Reviews/Comptes rendus
Commissioned Ridings: Designing Canada’s
Electoral Districts
by John C. Courtney. Montreal and Kingston:
McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2001. Pp. xiii,
337. $75.
This comprehensive and seminal work on the question of electoral reapportionment in Canada is highly
recommended to those interested in the policy process.
It presents a case study of the reforms leading to the
adoption, both federally and provincially, of independent electoral boundary commissions, and it constitutes
a unique, exhaustive and minutely researched critical
source on the history, evolution and work of these commissions. It offers suggestions for further improving
their task and provides a systematic analysis of the
major terms and principles involved in the electoral
redistribution process and in the major judicial decisions and academic debates concerning redistricting.
The author examines ways in which the building of
electoral districts can be successfully achieved in a
federal system. Essential comparisons with the Australian and American models illustrate the distinctiveness of the Canadian experience. While outlining the
main features of the Australian model behind the creation of Canadian independent commissions and the
adoption of the principles guiding their decisions, he
also explains why they evolved differently. He reveals
contrasts between the Canadian and American experiences and principles in the electoral representation and
redistricting process. His comparisons between Canadian provinces, and between provincial and federal
experiences in electoral reapportionment shed additional light on the advantages of a system that allows
for learning from other units’ experimentation and
adopting what works best for individual jurisdictions.
Most important for those involved in the current
debates about changes in electoral reforms and
modes of representation, the author unveils the combinations of variables and conditions that must exist in order to open a window for political reforms.
In fact, these conditions and variables form the un-
327
derlying structure of the first chapters of this book
and reappear as a recurrent analytical theme.
The ensuing chapters’ critical examination of the
actual process of designing electoral districts since
the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act (1964),
and in the post-Carter decision era, informs policy analysts about its different steps and constraints, and raises
important issues. Questions concerning the basis of
representation, the frequency of redistribution, the allocation of seats between provinces, the composition
and independence of electoral boundary commissions
and the influence of judicial decisions on their proposals expose certain flaws which the author addresses
in his concluding recommendations.
Here, a few minor observations are in order. I would
add to the recommendation that the contradictory principles and vague legal terms (such as community of
interest and effective representation), with which the
commissions must operate should be more clearly defined by legislators and parliamentarians: they must
proceed with caution to avoid limiting the flexibility
required to deal with Canada’s federal diversity. The
recommendation to abolish the parliamentarians’ objection stage to enhance the commissions’ independence could be tempered by restricting the opportunity
to object to parliamentarians whose ridings are affected
by new changes on the second set of maps. Finally,
with reference to the author’s remarks on the last Ontario and New Brunswick commissions’ decisions and
their consequences, a more definite distinction between
the representation of Canada’s founding peoples (Aboriginal Nations and the communities of Canada’s two
official languages) and Carter’s effective representation of minorities could have been made. The reasons
why the Ontario commission had no need to refer to
Carter in order to avoid diluting the votes of FrancoOntarians and why the Acadian community reacted so
vigorously to the New Brunswick commission’s proposals would then have become more evident.
S YLVIE A REND , Department of Political Science,
Glendon College, York University
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VOL . XXVIII, NO . 2 2002
328 Reviews/Comptes rendus
The Marketization of Social Security
edited by John Dixon and Mark Hyde. Westport, CT:
Quorum Books, A Policy Studies Organization
Book, 2001. Pp. v, 222.
Marketization, as used by these authors, involves
not simply a policy withdrawal of the state from
some areas of social provision, a process most Canadians would call privatization, but also the subtler changes within the program design of various
social security measures as well as the longer term
paradigm shift from a collectivist approach toward
one of individual responsibility and corporate initiative. In short, marketization can result in the decline of public sector, the rise of the market sector,
and a move toward more of a private interest culture.
This collection is a welcome addition to the growing literature on international and comparative social policy analysis, examining eight countries
across four continents. The nations examined are
Brazil, Chile, the Netherlands, Britain, New Zealand, Canada, United States, and Zimbabwe. The
first two chapters provide some conceptual and theoretical frameworks, based largely in political science and sociology, for understanding the trend of
market-oriented reforms to welfare states over the
last 20 years. A range of governance issues is also
briefly examined. In the subsequent chapters, most
of the authors look at statutory, public pensions, and
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retirement income systems, profiling a specific
country, although there is a chapter on disability and
sickness insurance and another on welfare and
workfare in Ontario. A chapter on the 1998 reforms
to the Canada Pension Plan, with its new investment
policy, would have been an appropriate and welcome
feature, but unfortunately one is not included. This
is just an observation, not a criticism of the book or
the efforts of the editors. Indeed, they have done an
impressive job pulling together a fascinating mix of
case studies and specialists on social security policy.
What emerges from the volume is that
marketization is a multifaceted, worldwide policy
trend and political phenomenon, shaped by various
ideologies and interests. The market-oriented approaches to reforming social security include incentive-driven public provision, contracting out of
public services, joint public-private provision,
mandatory private provision, and encouraged voluntary provision. The editors and their contributors make
a strong case that marketization of social programs is
the product of a mix of ideologies and material considerations. As Canadians debate the future of public
health care, and the possible expanded role of private
clinics in the medicare system, the analysis and concepts in this volume are well worth keeping in mind.
MICHAEL J. PRINCE , Lansdowne Professor of Social
Policy, University of Victoria
VOL. XXVIII , NO. 2 2002
Reviews/Comptes rendus
Judicial Power and Canadian Democracy
edited by Paul Howe and Peter H. Russell. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University
Press, 2001.
Judicial Power and Canadian Democracy is a collection of papers, edited by Paul Howe and Peter H.
Russell, which were published previously by the
Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP). The
17 papers in the collection come from a diverse
group that includes political scientists and policy
analysts, legal academics, Supreme Court justices,
and the former leader of the Reform Party.
The relationship between courts and elected officials under the Charter is the central concern of
the book. Some of the papers focus more on the
normative underpinnings of this relationship. A certain degree of activism by the courts is legitimate,
according to some commentators, because the courts
influenced policy and politics before the Charter
(McLachlin), the Charter has provided the courts
with a stronger mandate, the Charter repudiates traditional societal structures (Weinrib), and it is not
the fault of courts if legislatures cannot respond to
judicial decisions (Wilson). Alternatively, other
contributors argue for greater restraint by pointing
out that “courts don’t make good compromises” and
the state cannot be neutral (Knopff), an emphasis
on rights downplays social obligations (LebelGrenier), and that an overly activist court can usurp
the legitimate authority of the legislative branch
(Patenaude: The Provincial Court Judges Case).
A more empirical perspective is adopted in other
papers. Vaughan, for example, notes that the Supreme Court has been “moderately activist” overall
in striking down legislation, though quite activist
in criminal justice policy. When laws are struck
down, Hogg and Thornton report that rarely is there
no legislative response. Morton, however, counters
that simple obedience cannot be treated as “dialogue” and points out that ends and means in public
policy are often less distinct than is assumed by
those who claim that courts rarely force legislatures
329
to change their objectives. Moreover, judicial alteration or nullification of legislation alters future legislative dynamics, as occurred with abortion policy.
Concrete examples of how policy is shaped by interaction between the Charter, courts and legislatures are provided in Hiebert’s excellent case studies
of tobacco advertising policy, “rape shield” provisions, and access to victims’ private records policy.
Hiebert recommends that a parliamentary Charter
committee be established to better encourage and
structure institutional dialogue. Leeson also suggests
that there is a role for the prudent use of the section
33 override clauses to encourage dialogue, but acknowledges that it has become a “paper tiger.”
Given the influence of the judiciary on public
policy under the Charter, a number of papers that
address the judicial appointment process recommend
change (Manning), including the adoption of a parliamentary review committee for Supreme Court appointees (Russell, Ziegel). Fletcher and Howe’s paper on
public opinion and the courts points out that the public would be favourable to changing how Supreme
Court judges are appointed; nevertheless, the public is
strongly supportive of the Charter and wants the courts
to retain the final say on violations of rights, even if
they disagree with specific decisions.
Other articles in the book look at interest group
litigation (Hein) and the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into British law
(Malleson). The diversity of issues tackled in the
book is one of its strengths, though the papers could
have been organized in a more coherent manner.
Individually, all the papers are worthwhile; however,
I suspect that students of public policy will find the
papers written by political scientists and policy analysts to be somewhat more persuasive than the papers written by those in the legal profession. For
instance, the assertion made by law professor Lorraine Weinrib that the Charter should be interpreted
as a vehicle for social change downplays the framers’ expectations about the impact that the Charter
would have on public policy. It is clear, for example, that the framers of the Charter deliberately at-
CANADIAN PUBLIC POLICY – A NALYSE DE POLITIQUES,
VOL . XXVIII, NO . 2 2002
330 Reviews/Comptes rendus
tempted to ensure that it would not allow the courts
to pass judgement on abortion policy. Likewise, the
analyses of the policy implications of the dialogue
between courts and legislatures by political scientists F.L. Morton and Janet Hiebert are more sophisticated than the analysis by legal academics Peter
Hogg and Allison Thornton.
Students of public policy will be particularly interested in the papers that analyze how institutional
dialogue shapes the policy process and outcomes.
Such individuals likely would also be interested in
seeing a paper on the policy impact of judicial deci-
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POLITIQUES,
sions “on the ground” as found in the US literature
(for example, how judicial decisions influenced
school desegregation policy or the activities of the
police), but since such studies are virtually nonexistent in Canada the editors of this volume should
not be faulted. Instead, they should be congratulated;
this book is highly recommended for anyone interested in gaining a relatively comprehensive and current understanding of the issues surrounding judicial
power and Canadian democracy.
T ROY R IDDELL , Department of Political Science,
University of Guelph
VOL. XXVIII , NO. 2 2002
Reviews/Comptes rendus
Adapting Public Policy to a Labour Market in
Transition
edited by W. Craig Riddell and France St-Hilaire.
Montreal: The Institute for Research on Public
Policy, 2000. Pp. xx, 317. $24.95.
The editors of this volume note the enormous
changes in the Canadian labour market in the past
two decades, with sharply negative outcomes for
many Canadians in terms of employment status,
wage inequality, and real income growth. Given this,
“the IRPP asked several leading labour market specialists to examine specific areas of public policy
that have generated considerable attention and debate” (p. ii). These studies were originally presented
at an April 1997 IRRP conference, and then collected
in this volume. Unfortunately, this delay means
much of the data presented and analyzed ends in
the mid-1990s, although most of the articles have
updated literature surveys. That said, each article
presents an accessible and insightful starting place
for those looking for a survey of the relevant area,
including a detailed description of the state of the
Canadian labour market as of the mid to late 1990s.
Most of the articles also indicate the missing pieces
of data or analysis that are necessary for good policy
analysis, and as such provide the signposts for research agendas in these areas.
Morley Gunderson and Craig Riddell examine
“The Changing Nature of Work,” and argue that
Canadian labour law and policies have failed to keep
up with these changes. Paul Beaudry and David
Green construct artificial panel data to show that
employment conditions have worsened for recent
cohorts of less-educated men and youth, improved
for women, with more-educated men having mixed
results. Craig Riddell and Arthur Sweetman examine human capital formation over the last few decades, and reveal that Canada’s relatively high
spending on education has led to strong increases
in the supply of workers with postsecondary degrees
(especially women), and therefore has succeeded in
meeting the new demands created by globalization
331
and technological change. Jean-Michel Cousineau
and François Vaillancourt show that reductions in
regional disparities are partially responsible for recent reductions in interprovincial migration, and that
reductions in regional disparities are due mostly to
technological change, and secondly to interprovincial migration.
Peter Kuhn dispels the myth that Canadian labour market inflexibility is the cause of higher unemployment. Nicole Fortin and Thomas Lemieux
use some clever simulations to show that the minimum wage affects the bottom end of the wage distribution rather strongly. Guy Lacroix argues that
welfare rates in Canada are affected by the incentive structures of the welfare programs, as well as
by overall economic conditions. Michael Baker and
Dwayne Benjamin argue that while changes in the
structure of public pension programs may affect the
government’s fiscal situation, it will not affect the
labour force decisions of older workers.
As a whole, this collection is comprehensive in
its coverage of labour market policy issues. However, the collection does lack a good integrative summary of the work presented. The “Introduction and
Overview” presents a brief two pages of background,
and then detailed summaries of each article, but there
is no attempt to knit together a comprehensive integrative summary of the material presented.
Labour market specialists will already know most
of what is presented in this volume, and might wish
for more analysis in many of the articles. However,
even they would benefit from the extensive nature
of the surveys done by the authors. In addition, this
book should be on the reading list of every senior
and graduate level economics course in Canadian
Labour Markets, and is highly recommended to labour market practitioners.
HARVEY KING, Department of Economics, University of Regina
CANADIAN PUBLIC POLICY – A NALYSE DE POLITIQUES,
VOL . XXVIII, NO . 2 2002