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Characterized as 'Canada's forgotten people' since their defeat in the 1885 Battle of Batoche, the Métis have recently re-emerged on Canada's policy agenda. How did the Métis, once vilified as traitors of Confederation, come to re-position themselves as a rights-bearing Aboriginal group in the Canadian federation? In this article, we apply John Kingdon's (1995) multiple streams model to help explain the resurgence of Métis rights on Canada's contemporary policy agenda. We argue that the changing legal and political landscape that surrounded Canada's crisis of unity provided a window of opportunity that allowed Métis policy entrepreneurs to bring the issue of Métis rights onto Canada's policy agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the definition of success in First Nations drinking water service as voiced by the First Nations technical community of practice. The research explores success stories to identify success themes and factors to formulate a workable definition for policy-makers. Researchers interviewed sixteen technical practitioners in Ontario using a semi-structured approach. Data analysis revealed a definition of success that extends beyond the technical boundary to include professional growth, employment, local action and a facilitating policy environment. This comprehensive definition provides a basis for policy and program considerations to increase First Nations buy-in and foster a constructive environment for drinking water improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As developed states have faced increasing ethnocultural diversity, debates have arisen over what tools the state has at its disposal to help create peaceful, tolerant, and cohesive diverse societies. This research note has two purposes. First, it builds on existing theoretical research on multicultural policies to propose a typology of multicultural policies from non-devoted immigration or multicultural ministries. Second, it argues that there is space for policies aimed to accommodate and recognize immigrants and ethnocultural minorities in health care policy and - by extension - other policy areas. Such initiatives would both improve the quality of service for immigrants, ethnocultural minorities, and majority group Canadians and greatly enhance the likelihood of recognition and comprehensive integration of minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of Canadian Medicare is reviewed to demonstrate the extent to which non-universal alternatives almost became the norm in Canada. While this historical survey focuses on the most critical dimension of universal coverage - the drive to have all Canadians insured on the same terms and conditions - it also addresses the second and third dimensions of universality, the extent of user fees and the breadth of coverage, respectively. However, that there is no single national narrative on health coverage, in part because of the highly decentralized nature of the Canadian health system. Ultimately, public-sector health system coverage is a policy decision taken at the sub-national level by the provincial rather than the federal government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The articles in this issue suggest that intergovernmental governance takes a different form in Canada and the EU, raising questions about the transference of practices and institutions from one to the other. In both systems, non-hierarchical modes of governance provide coordination in social policy. Hierarchy also plays a role, though not in a manner that one might expect. In the EU, hierarchy is tempered by members' direct participation in policy formulation. In Canada, hierarchy is important, but within rather than between governments, resulting in executive dominance of the intergovernmental process at the expense of devolving power to civil society and sub-provincial governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bologna Process that created the European Higher Education Area is an elaborate open method of coordination ( OMC)-type process involving the member states, interested parties, social partners and experts. It is the product of the incentives of the actors who created and who sustain it; it embodies a purpose. Is such a process relevant for policy making on postsecondary education in the Canadian federal system? One would need to know if there is a compelling vision, objective or anxiety that motivates the key actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the alignment of different governance arrangements and alternative accountability mechanisms in international development policy making in Canada and the European Union ( EU), with a particular focus on relationships between governments and non-governmental organizations. The Canadian case illustrates an entrepreneurial mode of governance that aligns with fiscal auditing and performance management mechanisms, while the networked governance model of the EU relies more heavily on accountability instruments of public reporting and deliberation. The article concludes that the European accountability regime likely provides policy makers with more opportunities for social policy learning but would be difficult to implement in Canada given the underlying action logic of the federal government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on the 1962 Glassco Commission report, this article argues that the duality of collective and individual ministerial responsibility in the Canadian Westminster model is under-recognized and remains highly relevant. While reforms since the 1960s favoured individual responsibility, the growing impact of information and communications technologies ( ICTs) gives renewed significance to collective responsibility. This article reviews accountability challenges arising from ICT-influenced changes in the federal government's organization and relationships, including the shift from a traditional vertical departmental model towards an increasingly horizontal one. Accountability for this re-collectivized environment risks ineffectiveness for two reasons: the prime minister's view of his own role, and Parliament's difficulty in dealing with horizontal issues. If the risks are not recognized, Canadian democracy will be diminished. Sommaire En se fondant sur le rapport Glassco de 1962, le présent article soutient que la dualité de la responsabilité ministérielle collective et individuelle dans le modèle de Westminster au Canada n'est pas suffisamment reconnue et demeure hautement pertinente. Alors que, depuis les années 1970, les réformes ont encouragé la responsabilité individuelle, l'incidence croissante des technologies de l'information et des communications ( TIC) donne une importance renouvelée à la responsabilité collective. Cet article passe en revue les défis de la responsabilité découlant des changements influencés par les TIC dans l'organisation et les relations du gouvernement fédéral, y compris le glissement d'un modèle ministériel vertical traditionnel vers un modèle de plus en plus horizontal. L'imputabilité pour cet environnement re-collectivisé risque d'entraîner l'inefficacité pour deux raisons : la perception qu'a le Premier ministre de son propre rôle, et la difficulté qu'a le Parlement à traiter les questions horizontales. Faute de reconnaître les risques, c'est la démocratie canadienne qui sera perdante. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses politics and government in Canada during 2010. According to the article, 2010 marked over five years of a minority government. The article states that the Conservative government focused upon what it called its Economic Action Plan. The article also offers a statistical breakdown of the membership of the Canadian parliament by political party affiliation, as well as a listing of changes in government ministries. The article also discusses the Conservative government's refusal to permit government funding of abortion in Canada, allegedly ignoring a decision by the Canadian supreme court concerning a Canadian prisoner at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the dismissal of a junior member of state.

The article focuses on the approaches of budgeting adopted by several provinces in Canada, including Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia. It states that British Columbia uses a modified zero-base budget approach, whereas Manitoba uses decentralized departmental planning. It presents a comparison of provincial strategies, which includes the integration of expenditure control procedures into the formal budget process, and the degree of control achieved. It also discusses various governmental policies of several provinces, like their employment policy, role of political ideology and marketing. It presents description of the political trends and approaches that are being practiced in Canada since 1975.