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Extensive research exists on the potential impacts of foresight; however, a comprehensive understanding of the factors that lead to foresight impact, particularly in influencing senior management decisions, is relatively sparse. This study addresses this by reporting on a Delphi and expert panel involving eight senior Canadian government foresight program leaders. These leaders were asked to help identify and then rate a list of factors that they felt resulted in their foresight projects impacting senior management decisions. Results suggested that factors such as foresight methodology, while leading to good foresight, do not necessarily result in senior decision-maker impact. Instead, criteria defined in this paper as the "consultants' toolkit," such as understanding the senior decision maker's pain points and foresight managers having a strong understanding of the organization's inner workings, play a crucial role. The expert panel discussion suggested that the importance of senior management decision-making factors depends on three mediating variables: The temporal orientation of the Department, the foresight orientation of the department's senior management, and the nature of the relationship between the foresight manager and the senior decision maker. • Paper identifies factors that lead to senior management accepting and implementing the results and recommendations of foresight projects. • A two round Delphi and expert panel was held as part of this study with eight senior Canadian government foresight program leaders • Managers identified factors that relate more to a consultant tool kit than foresight methodology that results in decision impact foresight. • A contingency model is presented with three elements which the impact factors importance • The paper highlights the importance of research partnerships that include both academics and practitioners [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Immigrant youth are integrating successfully into Canada. • Immigrant youth face systematic and interpersonal discrimination. • More focus is needed on immigrants' cultural and social contributions. • Current research and policy often promote assimilation. • Inclusion and multiculturalism are required for integration. Although there is substantial research examining adult perspectives of immigration and integration, there is notably less data on youth attitudes and experiences. When youth are surveyed, a preliminary review of the existing literature reveals that non-immigrant voices are very rarely included. This systematic literature review (a) identifies the major themes and summarizes the findings of existing research; (b) determines gaps in the existing literature and; (c) proposes recommendations for future integration research, policy, and interventions. Ultimately, this paper finds that integration policy and research in Canada tends to focus on the changes required by immigrant youth but rarely discuss the cultural adaptation and inclusion required by settled Canadians. A paradigm shift in research, settlement practice, and policy is necessary to better reflect the bi-directional cultural exchange and the mutual responsibilities of integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a discrete set of issues pertaining to the constitution of addiction in law. Based on qualitative interviews undertaken with lawyers in Australia and Canada, I examine how addiction figures in lawyers' daily practice. Drawing on ideas from science and technology studies scholars Sheila Jasanoff, Michael Lynch and Bruno Latour, and building on recent research I undertook on legal addiction veridiction, I explore the constitution of addiction 'facts' in law. I examine how and when lawyers claim to make decisions about addiction in the course of their legal practice. Lawyers report playing a central role in the making of decisions about addiction, at multiple stages of the legal process including: before taking cases on, while running cases in court, and while negotiating and/or settling cases. I argue that these decisions can be properly described as 'quasi-expert' determinations with important parallels to scientific, technological and medical claims often made in legal settings by more conventional 'expert witnesses'. I call these 'quasi-expert' decisions because they are decisions of the kind that might be assumed to be the purview of scientific or medical experts and because they have tangible implications for clients. Lawyers uniquely constitute addiction in unique ways, drawing on a combination of factors, including their own experience with and observations about addiction, the experiences of family members who have experienced alcohol and other drug problems, relevant legal concepts and frameworks, popular and scientific claims about addiction, emotions and values, including the gender politics of alcohol and other drug addiction. These addiction 'facts' can have a range of material and discursive effects, including potentially adverse implications for people characterised as 'addicts'. I conclude the paper with a discussion of some implications of these practices, and with reflections on how we might address these issues in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) were introduced in the language of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 2011–2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity as a mechanism to formally recognize the contributions that areas beyond traditional protected areas can make to the effective, long-term, in-situ conservation of biodiversity. Since the international conservation community agreed to a definition of OECMs in 2018, various Parties to the CBD have begun designating these areas and they are now being reported in global and national protected and conserved area databases. Using examples from Canada, this perspective details how the designation of some OECMs is circumventing the use of established and well-known decision support tools that work to uphold conservation standards, and why these designations may result in negligible gains for biodiversity. The perspective also details how labeling OECMs as "marine refuges" and "conserved areas" is misleading and can misinform the public on conservation success. To avoid the loss of biodiversity in 'paper parks' and eroding public trust in the institutions charged with effectively conserving biodiversity, the paper concludes by underscoring the need for new tools to evaluate the effectiveness of OECMs and new measures to hold countries accountable to protected and conserved area targets in the CBD so that their original intent is not further compromised in the post-2020 era of conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2015, a new Liberal Government came to power in Canada, elected on a platform that included legalization and regulation of cannabis for recreational purposes. Their legislation, based on recommendations from a Federal Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation, is due in early April 2017.Methods: This commentary utilizes Canadian Federal policy papers, previous literature, and internal and international agreements to examine two key areas critical to the development of a nationwide regulated market for cannabis in Canada; the need to overcome restrictions to legalizing cannabis in United Nations' drug control treaties, and the unique challenges that non-medical cannabis creates for navigating interprovincial trade policies in Canada.Results: Irrespective of UN conventions that appear to prohibit legalization of cannabis the Government is preparing to bring forward legislation as this article goes to print. At the same time significant squabbles impede the selling of even beer and wine inter-provincially in Canada. This paper identifies the challenges facing Canadian legalization efforts, but also shows how the legalization legislation may provide opportunities to engender significant change beyond the simple legalization of a specific drug.Conclusion: This commentary does not argue for any specific course of action for Canada, but rather explores the nuance of legalization absent from the declaration in the Liberal party platform. The paper argues that Canada's efforts may hasten the dismantling of the UN drug control structure, and provide renewed opportunities for intern-provincial trade in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Finnish Baby Box provides parents of newborns with a wide range of infant clothing and other basics. • The cardboard box in which the infant can sleep was emphasized by the media and commercial companies outside Finland. • The box preventing SIDS was advanced by private companies and the media. • This was less the case in Wales and Scotland, a result of their being governed by authorities with a "left" orientation. For over 80 years the Finnish state has provided expectant mothers with a cardboard box containing an extensive collection of clothing, bathing products for the baby, nappies, bedding and a small mattress. Numerous jurisdictions have implemented it in some form. We investigated through a critical case study methodology whether its translation into the liberal welfare states of Canada, UK, and USA experienced message distortion (the box as a means of preventing SIDS), commercialization, watering down of content; and separation from the complex of Finnish welfare state policies that support families with children. We find that only Scotland and Wales recognized the decommodification and equity roles played by the baby box. This study identified numerous barriers to building progressive public policy in Canada, UK, and USA: the structures and processes of the liberal welfare state, commercial interests that skew public policymaking and media logic that limits news reporting to the concrete and simple, eschewing complex analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper traces attempts to foster local, sustainable food projects in Niagara, Canada as part of community economic development (CED) projects during two distinct periods of provincial governance. In the first period (1990–1995), social democratic government support for local sustainable food projects through CED can be understood as neocommunitarian in nature. During this time there was a concerted attempt to link local people with access to local food and also to support a relationship between local food projects and agri-tourism. I argue that this neocommunitarian policy was an accommodation to a wider and more global neoliberal hegemony and was underlain by a romanticism of petty commodity production and a tenuous link to social and ecological sustainability. In the second period of governance (beginning in 1995) the progressive conservative government led by Mike Harris pursued particularly virulent, revanchist forms of neoliberal governance. With many of their state supports slashed, Niagara NGOs and activists turned, and were pushed, to more market-led, elitist forms of local food projects and agri-tourism. In these latter food projects, the practices of ecological and social sustainability were significantly hollowed out and their local and light green nature was harnessed as accumulation strategies. The paper is based on interviews conducted in the year 2003 with people involved in various urban and rural food projects (including community gardening, community supported agriculture, local/seasonal cuisine, organic/ecological farming and food box programs). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Walkability indices are used to characterize the relationship between health and place. Indices make assumptions that affect analysis of the built environment and resulting walkability scores. This study compares three walkability indices created by health researchers focusing on the methods, variables, and walkability scores resulting from differences in definitions and methods. This paper deconstructs the walkability algorithms utilized by each index and rebuilds them in Vancouver, Canada. We find that neighbourhoods in the northern core closer to the downtown area have similar walkability scores across all three indices, while the outer peripheral neighbourhoods with moderate to low walkability have more variation in walkability scores across indices. Most walkability variables - residential density, street connectivity, and land-use - lack a rationale for inclusion, often assumed by researchers. Walkability indices used in health research prove to be incongruent with each other and misrepresentative of actual human behavior. We explore the impact of variable selection and methodologies on indices in the interest of more rigorous health research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Harmful alcohol consumption contributes to poorer health for all people. For Indigenous Peoples of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand alcohol impacts their wellbeing significantly, this is partially explained by both their experiences of colonisation and the resulting impact on structural and social determinants of health. Indigenous Peoples have a recognised right to self-determination, which includes their right to contribute to policy decisions that affect them. This right is based on international recognition and principles, and acknowledgement of historical culture and law. The aim of this narrative review is to examine the processes of inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in policy development processes for evidence of self-determination to inform alcohol policy development.Methods: Ninety-eight peer-reviewed journal articles were identified through four databases. Twenty papers describing the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in policy development processes were included; one focusing on alcohol. Two authors reviewed and coded the papers by four domains of Indigenous inclusion in policy processes: Indigenous representation; method of inclusion; reasons for inclusion; and stage of inclusion.Results: There is no single model for the integration of self-determination into policy. However, the nature of participation is key in ensuring that Indigenous Peoples' self-determination is recognised. While all the papers reported Indigenous Peoples being included in processes, there was little evidence of self-determination.Conclusions: Self-determination is a right, and critical to effective policy and action. The inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in policy development alone is not self-determination; however, creating the conditions that ensures Indigenous Peoples have influence throughout policy processes is one integral component of self-determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Changes in the state of telephony markets paved the way for significant regulatory and legislative reforms in the telecommunications sector in the 1990s. In Canada, the 1993 Telecommunications Act was enacted to promote the emergence of competitors in a market that had until then been dominated by regional monopolies. This paper examines the Canadian telecommunications regulatory framework and analyzes the regulatory privileges given to new entrants at the expense of former telecommunications monopolies. Such regulations, which were meant to induce competition, ended up hurting consumers and distorting the market process. This paper also shows how the Canadian government recently eliminated many of those regulations by seizing control of the policy agenda from the telecommunications regulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential impacts of policies or changes in environmental conditions on people is a growing area of interest to decision-makers, yet remains an often neglected area of study for the environmental valuation literature. Using data from a large national survey of over 24,000 people conducted in Canada, this paper implements a latent class Kuhn-Tucker recreation demand model to assess differences in preferences and values for nature-based activities. Preferences are disaggregated by self-reported Indigeneity, immigration status, and gender. We find that Indigenous people receive 63% greater benefits from participating in nature-based activities compared to non-Indigenous people living in Canada. Immigrants have the lowest participation in, and benefits associated with, nature-based activities. Similarly, women receive 21% lesser benefits associated with nature-based activities when compared to men. These results demonstrate that Indigenous peoples may be more vulnerable to adverse impacts on nature-based activities such as land-use changes, climate change, and government policies. The study also highlights the importance of disaggregated data and incorporating aspects of identity in the ecosystem service literature towards more equitable decision-making and reconciliation. • Preferences and values for nature-based activities differ among people • Indigenous people gain greatest benefit from nature-based activities • Disaggregated data are critical towards equitable decision-making • Greater benefit also means greater vulnerability to adverse impacts on nature [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Arctic coastal populations share a close relationship with their environment consisting of linkages among communities, landscapes and seascapes, and the social institutions developed to sustain the system. This cultural–biogeophysical dynamic is termed throughout the section as a social–ecological system (SES). Marine mammals constitute a large portion of the subsistence diet for these communities, and as such represent key ecological services provided by the system. At the same time, marine mammals have gained iconic status as symbols for climate change in the North. A tension results between the demands of balancing on one hand good policy optics consistent with national and international norms and, on the other hand, flexible and adaptive institutions able to take on the task of managing resources in a dynamic, changing North. This tension and associated policy solutions such as co-management are explored in a series of papers focusing on marine mammal management dilemmas and policy practices around the circumpolar North. This introduction communicates the problem context and describes the five papers making up this special section. A guiding premise to this work is that new international pressures to implement moratoria on marine mammal hunting in the North ignore critical human dimensions of marine mammal management. Such policy proposals are unlikely to succeed in areas that require collaboration across scales. Simultaneously, new local-scale participation in multi-level management regimes holds promise for creating more resilient marine mammal SESs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Canada's ocean ecosystem health and functioning is critical to sustaining a strong maritime economy and resilient coastal communities. Yet despite the importance of Canada's oceans and coasts, federal ocean policy and management have diverged substantially from marine science in the past decade. In this paper, key areas where this is apparent are reviewed: failure to fully implement the Oceans Act , alterations to habitat protections historically afforded under Canada's Fisheries Act , and lack of federal leadership on marine species at risk. Additionally, the capacity of the federal government to conduct and communicate ocean science has been eroded of late, and this situation poses a significant threat to current and future oceans public policy. On the eve of a federal election, these disconcerting threats are described and a set of recommendations to address them is developed. These trends are analyzed and summarized so that Canadians understand ongoing changes to the health of Canada's oceans and the role that their elected officials can play in addressing or ignoring them. Additionally, we urge the incoming Canadian government, regardless of political persuasion, to consider the changes we have documented and commit to aligning federal ocean policy with ocean science to ensure the health of Canada's oceans and ocean dependent communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: There is little information on consumption patterns across the diverse range of cannabis product types. This paper examines trends in consumption patterns in Canada and the United States (US) between 2018-2020.Design: Repeat cross-sectional surveys were conducted as part of the International Cannabis Policy Study online survey in 2018 (n=27,024), 2019 (n=45,426), and 2020 (n=45,180).Setting: Respondents were recruited from commercial panels in Canada and US states that had and had not legalized non-medical cannabis (US 'legal' and 'illegal' states, respectively).Participants: Respondents were male and female participants aged 16-65 years.Measurements: Data on frequency and consumption amounts were collected for nine types of cannabis products, including dried flower and processed products (e.g., oils and concentrates). Consumers were also asked about mixing cannabis with tobacco. Socio-demographic information was collected.Findings: Dried flower was the most commonly used product, although use in the past 12 months declined between 2018 and 2020 in Canada (81% to 73%), US legal (78% to 72%) and illegal states (81% to 76%; p<0.05 for all). Prevalence of past 12-month use increased for virtually all other product forms, although prevalence of daily use remained stable across years. In 2020, edibles and vape oils were the most commonly used products after flower. Use of non-flower products was highest in US legal states, although similar trends were observed in all jurisdictions. Males were more likely to report using processed products, and vape oils were the most commonly processed product among 16-20-year-olds. Daily use of cannabis flower increased in US legal and illegal states, and average joint size increased across all jurisdictions over time.Conclusions: Dried flower remains the dominant product in Canada and the US; however, use of processed cannabis products has increased, with the largest increases observed in legal cannabis markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Immigrant and minority health is a topic of critical importance both within the Canadian public policy realm and in the social science research contributed by many applied health geographers. Set within the social-determinants-of-health framework, the paper explores the relationships among individual socioeconomic status, residential neighbourhood characteristics and self-reported health for multiple immigrant groups in Canada. It examines health outcomes and health-care use among the foreign-born that are heterogeneous in country of origin. Comparison is made between the overall foreign-born that are highly culturally heterogeneous and native-born populations and among selected recent (Chinese and South Asian) and long-standing immigrant groups (Italian and Portuguese). Data are drawn from the raw microdata file of pooled 2005–10 Canadian Community Health Survey. Descriptive statistics and bootstrap-based Z-test reveal patterns of health outcomes (self-reported health, selected chronic diseases) and use of health services as well as individual and neighbourhood characteristics among the foreign-born and selected immigrant groups, compared to the native-born population. Further, logistic regression is used to identify key determinants of self-reported health for each group. Both individual socioeconomic and lifestyle factors and neighbourhood effects (material deprivation and ethnic density) are examined in logistic regression. Chow test indicates significant differences in the set of health predictors among the models for different study populations. The study adds to the literature on immigrant health by revealing heterogeneity in health within the broadly labelled foreign-born population and by simultaneously considering individual and neighbourhood characteristics in a determinants-of-health framework. It offers important insights on group differences and commonalities in understanding immigrant integration and resettlement in the domain of health. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Urbanization among Indigenous peoples is growing globally. This has implications for the assertion of Indigenous rights in urban areas, as rights are largely tied to land bases that generally lie outside of urban areas. Through their impacts on the broader social determinants of health, the links between Indigenous rights and urbanization may be related to health. Focusing on a Canadian example, this study explores relationships between Indigenous rights and urbanization, and the ways in which they are implicated in the health of urban Indigenous peoples living in Toronto, Canada. In-depth interviews focused on conceptions of and access to Aboriginal rights in the city, and perceived links with health, were conduced with 36 Aboriginal people who had moved to Toronto from a rural/reserve area. Participants conceived of Aboriginal rights largely as the rights to specific services/benefits and to respect for Aboriginal cultures/identities. There was a widespread perception among participants that these rights are not respected in Canada, and that this is heightened when living in an urban area. Disrespect for Aboriginal rights was perceived to negatively impact health by way of social determinants of health (e.g., psychosocial health impacts of discrimination experienced in Toronto). The paper discusses the results in the context of policy implications and future areas of research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The governance framework for wild-capture fisheries varies widely across the world, but most frameworks generate and use science advice in decision-making, developed with some level of peer-review. The Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) oversees the peer-review process of science related to the management of Canada's fisheries and oceans; the resultant publications with science advice are the main source of scientific evidence used in decision-making in Canada's fisheries. The CSAS has a publicly available policy intended to ensure transparency and timely dissemination of publications that is currently under review. To examine the effectiveness of the existing policy, inform its revision and development of similar policies in other jurisdictions, this paper evaluates the timeliness of the publication of scientific information to support the management of Canada's fisheries and oceans from recent CSAS meetings against current policy deadlines. It was found that from 2017 to 2019, implementation of the policy was poor, with most documents published late, if at all. Furthermore, the science advice considered most during fisheries management decision-making was often not publicly available until after the decision was made and communicated. Despite having a policy to promote transparency, public engagement in policy and decision-making is being limited and a common understanding of the science evidence underlying advice inhibited. Transparency, which is becoming a cornerstone principle in modern fisheries management, is being compromised in Canadian fisheries management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Anticipating the impacts of a new policy before implementation on a complex social–ecological system is a challenging task for managers and policymakers. This paper reports on the development and use of an agent-based model (ABM) dedicated to support marine park managers in their effort to devise policies to sustainably manage whale-watching activities. The ABM, called the Marine Mammal and Maritime Traffic Simulator (3MTSim), represents the spatiotemporal dynamics of marine mammals and navigation activities in and around the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park in Canada. In the context of updating the current regulations on whale-watching in the Marine Park, 3MTSim was run to evaluate the merits of a proposed set of rules compared to the current regulations. To do so, a set of variables related to policies’ impacts on the three spheres of sustainable development, namely the impact on whales (Environment), on whale-watching companies (Economy), and tourist experience (Society) was analysed. 3MTSim''s simulations highlighted that the proposed rules are expected to improve the situation regarding whale conservation and tourist experience with only marginal impact on the whale-watching industry. In the proposed regulations, one rule is expected to be very influential on whale-watching activities. This rule limits to 10 the number of whale-watching boats allowed to stand within 926m of any boat in observation mode. Assuming efficient law enforcement, 3MTSim predicts a significant decrease in overall boat concentration around whales in the Marine Park, which is one of the management objectives benefiting both whales and tourists. Interestingly, 3MTSim reveals that this rule could indirectly force some boats to observe second-choice whales present in higher abundance rather than some more attractive species scarcer in the region. This highlights the following management tradeoffs: Reducing boat exposure for the humpback whale and endangered blue whale is likely to increase it for the more abundant fin whale listed as of special concern (Canada''s Species at Risk Act) and minke whale. This work demonstrates the utility of ABMs to support policy analysis in the context of sustainable management in a Marine Park. ABMs developed in close relationship with end-users are unarguably a tool of choice to manage complex social–ecological systems since they provide insight into phenomena hard or impossible to measure in the real system. Despite the labour intensive nature of their implementation, this investment is worth the effort. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The involvement of indigenous peoples in fisheries, and in the management of those fisheries, varies widely around the world, but invariably involves many complex interactions. This paper assesses these interactions using a three-pronged conceptual framework of livelihoods, equity and rights (resource access and management rights, as well as indigenous and aboriginal rights). The framework is applied to examine the experiences of indigenous peoples in Canada and the Philippines regarding access to fishery resources, and participation in fisheries management and policy. These experiences demonstrate the importance of legally recognized rights not only as a key tool in resource management, but also in the pursuit of secure and equitable livelihoods on the part of indigenous peoples. While it is apparent that in some ways, serious mismatches exist between government policy and local livelihood needs, there are also illustrations of positive change in improving the situation of indigenous peoples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Open Source Software (OSS) has become an important alternative method of organizing the production of software and has gained in popularity and use because of its benefits and costs relative to the dominant proprietary software model. In this paper, I use evidence from the United States and Canada to examine the distribution of these benefits and costs. I argue that although the rhetoric surrounding OSS is supported empirically, the benefits of OSS have been limited because of the way this technological project has evolved within its associated policy environment. That is, although ostensibly neutral, the policies and laws of both the U.S. and Canadian governments have tended to be positioned implicitly against the use of OSS both in the public sector and in the economy generally. In addition, OSS use and development requires a set of skills that are absent in many instances or create prohibitively high costs. Thus OSS is typically used by larger organizations, and its development is restricted to a mostly male, highly educated, high-income group of contributors. Therefore while the benefits of OSS are real, the distribution of these benefits is skewed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Given the known and potential impacts of climate change on ecosystem composition, structure, and function, some recent studies question the efficacy and relevancy of current protected area policies and management objectives. For example, in a rapidly changing climate is it practical to continue to identify and protect ‘representative’ samples of the natural heritage estate? This paper examines a number of climate-related issues that now confront agencies and organizations responsible for the protection of natural heritage areas, including the roles of protected areas, representation targets, ecological integrity, protected area design, management techniques, research and monitoring needs, and agency capacity to respond. Potential avenues for adaptation are proposed in light of these issues. The development and implementation of a cross-jurisdictional landscape-scale strategic conservation framework focused on protecting, connecting, and restoring ecosystems will be fundamental to enhancing ecological resilience to climate change. We conclude that even though climate change presents unprecedented and significant challenges, the protected area contribution to ecosystem function and human health and well-being will remain an essential and worthwhile investment in the 21st century. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Climate change is one of the most important public policy issues of our time. Reconciling the world’s ongoing reliance on fossil fuels with the need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of our greatest challenges. Canada is taking this challenge seriously with climate change policies that include enhancing our global leadership in advancing one of the most promising technologies for reducing GHG emissions from fossil fuel use: carbon capture and storage (CCS). Federal and provincial governments in Canada are making substantial investments in CCS, committing upwards of CAD 3 billion in public funding towards seven large-scale fully-integrated CCS demonstration projects. The federal ecoENERGY Technology Initiative announced $151 million for the initial engineering and/or pilot stages of seven potential demonstration projects in 2008. The 2009 federal budget created Clean Energy Fund, which included $610 million for CCS demonstrations. The Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia have also committed funding for demonstrations, in particular $2 billion by Alberta. This public funding will leverage additional investment from industry, for projects that will each capture and store on the order of 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year, coming on-line starting in 2015 or sooner. In order to generate early benefits from these investments, Government of Canada intends to create a knowledge sharing framework for CCS demonstration projects in Canada. The learnings from this first wave of demonstration projects should be disseminated in order to reduce challenges for the next generation of CCS projects and to build competitive advantage. This work will also support and provide input to the knowledge sharing and best practice guidelines being currently developed by Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI). Given that this level of information has not been shared in the past, establishing such a framework will pose several challenges such as concerns regarding the protection of the intellectual property (IP) and commercially sensitive information. Knowledge sharing will also support public engagement and capacity building programs, and it will provide an opportunity to assess the effectiveness and impact of the public investment. This paper will provide an overview and progress to date on the development of knowledge sharing and best practice guidelines in Canada. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Climate change has been identified as potentially the biggest health threat of the 21st century. Canada in general has a well developed public health system and low burden of health which will moderate vulnerability. However, there is significant heterogeneity in health outcomes, and health inequality is particularly pronounced among Aboriginal Canadians. Intervention is needed to prevent, prepare for, and manage climate change effects on Aboriginal health but is constrained by a limited understanding of vulnerability and its determinants. Despite limited research on climate change and Aboriginal health, however, there is a well established literature on Aboriginal health outcomes, determinants, and trends in Canada; characteristics that will determine vulnerability to climate change. In this paper we systematically review this literature, using a vulnerability framework to identify the broad level factors constraining adaptive capacity and increasing sensitivity to climate change. Determinants identified include: poverty, technological capacity constraints, socio-political values and inequality, institutional capacity challenges, and information deficit. The magnitude and nature of these determinants will be distributed unevenly within and between Aboriginal populations necessitating place-based and regional level studies to examine how these broad factors will affect vulnerability at lower levels. The study also supports the need for collaboration across all sectors and levels of government, open and meaningful dialogue between policy makers, scientists, health professionals, and Aboriginal communities, and capacity building at a local level, to plan for climate change. Ultimately, however, efforts to reduce the vulnerability of Aboriginal Canadians to climate change and intervene to prevent, reduce, and manage climate-sensitive health outcomes, will fail unless the broader determinants of socio-economic and health inequality are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The complexity of emerging issues in science, technology, and medicine calls for new strategies to deal with risk and uncertainty. This paper explores the production of medical isotopes in Canada as an illustration of complex issues requiring decision support. It proposes a four-feature strategy for policy makers. Tightly but inversely connected, risks generated by either the production or non-production of medical isotopes are multidimensional and located on both the demand (healthy citizens and their well-being) and supply (safety of production) sides. The decision making also involves multidisciplinary considerations. Another feature of the process is the geographic scale. Production goes beyond domestic needs as global society depends on medical isotopes and must rely on very few producers. Finally, time scale adds to the complexity of the strategy, as developing technology alternatives on both the supply and demand sides requires a long-term perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An interesting question concerns how large-scale (mental) health services policy initiatives come into being, and the role of evidence within the decision-making process behind their origins. This paper illustrates the process by which motivation to address homelessness, in the context of the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Olympics, was leveraged into a pan-Canadian project including sites in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Moncton, New Brunswick. The aim of the initiative was to implement and evaluate an intervention, Housing First, to provide housing and support to previously homeless people with mental illness. This qualitative case study was conducted between December 2009 and December 2010, employing grounded theory, and drawing on archival documents and interviews with 19 key informants involved in the conception of the project. Overall, the findings affirm that policy-making does not follow a rational, linear process of knowledge translation/exchange (KTE) and implementation, whereby evidence-based “products” are brought forward to address objectively determined needs and then “placed into decision-making events” (Lomas, 2007, p. 130). Instead, evidence-based policy making should be understood within the much more complex context of “policy entrepreneurship” (Kingdon, 2003; Mintrom & Norman, 2009) which entails taking advantage of windows of opportunity, and helping to bring together the “streams” of problems, politics, and policy ideas (Kingdon, 2003). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

After almost a century of benign neglect, Canadian aquaculture policy emerged in its modern form after 1984, when the federal government led a complex intergovernmental process of policy renewal. After an initial period in which the foundations for the new policy were laid through intergovernmental agreements, both the federal and provincial governments adopted numerous policies aimed at the promotion of the aquaculture industry. This paper assesses these developments and trends in Canadian aquaculture policy against the requirements for “smart regulation” set out by Neil Gunningham. It finds the Canadian efforts to be wanting, focussing too much on substantive policy tools designed for aquaculture industry development and not enough on the procedural tools required for policy legitimation. As a result, the industry, and Canadian government policy, now face severe potential legitimation problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyses the use of fringe financial institutions (FFIs), such as payday loan and check cashing providers, by urban Aboriginal people based on a survey undertaken in Prince George, British Columbia. We found that 60% of FFIs’ clients surveyed self-identified as Aboriginal. Their characteristics, compared to the non-Aboriginal FFI clients, included having lower average incomes, lower levels of education, more likely to be female, a higher incidence of being unemployed, higher levels of financial exclusion, and less satisfaction with the service provided by FFIs. We find that government policy towards regulating the FFI industry is inadequate for meeting the basic financial needs of urban Aboriginal people. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recently enacted regulations in Canada and elsewhere require water utilities to be financially self-sustaining over the long-term. This implies full cost recovery for providing water and wastewater services to users. This study proposes a new approach to help water utilities plan to meet the requirements of the new regulations. A causal loop diagram is developed for a financially self-sustaining water utility which frames water and wastewater network management as a complex system with multiple interconnections and feedback loops. The novel System Dynamics approach is used to develop a demonstration model for water and wastewater network management. This is the first known application of System Dynamics to water and wastewater network management. The network simulated is that of a typical Canadian water utility that has under invested in maintenance. Model results show that with no proactive rehabilitation strategy the utility will need to substantially increase its user fees to achieve financial sustainability. This increase is further exacerbated when price elasticity of water demand is considered. When the utility pursues proactive rehabilitation, financial sustainability is achieved with lower user fees. Having demonstrated the significance of feedback loops for financial management of water and wastewater networks, the paper makes the case for a more complete utility model that considers the complexity of the system by incorporating all feedback loops. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Allowance for the continued operation of feeder piping at some Canadian CANDU stations, which is experiencing active degradation mechanisms, has been based primarily on augmented inspection practices and conservative fitness for service assessments. The major degradation mechanisms identified to date are: pipe wall thinning due to Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) and service induced cracking due to Intergranular Cracking due to Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) and potentially Low Temperature Creep Cracking (LTCC) mechanisms. Given that currently available industry codes and standards do not provide sufficient guidelines/criteria for assessing the degradation of feeder pipes, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has asked the utilities to establish feeder pipe specific procedures to provide reasonable assurance that the risk associated with the feeder degradation is maintained at an acceptably low level. In response to this requirement, the Canadian CANDU industry has developed and continued to update feeder fitness for service guidelines to provide evaluation procedures and industry standard acceptance criteria for assessing the structural integrity of the feeder pipes. The scope and frequency of inspections are determined based on the results of the fitness for service assessments taking into account the relative susceptibility of feeder pipes to each specific degradation mechanism. While industry practices for the management of degraded feeder pipes have, in general, been complied with the regulatory expectations, outstanding issues still remain. Major regulatory concerns include uncertainties associated with limitations in both the inspection techniques and the mechanistic understanding of the degradation processes, which can impede inspection planning and fitness for service assessments. This paper presents the regulator''s view of the current situation with respect to degradation of feeder piping, its implications for nuclear safety and the regulatory expectations on industry''s management of the critical ageing phenomena. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Canada has invested significantly in the development of a domestic bioethanol industry, and it is expected that bioethanol from lignocellulosics will become more desirable to the industry as it expands. Development of the Canadian industry to date is described in this paper, as are examples of domestic research programs focused on both bioconversion and thermochemical conversion to generate biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass. The availability of lignocellulosic residues from agricultural and forestry operations, and the potential biofuel production associated with these residues, is described. The policy tools used to develop the domestic bioethanol industry are explored. A residue-based process could greatly extend the potential of the bioethanol industry in Canada. It is estimated that bioethanol production from residual lignocellulosic feedstocks could provide up to 50% of Canada’s 2006 transportation fuel demand, given ideal conversion and full access to these feedstocks. Utilizing lignocellulosic biomass will extend the geographic range of the bioethanol industry, and increase the stability and security of this sector by reducing the impact of localized disruptions in supply. Use of disturbance crops could add 9% to this figure, but not in a sustainable fashion. If pursued aggressively, energy crops ultimately could contribute bioethanol at a volume double that of Canada’s gasoline consumption in 2006. This would move Canada towards greater transportation fuel independence and a larger role in the export of bioethanol to the global market. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper uses the changing landscape of the addiction treatment system as a way to understand broader trends in welfare state restructuring. Based on a case study of six detoxes in Winnipeg, Hamilton and Toronto (Canada), we seek to understand the degree to which the detox constitutes a space of care that reflects therapeutic aims of facility operators, a space of abeyance, control and containment for larger society, and a space of sustenance for individual clients. Further, we investigate how the shifting relationships between these roles provide insight into broader trends in the structuring and restructuring of the welfare state. Our empirical findings point to a multiple and reworked configuration within detox programs, while conceptually, our tripartite understanding of spaces of treatment serves to caution against totalizing accounts of current welfare state restructuring. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The health of the world''s oceans and their impact on global environmental and climate change make the development of cabled observing systems vital and timely as a data source and archive of unparalleled importance for new discoveries. The VENUS and NEPTUNE Canada observatories are on the forefront of a new generation of ocean science and technology. Funding of over $100M, principally from the Governments of Canada and BC, for these two observatories supports integrated ocean systems science at a regional scale enabled by new developments in powered sub-sea cable technology and in cyber-infrastructure that streams continuous real-time data to Internet-based web platforms. VENUS is a coastal observatory supporting two instrumented arrays in the Saanich Inlet, near Victoria, and in the Strait of Georgia, off Vancouver. NEPTUNE Canada is an 800km system on the Juan de Fuca Plate off the west coast of British Columbia, which will have five instrumented nodes in operation over the next 18 months. This paper describes the development and management of these two observatories, the principal research themes, and the applications of the research to public policy, economic development, and public education and outreach. Both observatories depend on partnerships with universities, government agencies, private sector companies, and NGOs. International collaboration is central to the development of the research programs, including partnerships with initiatives in the EU, US, Japan, Taiwan and China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper provides an overview of fisheries in Atlantic Canada and examines in detail the two most important and widespread sectors, groundfish and lobsters, highlighting initiatives undertaken in tile wake of the collapse of the groundfish stocks in the early 1990s. Two key features contributed to this collapse: over-reliance on quota management and an adversarial relationship between fishers and government.Among the new initiatives detailed in the paper are co-management, community quotas 'Conservation Harvesting Plans' and the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: In this paper we review progress as well as challenges encountered in Canada, the United States and England with regard to ensuring safety of health information technology. Method: A review of major programs and initiatives for ensuring safety of health information technology in the three countries was conducted. Published literature and Web resources from national programs were reviewed for relevant information. Results: It was found that in all three countries the issue of technology-induced error has been recognized as being of critical importance. The three countries have developed approaches for dealing with the issue that have some commonalities; however, they are at varying different stages of maturity, with England having the longest standing and most well developed safety programs, while Canada and the United States are at earlier stages. The types of approaches employed have included work on developing standards related to usability and interface design, certifications, directives from regulatory bodies, educational initiatives in health information technology (HIT) safety as well as research into safer HIT design and implementation methods. Conclusions: HIT promises to lead to improved patient safety. However, it has become recognized that if not designed and deployed appropriately, such systems can lead to new types of errors. Based on this recognition, a variety of initiatives are being undertaken in Canada, the United States and England to promote the safe design, procurement and deployment of HIT. It is concluded that improved approaches to system design, testing, regulation, error reporting, safety education and cross-country collaboration will be needed to further promote safer HIT. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Government of Canada is in the process of developing an oceans strategy and management regime for sustainable ocean development. Thispaper examines the implications of this approach. It develops a basic economic and management framework for dealing with sustainable oceans development, examines some of the issues associated with ocean industries in Canada, and points out some of the inadequacies of Canada's present management of ocean industries (a method that utilizes an individual-industry focus). The paper supports the thesis that a sustainable ocean management regime could be more efficient and effective in solving some of the current and future difficulties faced by Canada's ocean industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canadian multistakeholder NOx/VOC science program wasinitiated in 1992 explicitly to respond to the needs of the policy community for defensible, high-quality scientific guidance upon which to design and implement emissions reduction strategies to manage the ground-level ozone problem in Canada. The primary product of the science program to date is the eight volume Canadian NOx/VOC Science Assessment, the first comprehensive review of the science of ground-level ozone completed for Canada. The science reports in the assessment series cover ambient air monitoring and analysis of the datacollected from the monitoring networks; health and vegetation effects of ozone; mathematical modeling for emission control scenarios in the three regions most impacted by ground-level ozone in Canada; and, emissions inventories for ozone precursors. In addition to the science reports, the Summary for Policy Makers synthesizes the key scientific findings and presents a set of recommendations to the policy community, recognizing there are limitations to their use in policy decision-making. This paper describes the management process used to deliver the assessment, the key findings of the science and how the science-based recommendations are being used for ground-level ozone policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]