8

Public Policy
and Public
Administration
Key Terms
Agenda Setting (p. 295) The use of strategies and tactics to generate public and government
support for a proposed public policy.

Baby Bonus (p. 320) A government policy that awards money to parents of young children.

Budget Deficit (p. 305) A situation in which spending exceeds revenues during a given period.

Budget surplus (p. 306) A situation in which revenues exceed spending during a given period.

Canada Student Loans (p. 320) A federal program that helps qualifying students access post-
secondary education by awarding them interest-free repayable loans while they study full-time.

Canada Pension Plan (p. 322) A mandatory federal retirement program funded by workers and
employers.

Collective bargaining (p. 308) The formal negotiation of the terms of an employment contract
between the representatives of a group of employees and their employer.

Direct taxation (p. 312) The collection of taxes by government without using an intermediary.

Employment Insurance (p. 325) A mandatory government insurance program, funded by employees
and employers, that provides temporary income to workers who lose their jobs.

Green paper (p. 294) A government document released to explore policy options, without any
commitment to the outcome.

GST (p. 312) A federal value-added tax applied to the sale of most goods and services in Canada.

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Harmonized Sales Tax (p. 317) In Atlantic Canada and Ontario, a value-added consumption tax
that combines both federal and provincial rates.

Indirect taxation (p. 312) The collection of taxes by an intermediate body on behalf of the
government.

Interest rate (p. 306) The percentage rate of money charged by lenders to borrowers.

Labour Union (p. 308) An organization of workers that represents its members’ interests, especially
in bargaining with their employer.

Medicare (p. 324) A publicly funded health care service administered by each province with the
financial support of the federal government.

Merit Principle (p. 327) The notion that the most qualified candidate should be awarded a position,
contract, or other financial benefit.

Patronage (p. 327) The awarding of government jobs, contracts, and/or other financial benefits to
friends of the government party.

Pluralism (p. 294) The presence of diverse socioeconomic groups participating in public affairs.

Policy Adviser (p. 295) An occupation that involves analysis of data to assess and recommend
possible courses of ongoing action.

Pork Barrel politics (p. 328) The partisan allocation of government spending to select
constituencies, especially those districts held by the governing party.

Principal Agent problem (p. 302) A problem arising from the fact that someone (an agent) working
on behalf of a decision-maker (the principal) may not take the course of action the principal
intended.

Public Administration (p. 292) The study and delivery of public policy by government.

Public Debt (p. 306) The accumulated amount borrowed by a government to finance budgets and
considered owing.

Public Policy (p. 293) A plan or course of action chosen by a government to respond to an
identified problem.

Public Policy Cycle (p. 295) The common stages in public decision-making, from conception to
implementation and modification.

Rational Choice Theory (p. 300) A theory that citizens are self-interested actors whose decisions
fulfill their own needs and wants.

Sales Tax (p. 312) A revenue-generating tax charged by a government on the sale of applicable
goods and services.
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Social Assistance (p. 321) Financial support provided by government to citizens with no other
recourse to income.

Stimulus (p. 305) Increased government spending to encourage job growth amid an economic
downturn.

Taxation policy (p. 312) The regulations, mechanisms, and rates set by government to generate
revenues from people and businesses in jurisdiction.

Tax credits (p. 314) A tax exemption on money spent on a specific activity, up to a specified limit.

Treasury Board (p. 304) The cabinet committee that is tasked with reviewing and authorizing
government revenue and expenditure policies.

Welfare state (p. 292) A suite of government programs, services, and financial supports designed to
assist the least fortunate in society.

White Paper (p. 294) A document outlining a proposed policy commitment by government.

Review Questions
Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following characteristics is NOT part of Weber’s model of a functioning

government?
a) There are rules within civil society.
b) Government must employ skilled experts.
c) Skilled experts do not necessarily have to operate within an organized hierarchy.
d) People must be treated equally.

2. During which part of the public policy cycle does the government explore potential policy
responses?
a) Agenda Setting
b) Policy Formulation
c) Policy Implementation
d) Decision- Making

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3. When a relevant minister holds a news conference to announce the government’s intent to
introduce a new policy, what is it known as?
a) Decision-making
b) Policy Evaluation
c) Policy Implementation
d) Policy Change

4. Which theory stipulates that citizens are self-interested actors whose decisions fulfill their
own needs and wants?
a) Economic Theory of Democracy
b) Managerial Theory
c) Rational Choice Theory
d) Pluralism Theory

5. Which concepts best describes Medicare governing over health services to prevent private
services from responding to public needs?
a) Natural Monopoly
b) Elite Theory
c) Rational Choice
d) Derived Externalities

6. Which of the following is considered to be the “Red Zone”?

a) The final 6 months of the election cycle, when the government announces popular
government initiatives
b) The time period when the government takes steps to fix remaining policy problems
before the next elections
c) The time period that begins with the government’s second budget, when the
government addresses many of its election promises and initiates any tough or
potentially unpopular policies
d) When ministers receive direction from PM or premier; public servants brief ministers
on the top issues in their portfolios

7. What or who governs over the federal government’s finances and financial decisions?
a) Public Service Act
b) Constitution Act 1867
c) Financial Administration Act
d) Department of Finance

8. In times of a budget deficit, which of the following is more indicative of a right-wing

approach to budgeting?
a) Increasing spending
b) Increasing borrowing
c) Maintaining taxes
d) Increasing taxes
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 9. Which of the following is a principle of the provincial health services?
a) Universal
b) Comprehensive
c) Accessible
d) All of the above

10. The Employment Insurance Act was at one point known as the Unemployment Insurance
Act. True or False?
a) True
b) False

Discussion Questions

1. Describe the various stages of the public policy cycle.

2. Describe how public policy is affected by the election cycle.

Further Resources
Websites

 Department of Finance
http://www.fin.gc.ca/fin-eng.asp

The official website of the Department of Finance includes pre-budget consultations for the
upcoming year.

 Treasury Board
https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat.html

One of the four central agencies of Canada, this website looks into the roles and
responsibilities of the Treasury Board Secretariat.

 Budget 2015
http://www.budget.gc.ca/2015/docs/plan/toc-tdm-eng.html

This document provides an overview of last year’s budget and expenditure reports.

 Health Canada
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/medi-assur/index-eng.php

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 The official website of Health Canada includes an overview and breakdown of Medicare and
the Canada Health Act.

 Canada Pension Plan

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-8/page-1.html

Part of the justice laws website, this site gives a detailed explanation of the Canada Pension
Plan and its various components.

 Tax Credit ( federal and provincial)

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/prvncl/menu-eng.html

Part of Revenue Canada’s website, this page looks at both the provincial and federal tax
credits for individuals.

 Canada’s public policy forum

http://www.ppforum.ca/about

This informative website on a non-governmental organization provides research and

dialogue relating to public service, governance, and public policy.

 Institute for Research on Public Policy

http://irpp.org/research/

The Institute for Research on Public Policy and Policy Options website provides
information on their research and innovative strategies, as well as the development of social
and economic policies on various aspects of public policies affecting Canadians.

Articles/Books

 E. D. Glor, “Has Canada Adopted the New Public Management?” Public Management review, 3
no. 1 (2001): pp. 121-130.

New Public Management (NPM) was a highly criticized term that was very prevalent in the
1990s. This type of public management affected the role of the federal public sector quite
significantly and was also a style of public management that was applied in New Zealand and
the UK. This article discusses the NPM style of managing public sector and also evaluates
some of its successes and failures.
 S. Borins, S.. The New Public Management is Here to Stay. Canadian Public Administration ,
38, Issue 1, 122–132. (1995)

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 This is a classic article written in the 1990s on New Public Management (NPM) that
compares the study of NPM by Donald Savoie and other academics in the field of Public
Administration.

 M. Howlett, Canadian Public Policy: Selected Studies in Process and Style (Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 2013).

This is a very thorough and in-depth empirical study of the public policy process in
Canada. Since this particular chapter deals with the different stages of the policy-making
process, this book therefore is an excellent overview of each stage with very specific
examples and explanations.
 M. Howlett, M. Ramesh, and A. Perl, Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystems
(Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2009).

Written by the same authors as above, this is another great book that explains the policy
cycles and the inner workings of the policy systems. It focusses specifically on three aspects:
policy actors, institutions, and ideas.

RSS Feeds

 Canada’s public policy forum, Department of Finance RSS feeds

http://www.fin.gc.ca/news-nouvelles/nr-nc-eng.asp

Answers to Review Questions

Multiple Choice Questions

1. c (p. 293)
2. b (p. 296)
3. c (p. 296)
4. c (p. 300)
5. d (p. 301)
6. a (p. 304)
7. c (p. 304)
8. c (p. 307)
9. d (p. 324)
10. a (p. 325)

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