State v society in Canada THE POLITICS OF CANADIAN PUBLIC POLICY

edited by Michael B. Atkinson and Marsha A. Chandler

University of Toronto Press, Toronto, l983,286pp, flO.SO,f25.50

The main objective of this collection of essays is to explore the various roles of the state in a variety of policy settings, and to provide an overview of different approaches to the analysis of the policy process. The basic idea is that the state is an active agent in the policy making process. The method is to compare and contrast the neo- Marxist and pluralist paradigms and then to explore four main strategies of analysis. The first strategy is to focus on what may be called policy determi- nants; the second is to look at policy types; the third is to try to elucidate the significance of policy instruments; and the final strategy is to look at the consequences of policy in action, or what is termed policy impact. These approaches are then explored with respect to particular aspects by 15 contributors from the fields of political economy, political science, law, public administration. operations research and sociology.

Thematic essay

Atkinson and Chandler set out a general coordinating or thematic essay, and there then follows a series of essays illustrating one or other of these themes, reflecting either tradi- tional concerns such as language poli- cy (Coleman); provincial resources policy (Chandler); common property resources, such as fisheries in Atlantic Canada ~,~cCorquodale)~ northern development (McInnes); or health policy (Weller and Manga). Emerging issues such as legal aid (Poe]); technic- al innovation and industrial policy (Abonyi and Atkinson); and the forms of crown c~~rporations (Prichard and Trebiicock) are also expiored. Then broader integrative issues such as those involving the mechanisms of

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public choice (Sproule-Jones); the challenge of tax expenditures and subsidies (Woodside); and the useful- ness or likelihood of programme eva- luation in formulating public policy (I. Mayne and R.S. Mayne) are ex- amined. The book is in effect a set of prepared conference papers seeking to explore the state-of-the-art of public policy research in Canada, and was mainly financed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Several common challenges are posed by these authors; passionate issues raised in a dispassionate way.

Statist

In the first place, they appear to be warning us that conventional political terminology of ‘right’ or ‘left’ is use- less in looking at parties in Canada. All the authors appear to be wedded to the idea that the continuous and persistent expansion of the state is in effect the only policy; and all appear to be similarly and disturbingly statist, collectivist, interventionist, demago- gic, and inflationary in their basic thrust. Further, this common thrust appears to be more from ingrained habit and responsive to public defer- ence to authority. than from any l~articuIar phil~~sophy or ideology. One senses a depressingly narrow range of political philosophy texts on the Parliamentary shelves, getting thinner by the day as the welfare state staggers from deficit to disaster.

It is as if Canada is caught in some time-warp, with a dominant mytholo- gy of the social fabric as a kind of inverted pyramid, with the base ex- panding both upwards and outwards and the apex diminishing very rapidly. Such at least is the haunting image stirred up by 15 authors in search of a new paradigm, finding the neo- Marxist one obsolete and the pluralist one puzzlingly benign in what is clear- ly an unstable. ambivalent and re- markably elusive area of study. Or is it?

For many decades. public policy studies in Canada basically decided government was ‘a good thing’,

observed its expansion with some de- gree of satisfaction as the universities became creatures of the state and expanded with it. In that stage it was enough to tell anecdotes and to de- scribe what governments do. With the evidence that the N-year boom (194% 1975) was creating an urbanized socie- ty, public policy studies began to move from the familiar concentration on the 1867 constitution and federal- provincial interaction to explore, however tentatively, the unrecognized third level, those creatures of the provinces, local governments. These studies are in an adolescent stage, and Canada which began as over-governed is now evidently a Minotaur of statism in a maze of policy thickets.

Jolt

With the advent of centralization: a 1982 c~~nstitution which did not en- shrine property rights; government by inflation-and-deficit; the ending of the boom; and fierce rivalry in the various arms of the state and levels of govern- ment for the privilege of expropriating each other’s assets and those sectors of the economy not yet state-controlled, there emerged evidence that universi- ties would decline and lose tax support to such voracious fields as health and resources. Policy studies in Canada woke up with a jolt.

Hard look

Atkinson and Chandler are trying to propel their colleagues in the disci- plines related to the body politic to take a hard look at what appears to be the state gone berserk, with no clear trend ahead and evidence that there are several policy processes at work, a maze of conflicting paths and no sensi- ble theory.

Behind all the neutral language, we can discern a basic unease. If the present accepted paradigms are irrelevant or flawed, and if we are seeking to understand how state and society are related in Canada, are we now at the point where. in effect, state and society are at war in the Canadian body politic:’ With all the parties clustered at the non-freedom end of the spectrum and with universities in

CITIES February 1984

Book reviews

central government powers and responsibilities.

The thrust of the report, and thus the research project as a whole, comes in the final chapter of conclusions and recommendations. The 1980s will pres- ent urban managers and politicians at all levels with a range of new problems and the recurrence of old problems in new form, but as the report points out, there will also be new opportunities for finding better and more effective treat- ments and solutions.

As regards the objectives and instru- ments for urban government, rebuild- ing the economic base of declining areas, combined with a more flexible approach to social/functional land use mixes (where compatible and appro- priate), is recommended, through the use of combined programmes that con- cern jobs, training and new develop- ment as well as rehabilitation and housing assistance policies. The impor- tance of cooperative strategies and joint inte~ention in such things as in- frastructure provision and housing re- habilitation are highlighted, and at cen- tral government level the critical nature of transectoral coordination and com- munication in the planning and imple- mentation of policy initiatives is devel- oped in a series of summary statements.

In conclusion, it is perhaps worth pointing out that despite the repeated call in the report for innovation and new ideas, the report itself contains nothing that has not been said else- where; and some of its recommen- dations, such as the importance at- tached to private sector intervention. will almost inevitably be contended in certain circles. It is nevertheless an important summary analysis of likely policy options and opportunities facing the OECD nations in the 1980s and provides an interesting and stimulating read. What impact the report has on member governments and their urban management bodies remains to be seen, and it wili be up to the OECD as a major international organization in the West to try to ensure its message gets across.

danger of losing financial viability, academics deserve credit for raising the question at all, but one senses a race between state expansion and public ignorance which cries out for a final integrative chapter to spell out the consequences of what is so clearly evident in these studies: a profound unease with the current course of events.

OECD prognosis

URBAN POLICIES IN THE 1980s

OECD Ad Hoc Group on Urban Prob- lems

OECD, Paris, 1983, 48 pp

This document represents a synthesis of other reports produced by the OECD Ad Hoc Group on Urban pro- blems during an extensive programme of work spanning the past four years. It is divided into seven short chapters, set out in report style format, with half a dozen supporting tables. It is pitched at a fairly high level of generality, with some brief references to cases in differ- ent member countries by way of illus- tration.

The first three chapters set the scene for the 1980s; they include reviews of past urban trends (Chapter 2) and like- ly future trends in demography, tech- nology and economic restructuring (Chapter 3). The variations between different OECD countries are outlined in general terms, and a special note is made of the differences between most OECD countries and the Southern European nations, where levels of urbanization and income are generally lower, yet where urbanization has occured more rapidly over the past 30 years. Based on an analysis of current urban growth trends, the report also suggests that the most rapid urban growth is likely to occur in the small to medium-sized towns in the 198Os, rather than in the existing conurbations and metropolitan areas.

The group argue that future urban growth trends will to some extent be determined by the development of new

For that we must be grateful, and we must hope that the authors, with this brave beginning forge ahead, for the questions they address are critical to the future of Canada’s pyramidal dilemma.

Norman Pearson Consultant Planner

London, Ontario, Canada

technologies and resultant impact on industrial land requirements and journey-to-work patterns. The importance of basic manufactu~ng industries will decline as high tech- nology. energy-related and service industries increase in importance and compete for investment with the needs of housing and infrastructure provision.

It is in the last four chapters that the report moves towards outhning recom- mended policy content and orientation. culminating in a final synthesis. Given the background of rapid change and uncertainty, the major objective of urban policy in the 1980s is seen as: ‘retaining and enhancing the economic base of urban areas in such a way that they can more easily adapt to change’ (p 20). This can be done through entre- preneurial public programmes (in con- junction with community and business interests) and through the ~provement of urban service provision. The role of towns and cities as ‘incubators of new ideas and technology’ is also stressed. Education, training and retraining, combined with a strengthening of the urban social fabric are also identified as being of particular importance.

In Chapters 5 and 6, on the imple- mentation of policy and the role of the central government, a number of re- curring themes are discussed from dif- ferent standpoints. The need for co- ordinated action involving a number of interest groups, multifunction author- ities and improved land management practices and instruments are all cov- ered. Attention is drawn to the inade- quacy of financing a~angements for local level intervention, and the desir- ability of a reassessment of local-

bacon Wynn Glaxo Operations

Greenford, UK

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