Thinking Government

Thinking Government examines the key roles and duties of the Canadian federal government and its public service, and the policy and program debates that revolve around these roles and duties. The fifth edition of this textbook provides students with a core awareness of major issues shaping federal policies and programs – socio-economic policy options, French-English relations, regionalism and regional policy, Canadian-American relations, immigration, environmental policy, and Indigenous relations. This book takes a close look at how prime ministers and cabinet ministers interact and discusses issues in federal, financial, and human resources management, ethics and accountability, and leadership. The new edition is revised and updated throughout and addresses the 2021 federal election and the resulting Trudeau minority government as well as the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thinking Government helps its readers to be smart citizens and knowledgeable critics of what governments do well, what they could be doing better, and why they, at times, fail to deliver effective policies and programs.

"Thinking Government: Public Administration and Politics in Canada, fourth edition, is a comprehensive introduction to public administration and public sector management. This book places Canadian government and public administration within its political context and covers such important topics as the institutions of the federal government, financial and human resources management, and accountability and responsibility. Fully updated throughout, Thinking Government, fourth edition, is perfect for Canadian public administration courses."--

Thinking Government renews a discussion of power relations between elected politicians and unelected public servants, while also incorporating the practical approach of studying public administration within the dynamics of federal politics.

Thinking Government offers a 'one-stop' resource, perfect for courses on Canadian public administration and governance." - Evert A. Lindquist, University of Victoria

"Thinking Government "offers a 'one-stop' resource, perfect for courses on Canadian public administration and governance." - Evert A. Lindquist, University of Victoria

In the light of recent concerns about a strategic vacuum at the centre of Government, this Report explores the capacity of Ministers and officials to carry out long-term strategic thinking to tackle the complex, diverse and unpredictable domestic and global challenges the country faces. It finds that an absence of clear and precise definition of terms meant that policy and different levels of strategy became muddled, leading to unintended and unwelcome outcomes. Drawing on the evidence it received, the Report sets out clear definitions for national or 'grand' strategy, operational strategy and policy. PASC have produced a number of recommendations to overcome the barriers to working strategically in Government. Central to these recommendations is that the Government should publish an annual 'Statement of National Strategy' in Parliament which reflects the interests of all parts of the UK and the devolved policy agendas. The report states that the Cabinet and its committees are accountable for decisions, but there remains a critical unfulfilled role at the centre of Government in coordinating and reconciling priorities across departments, and of long-term and short-term goals. The report concludes that the government's six strategic aims as provided to PASC are "too meaningless to serve any useful purpose". The strategic aims of the Government, informed by public opinion, should reflect the UK's national character, assets, capabilities, interests and values, and provide an indication of the objectives which policies must achieve

This book takes a fresh look at the connection between history and policy, proposing that historians rediscover a sense of ‘public purpose’ that can embrace political decision-making – and also enhance historical practice. Making policy is a complex and messy affair, calling on many different forms of expertise and historians have often been reluctant to get involved in policy advice, with those interested in ‘history in public’ tending to work with museums, heritage sites, broadcasters and community organisations. Green notes, however, that historians have also insisted that ‘history matters’ in public policy debate, and been critical of politicians’ distortions or neglect of the past. She argues that it is not possible to have it both ways.

In a time of global political ferment, established ideas are coming under renewed scrutiny. Chief among them is one of the dominant notions of our era: that we should entrust markets with many of the tasks previously carried out by government. In this wide-ranging book, Max Rashbrooke goes beyond anecdote and partisanship, delving deep into the latest research about the sweeping changes made to the public services that shape our collective lives. What he unearths is startling: it challenges established thinking on the effectiveness of market-based reforms and charts a new form of ‘deep’ democracy for the twenty-first century. Refreshing and far-sighted, this stimulating book offers New Zealanders a new way of thinking about government and how it can navigate the turbulent world ahead. The market is often not the solution to our problems. Markets have often been the problem. Max Rashbrooke makes the convincing case for models of government that work better, as well as those to be more wary of. Greater democracy can bring with it greater equality - but, Rashbrooke warns, democracy itself is imperilled by our current levels of inequality. Fast paced, globally informed and wittily written. – Professor Danny Dorling, Oxford University This book provides a wide range of excellent evidence-based arguments that help counter the oft-dominant small-government ideology of our times. Its defence of democracy, government and voter competence is a story that needs to be told more. – Laura O'Connell Rapira, Director of ActionStation