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William Watson, "From the editor's desktop" Sorry, an abstract of this article is not available. Richard Janda, "A deeply divided society needs: the Jura solution" The results of last November's election demonstrate once again that Quebecers are deeply divided on the question of separation. The election results may have reduced the chances of another referendum, but they also reinforce the importance of finding a democratic way of dealing with the contentious issue of borders should Quebecers ever vote Yes. The Swiss, it seems, have shown the way. Maurice Pinard, "Que veulent les « NON ambivalents »" One of Quebec's most respected surveyors of public opinion looks at the desires and beliefs of "ambivalent NO voters," that is, mainly francophone Quebecers who would vote NO in a sovereignty referendum but say they are sympathetic to the idea of sovereignty-partnership. He finds that: they are emotionally attached to Canada; they want federalism to be renewed; they feel English Canadians sometimes regard them as inferior; and they are underinformed about the consequences of separation. He concludes that they can be ignored by federalist politicians only at their peril. David T. Jones, "Quebec's election as seen from the United States" A former American representative to Canada grapples with the puzzle of how Lucien Bouchard, who went into last November's Quebec election with significant procedural advantages and ran what all observers agree was a brilliant campaign, came perilously close to losing - and did lose in the popular vote, a result that has potentially important consequences for his government, for Quebec and for Canada. L. Ian MacDonald, "Forget Winning Conditions" Sorry, an abstract of this article is not available. John W. Crow, "Any sense in a Canadian dollar?" The Canadian dollar's decline over the last year was largely due to falling commodity prices and has been managed reasonably well in the circumstances. Neither the dollar's fall nor the example of the euro should cause us to fix our exchange rate: Canada and the United States are not an "optimum currency area"; the Bank of Canada is providing the right non-inflationary environment for a floating regime; and a truly effective fix would require either a currency board or monetary union with the United States. Edwin H. Neave, "For a sounder, safer financial system: open the banks' books" Reports of the imminent death of banking are greatly exaggerated. Banks perform specialized functions that the market in general is unlikely to take over. But both efficient capital allocation and sound prudential regulation would benefit from regular, consistent and early reporting of financial information, rather than crisis-driven reports about the quality of the assets held by Canada's financial institutions. "Giving the past a future" Who says history is boring? On the last weekend of January, the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada hosted more than 800 historians and others interested in, as the conference's title put it,"giving the past a future." It was an ambitious affair, with four plenary sessions, three "demonstrations" and 33 workshops. Here's what six contributors had to say, starting with the keynote speaker. "No first-use for NATO," interview with Bill Graham and Frank Gaffney In December the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade issued a report recommending, among other things, that NATO adopt a policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons. Last month, Policy Options editor William Watson asked the chairman of the committee, the Hon. Bill Graham, and Frank Gaffney, founder and director of the Washington-based Center for Security Policy and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy in the Reagan administration, to discuss this proposal by conference call. Here is an edited transcript of their conversation. Richard Shearmur, "Le développement local : est-ce légal ?" Much of the modern theory of how to stimulate regional development relies on discretionary interventions by activist non-national governments. But will the GATT norm of non-discrimination, as implemented by the World Trade Organization, allow such governments to continue to be usefully activist? Stephen Schecter, "'Creating Linkages' - and falling bridges: communication interruptus" Our intrepid correspondent made his way to Ottawa last October to attend the federal Policy Secretariat's networking extravaganza, "Creating Linkages." As the debate, discussion and talking past each other proceeded, he found himself thinking of statistics, chocolate, stationary bicycles, talking TV heads, the hollowing-out of disciplines and the simplicity and durability of Roman arches. Drew Duncan and John J. Jackson; Ron Mac Spadyen, "Leaps of faith" As the tragic death of Michel Trudeau recently reminded us, more and more Canadians are participating in intrinsically dangerous activities, whether it be mountain-climbing, heli-skiing or bungee-jumping. In the two articles that follow, Drew Duncan and John J. Jackson argue both that the courts should not honour release clauses in cases where operators have been negligent and that such exculpatory clauses should be put to a public policy test, while Ron MacSpadyen advocates tough new regulations for bungee-jumping. Jim Stanford, "Fax from the fringe" Sorry, an abstract of this article is not available. Andrew Coyne, review of Bob Rae's The Three Questions Sorry, an abstract of this article is not available. |
