Academic Year 2021/2022

Ethics for Public Policy

This course seeks:

• To provide an introduction to some influential ethical approaches, and to some critiques of each approach;
• To understand the potential relevance of each approach to the world of policy; and
• To examine specific policy issues from an ethical perspective.

My immediate hope is that, by the end of the course, you will:

• Discover and develop your ability to master sometimes difficult “classic” texts in philosophy;
• Understand that ethical theories are not about some abstract world out there somewhere, but are vitally relevant toyour world; and
• Develop your ability to think about crucial policy issues from a variety of ethical perspectives.

My long-term hope is that, as you go forward in life you will:

• Always understand that there is an ethical dimension to all policy, and never be contented with a purely “technical” policy analysis; and
• Seek to make ethical reflection central to your own approach to policy analysis, even if you find yourself employed by someone who doesn’t welcome that reflection.

Sustainable Energy Policy

The institutions involved in energy policy, the processes through which policy is made, and the substantive energy-related issues currently preoccupying policy makers.

Course description to come…

Science and Technology Policies

The purpose of this seminar-based course is to critically examine the political-economic underpinnings of the development and implementation of science, technology and innovation (STI) policy.  It introduces Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy through an examination of STI policy ideas, institutions, instruments and interests.

The course is divided into three parts. The first section examines various conceptual approaches for looking at STI policy ideas, instruments, and institutions set in an historical and political-economic context. The emphasis is on national and to a lesser extent sub-national policy and governance systems of STI; and how key interests shape them, including the state, business, academia, and scientists as a political force. The second part will pay particular attention to the Canadian STI policy system. We will also explore the issues and instruments related to supporting science and technology, industrial research and innovation. The third part shifts to case studies and topics particularly salient in emerging economies and other industrialized nations, as well as Canada. These may include the STI policy aspects of health; energy and environment; agriculture, food and biotechnology; and disruptive technology “game-changers” (such as AI/robotics, blockchain, etc.).

The Science, Politics and Economics of Global Climate Change

In the face of various political developments, the scientific evidence of anthropocentric climate change (CC) continues to strengthen, and scientists are issuing increasingly urgent warnings on the need to act swiftly. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Reports, which are based on a summation of all the peer reviewed climate change science publications are increasingly clear on the anthropocentric causes of CC. The October 2018 IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees C clarifies the challenge of restricting warming to below 2 degrees in the 21^st Century. Few other policy issues will impact as profoundly the social and economic fabric of Canada and the rest of the world in the 21^st Century. Indeed, both scientific and national security organizations are now drawing the links between CC, ecological catastrophes, social and economic discord, and political violence in various parts of the world. Canadians should not assume this is a developing world problem, as warming is happening twice as fast in Canada as elsewhere, particularly in the Arctic … where the melting permafrost represents a carbon time bomb. Record high temperatures and tundra and forest fires in Siberia in 2019/2020 foreshadow a similar fate in the Canadian Artic. The last fully intact ice shelf in Canada (the Milne Ice Shelf in Nunavut) collapsed recently turning 80% of its mass (25% larger than the Island of Manhattan) into ice cubes. The geo-politics of access to the Northwest Passage for global commercial transportation is intensifying.

The UNFCCC Paris Agreement was the first time both developed and developing countries took on formal GHG reduction commitments. The Paris Accord has been re-energized by the Biden Presidential victory and GHG emission reduction policies and economic recovery investments around the world are recharging the transition to a low carbon economy. Court cases and civil society challenges to the power of the hydrocarbon industries are empowering renewable energy technologies and policies.

The first 2/3 of the course is a “deep dive’ into the ‘substance’ of the science, economics, and politics of global CC. There is a mix of international and Canadian literature culminating in the visit to class by two of Canada’s leading experts; one of whom is a graduate of the class and now an ADM at ECCC. Students will become literate in: CC science; the idiom of international convention making and design; the politics and challenge of negotiations; the role of regulation, suasion, and fiscal policy instruments in emission reductions; and energy system transitions in a period of adaptation to increasing impacts. The transition to a low-carbon economy and resistance by regime incumbents animates the first 7 weeks. The insights from the class literature will penetrate the ‘creative’ part of the class when students undertake a two-stage writing process involving an in-class oral presentation of the “first draft” of their research essay before the final writing stage. This is a serious commitment of class time to the research enterprise as students do not usually get the opportunity to formally “dry run” ideas they are developing in their essays to elicit feedback from their peers. This class provides a ‘privileged’ writing experience and course essays are routinely published in the double-blind, peer-reviewed student journal ISEMA after rigourous review.

Indigenous Policy

This course introduces the history of and current issues in Indigenous-Crown relations in Canada. A long renegotiation of relations between Indigenous peoples and Canadian public institutions began nearly four decades ago. The renegotiation has transformed public policy in federal, provincial and territorial governments, and it has resulted in a raft of new institutions in all parts of Canada. The course provides an introduction to this broad transformation, with an emphasis on the current situation.Many areas of Canadian public policy are of interest to Indigenous peoples, concerning governance, land, resources, social policy, environment, education, child welfare, international relations, economic development, culture, language, and others. In this course you will have the opportunity to build the basis for understanding differing perspectives on some of these matters in various regions of the country. Together, we will examine several possible paths for the future, in topic areas of interest to members of the class. The subject matter for this course is both deep and wide: there is much knowledge to acquire and understanding to develop, before one can speak with confidence. The course outline is designed to provide a tour d’horizon, and to equip you for further research and thinking on these themes.

Health Policy in Canada

This course covers selected topics in health policy and will focus on Canada’s health and healthcare systems key issues. Topics include: the organization and financing of health care delivery, providers’ payment, private financing in health care, primary care and health disparities. New sections will cover topics related to the COVID-19 crisis, such as public health systems and the links between health and the economy. International comparisons will be made over the course.

Health policy and pharmaceuticals in times of pandemics

Covid-19 has questioned many things that were taken for granted in both health policy and pharmaceutical policy. However, Covid-19 is not the first pandemics, AIDS or SARS also provided important lessons about how we should adapt our health and pharmaceutical policies, but calls for change remained unanswered.

This course will look with a critical eye at the role of public health authorities and the tragedy in many long-term care facilities. It will also analyze the information war over guidelines and treatments. The course will also focus on drugs and vaccines (research and development, patents, approval, production and distribution at a global scale, vaccine nationalism, and the potential misalignment between financial incentives and public health). If the course aims at understanding the relevant current structures in health care and pharmaceuticals, it also aims at questioning how it could be adapted to be better prepared for the next pandemic. This course is trans-disciplinary, building on political economy, economics of innovation, health care policy, epidemiology and sociology of science.

Globalization of Philanthropy

The rise of transnational crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, capital mobility, climate change, and the role of new technologies have profound effects on Human Development, fundraising, activism, and policymaking. Philanthropists are now operating across borders and have a substantial impact on local, national, and global policymaking. The increasing role and influence of private donors highlight essential questions about the legitimacy, accountability, and power of these rising local and global change agents. This course will discuss the emergent trends in global philanthropy and reflect on a possible research program to further understand under which condition global philanthropy effectively influences local and global public policymaking. This course is experimental and forward looking as we tackle emergent issues and debate the foundations of global systems of philanthropy. In addition, we are interested in understanding comparative perspectives on philanthropy, the role of culture, faith, ideology, gender, racism, and other factors on giving and organizing around the world.

Social Policy

Social Policy is not an academic discipline. It is not a branch of sociology, social work or political science. It is neither the study of dismal social problems. Social Policy is a subject area: the study of human well-being and the ways in which a society attempts to achieve this well-being. Social Policy borrows on many social science disciplines including sociology, social work, psychology, economics, political science, management, history, philosophy and law.

This course is not a beginner’s course on social policy and does not discuss the workings of social programs in a catalogue form. After exploring the evolution of the Welfare State since the mid XXth Century, the course focuses on some specific issues in order to provide more depth in our understanding of different dimensions and intersections of social policy. Topics may include welfare reform and basic income, Pharmacare, criminalization of poverty and the opioid crisis.

Course description to come…

Natural Resource Management

Description and overview

The course is an introduction to the basic principles of natural resource management and the problems natural resource users face in using and sharing common pool resources or extracting resources over time. The course focuses to some extent on natural resource management in Canada and indigenous governance, but also generalizes findings to the international stage and examines case studies from various areas of the world. Specific case studies and management questions will be discussed in the context of mineral resources and fossil fuels and the transition to a low carbon economy, fisheries, water resources, forestries, wildlife management and protected areas. We will examine resource and environmental stewardship and management, and the evolution of social norms, economic behaviour and institutions that govern the use of common pool, public and private resources.

Students will have a chance to explore the material and its applications in a group project, class discussions and a term paper of their choice. The group project is presented in class. This is a truly interdisciplinary seminar with no prerequisites. Students are encouraged to engage in a lively debate in the course.

Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes:

The objective of the course is to introduce and discuss some of the major natural resource management issues, challenges, policies and management options from different perspectives including indigenous knowledge, traditions and practices. Students will learn how to critically apply and evaluate models and management approaches both in a team learning process and in individual reflections of the material. A final term paper will allow students to engage in a more detailed examination of a topic of their choice in the field of natural resource management.

Digital Government: Modernising policy, services, and administration for the digital age

Structured around the eight Digital Era Competencies built by an international group of academics and government practitioners as part of the Teaching Public Service in the Digital Age collaboration (see: https://www.teachingpublicservice.digital/competencies), this course will teach students: the basics of human-centred design and its role in developing effective public policies and services; how to continuously test and improve policies and services so that they better achieve their intended outcomes; how to responsibly and safely use data to generate public value; how to work in the open and collaborate within and outside government, especially through multidisciplinary teams; and how to navigate structural and institutional barriers to change in today’s governments. Students will emerge from the course with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive as public servants in the digital age, and to develop effective solutions to some of the most pressing policy and service challenges facing today’s public sector institutions.