Working site on citizenship and multiculturalism issues.
2013/10/26 Leave a comment
Munir Sheikh, the former Chief Statistician of Canada, on the case for a more independent Statistics Canada to help improve trust in the quality of their reports.
To restore faith in Statscan, free the Chief Statistician – The Globe and Mail.
2013/10/25 Leave a comment
Appears that early hard wiring of the brain for language may be less important than commonly thought, and that there is little long-term difference between those who are raised bilingually and those who learn it later in life. Having seen colleagues struggle with learning French as an adult, anecdotally this seems counter-intuitive, however.
Des chercheurs déboulonnent des mythes sur le bilinguisme | Le Devoir.
2013/10/24 Leave a comment
Andrew Cohen, contrasting preparations, events and resources for Canada’sC Centennial in 1967 to the meagre offerings in 2017. I am old enough to remember the Centennial train, visiting Expo 67, and the various nation-building projects.
Changing times, governments then had a larger nation-building role, the current government has a more minimalist approach, and a general weaker sense of national identity (the 60s were a decade of affirmation of Canadian identity). And of course, in 1967, physical events were the main way to reach people; now one has to be in cyberspace as well.
A good reminder of what was, and suggestion of what could have been. With the risk that we will wake-up in 2017 asking: “Is that all?”
2013/10/22 Leave a comment
A good article by Kathryn May of the Ottawa Citizen on Mel Cappe’s upcoming Public Policy Forum speech. Thoughtful remarks on the decreased demand for policy advice and reduced role of the public service. Reinforces points in my book. Quote:
“The issue isn’t whether advice is followed or not but whether public servants can prepare the work they need for ministers to make decisions … Let the minister choose whether to take or ignore the advice, but they should hear it. Let the minister choose to ignore the evidence, but don’t allow them not to have the evidence in front of them.
“I never expected my advice to be followed, but it was heard, listened to and taken into account. When the government did what it thought was politically the right thing to do and I was heard, I was successful whether they followed my advice or not. But if public servants don’t get heard, it’s not a good thing for the country.”
Public service losing its ability to provide policy advice, former top bureaucrat says
2013/10/22 Leave a comment
Another book review, this time by New Canadian Media, my first in the ethnic media. Quote:
Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias is a must-read for anybody in Canada who is part of the vast immigration sector (nay, industry) or is interested in the sausage-making policy apparatus in Ottawa. It offers unique insight into how Ministers relate to the public service, how bureaucrats try their hardest to have their way in dubious “Yes, Minister” style, and the extent of disconnect between these two pillars of democracy in particularly contentious areas such as citizenship-immigration, environment or foreign affairs. This consummate public servant of 30 years must be given credit for calling it like it is: “After all, governments are elected, whereas public servants are not, and governments are ultimately accountable for their decisions before the public.”
2013/10/19 Leave a comment
Attended an interesting talk this week by Joseph Heath on the three “poles of allegiance” of the public service: to elected officials, to the public, and to their professional values. Although his working through the issues in each category is a helpful analytical exercise, as a former public servant not sure that helps us much in the end in the Canadian context, where “fearless advice and loyal implementation” to the minister prevails.
My experience, as outlined in Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias: Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism, was that whenever public servants deviated from serving elected officials, problems emerged. Should they try to serve the public in recommending Grant & Contribution projects, they missed the change in policy with projects being rejected. And should they try to follow their professionalism with respect to providing advice without taking political context into account, public servants were viewed as obstructive.
But alway good to have a theoretical framework challenge the status quo, and be provoked!
2013/10/18 Leave a comment
More on just how broken our access to information system is. While the basic issue of not enough resources to process requests predates the current government, the delays and inability to respond to requests has gotten worse under the current government. Given that one of the reasons they were elected in the first place was for accountability, ironic that one of the cornerstones of accountability, transparency, has been undermined.
Access to information at ‘serious risk,’ watchdog warns – Politics – CBC News.
I have still not received any documents from my current ATIP request, submitted 24 April. My last communication with ATIP dates from 12 August, saying still waiting for feedback from CIC and other departments.
2013/10/10 Leave a comment
Not surprising, and consistent with the narrative of Discover Canada, our guide for new citizens, focussing on an arsenal of battles and wars, a smattering of sports and a nod to the Arctic. A bit narrow, however.
Canada’s 150th anniversary plans big on battles and birthdays | Toronto Star.
2013/10/08 Leave a comment
A short piece on the Royal Proclamation that recognized aboriginal rights in 1763. These have now been enshrined in Section 25 of the in Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Of course, implementation of the Royal Implementation and aboriginal rights was another matter.
2013/10/07 Leave a comment
One of the stronger critiques, and a bit over the top, of the Conservative government’s rejection of science-based evidence, fitting into one of the themes in Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias, evidence or anecdote.
Harper’s Greatest Hits: the science of fundraising | iPolitics.
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Multicultural Meanderings 