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OBJECTIVES: Increasingly, support for water fluoridation has come under attack. We seek an explanation, focusing on the case of Waterloo, Ontario, where a 2010 referendum overturned its water fluoridation program. In particular, we test whether individuals perceive the risks of water fluoridation based not on 'hard' scientific evidence but on heuristics and cultural norms. METHODS: A sample of 376 residents in Waterloo were surveyed in June 2012 using random digit dialing. We use factor analysis, OLS regression, as well as t-tests to evaluate a survey experiment to test the credibility hypothesis. RESULTS: Perceptions of fluoride as a risk are lower among those who perceive fluoride's benefits (B = .473, p < 0.001) and those whose cultural view is 'egalitarian' (B = .156, p < 0.05). The experiment shows a lower level of perception of fluoride's benefits among respondents who are told that water fluoridation is opposed by a national advocacy group (Group A) compared to those who are told that the government and the World Health Organization support fluoridation (Group B) (t = 1.6547, p < 0.05), as well as compared to the control group (t = 1.8913, p < 0.05). There is no difference between Group B and the control, possibly because people's already general support for fluoridation is less prone to change when told that other public organizations also support fluoridation. CONCLUSION: Public health officials should take into account cultural norms and perceptions when individuals in a community appear to rise up against water fluoridation, with implications for other public health controversies. KEY WORDS: Fluoridation; public opinion; public policy OBJECTIFS: On s'attaque de plus en plus a la fluoration de l'eau. Nous cherchonsune explication, a partir du cas de Waterloo, Ontario, ou un referendum a renverse le programme de fluoration de son eau en 2010. Plus particulierement, nous tentons de savoir si les gens percoivent les risques de la fluoration de l'eau non pas selon des << faits >> scientifiques, mais selon des normes heuristiques et culturelles. METHODES: On a etudie un echantillon aleatoire de 376 residants de Waterloo en juin 2012 au moyen de la composition telephonique aleatoire. Nous avons recours a l'analyse factorielle, a la regression par les moindres carres ordinaires (MCO) et a des tests pour evaluer une experience de sondage afin de tester l'hypothese de credibilite. RESULTATS: La perception que le fluor constitue un risque est plus faible chez ceux qui connaissent ses avantages (B = -.473, p < 0,001) et ceux dont la perspective culturelle est egalitaire (B = -.156, p < 0,05). L'experience montre une perception moins favorable des avantages du fluor chez les repondants a qui on affirme qu'un groupe de pression national s'oppose a la fluoration de l'eau (groupe A) comparee a ceux a qui on affirme que le gouvernement et l'Organisation mondiale de la sante appuient la fluoration de l'eau (groupe B) (t = -1,6547, p < 0,05), ainsi qu'au groupe temoin (t = -1,8913, p < 0,05). Il n'y a aucune difference entre le groupe B et le groupe temoin, peut-etre parce que les gens qui appuient deja generalement la fluoration sont moins susceptibles de changer d'avis lorsqu'on leur dit que d'autres organismes publics l'appuient egalement. CONCLUSION: Les representants en sante publique doivent tenir compte des normes culturelles et des perceptions lorsque des membres d'une collectivite s'opposent publiquement a la fluoration avec les autres controverses possibles en sante publique. MOTS CLES: fluoration; opinion publique; politique publique La traduction du resume se trouve a la fin de l'article. doi: 10.17269/CJPH.106.4828, Opposition to water fluoridation is witnessing a vigorous comeback. Since 2010, four Canadian cities have voted to end the practice: Waterloo (ON), Windsor (ON), Quebec City (QC) and Calgary (AB). [...]

This article examines the rise of more strategic, professional and politically sensitive communications in the Government of Alberta and argues that citizen demands for transparency and participation are also reasons for the increased importance of strategic government communications. Accommodating these demands in the context of traditional representative democracy requires politically sensitive staff who can manage processes without jeopardizing the government's re-election or policy agenda. This article draws on analyses of government documents, interviews and the archives of premiers Getty and Klein. Cet article examine Tessor de communications plus strategiques, plus professionnelles et plus sensibles a la realite politique au sein du gouvernement de l'Alberta et fait valoir que les exigences des citoyens en matiere de transparence et de participation expliquent egalement l'importance accrue de la communication gouvernementale strategique. Pour tenir compte de ces exigences dans le contexte de la democratie representative traditionnelle, le personnel doit etre sensible aux questions politiques et etre en mesure de gerer les processus sans nuire a la reelection du gouvernement ou a son programme politique. Cet article se fonde sur des analyses de documents du budget, des interviews et des archives des Premiers ministres Getty et Klein., In 1992, Premier Klein made wide-ranging reforms to the government of Alberta's communications function. While most scholars and journalists have primarily examined this reform in terms of his government's capacity [...]

Elections such as the UK "Brexit" referendum, Donald Trump's ascendancy to the presidency, and the growth of the Alternative for Germany party in Germany have led to concerns about the viability of liberal democratic institutions. Voters appear increasingly drawn to populists. However, before Brexit, and before Trump, there was Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Known equally for bizarre personal antics and outsider status, Ford is a classic case of a right-wing populist politician. We examine this relatively early manifestation of a populist by taking into account various factors. One dominant theoretical explanation is based on economic anxieties amidst increasing inequality and polarizing labor markets. A second, and perhaps more dominant theory, emphasizes working class xenophobia and racism. Results from an analysis of a 2014 survey suggest support can be explained by many factors, such as ideology, partisanship, social conservatism, education, financial stress, suburban residency, among others. Sometimes, factors show a direct link to support for Ford. In other cases, particularly as it relates to financial stress, the relationship is more complex. Also, analysis shows that visible minorities were more likely than non-visible minorities to support Ford, contrary to the general anti-immigrant and sometimes racist appeals of populists elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of a 2014 survey of Canadian parliamentarians, journalists and bloggers in which respondents were asked to rank competing definitions of open government. Overall, respondents preferred to define open government in terms of access to information and sources. However, controlling for age, ideology and language, we also found that respondents in the different positions ranked definitions of open government differently. Journalists are more likely than any other group to define open government in terms of access to information and sources. In contrast, parliamentarians who were members of a governing party were as likely to choose definitions of open government that emphasized public participation as they were to choose definitions that emphasized access to information. Opposition parliamentarians share more similarities with government parliamentarians than with journalists. These results suggest that key actors in the Canadian policy landscape define open government in ways that are consistent with their institutional interests. We suggest that these results reflect ways in which open government operates more like a buzzword, which helps explain the common pattern whereby opposition parties make promises to be more open and, after taking power, operate in less open ways. Moreover, these results raise questions about the extent to which open government can actually operate as an organizing principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article examines the role of social class differences in environmental attitudes in Canada as of 2012. It relies upon data from the 2004-2011 Canada Election Studies. According to the article, divisions among social classes become significant only when environmental issues are high on the political agenda, and that such differences are concentrated among Canadian political parties such as the Liberal Party, the Green Party, and the New Democratic Party (NDP). The article also examines the attitude of the Conservative Party in Canada concerning economic development as it relates to environmental policy.

An introduction is presented in which the editors of the journal discuss various reports within the issue on suburban development in British Columbia, North American environmental governance, and Canadian environmental politics.