Showing papers by "Government of Canada published in 2000"

The dialectics of accountability for performance in public management reform

Abstract: Introduction Accountability is a cornerstone of public governance and management because it constitutes the principle that informs the processes whereby those who hold and exercise public authority are held to account. Although accountability regimes vary in important respects among political systems, taken collectively they encompass processes whereby citizens hold their governors to account for their behaviour and performance directly through elections; the representatives of citizens in legislative assemblies hold political executives and public servants accountable through mechanisms of public scrutiny and audit; political executives hold their subordinate officials accountable through hierarchical structures of authority and responsibility; and, among other things, courts and various administrative tribunals and commissions hold legislatures, executives or administrative officers accountable to the law (Cooper, 1995; Stone, 1995; Mulgan, 1997). The purposes that accountability are meant to serve are essentially threefold, although they overlap in several ways. The first is to control for the abuse and misuse of public authority. The second is to provide assurancein respect to the use of public resources and adherence to the law and public service values. The third is to encourage and promote learning in pursuit of continuous improvement in governance and public management. Because accountability is an integral dimension of governance and public management it cannot be affected by the extent to which governance and public management are subject to ever increasing complexity (Thomas, 1998). Governments everywhere are under increasing pressures to be both more productive and more effective — to achieve not only the greatest degree of economy and efficiency possible but also to secure desired outcomes in respect to economic

To What Extent are Canadians Exposed to Low Income

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the extent to which Canadians were exposed to low income during the 1993-1996 period. Our main findings are the following. First, while 1 in 10 Canadians live in families with low income in a given year, as many as 1 in 5 are exposed to at least one year of low income during a 4-year interval. Second, 1 in 20 Canadians are exposed to low income for 4 consecutive years. Third, 40% to 60% of individuals who fall into low income in a given year will no longer have low income the following year. Fourth, some spells of low income last a long time: of all spells started in 1994, 30% lasted 3 years or more. Fifth, Canadians who are the most susceptible to low income tend to be young; to have little education; to be students and to live as unattached individuals or in lone-parent families. As well, Canadians facing disabilities that entail work limitations, those who are members of visible minorities (when considering the exposure to 4 years of low income) or who have immigrated in or after 1977 tend to experience low income. Sixth, high probabilities of being exposed to low income do not necessarily imply high income gaps, that is, the average income of those in low income may be quite close to the low income cut-off. As a result, a complete understanding of the extent to which Canadians are exposed to low income requires an analysis of both the probabilities of being exposed and the income gaps while being exposed.

Optimization of the Tractive Performance of Four-Wheel-Drive Tractors - Correlation between Analytical Predictions and Experimental Data

Abstract: Analytical studies reveal that for a four-wheel-drive tractor with rigidly coupled drive axles to achieve the optimum tractive performance under a given operating condition, the theoretical speed (the product of angular speed and free rolling radius) of the front tires must be equal to that of the rear tires, or the theoretical speed ratio must be one. This paper presents tractive performance test data obtained using an instrumented four-wheel-drive tractor with seven different sets of tires at various theoretical speed ratios. Field data confirm the analytical findings that when the theoretical speed ratio is equal to one, the slip efficiency and tractive efficiency reach their respective peaks, the fuel efficiency (the ratio of drawbar power to fuel consumed per hour) reaches a maximum, and the overall tractive performance is at an optimum. It is concluded that to achieve optimum tractive performance in the field, proper matching of front and rear tire sizes and careful control of the inflation pressure and normal load of the tires to ensure the theoretical speed ratio equal or close to one are of practical importance. Copyright

Particular Social Group: A Human Rights Based Approach in Canadian Jurisprudence

Abstract: Increased international attention over the years on the interpretation of the 1951 Convention refugee definition reflects a growing interest in how elements of the definition are applied both within and between domestic jurisdictions. In Canada, this interest is reflected in legal commentary and in the jurisprudence of both the Convention Refugee Determination Division (CRDD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and the higher courts that have jurisdiction to review CRDD decisions. This article focuses on how «particular social group» has been interpreted in Canadian law. The central issue is whether there is a framework of analysis, consistent with the overall purposes of the Convention, which, if applied rigorously would yield consistent and principled results. The authors approach this by looking first at the human rights framework of analysis for the particular social group ground articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1993 and the development of the relevant Canadian jurisprudence since then. They identify a rather diverse body of jurisprudence not united by a consistent and principled analytical approach, and provide examples of how a human rights framework of analysis could be applied to the various types of claims which are brought on the particular social group ground. They conclude that such a framework of analysis promises to provide consistent and principled results that are in keeping with the purposes of the Convention and the underlying themes of human rights.

Calibrating the Electronic Scales: Tipping the Balance in Favour of a Vigorous and Competitive Electronic Market for Consumers

Abstract: This paper was originally delivered at the Canada-United States Law Institute conference on "The Impact of Technological Change in the Canada/U.S. Context" at Case Western Reserve University, School of Law, Cleveland, Ohio, April 16-18, 1999. The article focuses on identifying consumer concerns with respect to the evolving electronic marketplace and discusses some responses to those concerns in the Canadian context. It discusses the establishment of principles of consumer protection for electronic commerce; the role of voluntary codes and self-regulation; and government and private sector privacy initiatives. The article explores the application of the misleading advertising and deceptive marketing practices provisions of the Competition Act to representations made over the Internet. Finally, the article outlines the need for enhanced co-operation and communication between enforcement agencies on an international level, and the importance of consumer education.

The Performance of the 1990's Canadian Labour Market

Abstract: There is a general sense that the 1990's labour market was unique. It has been characterized by notions such as "downsizing", "technological revolution", "the knowledge-based economy", "rising job instability", and so on. This paper provides an extensive overview of the performance of the 1990's labour market, and asks just how different it was from the 1980's. It goes on to ask if the facts are consistent with many common beliefs and explanations. The paper focuses on (a) macro-level labour market outcomes, and (b) distributional outcomes. Macro-level topics include: has the nature of work changed dramatically in the 1990's? Has there been a continued ratcheting up of unemployment? Have we witnessed rising job instability and increased levels of layoffs? Did company downsizing increase in the 1990's? Why did per capita income growth stall in the 1990's? For a worker with a given level of human capital, has there been a deterioration in labour market outcomes? Much of the focus in the labour market over the 1980's and 1990's was on distributional outcomes - who is winning and who is losing. Some of the distributional outcomes of the 1990's labour market addressed in the paper include: outcomes for men and women; changes in the relative wages of the highly educated and earnings inequality; trends in the rate of low-income; the changing outcomes for recent labour market entrants, including young people and immigrants; and the extent to which technological change plays a major role in these outcomes. The paper concludes with a discussion of the overall performance of the 1990's labour market as compared to the 1980's.