This narrow focus has not dealt adequately with other important issues such as the impact of increased external consulting on the range and quality of advice and services provided to government. As such, important dimensions of this kind of contracting behaviour have been missed. This paper supplements new government contract data with the findings of a 2012–13 survey of approximately 160 Canadian federal government policy managers to investigate the oversight of contracts for policy work in Canada. Inefficiencies generated by a generalized lack of shared data and knowledge gained through the employment of external consultants is a major characteristic of this activity, which existing financially-based control systems fail to manage effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the discursive continuity between newsprint representations of Mexican refugee claimants in 2007 and the subsequent visa policy imposed on Mexicans by the Canadian government. It argues that the production of a Mexican refugee ‘crisis’ in local media rested on three dominant discourses: the encoding of Mexicans as illegal, criminal and fraudulent Others; the perceived exorbitant costs of refugee claims; and the necessity to control ‘illegitimate’ claimants to prevent them from exploiting the deficiencies of the Canadian refugee system. Such discourses reveal overt and inferential forms of racism and challenges to the self-proclaimed tolerance of multicultural Canada. The paper is based on a review of newsprint articles and readers' opinions published in Windsor in 2007 and 2008. Three rhetorical devices were predominantly used in media discourses—lexicons, the numbers game, and expert/authority legitimation—to elevate the refugee influx to a level of ‘crisis’ and to perpetuate a positional superiority over refugee claimants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Inter-party voting coalitions in three minority cabinets were analysed: the 38th (2004–05), 39th (2006–08) and 40th (2008–11) Federal Canadian Parliaments. The paper begins by developing a simple theory to explain the formation of voting coalitions. The theory predicts that electoral incentives and policy issues drive minority government support. The main contention is that voting coalitions are more likely to form along ideological lines, as proposed by Axelrod [(1970) The Conflict of Interest (Chicago: Markham)]. However, the analysis also demonstrates that voting coalitions form along a second dimension in the Canadian Parliament, mainly on issues related to federalism and the province of Quebec. Some evidence is also provided to show that expected electoral gains could explain why certain parties choose to support the government more, despite ideological incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Salazar M. and Holbrook A. (2007) Canadian science, technology and innovation policy: the product of regional networking?, Regional Studies 41, 1129-1141. The structure of federal countries poses challenges to science, technology and innovation (STI) policy-making and regional development not found in centrally governed nations. This paper tests the thesis that Canadian STI policy is highly regionalized in practice because of its networked structure, despite most of the funding coming from the federal government, which formulates most STI policies and programmes. Many of Canada's STI programmes promote the creation of networks. These networks are part of the federal emphasis given to provincial/regional economic development and more recently to industrial cluster promotion. Salazar M. et Holbrook A. (2007) La politique de STI au Canada: est-ce un produit de la constitution de réseaux régionaux?, Regional Studies 41, 1129-1141. La structure des pays fédéraux présente un challenge à la politique de science, de technologie et d'innovation (STI) et à l'aménagement du territoire, ce qui n'est pas le cas dans les pays centralisés... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia and Canada have been active participants in international climate change negotiations since the early 1990s and have often shared negotiating positions. This paper discusses why, in spite of considerable similarities in national circumstances, the Canadian government chose to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, while the Australian government decided against doing so. It is argued that a range of factors led to a narrower conception of the national interest in the case of Australia, which encouraged a focus on the short-term, economic costs of implementing the Protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Care work is typically undervalued and precarious. However, little is currently known about the financial outcomes of immigrant women care workers as they reach post-retirement age, or their access to effective social policy supports. Using Canada as a case example, this study analyzes the Longitudinal Immigration Database to compare the income trajectories of women aged 65–95 who entered the country via the Care Worker immigration entry class to immigrant women from two other immigration streams (one focused on higher skill economic contributions, the other on family reunification). Estimating a series of growth curve models (n = 28,775), results reveal that between 2007–2017, despite engaging in paid employment longer, Care Worker women were less able to make contributions to a private pension plan prior to retirement and more likely to depend on public pension benefits after reaching retirement age, relative to other immigrant women. Additionally, Care Worker women had lower predicted total income and experienced downward mobility during the post-retirement period. Together, the findings reinforce the importance of considering the financial circumstances of immigrant care workers as they age and highlight a need for renewed government investment in social supports to reduce inequalities tied to the gendered and racialized devaluation of low-wage caring occupations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canadian immigration documents such as the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 2001 stipulate that it is the responsibility of the government to help immigrants to integrate successfully. In part, this is due to the recognition that immigrants have the capital vital for economic and demographic enhancement of the country. To this end, successful integration is an important policy objective, with policymakers outlining indicators that measure the degree of immigrant integration. However, it is unclear the extent to which such policy indicators reflect the perspectives of immigrants. Drawing on in-depth interviews with African immigrants in London, Ontario, we report on a qualitative study that explored the meaning of successful integration. The findings capture some dimensions of successful integration. They indicate that creating avenues for personal growth and development in a context where immigrants have options and opportunities for advancement is an important marker of integration. Moreover, the findings show that achieving pre-migration aspirations – dreams and goals set prior to arrival in the host country are central to immigrants' conceptualisation of integration. Furthermore, as opposed to an action with a definite endpoint, immigrants understand integration as an ongoing process in which immigrants continuously adapt in response to changing demands of the host country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When immigrants settle into their new societies, variations in their wellbeing are commonly found, due to a number of factors: their generation; their specific settlement context; and their acculturation strategies. With respect to settlement context, the policy of multiculturalism in Canada and of interculturalism in Quebec, provide different contexts for immigrant acculturation and wellbeing. Acculturation strategies are assessed with measures of sense of belonging to Canada and to the province of residence: Canada and Province (strong sense of belonging to both); either Canada only or province only (strong belonging to one or to the other); and neither (strong to neither). Wellbeing is assessed by scales of Life Satisfaction and Mental Health. This study examines whether these context differences may be associated with variations in the acculturation strategies and wellbeing among immigrants and later generations. Samples of adult immigrants and subsequent generations were drawn from those who live in Québec and in the rest of Canada. The distribution of the four profiles among immigrants did not differ between Québec and the rest of Canada. However, among later generations, the 'Canada only' profile is lower, while the 'province only' is higher, in Québec than in the rest of Canada. These findings suggest a drawing away from identifying with Canada, and an increase in identifying with Québec, in later generations in Québec. This pattern is consistent with the goals of the different incorporation policies in Québec and the rest of Canada. Wellbeing was generally higher in the group with high sense of belonging to both Canada and Québec, and Mental Health was higher in Québec than in the Rest of Canada in all three generations. Implications of these findings for acculturation and settlement policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on Bourdieu's Field Theory and on Thomas Medvetz's study of American think tanks, this article introduces the concept of modalities of integration to examine how a selection of three Canadian think tanks have emerged and endured to promote specific views. Results show that the political identities of these think tanks are mediated by the communities they maintain and the forms of power these represent. These findings suggest that it is the way think tanks mediate the power structures of modern societies that can explain the convergence and cohesion of their policy ideas and political identities. The centrist think tank achieves its 'centrism' by catering to dominant interests and the state while extending a hand to 'middle powers.' The more activist think tanks maintain more homogenous communities by securing ties to specific interests and particular intellectual/ideological commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Persons with a developmental disability have the lowest rate of labour force participation relative to other disabilities. The widening gap between the labour force participation of persons with versus without disability has been an enduring concern for many governments across the globe, which has led to policy initiatives such as labour market activation programs, welfare reforms, and equality laws. Despite these policies, persistently poor labour force participation rates for persons with developmental disabilities suggest that this population experiences pervasive barriers to participating in the labour force. Materials and methods: In this study, a two-phase qualitative research design was used to systematically identify, explore and prioritize barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities, potential policy solutions and criteria for evaluating future policy initiatives. Incorporating diverse stakeholder perspectives, a Nominal Group Technique and a modified Delphi technique were used to collect and analyze data. Results: Findings indicate that barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities are multi-factorial and policy solutions to address these barriers require stakeholder engagement and collaboration from multiple sectors. Conclusions: Individual, environmental and societal factors all impact employment outcomes for persons with developmental disabilities. Policy and decision makers need to address barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities more holistically by designing policies considering employers and the workplace, persons with developmental disabilities and the broader society. Findings call for cross-sectoral collaboration using a Whole of Government approach. Persons with a developmental disability face lower levels of labour force participation than any other disability group. Individual, environmental and societal factors all impact employment outcomes for persons with developmental disabilities. Decision and policy makers need to address barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities holistically through policies guiding employers and broader societal behaviour in addition to those aimed at the individuals (such as skill development or training). Due to multi-factorial nature of barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities, policy solutions are wide-ranging and fall under the responsibility of multiple sectors for implementation. This calls for cross-sectoral collaboration using a "Whole of Government" approach, with shared goals and integrated responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying planning strategies for the transition to a green economy is a formidable challenge. We proposed a novel multiple-criteria decision analysis model which can quantitatively identify the socio-economic and environmental impacts of various government and public policies. We applied the model to four practical scenarios in Canada for determining the optimal final demand that maximizes the country's GDP and employment while minimizing GHG emissions for small, short-term changes. As a result, the model suggested potential ways to simultaneously achieve a GDP growth of 2.5 billion CAD and creation of over 25,000 new jobs, and a saving of 2514 kt CO2. As per the final demand, the electrification of domestic heating and transport should be more promoted. The proposed analysis tool will provide decision-makers with the ability to explore the design and effects of policy reforms, regulatory changes, and targeted public expenditure strategies, thereby overcoming barriers towards a green economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past couple of decades, public awareness about environmental issues and concern for environmental protection appears to have increased substantially in Canada as it has in many other countries. This research has two objectives: first, to empirically assess the factors affecting voluntary participation in activities to protect the environment in Canada and to determine if participation has changed from 2000 to 2010, and second, to contemplate whether a change in environmental participation over time might be considered evidence of changing preferences, and thus demand, for environmental protection. Analysis makes use of data from Statistics Canada's 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2010 Canadian Survey of Giving, Volunteering, and Participating used to estimate two IV probit models. Results suggest the likelihood of participating in environmental protection has increased over time providing a signal that preferences for environmental protection may have increased in Canada. Post-secondary education and social capital developed in youth have the largest impacts on the likelihood of participating. The results are expected to provide valuable information for public policy makers and environmental non-profit organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of policy work in nongovernment organizations (NGOs) is important consideration when understanding policy co-construction. Based on the results from a Canadian web-based survey of policy workers across five fields across three provinces, a multi-regression structural equation model suggests how NGO policy work can contribute to a greater collaboration on key policy issues and greater policy interaction between societal organizations and government agencies. The frequency of formal and informal invitations by governments played an important role in terms of the overall levels of interaction and stakeholder input. Networking activity was found to be important when addressing consultative-related issues, but only with NGO networks or their clients. Involvement in the early stages of policy development by the NGO policy workers did not lead to greater engagement with government officials, which may be a potential problem when their advice is sought after. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The story of institutional law reform in Canada has been described by one veteran as 'somewhat troubling.' It is a story not without significant successes: In Québec civil law, the codifications were remarkable achievements which realised sweeping and highly-esteemed reforms. Among Canadian common law provinces, Ontario founded the Commonwealth's first law reform commission in 1964, and as early as 1967 Alberta innovated the now internationally-influential joint venture design of its commission. Further, Canada's original national commission was notable for its ambitious pursuit of social issues, and the second national commission challenged conventional legal paradigms at unparalleled depth. Across the country, many law commissions were established. Yet, what is 'troubling' is how many, including long-established and prominent commissions, were since closed or constrained, impeded from accomplishing what they might have. Meanwhile, in Québec civil law, the codifiers' repeated calls for a permanent commission have gone unheeded. What does the future hold for institutional law reform in Canada? In Québec civil law, there are some signs of movement towards reform continuity. An important question will be whether processes of continuous incremental reform can be developed and managed to alleviate reliance on overwhelming legal overhauls. Elsewhere in Canada, a few Canadian provinces that shuttered commissions have since re-established them in altered forms. The common themes of austerity, ideology, and alleged redundancy in the downfall of past Canadian commissions remain an ever present concern to the survivors, as they simultaneously confront newly emerging challenges. Time will tell whether, because of their experience in reforming themselves in response to their troubling story to date, Canada's law commissions may be best-positioned to meet institutional law reform's challenges of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive agri-food policy includes food waste reduction as an important policy goal. Food bank donor indemnification is codified in law in several countries to support the charitable food sector. Other policy instruments to address waste reduction have emerged recently, among them tax measures to incentivize private sector action. These have been increasingly linked to the discourse on hunger in many jurisdictions. We asked 17 Canadian food insecurity policy entrepreneurs to comment on a vignette scenario featuring a hypothetical proposal for food waste diversion as a policy response to household food insecurity; the polarization in responses – ‘Not human garburators,’ vs. ‘everyone wins’ – was remarkable. This case of an unexpected divergence in the response to a policy idea in the food insecurity realm provides an opportunity to understand fundamental differences in societal perspectives that might be relevant to public health more generally. In particular we address the parallel humanist and ecological imperatives at work in contemporary public health practice. It appears that objections to food waste diversion for human consumption could be crystallized in terms of Mary Douglas’s theory of morality within particular worldviews. From a humanist viewpoint, the proposal was an indignity; for those with an ecological worldview, it was sensible and pragmatic. Public health has embraced ecosystem thinking and takes for granted that its ecological approach is sensitive to humanist perspectives but the two worldviews may differ and humanist ideals of dignity may raise moral rancor when considered in the context of ecological good. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In contrast to recent policies in the United States, immigration reform in Canada, during the past decade, has resulted in one of the most transformative periods in Canada’s immigration history. This article examines these changes, against the comparative backdrop of American inaction. These include changes affecting the three classes of legal permanent residents—economic, family, and refugee—as well as temporary foreign workers and foreign students. Canadian citizenship rules have also been refocused from citizenship as a “right” to citizenship as a “responsibility.” The article illustrates the advantages of the Canadian system, but cautions against overmanagement, centralization of decision-making power, and the loss of Canada’s welcoming reputation. The Canadian system, while not perfect, is efficient and should be able to successfully adjust to future problems that arise, provided that the Canadian public has sufficient input in policy decisions. Given a more complex and cumbersome US immigration policy system, comprehensive immigration reform is not likely to occur if partisanship prevails. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is strong evidence that gender mainstreaming (GM), a gender equality governance strategy, is performing poorly across jurisdictions. While many national and regional governments have adopted gender equality policy tools, developing and implementing an integrated GM strategy requires substantive reforms to existing procedures and institutional settings. The goal of the article is to demonstrate that, in Canada, current gender equality policy using a gender-based analysis (GBA) approach does not feature the same governance arrangement as the alternative GM approach would entail. Using the Canadian federal government as a case study, the gender equality policy instrument mix is examined to demonstrate how different problem definitions result in suboptimal performance. The article concludes that Canada’s current gender equality policy regime only advances the mainstreaming of GBA, and not the mainstreaming of gender equality in general. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the 1990s, subnational governments in Canada have become increasingly active towards immigrant selection and immigration integration. In dialogue with scholarship on immigration policy-making and public administration, this article demonstrates that bureaucrats, acting as policy entrepreneurs, have been instrumental in initiating subnational immigration activism in Canada between 1990 and 2010. By studying immigration policy-making ‘from the ground up’, three types of entrepreneurs are identified based on empirical research in the 10 Canadian provinces: classical entrepreneur, policy puzzler and diagonal innovator. New research questions are generated by the demonstration that subnational immigration politics in Canada is a form of client of mode politics, but where clients are absent and where independent within state actors are the moving forces. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Policies governing school choice in each of Canada’s 10 provinces are summarized and then compared using a conceptual continuum contrasting “domesticated” and “wild” organizations. Analysis focuses on the evolution of school choice in the six most populous provinces accounting for 93% of the Canadian population. Ontario, the largest province, accounting for 38% of population, emerges as displaying the greatest contrast between highly domesticated public schools and notably wild nonpublic schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With growing attention on formulating the “right” policies and programs to address climate change, the contribution that policy work will make in fostering adaptive capacity needs to be examined. Policy capacity is crucial to policy formulation and should be at the heart of climate mainstreaming. There are six hypotheses about the nature of climate-based policy work based on a survey conducted of Canadian federal and provincial government employees in the forestry, finance, infrastructure, and transportation sectors. To measure the simultaneous effects on perceived policy capacity, an Ordinary Least Squares regression was conducted. Among the key findings was that the increased demand for climate change science within an organization resulted in a decreased perception of policy capacity. Policy work was largely focused on procedure activities rather than on evaluation. The model found that networking was critically important for perceived policy capacity. Effective policy formulation will involve the participation of others normally not associated with traditional policy work. Evidence-based policy work illustrates that policy success can be achieved by improving the amount and type of information processed in public policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The arrival of thousands of European Roma seeking refugee status in Canada elicited a range of legislative and policy instruments that severely restrict their acceptance and create conditions antagonistic to further admissions. Interventions have included visa restrictions, actions by Immigration and Refugee Board, the Balanced Refugee Reform Act followed by the Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act, and ministerial rhetoric about the illegitimacy of Roma as refugees. Other factors have involved interpretations of persecution in relation to the Geneva Convention and Protocol, and the implications of the conditions required for membership to the European Union. These political circumstances in large part determine Canadian acceptance rates for the Roma. Their systematic exclusion is reminiscent of the historical treatment of other groups due to institutional racism. In the new racism, however, refugee law and policy is racist in effect while evading the language of race. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we examine scientific and political controversies surrounding the assessment and management of environmental health risks from the substance Bisphenol A. The Government of Canada recently declared the substance toxic and implemented a ban of baby bottles containing Bisphenol A to reduce infant exposures despite objections from industry, some scientists and policy makers in other jurisdictions that the current weight-of-evidence does not justify these measures. Bisphenol A was reviewed under Canada's Chemicals Management Plan whereby the government is legally obligated to use a scientific weight-of-evidenceandprecautionary approach. However, tensions remain over how to distinguish and reconcile the two. We analysed peer review literatures, policy and legal documents, and key informant interview transcripts to determine evidence selection, contested claims and related efforts undertaken to have particular interpretations of weight-of-evidence and precaution legitimised. We discuss various factors within the Canadian context that influenced the trajectory of claims-making disputes, including how ‘weight-of-evidence’ and ‘precaution’ were employed. We advance understandings of why Canada became the first national government to declare Bisphenol A toxic, an internationally contentious, albeit increasingly precedent setting, policy response. We also identify the need for a better understanding of the science base of precautionary ideals and how uncertainty is normatively and factually negotiated with respect to harm, exposure and hazard matters. We argue improving regulatory deliberation requires enhancing the transparency and democratic scrutiny of expert-driven assessments given that the boundaries between that which is normative versus objective, technical versus political, scientific versus precautionary, are not always distinct or agreed upon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the role of Canadian municipal governments in relation to the development of music industry policy. It examines two attempts by Canadian cities (Calgary and Toronto) to develop municipally based music policies. Both cases are examined in context of the policies of other levels of government in Canada, where municipalities have not generally played a significant role in addressing the music industry. Historically, music industry policy has been a concern of federal government policies. The article addresses how this creates a particular conception of the industry and the extent to which municipal policies need to challenge this in order to be effective. Further, the article examines some of the other factors that constrain and shape the ability of Canadian municipalities to intervene in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada's experience with immigration has been comparatively positive and mass immigration has considerable popular support within the country. The distinctive Canadian policy model—including large numbers with skill-based selection, multiculturalism and other policies aimed at promoting integration, and provincial autonomy—deserves international attention. However, Canada's success with immigration is only partly related to its policies and these may not be easily transferable to other contexts. Skill-based immigrant selection may be the most important feature of the Canadian model contributing to its success, and the effectiveness of this policy is clearly contingent on border control, which in the case of Canada is facilitated by geographical isolation. Canada's symbolic commitment to multiculturalism emphasizes the social integration of immigrants and this goal is also served by significant social services supporting settlement and language acquisition. The most significant distinctive feature of the Canadian approach to immigration may be the belief that immigration represents a positive opportunity to build the economy and develop the country. This belief represents a resource helping the country address some of the current problems confronting immigration, including reduced employment success of immigrants and evidence that racial divisions have significance particularly for certain groups. The belief in mass immigration as a positive resource and development opportunity underlies much of the positive discourse on immigration in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the goals of Canada's official bilingualism policies is to promote the equality of French and English in Canada's federal institutions. The most visible federal institution is the House of Commons, and the activity that attracts the most consistent media coverage is Question Period. This article examines the evolution of the use of French and English during Question Period in the House of Commons over time by examining a random sample of debates from the 24th (1958–62) to the 39th (2006–8) parliaments. This article finds that the use of French in the House of Commons has increased over time and discusses several possible explanations. In addition, this article tests the hypothesis that there exists an informal norm in the House of Commons which holds that responses to questions should be in the same language in which the question was asked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the rapid progression of Internet gambling, governments internationally are struggling to create and enact appropriate and effective regulations. A situation of inter-jurisdictional inconsistency exists and regulatory frameworks are constantly changing, with international policies of prohibition, legalization or partial legalization, or imprecise legal limbo. The ambiguity of the current situation and questionable effectiveness of policies in place makes it difficult for gambling operators, treatment providers, players and other stakeholders to formulate appropriate responses to online gambling. This article aims to bring some clarity and offer guidance for the effective implementation of gambling policy by examining the comparative evolution of Internet gambling in Australia and Canada, and the respective social, legal, economic and political responses. The differences in the development of online gambling highlight the unique paths possible, yet the similarities between these jurisdictions provide key examples of how policymakers, gambling operators, researchers and consumers can respond to this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Coastal Zone Canada Association (CZCA) was formed in 1993 to promote integrated coastal and ocean management (ICOM) in Canada and the world. The first Coastal Zone Canada (CZC) conference was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1994, and ever since the CZCA has carried the torch for ICOM in Canada through a series of biennial CZC conferences. Since the inaugural Halifax meeting, further CZC conferences have been held in 1996 in Rimouski, PQ, 1998 in Victoria BC, 2000 in Saint John NB, 2002 in Hamilton ON, 2004 in St. John's NL, 2006 in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, 2008 in Vancouver, BC, and 2010 in Charlottetown, PEI. This article reflects on the contributions of the CZCA to ICOM. Each of the conference statements, declarations, calls for action, publications, and toolkits have helped advance the discussion about ICOM in Canada, in particular the importance of community engagement and education as fundamental to ensuring the success of ICOM policies and processes. Through its publications, networking, and the influence of its members, the CZCA has played its part in raising the profile of ICOM in Canada and internationally, and influencing the legislative and public policy agenda in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As stress on water resources increases from growing human demands and a changing climate, recognition of the need to develop effective strategies for water governance is expanding. Consequently, it is timely to consider the legacy of effective instances of water policy innovation that have been highly influential in water resource management in Canada. We present two historical examples of policy transfer - that is, when policy employed in one jurisdiction is adapted for use in another. The first is the late nineteenth-century adoption of water allocation law in the North-West Territories that was a noteworthy departure from how water had been allocated in eastern Canada. The second is the twentieth-century introduction of conservation authorities in Ontario as regional watershed-based management entities. These examples illustrate how, in an era of expert-driven natural resources management, notions of governance were adapted from Australia and the United States. They also reveal how the biophysically-based policy context of water influences which policy transfer mechanisms are appropriate for lesson-learning. We conclude that the potential for policy transfer and lesson-learning to shorten the policy innovation timeline must be viewed as a critical response to urgent and evolving demands on water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, the decline of parliament and the dominance of the executive have received much scholarly attention. Meanwhile, the legislative and policy roles of Members of Parliament have generally been viewed as negligible. This study suggests that such roles may in fact be much more significant than previously believed, in part due to endogenous rule changes governing Private Members' Business over the past 25 years. Evidence is provided suggesting not only that MPs are generally more successful at getting legislation passed in recent years, but also that they appear to be able to influence government policy 'indirectly' through their participation in Private Members' Business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannabis policy in Canada is a puzzling affair. Since the 1960s and as recently as 2006, several policy windows have opened promising evidence-based cannabis law reform only to be slammed shut before achieving meaningful change. This 'saga of promise, hesitation, and retreat' has motivated Canadian cannabis researchers to investigate the reasons behind this policy inertia. These single-jurisdiction analyses have resulted in interesting yet necessarily tenuous findings. Fischer's (1999) Policy Studies article suggests the need for an analysis of Canadian cannabis policy in comparative context and offers Australia as a point of departure. This article addresses this analytic task by examining two recent case studies in cannabis policy. Specifically, borrowing Kingdon's (1995) concept of a policy window, it contrasts Canada's failure to decriminalise minor cannabis offences between 2001 and 2006 with Western Australia's successful decriminalisation of cannabis possession and production for personal use between 2001 and 2004. In particular, it appears that a lack of support from law enforcement and cannabis users, conflicting evidence and risk associated with a lack of an evaluation plan all combined with a weakened electoral mandate for the government to contribute to a perception that cannabis decriminalisation was not politically feasible. Additional variables worthy of further inquiry are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines one aspect of Canada's early cultural diplomacy. During the late 1940s, the Department of External Affairs frequently received requests for Canadian books from foreign libraries. At the same time, many officials were eager to promote Canadian culture abroad. The Annual Book Presentation Programme was inaugurated with the intention of creating “repositories of Canadiana” which might stimulate interest in Canada among foreign readers. Although the budget for the program was always modest, over the years the department's book gifts did fulfill their aim, creating a basis for the later growth of Canadian studies in universities abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prime Minister Jean Chretien considered his decision to keep Canada out of the Iraq War of 2003 as the best of his tenure. That move challenges the previous record of Canada's participation in war with the two Commonwealth countries to which it is most often compared, Australia and the United Kingdom; it was also an apparent departure in relations with the United States. This article, in its first section, argues that the 'decision' was belated and incoherent, and also, relatedly, one that lacked sufficient grounding in Canadian foreign policy traditions. The article hypothesizes in its second section on foreign policy options, arguing further that the Canadian government was unconstrained by expectations of the United States but also that it could have made an essentially cost-free decision, and one tied into a defensible interpretation of Canadian foreign policy traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capital mobility is a central determinant of trade policy. Increasing capital mobility creates pressures for trade liberalization, which in itself represents a further increase in capital mobility. Not only does increasing capital mobility orient firm preferences to reducing barriers to trade and strengthen firms relative to other actors in society, it raises the costs to governments of protection, in terms of employment, consumer prices, production and balance of payments effects. Governments can accept these costs, which is why trade liberalization is not automatic, but it is likely that governments will eventually liberalize, as did Canada in the case examined here. This article thus seeks to extend recent work on the trade preferences of multinational corporations by demonstrating the independent yet complementary effects of capital mobility on firm and government preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canadian community planning practice and institutions derive from both American and British influences, but the outcome of that combination of influences is distinctive. A strong corporate orientation emerges from the initial conditions for building cities, from the cultural milieu in which the agenda for planning was set, and from the constitutional circumstances that affected what forms of land use regulation were adopted. US-type zoning coexists with UK-inspired development control, all in a context of paternalistic review of local decisions by provincial government. The planning process in Canadian communities tends toward a discretionary system operated by professionals leading to an emphasis on accomplishment and a pervasive bureaucratic character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]