Book Description

It is the specifics, in terms of items at the top of the policy agenda and the policy actors involved who may have changed over time. [...] As this year's chapters on the state of federal policy on energy/environment and pharmacare suggest, policy studies will provide more in-depth analysis of some of the key contemporary issues on the federal policy agenda and on the public's mind. [...] The negotiation of federal/provincial/territorial health financing arrangements began with all of the trappings of executive federalism that characterized the Canadian state from the time of Pearson to the Martin government - a classic meeting of ministers of health, ostensibly for the purpose of making a national deal. [...] It is important to understand the backdrop of these major economic and social preoccupations (and, in some cases, funding commitments) when looking at any federal government's current budget, as the budget is the best indicator of where the government of the day actually intends to go with its policy agenda. [...] Among the many areas in which the government intends to move forward are spurring innovation and productivity, education and skills upgrading of the workforce, infrastructure investment, supporting and strengthening the middle class, and inclusive sharing of the benefits of economic growth.