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"Pro-Canadian, Anti-American or Anti-War? Canadian Public Opinion on the Eve of War" by Andrew Parkin What was Canada’s mood in the face of a looming war in Iraq? In another Portraits of Canada special for Policy Options, pollster Andrew Parkin finds Canadians strongly committed to multilateralism, and very much of a mood to insist on UN approval as a prerequisite to Canada joining any “coalition of the willing” on the road to Baghdad. The Co-Director of the Centre for Research and Information on Canada (CRIC) also finds that Canadians generally differentiate between their distrust of the Bush administration and their warm regard for the United States and the American people. "The Road to Baghdad Leads Through the UN" by Jean Chrétien Before the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations in February, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien delivered a major foreign policy address on Canada-US relations and the role of the United Nations in any resolution, peaceful or otherwise, of the standoff with Iraq. "Let's Not Cut Corners: Unbundling the Canada-US Relationship" by Daniel Schwanen The United States wants a secure border with Canada. Canada wants smooth trade with the United States. Do we have here the makings of a grand bargain? Not necessarily, says IRPP’s senior economist, who sees a mismatch between the short-term nature of the US needs and the longer-term nature of some proposed Canadian solutions involving more market integration. Instead, after “unbundling” the various facets of Canada-US integration, he proposes further steps to define and implement mutual obligations on North American security issues, in return for a commitment to not compromise normal and legitimate mutual access of goods, services and people. "The Case for a North American Currency Union" by Thomas J. Courchene A North American Currency Union is certainly a big idea. But is it a good one? Looking to the successful adoption of the euro, one of Canada’s leading economists makes the case for a North American Monetary Union (NAMU) in which the basic unit of North American exchange would be constructed around or anchored on the US dollar. Based, say, on an “entry rate” of 66 cents on the dollar, 150 Canadian cents would be exchanged for one new dollar. Then 100 new Canadian dollars would be equivalent to 150 current Canadian dollars, maintaining the existing relative price difference between Canada and the US. The US would maintain its twelve seats on the Federal Reserve Board, with Canada getting one seat on the board of the new Reserve Bank of North America. But Canada would maintain “seigniorial” sovereignty, with Canadian symbols on one side of the currency. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, not Abraham Lincoln, would be on our five dollar bill. Seigniorage would stay with Canada, Courchene maintains, but the exchange rate would disappear. "Why the "Big Idea" is a Bad Idea" by Andrew Jackson Beware of the big idea, warns the Senior Economist of the Canadian Labour Congress. We’ve been down this road before with the Free Trade Agreement and the NAFTA, when Canadians were promised secure access to the US market. Now, they’re back, writes Andrew Jackson, promoting a customs union within a North American security perimeter as the big idea to assure a smooth flow of trade across the border, while assuaging American security concerns. A bad idea, Jackson asserts, one with negative implications for distinctive Canadian values. "Getting it Right - When the Big Idea Becomes a Bad Idea" by John S. McCallum The big idea doesn’t always turn out to be a good idea, and usually it turns out that something went wrong in the policy process, suggests John McCallum of University of Manitoba’s I.H. Asper School of Business. Policy does not exist in a vacuum, and usually begins with a problem to be fixed, writes McCallum, who as a senior adviser to the minister of finance from 1984 to 1991 worked on a big idea — the GST. As a replacement for the hidden 13.5 percent manufacturers’ sales tax, the GST is a consumption tax that does not apply to exports, and has been a key driver of the growth of Canadian exports to the United States under another big idea — free trade. "Penser en dehors du 'système général de pensée conventionnée'" by Jocelyn Létourneau Based on the Quebec situation, the author examines the way intellectuals view the changes affecting our societies and thereby help to shape the agenda for public debates. Although opportunities for expression are numerous, they are nevertheless constrained by the existence of a general discursive regime that more or less formally determines the major issues around which the thinking revolves. To think “outside the box” can prove to be arduous as well as harrowing. "The Disappearance of Big Ideas" by Joseph Heath [summary not available] "Heritage Preservation and Disaster Management: United States and Canada" by C. A. Bigenwald and Randall White Heritage advocates sometimes complain about the linkages between federal disaster management policy and heritage preservation in the United States. But relationships between the two sectors draw on comparatively strong US heritage legislation, and innovative disaster mitigation programs that are much less developed in Canada. The Department of Canadian Heritage has recently established a Historic Places Initiative; and the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness has been working on a national disaster mitigation strategy. These developments raise opportunities for stronger linkages between the two sectors in Canada as well, which are more compatible with Canada’s particular style of federalism. "Risky Business and Rocket Science or the Rise of Guesswork Quantification" by Neil Cameron Risk management, once the obscure domain of insurance assessors and actuaries, has become de rigeur in everything from rocket science to portfolio management in the stock market, to the point where Neil Cameron calls it “a spectre haunting the 21st century.” Since the creation of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1969, several theorists of risk management have risen to laureate status at the Swedish Oscars. Cameron, a Montreal professor, journalist and self-described historian of science, puts the rise of risk management in a historical and often humourous context. "The First Nations Governance Act: A Legacy of Loss" by Frank Cassidy The First Nations Governance Act, presently under review by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development and Natural Resources, proposes to amend the century-old and much-despised Indian Act. Despite claims that it is based on the most extensive consultation ever undertaken with First Nations, reaction to the proposed legislation has ranged from mitigated support to outright opposition. The draft bill is indeed at odds with Canada’s commitment to the First Nations’ inherent right to self-government. Short of withdrawing the legislation and embarking on a new course of action based on negotiations and the principle of mutual recognition, the author proposes seven measures to bring the proposed legislation in line with Cananda’s commitments and the Chrétien government’s ambition to leave behind a positive legacy. "La reconfiguration de l'échiquier politique au Québec : L'impact des fusions municipales de 2001" by Pierre Serré The municipal political scene, which, for sociological and political reasons, has been deeply enmeshed in Quebec political life, has been radically transformed by the mergers imposed by the Bouchard government. Contrary to all expectations, analysis of results of the elections in November 2001 shows that they have been largely influenced by the same linguistic dynamics that characterize the provincial scene, especially in Montreal. Carried out by a sovereignist government, despite formidable obstacles and strong opposition, the municipal mergers have had an unexpected effect, that of reinforcing the positions of federalist forces. Book Excerpt: Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan In the bloody aftermath of World War I, a new world order was born at the epic Paris Peace Conference of 1919. In this exclusive excerpt from her world bestseller, Paris 1919, University of Toronto historian Margaret MacMillan tells of the arrival of the British and dominion delegations, led by the crafty British prime minister Lloyd George. Canada was led by Sir Robert Borden, “upright and handsome,” she writes, and demanding a seat of its own at the peace talks. Canada, as Borden wrote was “a nation that is not a nation. It is about time to alter it.” In a pivotal moment, Lloyd George accommodated the demands of Borden and the leaders of other dominions, signalling the end of an empire, the beginning of a true commonwealth, and the birth of Canadian sovereignty and its role as an honest broker between America and Britain. Book Review: Desmond Morton reviews Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan [summary not available] Book Review: Patrick Grady reviews Making Money: An Insider's Perspective on Finance Politics, and Canada's Central Bank by John Crow [summary not available] Book Review: Luc Turgeon reviews three books on Quebec sovereignty [summary not available] "The 50-50 Rule Lives - if Barely" by William Watson [summary not available] |
