Setting the New Progressive Agenda
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Setting the New Progressive Agenda June 2015 Canada 2020 is Canada’s leading, independent, progressive think-tank working to redefine the role of the federal government for a modern Canada. We produce original research, host events, and start conversations about Canada’s future. Our goal is to build a community of progressive ideas and people that will move and shape governments. Editor-in-Chief: Robert Asselin Production Manager: Alex Paterson Special Editorial & Production Guidance: canada2020.ca Dr. Don Lenihan and members of the Canada 2020 Advisory Board Canada 2020, 210 Dalhousie Street, Ottawa, ON, K1N7C8, Canada / Published in Ottawa, Canada Table of contents Introduction / 04 Skills & Higher by Tim Barber Education in Canada / 136 by Daniel Munro / Foreword by Tom Pitfield Public Policy in the 21st Century/ 08 Time for a National by Don Lenihan and Robert Asselin Infrastructure Plan for Canada / 182 by John Broadhead, Jesse Darling, and Sean Mullin / Foreword by David Dodge An Agenda for Democratic Reform / 20 by Robert Asselin / Foreword by Donald Savoie Strengthening Canadian Intelligence and Security Accountability / 220 by Wesley Wark / Foreword by Anne McLellan Rebuilding Public Trust in Government / 52 by Don Lenihan and Carolyn Bennett Privacy Protection in / Foreword by the Hon. Deb Matthews the Federal Public Service / 244 by Chantal Bernier / Foreword by Michael Geist Child Benefit Spending in Canada / 82 A Canadian Foreign by Lauren Jones, Mark Stabile, and Kevin Milligan Policy for the Future / 268 / Foreword by Jennifer Robson by Roland Paris / Foreword by Michael Kergin, Former Canadian Ambassador in the United States The Case for a Carbon Tax in Canada / 98 by Nicolas Rivers / Foreword by Tom Rand 086 Introduction This book is about engaging progressives to think about the country they want to see in 2020 and in the years ahead. It is about laying out concrete and feasible public policy prescriptions for the next decade. As millennials take the stage, the opportunity to change and redefine how we approach some of the issues facing the country is for us to seize. We are very excited to introduce innovative and new ideas in the public discussion. Put together, they offer a compelling case for a progressive vision for the years ahead. We live in challenging times. Around the world and in Canada, globalization has forced us to change the way we think about public policy. Income inequality, infrastructure, climate change, security, privacy, democratic renewal are all issues of national importance but they have important international ramifications that require nation states to work together to address them. We can no longer conceptualize them in silos - they are linked to each other. Canada 2020 has been at the forefront of this ongoing discussion. Since 2006, we’ve hosted more than ninety events across the country on topics of relevance for decision-makers and citizens. The response has been amazing. People genuinely and persistently believe government can play a meaningful and positive role in the 21st century. We believe this book will offer them compelling reasons to be optimistic about our collective future. I want to thank Robert Asselin, our new Vice President of Policy and Research, for being the driving force behind this project and Alex Paterson, our Communications and Program Coordinator, for making it happen. I also want to thank our board of advisors for their continuing support and insights. We look forward to the next phase of the discussion and we hope to see you at one of our events. Sincerely, Tim Barber Co-Founder, Canada 2020 808 Public “ The process Policy around in the 21st policymaking Century is now just as important as the issues themselves” Dr. Don Lenihan, PhD Senior Associate, Policy & Engagement at Canada 2020 Robert Asselin Vice President, Policy & Research at Canada 2020 0810 Public Policy in the 21st Century 11 In the traditional Westminster parliamentary • THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION: Information • GROWTH IN THE PUBLIC POLICY system, policymaking was largely a partnership and communications technologies have COMMUNITY: The number of private and between the public service and politicians. Public greatly increased the speed, complexity not-for-profit organizations within the policy servants were experts on policy and provided the and interdependence of events. Today, community has exploded. Stakeholders of government of the day with options and advice more and more systems—from supply all kinds now play a very engaged role in the for solving issues. The government then made chains to the environmental movement— policy process and often exert great influence decisions based on its mandate and the advice. are organized on a global, rather than on it, both at the policy development and It set priorities, presented solutions to the public, national, level. implementation stages. and shepherded them through the legislative process. Finally, the public service implemented • INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF ISSUES: • CHANGING PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS: the government’s decisions, with the politicians In traditional governance, policymakers Citizens today are far less deferential to overseeing this work. We can call this the drew boundaries around issues and politicians than earlier generations. They “traditional approach to governance.” proposed solutions from within these want elected representatives to be more boundaries. Today, experts see issues accountable to them and often feel that, as This system worked well for much of the 20th as far less self-contained and far more citizens, they should have a direct say on century. But over the last few decades, new trends interconnected. Issues around climate issues they care about. have emerged in Canada and around the world that change, security or food production tend are impacting on the policy process and making to form clusters—often from different traditional governance increasingly ineffective: policy fields—whose constituent parts interact with one another in complex and often surprising ways. Setting the new progressive agenda canada2020.ca 12 Public Policy in the 21st Century 13 • THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: Social Of course, it is not just the policy process that is IMMIGRATION AND DIVERSITY: Although media are also changing the political culture, changing. The issues are also changing: Canada was always defined by immigration, 1. POLICY ISSUES ARE OFTEN though in ways that are sometimes less today immigrants are flooding in from all MORE MULTIFACETED, FAST- than clear. On one hand, they provide new • URBANIZATION: A growing proportion of parts of the globe. As a result, our population MOVING AND INTERCONNECTED ways of linking citizens into public debate. Canadians live in a handful of urban centres. is among the most culturally and ethnically THAN IN THE PAST On the other hand, young Canadians, who As these metropolitan areas grow, the diverse in the world. Ensuring new Canadians are the biggest users of social media, are needs, expectations and concerns of the settle into their communities is critical to the less inclined to vote, join political parties or population are changing, creating new policy overall stability and cohesion of the country. participate in the political process. Studies issues, from concerns about gang violence 2.THE POLICY PROCESSES OFTEN suggest they do not relate to politics or to the need for massive new transportation • TERRORISM AND SECURITY: 9/11 INVOLVE MANY STAKEHOLDERS traditional political institutions the same way infrastructure. changed Canadians’ views on security. With as earlier generations. the rise of ISIS, those concerns are surging • DEMOGRAPHICS: Like many OECD again, including a new focus on home-grown • THE CONSTANT CAMPAIGN: Political countries, Canada has an ageing population, terrorism. Countering these threats has 3. THE PUBLIC IS LESS parties now rely heavily on political marketing which is increasing pressure on government become a high political priority. DEFERENTIAL, MORE DEMANDING techniques to pitch their “products”—that is, services, especially healthcare, at the same AND YOUTH ARE LESS their policies—to targeted groups. This, in time it is decreasing the tax base that funds DEMOCRATICALLY ENGAGED turn, requires a clear, consistent and easy- these services. In sum, both the policy process and the issues to-understand message. To achieve this, have changed in ways that are putting huge parties have centralized communications • MOBILITY: People are far more mobile today pressure on traditional governance, which was 4. POLITICAL DEBATE IS NOW to a point where today caucus members than at any time in the past. They travel designed for a very different world. We can MORE SCRIPTED, POLARIZED AND are expected to follow the same script. The frequently and most will move to another city summarize the challenges as follows: ACRIMONIOUS result is a simplification of the message and a at least once in their lifetime. Government polarization of debate over the issues. services may need to be modified to support this kind of mobility. These four bullets provide the basis for what we believe should be a different kind of policy debate, one that focuses not only on solutions to the issues, but also on how policy is made and implemented. In our view, the process around policymaking is now as important as the issues, as the following reflections show. Setting the new progressive agenda canada2020.ca 14 Public Policy in the 21st Century 15 Complexity and the Risks of Policymaking We said that policymakers