SIPP PUBLIC POLICY PAPERS
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Public Policy Paper 57 - Canadian Digital Government
by: Kathleen McNutt and Meaghan Carey, June 2008
ISBN# 978-0-7731-0644-4
Executive Summary: Using information technologies and the Internet to improve communication and service delivery are key processes of government modernization in North America, Europe and parts of Asia. In response to shifting political, economic and social demands, governments around the globe have designed online policy agendas. Canadian e-government is well established, currently providing secure access, electronic service delivery, and integrated information coordinated across government departments and agencies with evaluation conducted through standardized benchmarking tools. .... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 56 - Constitutionalizing and Legislating Parity Democracy: The Cases of France and Belgium
by: Jocelyne Praud and Karl A. Henriques, May 2008
ISBN# 978-0-7731-0642-0
Executive Summary: This paper examines how and why France and Belgium came to modify their respective constitutions and pass parity laws. The first section analyses French and Belgian women's acquisition and exercise of political rights and, in particular, their right of eligibility. Statistics concerning women's presence in both the lower and upper houses (France's National Assembly and Senate and Belgium's Chamber of Deputies and Senate) are used to assess the extent to which they have been able to exercise their right of eligibility. The second section focuses on the involvement of French and Belgian women's movements and parties in the introduction of gender parity reforms, and the third section examines the involvement of French and Belgian executive and legislative elites in the adoption of constitutional reforms.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 55 - Improving Accountability Models in Public Education: Applying Logic Models of Performance Management
by: Jim Marshall and Larry Steeves, April 2008
ISBN# 978-0-7731-0639-0
Executive Summary: Within the field of education administration and education policy a substantial body of literature has accumulated on the issue of accountability, especially as manifest in performance measurement and performance management approaches. Most of the effort in these areas has focused on the "high stakes" approach to accountability, as exemplified by the No Child Left Behind legislation in the United States. While this approach to accountability in the publicly funded K-12 educational system has had a dramatic impact, the failings of the approach as planning and evaluation methods are increasingly apparent. .... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 54 - Cultural Policy in Saskatchewan
by: Simon Weseen and M. Rose Olfert, March 2008
ISBN# 978-0-7731-0631-4
Executive Summary: Cultural policy has a history of being relegated to secondary importance or being supported in an ad hoc way by governments in many jurisdictions in North America and around the world. This has occurred despite the fact that there is a growing
literature demonstrating the importance of the arts and culture in the economic vitality of places both as a growth sector in itself and as a contributor to quality of life, enhancing population growth and retention.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 53 - Making Faith Public: How Faith-Based Social Justice Groups in Regina use Religious Resources
by: Peter Bisson, January 2008
ISBN# 978-0-7731-0626-0
Executive Summary: This study uses interviews with leaders of faith-based justice groups in Regina to examine how they apply their religious resources for the goal of social change, and in this way make religious faith public. There has been a global resurgence of religion in the public sphere in recent decades, but not all such religion is violent or conservative.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 52 - Social Policy and Constitutional Reform: The Case of Canada's Family Allowance Program in the 1970s
by: Raymond Blake, December 2007
ISBN# 978-0-7731-0618-5
Executive Summary: Family allowances were one of the few programs shared by all Canadian families from 1945 to 1992, and one of the few means of building social cohesion across Canada. Family allowances became embroiled in the minefield of Canadian intergovernmental
relations and the political crisis created by the growing demands from Quebec for greater autonomy from the federal government in the early 1970s. [for more]
Public Policy Paper 51 - Assessing Urban Aboriginal Housing Needs in Southern Alberta
by: Yale Belanger, June 2007
ISBN# 978-0-7731-0610-9
Executive Summary: Currently, more Aboriginal people live in cities than on reserves in western Canada. This population is also growing rapidly with Aboriginal people representing a significant percentage of the overall population in many prairie cities. Many studies have emphasized the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the homeless population, but little work has been conducted to determine how those Aboriginal individuals who currently rent or own homes succeeded in doing so. In this paper, Yale Belanger investigates two primary questions: (1) What current housing conditions are confronting Aboriginal people in Lethbridge, and (2) How do landlords view Aboriginal renters. ... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 50 - Toward a New Pardigm for Humanitarian Intervention
by: Lee Ward, April 2007
ISBN# 978-0-7731-0605-5
Executive Summary: The current debate over humanitarian intervention is characterized by the twofold tension between the UN Charter restrictions on the use of force and more permissive customary norms, on the one hand, and competing claims of national sovereignty and human rights protection, on the other. This paper proposes a new paradigm for humanitarian intervention that builds upon the concept of the "Responsibility to Protect" articulated by the Canadian inspired International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, and recommends the extension of this principle to a multidimensional strategy for codifying humanitarian intervention in international law. .... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 49 - The Gateway to a Market-driven Agricultural Economy: A Framework for Demand Chain Management in the Food Industry
by: Sylvain Charlebois, March 2007
ISBN# 978-0-7731-0603-1
Executive Summary: It has been recognized that agriculture and food companies have a long tradition of being commodity-driven, with an emphasis on production technology, high volumes, and quality consistency. In the context of global hyper-competitivity, the ability to understand customer needs and adapt to a wider variety of customer situations will become crucial. The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured demand chain design framework that can be linked with Gateway and Corridor management practices. .... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 48 - Assessing the Viability of an Ethanol Industry in Saskatchewan
by: Rose Olfert and Simon Weseen, February 2007
ISBN# 978-0-7731-0599-7
Executive Summary: This paper explores five key questions that require attention in the determination of the viability of an ethanol industry for a small jurisdiction with a small local ethanol demand. As a case study, we examine the province of Saskatchewan, which is currently encouraging a large scale ethanol industry expansion. The five questions pertaining to Saskatchewan are .... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 47 - Between Policy and Practice: Navigating CIDA's Democracy Agenda
by: Geoffrey Cameron, December 2006
ISBN# 0-7731-0594-8
Executive Summary: The promotion of democracy overseas has gradually emerged in Canadian foreign policy over the past twenty years, now occupying an uncertain position within a broader development agenda. The human rights, democratic development, and good governance policy of CIDA has appeared as the result of a pragmatic consensus about the effective delivery of development assistance, but its objectives and parameters remain poorly defined without reference to theoretical literature in democracy scholarship. .... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 46 - Influencers and Priorities: A Sociological Examination of First Nations High School Students in Manitoba
by: Chris Adams, November 2006
ISBN# 0-7731-0590-5
Executive Summary: In his paper, Chris Adams studies the extent to which First Nations teenagers report being influenced by those in their family and community as they seek to make choices about their future....... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 45 - Issues in Equalization: A Discussion
by: Jim Marshall, October 2006
ISBN# 0-7731-0587-5
Executive Summary: The Five-Province Standard, Representative Tax System for Equalization was fraught with difficulties and could only be held together through a series of arbitrary patches and stitches. The inequity of the impact of these "fixes" could not be denied and, soon enough, the failure of the system was obvious to even the most cursory of observers...... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 44 - Saskatchewan with an Aboriginal Majority: Education and Entrepreneurship
by: Eric C. Howe, September 2006
ISBN# 0-7731-0582-4
Executive Summary: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the economic transformation of the Eastern European immigrants and their descendants and to ask whether it will happen again for Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan. There were two principal paths that the immigrants took to escape poverty: education and entrepreneurship. This paper will ask three questions about both of these paths. How was the path followed? Why was the path followed? And will the path be followed again?.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 43 - The Difficulty in Establishing Privacy Rights in the Face of Public Policy from Nowhere
by: Bill Bonner, May 2006
ISBN# 0-7731-0565-4
Executive Summary: This paper examines two enactments of public policy in practice, the Saskatchewan Automobile Injury Appeal Commission's (AIAC) posting of sensitive personal information on the Internet and the government (Saskatchewan and Alberta) sale of personal motor vehicle registration (MVR) information. The paper argues that these policies are the products of gaps between legislative intention and subsequent action taken by non-accountable entities.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 42 - Health Care Spending, Fiscal Sustainability, and Public Investment
by: Joe Ruggeri, April 2006
ISBN# 0-7731-0563-8
Executive Summary: In this study, Joe Ruggeri, Director of the Policy Studies Centre at the University of New Brunswick, analyzes three major issues on the debate on health care policy in Canada: (a) the concept and measurement of sustainability, (b) health care and fiscal federalism, and (c) health care spending as investment.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 41 - Zero Foreign Aid? Policy Implications for Donor and Recipient Countries
by: Hafiz Akhand and Kanhaya Gupta, March 2006
ISBN# 0-7731-0561-1
Executive Summary: What will happen to aid-recipient countries if a policy of zero aid is implemented today? The latest debate on foreign aid focuses on the view that most of the problems of the poorest countries will be solved if enough aid is provided. But what are the long-term effects of aid on poor countries and how much aid is enough?... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 40 - Using Protection Motivation Theory to Increase the Persuasiveness of Public Service Communications
by: Magdalena Cismaru, February 2006
ISBN# 0-7731-0556-5
Executive Summary: As more and more money is spent on public service campaigns, researchers and practitioners have turned their attention to understanding what factors contribute to more persuasive and effective campaigns. In this paper, Dr. Magdalena Cismaru explores this issue through an in-depth review of existing literature on this topic and provides recommendations for practitioners about the persuasiveness of public service announcements.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 39 - The Indigenous Land Claims in New Zealand and Canada: From Grievance to Enterprise
by: Robert B. Anderson and Corinne Barnett, January 2006
ISBN# 0-7731-0547-6
Executive Summary: The issue of Indigenous land rights and development is important not only to Canada and New Zealand but also to the rest of the world where these people represent about 80% of the cultural diversity on earth. They are among the poorest and the most vulnerable segments of society who are engaged, the world over, in a struggle to preserve their societies, retain or regain their rights, improve their socio-economic conditions and rebuild their nations on their terms.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 38 - The Democratic Content of Intergovernmental Agreements in Canada
by: Gordon DiGiacomo, December 2005
ISBN# 0-7731-0544-1
Executive Summary: Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs), the key instruments of executive federalism have been the source of considerable controversy. They are criticized by some for being undemocratic in nature and praised by others as the best means of ensuring cooperation on policy matters between the federal and provincial governments.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 37 - The Fiscal Burden of the Young and the Elderly
by: Joe Ruggeri, Yang Zou and Yan Zhang, November 2005
ISBN# 0-7731-0542-5
Executive Summary: Population aging, resulting from the low fertility rates of the past forty years, has become a major concern of the policy makers in many industrialized countries. It is deemed to affect the economic growth, the long-term viability of both private and public pension plans and the sustainability of the existing fiscal structures.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 36 - Early Learning and Child Care in Saskatchewan: Past, Present and Future
by: Martha Friendly, October 2005
ISBN# 0-7731-0540-9
Executive Summary: Early learning and child care (ELCC) has received increasing attention in industrialized countries in the last two decades. Policy makers have recognized that equitable access to quality early childhood education and care can strengthen the foundations of lifelong learning for all children and support the broad educational and social needs of families.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 35 - A Conceptual Comparative Analysis between the British and the Canadian Mad Cow Crisis: The Cost of Learning
by: Sylvain Charlebois, September 2005
ISBN# 0-7731-0538-7
Executive Summary: The discovery of Mad Cow Disease in the British and Canadian beef industries in March 1996 and May 2003, respectively, created environmental uncertainty in the food chain, leading to a decrease in the confidence of international trading partners in the quality of the beef and food safety policies of these countries. The emergence of complex diseases in the food chain around the world has highlighted the increased importance of trade policies and science in the making of food safety policies.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 34 - Keeping up with the Joneses: A Policy for the Government of Saskatchewan's International Relations
by: Dr. Robert McLaren, June 2005
ISBN# 0-7731-0527-1
Executive Summary: Both the federal system of government and the statutes in Canada authorize the government of Saskatchewan to deal with the provincial matters of international significance at the provincial level. Yet, the Province has not been able to adopt an appropriate policy direction to fully utilize the independence given to it by the law.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 33 - The Saskatchewan Voluntary Sector in the Context of Social Enterprise: A Case Study of Family Service Regina
by: Dr. James M. Pitsula, May 2005
ISBN# 0-7731-0525-5
Executive Summary: Canada has a large voluntary sector of registered and unregistered organizations that, besides creating significant social value, engages a large number of volunteers, provides numerous job opportunities and generates huge revenues in the social sector. After a long period of neglect by governments in Canada, interest in the voluntary sector surged in the 1980s as a consequence of the debt crisis, restructuring of the welfare state and downloading of services to the sector.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 32 - Social Policy and Intergovernmental Relations in Canada: Understanding the Failure of SUFA from a Quebec Perspective
by: Dr. Joseph Facal, April 2005
ISBN# 0-7731-0523-9
Executive Summary: The Social Union Framework Agreement (SUFA) was signed in February 1999 by the federal government, provinces (except Quebec) and the territories to clarify the respective roles of the federal and provincial governments in the areas of health care, social services, post secondary education, social assistance and training.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 31 - The Equalization Quagmire: Where do we go from here?
by: Dr. Gary Tompkins, March 2005
ISBN# 0-7731-0519-0
Executive Summary: Equalization has been a key component of Canadian finance in one form or another since Confederation. Formalized into a formula-based program in 1957, equalization was designed to be a provincial government welfare program meant to equalize the per capita fiscal capacity of all Canadian provinces.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 30 - Legitimacy on Trial: A Process for Appointing Justices to the Supreme Court of Canada
by: Mr. Ian Peach, February 2005
ISBN# 0-7731-0514-X
Executive Summary: The process of appointing Justices to the Supreme Court of Canada has been a subject of considerably controversy on account of the Prime Minister's unfettered appointment powers. Although it has generally been accepted that the people appointed as Supreme Court Justices have been individuals of high calibre for decades, the highly informal appointment system is not regarded appropriate for a mature and liberal democratic federation like Canada that has a constitutionally entrenched Charter of Rights.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 29 - This "New Europe": Historic Policy Opportunities for Canada
by: Dr. Karl Henriques, January 2005
ISBN# 0-7731-0510-7
Executive Summary: With the current instability and unpredictability in international economic and political affairs, the predominant Canadian strategic objective should be to create and maintain foreign policy options. The ability to have more than one economic and political option available in decision-making is the basis for greater control over a country's political and economic future.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 28 - Rethinking the Jurisdictional Divide: The Marginalization of Urban Aboriginal Communities and Federal Policy Responses
by: Janice Stokes, Ian Peach and Raymond B. Blake, December 2004
ISBN# 0-7731-0509-3
Executive Summary: The alarming socio-economic conditions of Regina's Aboriginal community demonstrate that past policies and programs for urban Aboriginal peoples have not met with real success. The urban Aboriginal population has grown by 50% in the last half century.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 27 - Immigrant Skilled Workers: Should Canada Attract More Foreign Students?
by: Pavel Peykov, October 2004
ISBN# 0-7731-0503-4
Executive Summary: Immigration has, historically, had a positive impact on the Canadian economy, in terms of job creation, improved labour-force turnover and economic growth that has helped to sustain social programs for Canadians. Immigration also contributes to the diversity of cultures, traditions and languages that form the social fabric of our society.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 26 - The Death of Deference: National Policy-Making in the Aftermath of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords
by: Ian Peach, September 2004
ISBN# 0-7731-0493-3
Executive Summary: It has been suggested that there has been a decline in Canadian's traditional deference to elites in recent decades, and that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is either a reflection or a cause of the decline. The fact remains that deference seems not merely in decline, it is actually dead, after experiencing a long and slow process of death.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 25 - Standing on Guard Canadian Identity, Globalization and Continental Integration
by: Raymond B. Blake, June 2004
ISBN# 0-7731-0488-7
Executive Summary: Canadians have always been concerned about the nation's relationship with the United States, and it has long been held that this concern has helped Canadians define their national identity. However, they do recognize that, in a world that is rapidly shrinking due to trade and technology, and where ideas, styles, trends, and attitudes travel the world in seconds, there is, inevitably, a process of homogeneity at work.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 24 - The Charter of Rights and Off-Reserve First Nations People: A Way to Fill the Public Policy Vacuum
by: Ian Peach, March 2004
ISBN# 0-7731-0471-2
Executive Summary: Despite frequent talk in government and public policy circles about the need to improve the social outcomes of Aboriginal peoples in Saskatchewan and elsewhere in Canada, bureaucratic wrangling over which level of government should be responsible for providing social programs to Aboriginal peoples, particularly those living off reserves, continues to be the most serious impediment to effective government programming.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 23 - Performance Measurement, Reporting and Accountability: Recent Trends and Future Directions
by: Dr. Paul G. Thomas (Duff Roblin Professor of Government, St John's College, University of Manitoba), February 2004
ISBN# 0-7731-0488-7
Executive Summary: Performance measurement and performance reporting (as key tools of performance management in public organization) have gained importance in most governments over time. Performance measurement can be defined as the regular generation, collection, analysis, reporting and utilization of a range of data (including data on inputs, outputs and outcomes) related to the operation of public organizations and public programs.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 22 - Weathering the Political and Environmental Climate of the Kyoto Protocol
by: Raymond B. Blake, Polo Diaz, Joe Piwowar, Michael Polanyi, Reid Robinson, John D. Whyte and Malcolm Wilson, January 2004
ISBN# 0-7731-0469-0
Executive Summary: Canada is one of nearly 100 countries to have signed the U N Framework Agreement on Climate Change, commonly called Kyoto Protocol. Together, these countries represent about 40 percent of the 1990 emissions, considerably short of the 55 percent threshold necessary for the Protocol to come into effect. This paper seeks to examine various aspects of the treaty with reference to its implementability in today's world.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 21 - Righting Past Wrongs: The Case for a Federal Role in Decommissioning and Reclaiming Abandoned Uranium Mines in Northern Saskatchewan
by: Ian Peach and Don Hovdebo, December 2003
ISBN# 0-7731-066-6
Executive Summary: While mining operations in northern Saskatchewan, that supplied the United States military with Uranium in the early days of the Cold War, ceased in the 1960s, people of this area continue to live to date with the environmental, human health and safety risks of the abandoned mines.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 20 - Youth Justice Policy and the Youth Criminal Justice Act
by: Ross Green Q.C., November 2003
ISBN# 0-7731-0460-7
Executive Summary: With the proclamation of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), Canada has just embarked on a new statutory regime of youth justice policy. It draws, to a significant extent, on international experience in the area of youth justice. The sections dealing with extra-judicial measures, conferencing and inter-disciplinary and inter-agency approaches to justice are clear examples of this feature.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 19 - Demographic Trends and Socio-Economic Sustainability in Saskatchewan: Some Policy Considerations
by: Janice Stokes, SIPP Senior Policy Analyst, October 2003
ISBN# 0-7731-1459-3
Executive Summary: The demographic portrait of Saskatchewan that emerges from this review is rather disturbing. Saskatchewan has several interrelated demographic features that make it vulnerable in the long-term to socio-economic decline, although considerable health care and workforce pressures will be felt in as early as one decade.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 18 - Labour Issues in the Provision of Essential Services
by: Pavel Peykov, SIPP Policy Analyst, September 2003
ISBN# 0-7731-0450-X
Executive Summary: In recent years, governments across Canada have tried to deal with the issue of the provision of essential services through new or amended legislation. More specifically, attention has been focused on whether strikes should be permitted and if so, whether certain employees should be designated as essential.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 17 - Should Saskatchewan Adopt Retail Competition for Electricity?
by: Dr. Michael Rushton, June 2003
ISBN# 1-894918-18-5
Executive Summary: SaskPower presently works within a system of wholesale competition, with an Open Access Transmission Tariff that integrates it with the North American power grid. It operates the generation facilities, the transmission grid, and distribution and billing throughout the province, except Saskatoon and Swift Current.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 16 - A Survey of the GM Industry in Saskatchewan and Western Canada
by: Dr. Cristine deClercy, Dr. Louise Greenberg, Dr. Donald Gilchrist, Dr. Gregory P. Marchildon and Dr. Alan McHughen, May 2003
ISBN# 1-894918-15-0
Executive Summary: Biotechnology has grown faster than virtually any other industrial sector in Canada. Growth has been particularly fast in Saskatchewan, where biotechnology revenues constituted about a quarter of all Canadian revenues and around three quarters of total biotechnology revenues in the three Prairie Provinces in 1999.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 15 - Saskatchewan's Universities - A Perception of History
by: Dr. Michael Hayden and Dr. James Pitsula, May 2003
ISBN# 1-894918-17-7
Executive Summary: Major public-policy decisions are typically the result of many interacting and competing forces whose interpretation is fraught with difficulty. The historian's task, of explaining these decisions to subsequent generations, is even more daunting as the documentary evidence is seldom complete, the accuracy of memory is eroded by time, and principal actors have quit the scene.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 14 - Productivity and Popular Attitudes Toward Welfare Recipients in Saskatchewan, 1970-1990
by: Dr. Robert Wardhaugh, April 2003
ISBN# 1-894918-13-4
Executive Summary: Popular attitudes towards welfare recipients in Saskatchewan underwent significant change in the period from 1970 to 1990. Much of the reason behind this shift toward hardened and less sensitive attitudes rests with the deteriorating economic situation of the late 1970s and most of the 1980s.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 13 - Self-determination, Citizenship, and Federalism: Indigenous and Canadian Palimpsest
by: Dr. Joyce Green, March 2003
ISBN# 1-894918-10-X
Executive Summary: Relationship is the constantly shifting theme in federalism and citizenship. Formulations that are grounded in international human rights law and consensual politics may produce stability and coherence for a post-colonial Canada or they will emerge as a negotiated and maintained process between a configured post-colonial Canada and post-colonial, physically incorporated but conceptually separate Aboriginal jurisdictions.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 12 - Higher Education Policy in Saskatchewan and the Legacy of Myth
by: Dr. James M. Pitsula, February 2003
ISBN# 1-894918-07-X
Executive Summary: The rationalization and coordination of the university sector has been a major public policy concern for the Government of Saskatchewan. The issue was the subject of two comprehensive inquiries in the 1990s led respectively by A. W. Johnston and Harold MacKay.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 11 - Value-for-Money in Saskatchewan K-12 Educational Expenditures
by: John R. Allan, 2002
Executive Summary: The recent release by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) of the results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) has given Canadians a sense of pride in the accomplishment of the fifteen-year-old students who, in the tests for literacy in reading, mathematics and science, ranked second in reading among the thirty-two countries tested and fifth in mathematics and science.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 10 - Responding to Wife Abuse in Farm and Rural Communities
by: Jennie Hornosty and Deborah Doherty, March 2002
Presented at the conference Rural Canada: Moving Forward or Left Behind?
Executive Summary: Against the backdrop of an increased focus on abuse of women in rural and farm communities, this paper highlights the importance of looking at the social and cultural context of abuse and understanding community values and norms. An important aspect of this research is that it gives primacy to the needs and voices of abused rural and farm women. Meeting the needs of rural women means looking at their lives and options through their eyes.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 9 - Equalization Reform in Switzerland: Ideal Solutions, Unpredictable Outcomes
by: Anne-Béatrice Bullinger, March 2002
Presented at the conference Fiscal Federalism: Working Out the Future
Executive Summary: This paper summarizes and analyzes a 1999 report by the Swiss government and the cantons that presents the planned reform of the equalization system in Switzerland. The author is of the view that this reform, which is the product of hard work by both levels of government and proposes ideal solutions to reform Swiss federalism in terms of economic rationality, has slim chances of success in the Swiss political context.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 8 - Changes in the Prairie Economy, 1980 to 2000: With Emphasis on Agriculture and Some Implications for Prairie Transportation Policies
by: Peter Arcus and Graham Parsons, February 2002
Executive Summary: A review of the changes in the structure of the economy of Prairie Canada clearly shows that the region is no longer dominated by the export of regulated grains. Indeed, agriculture itself has shifted away from producing regulated export grains, choosing to grow and adopt production and marketing practices that can yield higher returns to farmers.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 7 - Economics, Equity and Urban-Rural Transfers
by: Michael Rushton, November 2001
Prepared for the conference Rural Canada: Moving Forward or Left Behind?
Executive Summary: Changing technology, patterns of trade, and prices have created a situation that, if left unchecked by decisive government action, would result in a migration from rural to urban areas. An important question that this raises is whether the government should take an active role to discourage migration, subsidizing agriculture either through direct payments or through the provision of infrastructure, that otherwise would not be justified?... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 6 - On the Concept and Measurement of Vertical Fiscal Imbalances
by: G.C. Ruggeri and R. Howard, December 2001
Prepared for the conference Fiscal Federalism: Working Out the Future
Executive Summary: It has been known for some time that there is an imbalance between the fiscal system of the federal government and that of the provinces and territories. While provinces were struggling in their effort to balance their books, the federal government eliminated its deficit quickly and has started accumulating large surpluses.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 5 - Should Canadians Be Concerned? Food Safety in Canada
by: Louise Greenberg, December 2001
Executive Summary: Canada has one of the safest food safety systems in the world. While government is ultimately responsible for food safety, everyone involved in the production and consumption of food from farm to plate contributes. Consumer confidence in the food safety system is paramount and a good food safety system requires public accountability.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 4 - Public-Private Partnerships: A Review of Literature and Practice
by: John R. Allan, June 2001
Case studies
Executive Summary: Over the last two decades, the public sector has been viewed as cumbersome, unresponsive and costly. In view of its perceived inability to meet the complex and rapidly changing demands of modern societies, there have been calls for the government to "re-invent" itself by shifting its role from primary provider of public goods and services to the procurer and regulator of services from the for-profit and third sectors.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 3 - Saskatchewan's Commission on Medicare: Five Commentaries
by: Tom McIntosh, Michael Rushton, Denise Kouri, Martha E. Horsburgh, Ronald Labonte and Nazeem Muhajarine, April 2001
Executive Summary: Ken Fyke's report on the future of Medicare in Saskatchewan comes at a politically delicate time for the provincial government, when caution may become the order of the day. Contrarily, it may not like missing an important opportunity to once again demonstrate to the rest of the country that Saskatchewan is still a leader in health policy innovation.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 2 - The West and the Liberal government at the beginning of the new mandate: the need to work better together
by: The Honourable Stéphane Dion, PC, MP, March 2001
Executive Summary: Canada is so vast and diverse that our knowledge of it is always limited. Instead of being a disadvantage, it gives us many advantages, such as the realization that Canadians need to learn a lot about their country.... [for more]
Public Policy Paper 1 - Debt Accumulation, Debt Reduction and Debt Spillovers in Canada, 1974-98
by: Ron Kneebone, University of Calgary and John Leach, McMaster University, October 2000
Presented at the Fiscal Federalism: Working Out the Future conference
Executive Summary: To a certain degree, the amount of debt a government accumulates is beyond its control. Recession means a loss of tax revenue, an increase in certain expenditures and an increase in debt. ... [for more]