Who do we think we are? brings contemporary academic research regarding the governance of communities of diversity, down off the shelves in the universities and think tanks and into the public conversation space. The book's unorthodox format - fictional conversations between immigrant and native-born Canadians- makes the ideas and insights being generated by researchers and observers, accessible and even entertaining for students and non-experts of all ages. What accounts for Canada s apparent success at peaceful co-existence in this country of such remarkable human diversity? Is there a unique Canadian "modus vivendi" which keeps us talking and accommodating rather than ruling, deciding and excluding? And what about social cohesion? Is the Canadian model sustainable? Can we keep it all together when there is so little to bind citizens of such diverse backgrounds and interests? Is it even a good idea to talk about it? Key Ideas "Who do we think we are?" is more likely to provoke discussion than to close the file on this key issue for governing in contemporary Canada. So read it and laugh. Or weep. Or worry about who you think we have become. Or celebrate it. But since the variety of cultures, languages, religions, identities and ways of doing things in Canada is not going away, we all had better loosen up and get more accustomed to the diversity-speak employed by the players in this short course in peaceful coexistence amongst citizens who have no choice but to live together constructively... and love it!

Who do we think we are? Book

Robin Higham

Invenire

This book reflects the experience of one of Canada's most experienced urbanists. The vast majority of Canadians live in cities, and this trend will accelerate. Yet, discussion of urban requirements, policy and agendas barely registers for many citizens. In this important book, François Lapointe, a practicing urbanist, provides a distinctive analysis of urban reality and an imaginative and thought-provoking vision of a sustainable, healthy and resilient urban future. He asks essential questions: What do we see in Cities? What does it tell us? What do we need to do about it? Cities as crucibles is a challenging read on governance and urbanism. What makes some cities great and others just ordinary? How can we make sure that we are doing our best to shape Canada s cities so that they are wonderful places to live and work for people who are poor or rich, young or old, recently-arrived or First Nations? How can we get governments at all levels to work together with common purpose to address the challenges of our cities today and in the future? Cities as Crucibles: Reflections on Canada s Urban Future advocates strongly and passionately for a different urban world-view. Through the reflections on Canada s urban future, the book explores the many dimensions and ramifications of an urban agenda, more specifically: It documents the urban reality of Canada in a holistic manner, showing and explaining its intricacies and complexities in an accessible and readable language. It puts forward a number of proposals for the governance of Canadian cities in the context of the development and realization of Canada s urban agenda. It seeks to elicit, among Canadians, further reflections about the country s cities and their future, with the hope that it will address the particular learning and participation needs of younger Canadians. Cities as Crucibles is full of case studies and illustrations that make the urban agenda come to life. Drawing from his experience in both the municipal and federal government sectors, FranÃƒÂ§ois Lapointe argues convincingly for new models of collaboration, better decision-making within and between governments, and above all, for re-designing the platforms for citizen engagement. Like a good urban planner, Lapointe forces us to think long-term and beyond the boundaries of our individual urban realities, while at the same time, grounding us in issues that are both immediate and local.

Cities as Crucibles

François Lapointe

Canadian federalism, as a particular form of political organization for a complex society with multiple economic, political, geographic, cultural and national divides faces important challenges. The political realignment that brought the Conservative party to power in the last quinquennium has set in motion a significant transformation of the Canadian state and its federal system of governance. The contributions in this new collection focus on three recurrent themes: the issues arising from the management of ethno-cultural diversity; the existence of internal nations in Canada (the First Nations and the Quebec nation in Quebec), the presence of linguistic minorities (French and English) and the questions of identity linked to citizenship in a federal context that allows for the presence of multiple loyalties; and the particular challenges raised by the globalization and the extension of economic integration, in particular between the United States and Canada. This collection of studies on the role of the state reveals that our understanding of the evolution of the Canadian state, and of the ensuing impact on federalism and federal-provincial relations, is not as complete as it should be.

The State in Transition: Challenges for Canadian Federalism

François Rocher

Michael Behiels

Challenges in Public Health Governance: The Canadian Experience

Claude Rocan

Canada has a prosperity problem because we don t create enough wealth. Business as usual is not a solution; we need to create more value in new ways - that s innovation. But beyond innovation to solve our current problems, we must learn how to innovate in new ways to deal with whatever future pressures and opportunities arise from global demographics and climate change. Innovation in Canada demystifies innovation and presents its many aspects in one big picture. The book proposes innovation in both goods and services as the means for increasing the value of what the Canadian economy produces. This will raise our prosperity and show up as improved productivity. Written in plain language and illustrated with corporate data, the book underlines the essential roles of technology, entrepreneurship and commerce. It points out important differences between innovation in established firms and innovation in new ventures, whose time scales are shorter and whose needs are more urgent. Innovation in Canada proposes the elements of a supportive government innovation policy, and it outlines the different design principles for government assistance programs needed to provide effective support to the two different groups of innovative companies.

Innovation in Canada: why we need more and what we must do to get it

Business & Money

Tom Brzustowski

Business Development & Entrepreneurship

Challenges of Minority Governments in Canada

Marc Gervais

Tackling Wicked Policy Problems

Politics & Social Sciences

Gilles Paquet

Politics & Government

50 Years of Official Biligualism

Richard Clement

Pierre Foucher

A Cascade of Governance Failures Canada experienced a tainted-blood crisis in the latter part of the 20th century. It left a number of Canadians dead, and a large number incapacitated or seriously handicapped. It has been established by the court that there was no criminal negligence at the source of this event, but there were most certainly governance failures. This latter aspect of the tragedy has not received the attention it deserves. These governance failures have transformed the crisis into a tragedy, and the tragedy generated a miscarriage of justice if justice delayed for decades may be regarded as justice denied. This book has been written by a specialist on governance, and a medical doctor and scientist, who managed the Canadian blood transfusion system for 17 years. It challenges the conventional wisdom that underpinned the four ill-founded accusations against a few persons levied by interest groups, the media, and the Office of the Solicitor General of Ontario, and it argues that the tragedy was the result of a cascade of pathologies of governance. A systemic reconstruction of the tragedy is proposed, the administrative processes that we argue were responsible for the pathologies of governance are exposed, and suggestions are made to neutralize such malefits in the future. The full-text of the judgment and reasons provided by Justice Benotto, when one of the ill-founded accusations was brought to court, is enclosed. This led the Crown to drop the other three ill-founded accusations. A postface underlines the lack of critical thinking that has allowed such a tragedy to follow its course.

The Tainted Blood Tragedy

Roger. A. Perrault

Striking the right fit between resources, processes and outcomes in complex environments, where different groups have something to contribute towards joint outcomes, even though they partake in joint operations in the pursuit of their own objectives This is what intelligent governance is all about. It is the practical application of an evolving worldview that is a less conflictive, more intelligent, more cooperative and a wiser mode of human coordination. This short book proposes some guideposts for intelligent governance. It does not put forward a rigid blueprint or a recipe that could mechanically and blindly be followed, but a prototype for a process of inquiry seeking to help organizations find a way forward (through innovation and value adding), some general indications about the most toxic pitfalls likely to materialize mental prisons, lack of mindfulness, etc. and comments about the most promising opportunities or initiatives likely to nudge the coordinating inquiries into successful directions. As professionals know, each situation must be contextually ascertained, its complexity and circumstances fully appreciated, its plurality of stakeholders and their worldviews taken into account, its various dynamics probed, and the wayfinding for the organization or the socio-economy must be understood, as distilled by a mix of self-organization and the work of evolving inquiring systems constantly fuelled by social learning. The assemblage of sensors and levers on which we focus constitutes an enabling core checklist for a wide range of inquiring processes in order to avoid major pitfalls and to elicit the most promising wayfinding and stewardship.

Intelligent Governance

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