JSGS Policy Briefs

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https://hdl.handle.net/10294/11700

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 80

Open Access
Bending the healthcare cost curve in Canada
(2015-03-20) Marchildon, Gregory P.; Matteo, Livio Di
Canadian governments received a pleasant surprise this year: expenditure growth on public health care in Canada finally appears to be slowing. What's unclear is if this slowdown is the result of provincial success in sustainably bending the cost-curve, or more short-term cost-cutting in response to slower economic growth or future federal health transfers.
Open Access
Can the Web help restore public faith in democracy?
(2015-06-04) McNutt, Kathleen
Representative democracy faces many challenges. Declining voter turnout reflects citizen discontent expressed in voter apathy and the replacement of traditional partisan politics with issue-based activism. The vexing question is what to do about it.
Open Access
Who should own land in Saskatchewan?
(2015-07) Desmarais, Annette A.; Qualman, Darrin; Magnan, André; Wiebe, Nettie
In December 2013, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) purchased approximately 115,000 acres of farmland from an investment company, Assiniboia Capital LP., for $128 million - the single largest sale of farmland in Saskatchewan's history. The transaction generated substantial media attention and touched off a public debate about the role of institutional investors in the farmland market.
Open Access
Physician-assisted dying in Canada: Where do we stand after the Supreme Court's Decision in Carter v. Canada?
(2015-08) Zarzeczny, Amy
On February 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its judgment in Carter v. Canada, 2015 SCC 5 [Carter]. This much-anticipated decision changed the law relating to physician-assisted dying in Canada for individuals whose circumstances meet a list of conditions enumerated by the court, including a grievous and irremediable medical condition that causes enduring and intolerable suffering.
Open Access
What child care do parents really want?
(2015-09) August, Rick
For years, public policy debate in Canada about child care has largely been defined by the licensed child care industry. In most jurisdictions child care policy focuses almost exclusively on licensed care, and parents who need public financial assistance are, with few exceptions, required to accept licensed child care as their service model.
Open Access
Ex-Pat Canadians and the Right to Vote
(2015-09) Courtney, John
From time to time, Canadian policy makers have addressed the question of who should have the right to vote. Initially thought of as a "privilege" to be granted a select few, the vote is now widely understood in Canada, as in other advanced democracies, as a "right" of citizenship. But how universal should that right be? Should all citizens enjoy it, or simply those not denied it by statute or court rulling (or both)? If an individual or group is denied the vote, can such a limitation be demonstrably justi[fi]ed in a free and democratic society as allowed by section 1 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
Open Access
Assessing the Privatization of Retail Alcohol Sales
(2015-10) Childs, Jason; Siebert, Alexander
Control and regulation of alcohol by governments has a long and varied history in Western Canada. In fact, it traces back to even before there were provinces, to the time when the Northwest Territories were controlled by Canada's Parliament. With liquor laws eventually coming under provincial jurisdiction, it's not surprising policies have evolved to the point where the provinces of Western Canada take different approaches to balancing the benefits of liberal alcohol policy and the social harm alcohol abuse causes. Finding the right policy prescription is an on-going challenge.
Open Access
Restoring balance and respect in our system of governance
(2015-11) Lynch, Kevin
To hear voices in Canada lamenting the state of our democracy and institutions of governance has become an all-too-familiar and troubling refrain. It raises critical issues. The loss of faith many Canadians often express about government's ability to reflect their needs and wishes strikes at the very heart of democratic legitimacy. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of our institutions that give voice to the democratic will.
Open Access
The state of provincial social assistance in Canada
(2015-12) Béland, Daniel; Daigneault, Pierre-Marc
In Canada, as in other advanced industrial societies, social assistance is a central component of the welfare state. This is true because social assistance, which refers to a set of need-based, last-resort income programs, is the "last safety net" in that it supports members of some of the most vulnerable populations in our society. Commonly referred to as welfare, social assistance does not have a good reputation in Canada. In fact, just like in the United States, the term welfare frequently has negative connotations, in both popular parlance and media discourse.
Open Access
Evidence-based policy development: A framework and its application
(2016-01) Sheikh, Munir A.
There has been considerable interest and debate recently on the use of evidence in policy development, sparked perhaps by a view that some governments overly rely on ideology rather than evidence to make policy decisions. Yet, when asked, virtually everyone says they support evidence-based policy.
Open Access
Innovation in government, a path forward
(2016-02) Wouters, Wayne
Innovation is the essence of good government. It allows governments to adapt, to improve and to develop new policies, products or services. Just as innovation drives economic growth and a higher standard of living, innovation in government helps deliver better results and create value for citizens.
Open Access
Understanding policy behind the inquiry - where do we go from here?
(2016-03) Boyer, Yvonne
On almost a daily basis in Canada, there are news stories of violent attacks against Indigenous women. The statistics of violence and deaths are haunting. Quite simply, Canada is in the grip of a national tragedy that has been unfolding over many years. Adding to the tragedy is that many believe there is no reprieve in sight, given what they see as the historical systemic disregard and failure of the Canadian government and law enforcement to address its colonial history that has been the cornerstone in dealing with Indigenous people. Clear examples of policy and law failures to protect Indigenous women are seen in the Pickton murders, the Tina Fontaine murder, and the attack against young Rinelle Harper. There are many more.
Open Access
Income inequality and the rise of U.S. populism: A cautionary tale for Canada
(2016-03) Eisler, Dale
The evidence shows the crux of the problem has been the decoupling of productivity growth from incomes. The reasons are many, inter-related and in many cases irreversible. The advent of globalizatiaon and free trade has brought both benefits - lower cost for imported goods, expanded market opportunities - and costs - loss of jobs, downward pressure on the value of labour, the decline of organized labour. At the same time, free trade has limited the capacity of governments to intervene in markets and global capital flows have increased the economic and political power of corporations.
Open Access
The Panama Papers and Pbulic Trust: The Challenge for Governments
(2016-05) Eisler, Dale
Timing is everyting. In recent weeks, millions of Canadians were in the final stages of filing their income tax for 2015, which you might say is an annual personal tally we each do on the cost of our citizenship. Meanwhile, south of the border Americans are in the midst of a particularly nasty U.S. Presidential season, where income inequality and accusations that the political system is rigged to benefit the wealthy have stirred a wave of populist, anti-establishment anger. Then, along come the Panama Papers.
Open Access
The Limits of Globalization: Understanding the Rise of Donald Trump
(2016-06) Auerback, Marshall
The rise of Donald Trump to the top of the United States Republican Party is not as incredible as establishment pundits profess. In fact, he is the voice for an increasing number of Americans, who count themselves amongst the biggest losers of globalizaiton and free trade. Each election, the gap widens between the winners and losers of globalizaiton and free trade. And each election year, U.S. politicians express concern about their issues, then conveniently ignore them when they reach power and implement policies from the same Washington Consensus that has dominated the past 40 years. In Trump, the electorate has somebody playing a very different game, even if his policies lack the coherence and elegance so beloved in the world of economic policy seminars and think tanks.
Open Access
Energy and the Environment: A Step Towards Reconciliation
(2016-08) Eisler, Dale
The Government of Canada is in the midst of developing policy it hopes will help build a national consensus on what often apear to be the irreconcilable issues of energy and the environment. The effort begins from the premise that "a clean environment and strong economy can go hand-in-hand and is central to the health and well-being of Canadians." It is a challenging, complex, inherently divisive and critical initiative.
Open Access
The Challenge of Managing Carbon Emissions in Saskatchewan's Mining and Mineral Sector
(2016-09) Taras, Victoria; Phillips, Peter W.B
The global consensus reached in the Paris Agreement is that governments and industry need to reduce the carbon footprint and "to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments necessary for a sustainable low carbon future." According to the national climate action plan that Canada submitted in relation to the agreement, "Canada intends to achieve an economy-wide target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030." Various countries are adopting distinct strategies to achieve their national goals, and Canadian provinces, which have different prospects from one another, have likewise signalled plans to pursue distinct strategies. The federal government must recognize provinces' diverse needs and opportunities as it creates policies to honour its commitments under the Paris Agreement. Recognizing Saskatchewan has unique challenges as a hub of uranium and potash production, a group of Saskatchewan's experts gathered in early June 2016 to explore the issue. Operating under the Chatham House Rule, they included representatives from the Saskatchewan Ministries of the Economy and the Environment, Cameco, Potash Corp, the Saskatchewan Mining Association, and the International Minerals Innovation Institute, along with academics from economics and public policy. They examined Saskatchewan's mining and minerals sector and carbon management challenges, and made a series of observations about policy choices available as input to federal government national carbon mitigation plan deliberations.
Open Access
Democracy and the Decline of Newspapers
(2016-11) Eisler, Dale
The reality in Canada and other nations is that traditional, printed and widely circulated newspapers are in serious decline. The business model that sustained them for more than a century, and made many newspaper moguls fabulously wealthy, is no longer sustainable.
Open Access
Post-Secondary Education in Canada: A Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
(2016-12) Timmons, Vianne; Stoicheff, Peter
The efforts being made in response to the TRC recommendations and what still needs to be done.
Open Access
Legalization of Cannabis: The Policy Challenges and Opportunities
(2017-01) Thompson, Kathleen
As Canada looks at legalizing Cannabis, Dr. Kathleen Thompson examines how we might do that and which part of the country might benefit the most.