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Much has been written about the changing role of unelected public servants in Westminster systems of government and their relationship with elected officials and the public. However, there are no studies comparing how these three groups perceive the role, and what they expect from public servants. This article provides the findings from three surveys of public servants, politicians and the public in Canada to assess how they view the role of the public servant and how this compares to different conceptions in the academic literature. The study finds that all three groups support the principles of ministerial responsibility and non-partisanship but do not believe that public servants should be anonymous and free from public scrutiny. This raises the question of whether some aspects of the traditional public servant role can be altered while keeping others in place and suggests that advocates for altering the role of the public servant will be most successful if they focus on certain aspects while preserving others. Points for Practitioners: The principles of ministerial responsibility and public service non-partisanship are supported by the public, politicians, and public servants themselves. There is a desire among these three groups for public servants to become less anonymous, face more public scrutiny and engage more with external actors. The public and politicians' expectations surrounding public servants' political activities are still unclear, although a large majority of public servants believe they can be politically active outside of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research note reports on the findings from a survey conducted in partnership with the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC). Despite robust debate among public administration experts about the role public servants should play in Canadian democracy, there has yet to be a systematic study of how public servants themselves view democracy and their role within it. We ask: What role do public servants play in democracy? The survey questions public servants about their views and contributions to democracy to gain a better understanding of what role they are playing in Canada's system. Cette note de recherche rapporte les resultats d'un sondage mene en partenariat avec l'Institut d'administration publique du Canada (IAPC). Malgre un vif debat parmi les experts en administration publique sur le role que les fonctionnaires devraient jouer dans la democratie canadienne, aucune etude systematique n'a encore ete effectuee sur la facon dont les fonctionnaires eux-memes percoivent la democratie et leur role en son sein. Nous posons la question : quel role les fonctionnaires jouent-ils dans la democratie? Le sondage interroge les fonctionnaires sur leurs opinions et sur leurs contributions a la democratie afin de mieux saisir le role qu'ils jouent dans le systeme canadien., Introduction The traditional role of public servants in Canada's Westminster system of government has long been challenged. Members of the public service across the country face pressure to be more [...]

Copyright of Journal of Field Ornithology is the property of Resilience Alliance and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Canada's legal system has repeatedly ruled that the Crown has a duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples when approving and shaping resource development projects that are located on their land or could infringe on their rights. Yet, there are still incidences where Indigenous communities and organizations find formal consultation processes, and the approach to engagement taken by industry and government, to be lacking. We use insights from the policy studies literature to argue that generating more evidence and analysis about the benefits and impacts of development is unlikely to improve consultation and engagement processes or resolve resource development disputes. We suggest that a policy framing approach, which examines how the different actors frame or define controversial and intractable policy problems, can provide insight into why disputes occur. We examine publicly available documents and statements about consultation and engagement produced by Indigenous groups, Canadian governments, and industry to identify and compare how these groups are likely to frame resource development and consultation activities. Sommaire: A maintes reprises, le systeme judiciaire canadien a statue que la Couronne a le devoir de consulter les peuples autochtones en cas d'approbation et d'elaboration de projets de developpement des ressources qui sont situes sur leurs terres, ou susceptibles de porter atteinte a leurs droits. Neanmoins, il existe encore des cas ou les collectivites autochtones et les organismes denoncent des lacunes dans les processus de consultation officiels, et dans les methodes d'engagement prises par le secteur industriei et le gouvernement. En nous appuyant sur des connaissances approfondies tirees de la documentation sur les etudes de politiques, nous soutenons qu'effectuer plus de preuves et d'analyses sur les avantages et les impacts du developpement a peu de chance d'ameliorer les processus de consultation et d'engagement, ou encore de resoudre les conflits relatifs au developpement des ressources. Nous conseillons qu'une perspective d'encadrement des politiques etudiant comment les differents acteurs formulent ou definissent les problemes de politique controverses et insolubles, peut aider a comprendre la raison de ees conflits. Nous etudions les documents et les declarations concernant la consultation et l'engagement qui sont publiquement accessibles et issus par les groupes autochtones, les gouvernements canadiens, et le secteur industriei afin d'identifier et de comparer la maniere dont ees groupes risquent de structurer le developpement des ressources et les activites de consultation., Canada's legal system has repeatedly ruled that the Crown has a duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples when approving and shaping resource development projects that are located on their land [...]

Determining the drivers and mechanisms for first year survival of migratory songbirds has been an understudied area in population dynamics due to the difficulty in tracking juveniles once they have dispersed from the natal site. With the advancement in miniaturization of radio-tags (battery life ~400 days) and the development of the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, we tracked 189 Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) nestlings through independence and to fall migration departure, and their return the following spring. Natal forest fragment size and landscape forest cover (at different spatial scales) were not strong predictors of fledgling, pre-migration, or apparent annual survival; and onset of fall migration was best predicted by fledge date but not natal fragment size. Survival probability was lowest the first 16 days post-fledging (70%, or 0.86 weekly survival probability), very high for juveniles as they explored the landscape prior to fall migration (89%, or 0.99 weekly survival probability) and low during their first migration and wintering season (26%, or 0.95 weekly survival probability). To our knowledge, this is the first study to directly estimate annual apparent juvenile survival in a migratory songbird using year-round radio-tracking. Our study suggests that small forest fragments are important for the conservation for forest songbirds because they can support high survival of juveniles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although carry-over effects related to wintering habitat quality are known to influence population dynamics of migratory songbirds, the presence of breeding season carry-over is understudied in full annual cycle models. To test whether forest fragment size on the breeding grounds can impose negative carry-over effects on a migratory songbird, we fitted adult Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) with 1-year coded radio-tags in forest fragments ranging from 16 to 499 ha in southwestern Ontario during the 2016-2019 breeding seasons and utilized automated telemetry via the Motus Wildlife Tracking System to record fall migration timing and returns the following spring (apparent annual survival). To examine short-term effects of fragment size on breeding females, during the 2018 and 2019 breeding seasons, we collected blood samples during incubation to measure corticosterone levels and tracked complete reproductive success and nest timing. We found that Wood Thrushes breeding in small forest fragments were not subject to strong negative effects on body condition (mass, corticosterone), reproductive success, or timing of the last nest of the season. We found that the onset of fall migration departure was not delayed for birds nesting in small fragments, and that apparent annual survival was not linked to breeding fragment size. This suggests that habitat differences linked to fragment size were not strong enough to trigger the kinds of negative carry-over effects (delayed migration, lower reproductive success) that have been documented in other species as a result of poor wintering-ground habitat quality. The strength of breeding fragment size-induced seasonal carry-over remains a critical gap in full annual cycle models for other declining migratory songbirds. Our findings suggest that while the importance of preserving large forested areas is often prioritized in conservation projects, small forest fragments can also have high conservation value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Sustainability Matters: Prospects for a Just Transition in Calgary, Canada's Petro-City" is a book by Noel Keough and Geoff Ghitter that explores various issues related to sustainability in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The authors cover topics such as urban planning, transportation, energy, equity, diversity, and governance. The book argues that Calgary's growth and development have been driven by land developers and business interests, resulting in a large ecological footprint and an unsustainable city. The authors propose solutions and draw on examples from other cities to increase sustainability in Calgary. However, the book lacks discussion on how to build political support for these proposals and appeal to a broader range of political values. [Extracted from the article]

Has the role and the work of public servants become politicized? Noting the greater frequency at which public servants are losing their anonymity and seemingly being pressured to support – rather than simply implement – politicians’ priorities, the authors review more than a century’s worth of debates of full parliament to determine whether there is evidence of outright politicization of the public service and whether such politicization (if present) has occurred more regularly over time. The authors conclude that public servants are rarely mentioned in full parliamentary debates and have only become a partisan issue within these debates on two occasions. The authors found that contrary to their expectations, parliamentarians belonging to the governing party were less likely than opposition MPs to discuss the public service and that MPs belonging to conservative parties were no more likely to discuss the public service than MPs belonging to parties elsewhere on the political spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Parliamentary Review / Revue Parlementaire Canadienne is the property of Canadian Parliamentary Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The number of Canadian university presidents terminated by their Boards of Governors has increased dramatically. Examining this phenomenon requires situating it in its historical context, yet there has been little empirical work. This study examines the total length of service and the average years of experience of presidents at 102 Canadian institutions. The analysis runs from 1840 until 2011 and shows that presidents spend much less time in office than was historically the case. The percentage of women serving in these roles increased during the 1980s reaching approximately 20% in the mid-1990s and has since remained at that level. The recent increase in terminations and early departures are discussed in light of the changing nature of the university presidency. Le nombre des presidentes et presidents d'universites canadiennes dont les conseils de gouverneurs ont mis fin a l'emploi a augmente considerablement. Pour examiner ce phenomene, il faut le replacer dans son contexte historique, or tres peu d'etudes empiriques ont ete entreprises. Cette etude examine la longueur totale du service et la moyenne des annees d'experience des presidentes et presidents de 102 etablissements universitaires canadiens. L'analyse couvre la periode allant de 1840 a 2011 et montre que les presidents passent beaucoup moins de temps en fonction que par le passe. Le pourcentage des femmes exercant cette fonction s'est accru pendant les annees 1980, atteignant environ 20% vers le milieu des annees 1990, puis est reste a ce niveau depuis lors. La recente augmentation des cessations d'emploi et des departs anticipes de presidents universitaires fait 1'objet d'un debat a la lumiere de Involution de la nature de la presidence universitaire., Introduction In recent years, there have been a number of high profile cases where Canadian university presidents were terminated by their Boards of Governors (Alphonso 2007; Patriquin 2011; Maki and [...]

A sensitive method was developed to determine 16 amino acids, including all the neurotransmitter amino acids and neuromodulators, in physiological samples. Samples were derivatized with o-phthalaldehyde/tert-butyl thiol followed by two scavenging reactions that reduced the chemical background caused by excess derivatization reagent by approximately 90%. A total of 250 nL of the derivatized sample was injected and concentrated onto a 50-(mu)m-inner diameter capillary column packed with 5-(mu)m reversed-phase particles and separated using gradient elution. Analytes were detected amperometrically at a cylindrical 9-(mu)m carbon fiber microelectrode. The combination of on-column concentration, scavenging reactions after derivatization, high sensitivity electrochemical detection, and protocols to minimize amine contamination allowed detection limits of 90-350 pM (20-80 amol) for all the amino acids tested. This method was used to analyze in vivo microdialysate samples from probes implanted in the striatum of anesthetized rats. Probes were perfused at 1.2 (mu)L/min and fractions collected every 10 s. The 200-nL fractions were diluted to 2 (mu)L to facilitate sample handling for offline analysis. The suitability of this method for simultaneous monitoring of all the major amino acid neurotransmitters with 10-s temporal resolution under basal conditions, during potassium stimulation, and during selective uptake inhibition of (gamma)-aminobutyric acid is demonstrated.

The separation and detection of biuret complexes of neuropeptides by capillary liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection was explored. Capillaries of 25[[micro]meter] inner diameter packed with base-resistant, polymer-based reversed-phase particles were used for separation, and C-fiber electrodes were used for detection. Detection at the C-fiber electrode was found to have some differences in relative sensitivity for peptides compared to glassy carbon electrodes used previously. On-column preconcentration of preformed complexes allowed up to 1-[[micro]liter] samples to be injected with minimal band broadening resulting in a 100-fold improvement in concentration detection limit with no effect on mass detection limit. Concentration detection limits ranged from 5 to 59 pM, depending upon the peptide, corresponding to 5-59 amol injected. The low concentration detection limit was possible because of minimal baseline disturbances, minimal formation of unwanted products, and high efficiency of complex formation associated with biuret derivatization. The method was applied to determination of vasopressin and bradykinin in dialysates collected with 5-min sampling frequency from the rat supraoptic nucleus.

All three groups, for example, value the importance of getting Indigenous groups involved early on in a project's planning. Businesses would be driven to do so by their economic approach: the earlier Indigenous communities can be involved, the sooner concerns can be addressed, avoiding the risk of challenges further along the project's development. Government sees earlier involvement as a way to meet regulatory and government timelines. However, Indigenous groups see early involvement as an opportunity to take a larger role in the decision-making process. Thus, involving Indigenous groups earlier in the consultation means little if it does not provide an opportunity for increased input. Documents from Indigenous groups suggest that controversies over consultation and resource development exist because Indigenous Peoples lack control and input over activities that directly affect them. They tend to perceive consultation as an opportunity for them to assert their sovereignty and jurisdiction and as something directly connected to their history of disempowerment. Until governments and industry better understand that perspective, there will almost certainly be many more court battles to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alberta is responsible for over a third of Canada's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing the country's emissions requires policies and initiatives that reduce emissions in the province. Yet the study of provincial climate change policy in Canada has largely focused on lower-emitting provinces like British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario. This article argues that Alberta is best understood as a "reluctant actor" on climate change, whose policies are influenced by decisions and pressures from outside its borders. The literature on Canadian-American environmental policy making and international policy transfer are used to explore provincial GHG targets and carbon pricing policies. The article finds that Alberta's 2002 targets and Specified Gas Emitters Regulation were determined by economic competitiveness and leakage concerns, while the adoption of new GHG targets in 2008 and a carbon tax was the result of policy transfer through political bandwagoning and the desire for reputational benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government of Canada first announced its intention to implement a nation-wide carbon price in October 2016. After two years of announcements, retractions, discussions and debate, the rollout of carbon pricing in each province was finalized in October 2018: the federal government announced its assessment of proposed and implemented provincial carbon pricing plans. We now can compare the coverage, stringency and efficacy of provincial climate policies, and to consider how they measure up with each other and with the federal government’s standards. This paper focuses primarily on provincial systems’ emissions coverage: the share of emissions subject to a carbon price. The federal government has set a pricing benchmark, the minimum level of emissions coverage that provincial pricing policies are required to meet. The federal backstop — consisting of a carbon tax and output-based pricing system (OBPS) for large emitters — is imposed on provinces whose policies don’t measure up to the federal benchmark. We examine how the coverage of implemented, announced and former provincial pricing policies measure up to the benchmark and backstop. Using reported emissions data for each province from 2015, we provide an estimate of emissions coverage in each province from the policies in effect in 2019. The federal benchmark is defined as covering substantively the same sources as British Columbia’s economy-wide tax on combustion emissions. Part of the motivation for the benchmark was to tackle the consistency problem arising from disparate provincial pricing policies. The federal government, however, has opted not to consistently enforce the benchmark across the provinces. As a result, the carbon pricing scene in Canada resembles a patchwork quilt, with policies and coverage varying across the country. Only two provinces — British Columbia and Quebec — have provincial pricing plans where coverage meets the federal benchmark. British Columbia’s carbon tax is the definition for the benchmark, while in Quebec the cap-and-trade system surpasses the benchmark and provides coverage comparable to the federal backstop. Alberta, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador have all introduced provincial carbon pricing plans that fall short of the federal benchmark for coverage. Despite this, all four provinces received the federal government’s endorsement. Alberta’s shortcoming is the result of a targeted and short-term exemption of small oil and gas producers, while Nova Scotia’s cap-and-trade program meets the federal benchmark’s stringency requirement for overall emissions reductions. This likely explains the federal government’s flexibility with these provinces. The justification for the exceptions provided to Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador are less obvious, and may be a nod towards the relatively rural nature of both provinces, as well as more limited access to lower-emitting fossil fuel substitutes. The remaining four provinces — Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick — will see the federal backstop imposed in whole or in part. In Saskatchewan the federal backstop will be a top-up to the province’s proposed performance standards system. New Brunswick’s proposed carbon pricing plan includes adoption of the federal backstop’s OBPS for its large emitters. Its carbon tax, however, fell explicitly short of the federal benchmark. As a result, the backstop will be imposed in full in the province. The federal backstop will also be imposed in full in Manitoba and Ontario, a result of both provinces reneging on their original carbon pricing plans. Coverage of the now defunct plans in both provinces exceeded the federal benchmark and were comparable to the federal backstop. With the federal backstop, both provinces now face higher carbon prices in the long run and have sacrificed control of carbon pricing revenue to the federal government. When all is said and done, carbon pricing coverage differs substantially across the provinces. Due to variation in emission sources, as well as region-specific exemptions, carbon pricing coverage will range from 47 per cent of emissions in Prince Edward Island to 90 per cent in New Brunswick. Some of the disparity in provincial coverage reflects differences in provinces’ industrial profiles. This points to a need for complementary emissions-reduction policies for noncombustion emissions in these jurisdictions. Other disparities, however, can be traced to the federal government’s inconsistent application of the coverage benchmark. The federal government will likely face increasing pressure on this point going forward, particularly from the growing number of provinces that are opposed to carbon pricing and expected to criticize any evidence of inequitable treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]