The urban policymaking context in Canada

Some scholars of public policy have argued that actions typically precede

policies and this implies that governments act first and then develop the justifications for their actions known as public policies

Analyses of the process of policy-making usually distinguish between

◦ what happens inside the state system.

◦ the societal factors that influence the behaviour of

policy-makers

Why is it important to distinguish between the domestic and foreign policymaking processes

Because they focus on different sets of actors and influences

Experts in foreign policy concentrate on

International relations, integration, and conflicts but they oversimplify domestic politics and policy institutions

On the other hand, scholars who study domestic politics and policymaking handle

international conditions simply, and ignore the influence of international agreements, and agencies

The occurrence of globalization has increased the exposure of

domestic institutions and interests to external forces

The external forces are required to develop an

integrated framework for the understanding of domestic policymaking

Instead of an integrated framework, two types of factors are needed (important factors that influence policy)

1. Contextual influence on policy that constitute the background of policymaking

2. Proximate influences consist of the machinery of

government, political parties, interest groups, etc.,

whose impact on policy is more direct

What are the contextual influences on policymaking

1. Political culture
2. The constitution
3. Federalism
4. Characteristics of the economy and society
5. Globalization

What are the proximate influences on policymaking

1. The cabinet
2. The legislature
3. Courts
4. Media system
5. Public opinion
6. Political parties
7. Interest groups
8. Social movements

Political culture it consists of the

dominant and relatively durable beliefs and values concerning political life that characterize a society

Political culture ideas involve

the sorts of things that are generally taken for granted

What is an important ingredient for political stability

A broad consensus on fundamental political values and beliefs

There is ---- ------- on the character of political culture in Canada

No agreement

Why is there no agreement on the character of political culture in Canada

Disagreement begins with the question of whether Canada has one, two, or several distinct political cultures

Is there a single or multifaceted Canadian political culture argued by some

Some argue that there is a single Canadian political culture

Canada's tradition compared to the U.S is

counterrevolutionary, in contrast to the revolutionary tradition of the United States

Canadians are perceived as being more

deferential toward authority, more collectivist and less
individualistic (i.e., they are more caring and
compassionate than Americans).

Who identified two political cultures in the French and English languages?

Louis Hartz Fragment theory

English-speaking Canada is seen as a

liberal society

French-speaking Canada is seen as a

pre-liberal feudal society whose democratization and liberalization were held back by its feudal past

A third approach to Canadian political culture focuses on the

distinctions between regions within English-speaking Canada (and distinct political culture in French Canada)

Generally, there are four or five main regional political cultures; what are they

❐ Ontario, Quebec, the West (British Columbia and the Prairies)

❐ Atlantic Canada (although Newfoundland is sometimes categorized as a culturally distinct region)

Even within the provinces, there are

Different political cultures

What is the most important in Canada's political structure

The two-culture image

The two-culture image of Canada has long generated

resentment in Western Canada, and to a lesser degree in the East

Who have complained about marginalization by the two-culturenarrative

The Indigenous peoples and the Westerners (they are the regional cultures outside the Ontario-Quebec core)

Most Canadians in all regions share many fundamental values and beliefs about politic and so the political culture they share is

liberal-democratic

society, with core values that include respect for individual freedom, equality of rights, limited

government, and belief in the market economy

The values of the liberal-democratic society, with core values that include respect for individual freedom, equality of rights, limited government, and belief in the market economy is referred to as

Laurentian Consensus (Ibbitson 2012)

The Laurentian Consesus states that the direction of Canada was determined by the

political, academic, cultural, media, and business elites in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and other cities along the St. Lawrence River

Canadian society is often assumed more tolerant toward

ethnic and cultural diversity than is the highly individualistic society of the United States

Culture

membership in a group marked off from others by its origins: often identical to ethnicity

Culture in the context of ethnic group is

exclusionary, demarcating one tribe from another

Contrary to expectations, ethnic identities persist despite

the homogenizing pressures of global communications, modern technology and urbanization

Conferring official status on a group's language provides these groups with

material and recognitional benefits

he appointment of representatives from ethnoculturalgroups to visible government positions may

reinforce the self esteem of members of these groups

Through multicultural policy government can

can incorporate the group's traditions into public events such as Canada Day celebrations

Multicultural policy may degenerate into ----- and give an example

tokenism

❐ E.g., despite the integration of the symbols of Indigenous culture into the public celebrations and the structure of the state, the Indigenous Canadians are still excluded from the economic benefits of society

In 1971 Ottawa adopted an

official policy of multiculturalism

The adoption of the multicultural policy was a response to the concerns expressed by

ethnic organizations to the "two nations" (policy of official bilingualism) vision of Canada

The amounts spent on multicultural programs has been paltry (small) give an example and describe

E.g., In 2018-19 spending on multiculturalism was only 0.1% of spending for federal departments and

agencies

❐ This represented an increase in spending because the

government committed $9 million over three years to

address issues related to Black Canadian youth

Because it is Multicultural funding is controlled by Cabinet, there is the possibility that

funding decisions may be influenced by partisan considerations

Multiculturalism in Canadian politics reflects the

ethnically diverse character of Canadian society

Dramatic increase in people with non-European origins has led to a

marked increase in the size of Canada's visible minority population (a major aspect of immigration in the past years)

Federal government and some provincial governments have made the elimination of

racial discrimination a major component of multicultural policy
❐ This is a shift from the official form of multiculturalism
adopted in 1971

Media campaigns to promote racial harmony are best understood as an investment in

symbolic politics

Canada's federal and some provincial governments have adopted a policy for increasing the representation of visible minorities in the

public service

At the federal level, the policy for increasing the representation of visible minorities in public service is administered through the

Public Service comission

Government in Canada use what to increase representation

Targets and incentives

Representation in the public service includes some now having

mandatory quota systems (“employment equity” policies) such as The Employment Equity Act

The Employment Equity Act

The Act applies to all federally regulated industries,
Crown corporations, and other federal government
organizations with 100 or more workers.

Give an example of how representation was accomplished for the Employment Equity Act

❐ 2018: the federal government mandated the Royal

Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) commissioner to consider diversity for recruitment

What technique did RCMP use to increase diversity

labour market availabilities to fulfil this mandate

Parapublic institutions (e.g., colleges and universities) and private-sector companies that do business with
the federal government have also adopted

affirmative action policies partly in response to the requirements

of the Federal Contractors Program

A constitution is

the fundamental law of a political system

Constitution regulates the

relationships among parts of the state system and between the government and the governed

The Canadian Constitution represents a

a synthesis of principles developed from the experiences of these other countries (Great Britain & US).

◦ Made up of written documents and unwritten

conventions.

What are some examples of written documents in the constitution

Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act) and the Constitution Act, 1982)

Unwritten conventions can be divided into two categories

1. Those regulating relations among parts of the state system.

2.Those regulating federal–provincial relations

Some of the most important of these unwritten conventions include those

pertaining to the prime minister and Cabinet, and those pertaining to the internal operations of Parliament

(Federalism) Federal states tend to reinforce the

regional divisions that were responsible for the adoption of federalism in the first place

Federal-provincial relations are regulated by both the

written Constitution and the unwritten conventions

Canadian federalism is characterized by

overlapping jurisdictions, shared revenue sources, and a high degree of administrative co-operation and executive interaction between the federal and provincial governments

Constitutional conventions are of vital importance for the practice of federalism in Canada as Ottawa and the provinces negotiate what 4 things

1. The network of financial and administrative agreements (especially in social policies) negotiated according to conventions between Ottawa and the provinces.

2◦ In the area of social policy, where the federal government annually transfers billions of dollars to the provinces to support social services

3. The shape of foreign policy.

4◦ The bargaining between policymakers representing Ottawa and the provinces, is referred to as executive federalism

The Constitution has two main effects on the policy-making process

1. The British parliamentary system concentrates power with the Cabinet
2. Magnifies the significance of regional divisions

Because the British parliamentary system concentrates power with the Cabinet those with an interest in influencing policy often

focus their efforts on the cabinet

Because the significance of regional devision has be magnified the

Legislative powers the Constitution assigns to the provinces have turned out to be very important

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms introduced in 1982 was a major step toward the

democratization of the Constitution in law and in policymaking

Focus on the rights of individuals and groups is often seen as a blow to the elitist

style of policy making

Era of "citizens' constitution"

this was Ottawa’s 1992 decision to hold a national referendum on the Charlottetown Accord.

The Charlottetown Accord was the product of a

pluralistic policymaking style that widened the range of consultation, initially limited to first ministers, to include the leaders of groups

representing Indigenous Peoples, women, labour, business, ethnic and racial minorities etc

In the Accord consultation process many believed that that

Constitution-making process remained highly elitist

Many argue that the Charter did not

actually democratize as much as shift power to a new elite

Public opinion and citizens remained at a

distant remove
from the policy-making process.

Protection for the French language in Canada is an example of how the

social characteristics of a country can influence its politics, including the issues that get onto the policy agenda

Policy issues do not just come into existence they must be

defined

Social and economic characteristics of a society make the emergence of

certain issues more likely than others

According to Donald Smiley, Canadian politics has had three main axes

1. the existence and historically unequal circumstances of English- and French-language communities.

2◦ close economic, cultural, and political ties to the United States.

3◦ the economic diversity and disparities among regions of Canada

What has emerged in Canadian politics as another recent recognized axis

Indigenous concerns that has impacted issues related to

use of land, health, education, energy, and criminal justice

The origins of present-day language policy in Canada lie in the developments in

Québec during the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s

As it relates to language policy the federal government established the

Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism that proposed adoption of a policy of official bilingualism

The Royal Commission on bilingualism and biculturalism that proposed the adoption of a policy on bilingualism is a Canadian alternative to

Quebec nationalism

Quebec nationalism

The federalist philosophy of Pierre Trudeau where language rights would be guaranteed to the individual and protected by national institutions (not a province)

Changing national character where Francophones would no longer have reason to see national government as "alien" on two fronts are

1. New national symbols, e.g., a new flag, new stamps and currency, celebrations like Canada Day etc.

2. The passage of the Official Languages Act (1969).

 The Act was revised in 1988 and revised and amended in2005

During the 1970s, government created the National Capital Region (Ottawa-Gatineau) to increase the

bilingual character of federal bureaucracy

One challenge regarding bilingualism is that

while it is encouraged by the federal government, the costs of administering the system is borne by the provinces

In the late 19th century, Canada depend on the ----- economic system

British

During the 20th century, Canada shifted into the economic and cultural orbit of the

United States

How did a shift to U.S economy and cultural orbit happen in Canada

1. The export of natural resources to the United States and the integration of Canadian industry into the American economy

2. The shift was accompanied by decline in the importance of financial and railway interests and an increase in that of the industrial subsidiaries—mainly American

Canada's economic ties to the United States takesseveral forms

1. Trade
2. Investment
3. Capital markets
4. Treaties

Much of the Canadian economy is owned by ----- and why?

foreigners, half of which are American
❐ National Policy of 1879 encouraged American companies to establish Canadian subsidiaries

The consequences of such high levels of foreign ownership have been debated since the 1950s and henceforth Canadian policy-makers are more

vulnerable to the foreign investment policies of the US government

Canadian companies, governments, and government agencies often borrow money in ------ and give an example

capital markets
❐ Roughly one-fifth of Ottawa's $723 billion in indebtedness sis owed to non-Canadians

The ties of trade, investment, and borrowing that exist between Canada and the United States have been cemented by

Treaties

The Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect in

1994 created the largest free trade region in the world

NAFTA was renegotiated in 2018, and some estimate this will benefit the

Us more than Canada

Who triggered the renegotiation of NAFTA

Trump

Other multilateral trade agreements, such as the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and Canadian-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), are also important

Who replaced GATT in 1993

WTO (World Trade organization)
- Seen as representing a potential counterweight to the inevitable dominance of the United States

Canada and US also have military treaties what are they

Canada-US Test and Evaluation Program (1983)