University of Northern British Columbia: Open Journal Systems
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Political Finance in City Elections: Toronto and Calgary Compared
Get PDFComparing candidate contribution and expenditure data from urban elections in Toronto and Calgary, the paper concludes that elements of the regulatory regime in Toronto contribute modestly to a more level playing field for political competition in that city. In particular, the limits on the size of contributions, when coupled with a rebate for political donations, make candidates less reliant on corporate and development sources. These elements of Toronto’s regulatory regime also contribute to greater competitiveness in municipal elections in Toronto than in Calgary, where election finance is effectively unregulated
Third World Quarterly Special Issue Advertizement - Development and Cultural Nationalism
No full textIntroduction: Constructing a Cross Border Cascadia Region
Get PDFFor the last 20 years the scholarship on borders has shifted from a narrow geographical perspective where borders were conceptualized as boundary lines drafted on maps and containers of polities, states, and sovereignties that were mutually recognized by international treaties, to complex geographical spaces, where borders result from political and policy mechanisms where people (agents) and institutions, policies and cultures and economic flows (structures) re-invent borderland, border-regions and border-zones, and ultimately the boundary line itself. Collectively, the research covered in this special issue suggests several avenues for future collaboration: on Cascadia-based research and on cross-border regional comparisons
Blogging the Hill: Garth Turner and the Canadian Parliamentary Blogosphere
Get PDFCanadian parliamentarian Garth Turner was expelled from the caucus of the
governing Conservative Party in 2006. Turner was ousted because comments on
his blog allegedly breached caucus confidentiality. While political blogs are
mainstream in American politics, the study of Canadian political blogs is in its
infancy. This research addresses one aspect of political weblogs: blogging by
Canadian parliamentarians through a case study of Garth Turner Unedited. While
most current Canadian parliamentarians are online with their own web sites
promoting the constituency and party activities, Garth Turner is only one of a few
parliamentarians that embrace blogging in its full capacity. The research
demonstrates that the blog has become a virtual community for political
participation and expression
Federal Legacy of Quebec’s Quiet Revolution
Get PDFFor about forty years Quebec and the rest of Canada have tried to find ways of modernizing the Canadian constitution which would be acceptable to both sides. Some progress has been made but the problem remains unsettled. Recent developments, however, seem to point in the right direction
Transitional Identities: Negotiating Social Transitions in the Pacific NW 1825-1860s
Get PDFWhen one studies a specific society, hegemonic practice is so deeply rooted that it is often difficult to study it from outside that system. However, there are periods of dramatic social change when ongoing social practice in a geographic space is disrupted. On such occasions hegemonic forces can be seen, as it were, from outside of assumed practice. The northwest coast of North America provides such an opportunity. From 1818 to 1846, the British and American states shared jurisdiction over the territory with sovereignty under constant negotiation. The Hudson’s Bay Company established a substantial commercial presence in the region from the 1820s to 1850s. During the 1830s and 1840s, massive immigration from the eastern United States shifted the population balance to favour those with ties to the United States. The imposition of the border across the northwest in 1846 marked a significant watershed in the evolution of social control in the region
The 2007 Provincial Election and Electoral System Referendum in Ontario
Get PDFOntario’s general election in Oct. 10, 2007, was unprecedented for several reasons. The election was held on a date fixed by legislation and not one set by the premier or his caucus, something new to Ontario and relatively new to Canadian politics. Turnout declined to 53%, the lowest ever in Ontario history. The incumbent Liberals won a second consecutive majority government, something the party had not achieved since 1937. And finally, the election featured a referendum question that asked voters in Ontario to approve reforms to the electoral system, a proposal that was overwhelmingly rejected. This article explores each of the above-stated elements as they unfolded in the election
Performance measures in Alberta's labour programming
No full textThis study examined the validity of performance indicators used to monitor labour relations programming in the Canadian province of Alberta. Specifically, the study examined whether the indicators were meaningfully related to the government’s overarching goal of “fair, safe and healthy workplaces” and whether the assumptions embedded in each measure were true. Overall, the indicators were found to have definitional and causal defects. These defects suggested the indicators are not meaningfully related to the government’s overarching goal. Further analysis of the indicators suggested that, in some cases, they create perverse incentives for field staff and obscure important outcomes that bear upon government goals
Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Remote Ports: The Example of Prince Rupert
Get PDFThe west coast ports of North America are prime examples of twentieth-century ports that must adapt to twenty-first century concerns. Located in urban areas, the ports of Vancouver, British Columbia, Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, and California are increasingly viewed as undesirable neighbors by urban residents. Because these large population centers have diversified economic bases, the economic contributions of ports are not as visible, or as crucial, to residents as in the past. This reduces their tolerance for port impacts. Constraints on developable land and congestion add to the challenges faced by these ports. As trade and container traffic increase, these ports must increase in size, in throughput, or both in order to compete for global trade. As discussed further below, however, this growth must take place without imposing additional externalities on neighbors who are increasingly aware of the burden that ports place on those who live around them
Introduction to the Research Symposium: Common Ground: Renewing the Federal Partnership in Quebec and the West
No full textWith the constant negotiation and renegotiation of political arrangements between levels of government in Canada, federalism and intergovernmental relations are never stagnant. From time to time, new political circumstances bring about sudden policy changes which redefine the federal partnership, perennial problems are cast in a new light as new solutions emerge. What used to be obvious no longer is, and unsuspected opportunities open up which political entrepreneurs can seize upon. In this context, the question raised at the workshop “Common Ground: Renewing the Federal Partnership in Quebec and the West,” held in Vancouver in March of 2007, was whether the election of the Conservative government, among other factors, has created a new climate for renewing Canadian federalism and, more specifically, whether Quebec and the western provinces will be able to work out their past differences in a new atmosphere of cooperation around issues of mutual interest