Volume 2, Number 1 Winter 2010
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Volume 2, Number 1 WiNter 2010 P u b l i c P o l i c y a N d G o V e r N a N c e r e V i e W Vol 2., No 1. Winter 2010 Editorial Board Public Policy & Governance Review Editors-in-Chief Brent Barron, University of Toronto Anna Strathy, University of Toronto Associate Editors Jaclyn Casler, University of Victoria Joey Chopra, Simon Fraser University Alexis MacIsaac, Carleton University Abdul Memon, University of Saskatchewan Kathleen Patterson, Dalhousie University Faisal Shaheen, Ryerson University Sewit Tamene, University of Western Ontario Editorial Assistants Margaret Cappa Ryan Nichols Thomas Vogl Matthew Warwick Faculty Advisors Dr. Ian Clark Dr. Irvin Studin Dr. Linda White External Advisory Board Alastair Cheng Andrew Coyne Michael Valpy Reviewers Vasiliki Bednar Tiffany Blair Hillary Connolly Andre Cote Rachel DeMott Michael England Matthew Godwin Alexis MacIsaac Martin Schlaepfer Nehal Tolia Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010 2 Vol 2., No 1. Winter 2010 Table of Contents Public Policy & Governance Review Editors’ Note 4 The Sylvia Ostry Prize in Public Policy 6 Research The Institutionalized Disposability of Temporary Migrant Workers 8 Giselle Valarezo Putting Diversity in Uniform 37 Ernest Chong Canada’s Coalition Conundrum 51 Alexander Sculthorpe “Don’t Jam Jarvis” 73 Alex Stoutley Policy Recommendation A Measure of Security 93 Ramzi A. Nashef Interviews Daphne Meredith 101 Chief Human Resources Officer of the Government of Canada Elly Alboim 111 Former Senior Advisor to Paul Martin The Lefebvre Austruther Maingy Questionnaire Michael Hart 118 Simon Reisman Chair in Trade Policy Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010 3 Vol 2., No 1. Winter 2010 Editors’ Note Public Policy & Governance Review The Ideas Issue Given the aftermath of the financial crisis, growing public skepticism, and looming demo- graphic change, bringing new ideas to the world of public policy is critical. Prior to receiving any submissions for this issue, we discussed our desire to focus this issue on ideas and innovation. Contributors did not disappoint. Giselle Valarezo brings a critical theory lens to the topic of Canada’s temporary foreign worker program. Ernest Chong examines perceptions of visible minorities towards the Canadian Forces. Alexan- der Sculthorpe discusses the competing ideas of democracy witnessed during Canada’s ‘coalition crisis.’ Alex Stoutley examines the role of public consultation when ideas about Toronto’s Jarvis Street renewal collide. Ramzi A. Nashef puts forward a proposal for quantitive evaluation of Canada’s National Security Policy. We interview Daphne Meredith, Chief Human Resources Officer of the Government of Canada, about modernizing human resources, and Elly Alboim, Former Senior Advisor to Paul Martin, about the role of media in shaping ideas and public policy. Fittingly for an issue about ideas, the final line of this publication is Michael Hart’s idea to improve government. We would like to thank the founding editors of the Public Policy and Governance Review, Michael Nicin and Alissa Von Bargen, for starting the PPGR with such momentum. We hope to continue their efforts and contribute to the policy dialogue. We would also like thank contributors to the PPGR blog (www.ppgreview.ca) for their insightful commentary Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010 4 on emerging issues. The PPGR blog has become a forum for discussions of policy, politics, and the public service. We hope you enjoy reading the work of all the PPGR’s contributors, whether in this publication or on the Blog, as much as we do. It is a testament to the quality of Canada’s policy students, and shows that Canada’s public sector will continue to generate innova- tive solutions to the challenges ahead. Sincerely, Anna Strathy & Brent Barron, Editors-in-Chief Public Policy and Governance Review www.ppgreview.ca Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010 5 Vol 2., No 1. Winter 2010 Ostry Prize Public Policy & Governance Review The Sylvia Ostry Prize in Public Policy Opening Up: Is Sunlight the Best Disinfectant? The Public Policy & Governance Review (PPGR), in association with the School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Toronto, presents the Sylvia Ostry Prize in Public Policy. The Ostry Prize is an annual essay competition in Honour of Dr. Sylvia Ostry. The Topic of the essay will change annually, but will always be international in scope. Graduate students, both at the master’s and doctoral levels, in policy-related disciplines across Canada and the United States are eligible to compete. Top essay will be awarded $1000CDN and publication in the spring 2011 issue of the PPGR. First and Second runners up will also be published. In 1913, Louis Brandeis, later a US Supreme Court Justice, wrote that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants,” referring to the ability of transparency and accountability to ensure good behaviour. Last year Barack Obama used the same phrase to argue that transparency would achieve results and restore faith in government. From freedom of information requests, to open data, to WikiLeaks, there have never been more ways for citizens to see the workings and results of government. Many see the rise of transparency as an unequivocal gain; yet this is far from a universal view. At the same time, private organizations’ levels of transparency can range from the substantial disclosure required of publically traded companies to the secrecy of hedge fund credit- default swaps. The 2011 Ostry Prize topic is “Opening Up: Is Sunlight the Best Disinfectant?” We are asking students to defend, expand, criticize, asses, re-evaluate, or expose the topic. We encourage broad interpretations of the topic, but focused essays. Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010 6 Sylvia Ostry Prize Submission Guidelines • Essay must not exceed 3,000 words • Submissions should include a cover letter with the author’s name, address, email address, daytime phone number, and a brief biography. • All submissions must be unpublished • Emailed as a .doc, .docx, .odt, or .rtf • Citations should be in-text and formatted in the author-date system, according to the guidelines in The Chicago Manual of Style • All figures, tables and charts must be submitted both in the document and as entirely separate files • All submissions are subject to editing and revision by the PPGR Editorial Board and will be published using a Creative Commons license. Please send inquiries or submissions to Brent Barron and Anna Strathy at [email protected]. The deadline for submission is March 1, 2011. Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010 7 Vol 2., No 1. Winter 2010 Research Public Policy & Governance Review The Institutionalized Disposability of Temporary Migrant Workers Assessing the Canadian Low-Skilled Foreign Worker Program Giselle Valarezo Abstract Since initiating the Canadian low-skilled Foreign Worker Program (FWP), in 2002, the Queen’s University federal government has increasingly relied on the disposability of temporary migrants to fill labour shortages in unskilled and low-skilled sectors not sought after by local workers. As a fourth year doctoral By normalizing the intensified recruitment of foreign workers in Canada the government student in Geography, and employers are able to capitalize on the institutionalized disposability of hyper- Giselle has spent the last exploited foreign workers. The intention of this paper is to analyze the emergence of few years critically examin- Canadian low-skilled FWP, explore the federal government’s shifting neoliberal approach ing the transnational political to migration management, and provide insight into the insecurity and vulnerability that experience of Guatemalan migrant workers are exposed to in this program. seasonal farm workers and the migration management Introduction tactics of the sending- and receiving states. Her areas A selection of temporary migration programs were implemented by the Canadian govern- of interest include the ment throughout the latter half of the 20th century, devised to fill voids in domestic and Political Economy of Latin America and Transnational agricultural labour sectors, amongst others. In the past, the Temporary Foreign Worker Migration. Program (TFWP) only allowed for the recruitment of skilled foreign workers and has since Giselle has worked closely been revised to permit the entry of low-skilled foreign workers to Canada. The Immigra- with the Agricultural Work- ers Alliance (AWA), cam- tion and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) was modified in 2002 to allow the Canadian paigning to improve the liv- ing and working conditions immigration system to be more flexible and responsive to local labour market needs of Guatemalan seasonal and demands. Fudge and MacPhail (2009, 11) claim that the IRPA and regulations that farm workers and continues to volunteer at the local followed “reinforced and facilitated the polarization of temporary foreign worker programs AWA centre in Quebec. Flu- ent in Spanish and an avid in Canada.” By streaming high- and low-skilled workers, the newly tailored TFWP traveler, she sees both the sanctioned the categorizing of foreign workers based on their sought after economic classroom and life experi- ences as strong educational contributions. While the TFWP has operated for more than four decades, the streaming tools. of foreign workers resulted in an unprecedented admission of temporary foreign workers, especially those filling low-skilled occupations. Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010 8 The federal government’s objectives to expedite the process of selecting foreign workers and convert immigration into a more efficient and competitive process were realized, in 2002, through the implementation of the pilot low-skilled Foreign Worker Program (FWP), also referred to as the Pilot Project for Occupation Requiring Lower-Levels of Formal Training. The streaming of the TFWP provides the federal government with the means of recruiting low-skilled workers to fill in labour shortages experienced in sectors that local nationals are unwilling to fill. Deemed by the Canadian government and employers as an essential part of a company’s business strategy (HRSDC 2009), economic advantages can be acquired from hiring temporary migrant workers over local nationals.