The Social Union Framework Agreement signed in February 1999 by the federal, provincial (except Quebec) and territorial governments, is a time-bound, administrative document that was meant to establish new ground rules to improve intergovernmental processes and clarify responsibilities in the area of social policy. Given the three-year deadline for review stated in the Agreement, the IRPP has invited a number of experts to examine the terms and the implementation of the SUFA in order to determine whether it provides a satisfactory framework to improve the functioning of the Canadian social union.

Studies published to date:

• Forging the Canadian Social Union: SUFA and Beyond
  Sarah Fortin (ed.), Alain Noël (ed.), France St-Hilaire (ed.)
  Monograph, November 2003
  

• L’union sociale canadienne dans le miroir des politiques sociales de l’Union européenne
  Bruno Théret
  Policy Matters, July 2002
  

• Restoring the Federal Principle: The Place of Quebec in the Canadian Social Union
  Christian Dufour
  Policy Matters, January 2002
  

• Le modèle québécois de politiques sociales et ses interfaces avec l’union sociale canadienne
  Yves Vaillancourt
  Policy Matters, January 2002
  

• SUFA and Citizen Engagement: Fake or Genuine Masterpiece?
  Susan D. Phillips
  Policy Matters, December 2001
  

• Power and Purpose in Intergovernmental Relations
  Alain Noël
  Policy Matters, November 2001
  

• Shifting Sands: Exploring the Political Foundations of SUFA
  Roger Gibbins
  Policy Matters, July 2001
  

• Without Quebec: Collaborative Federalism With a Footnote?
  Alain Noël
  Policy Matters, March 2000
  

• The Canadian Social Union without Quebec: Eight Critical Analyses
  IRPP (ed.)
  Monograph, 2000