The Canadian Senate in Bicameral Perspective, David E. Smith, Toronto, Buffalo and London: University of Toronto Press, 2003, pp. xii, 263

No Canadian political institution endures the simplistic judgments and the uninformed rhetoric that the Senate engenders. The antidote is now at hand. David Smith's superlative book brings to bear on this much-maligned body a comparative framework, a detailed familiarity with the institution and—most especially—a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of governance in this country. The result is an analytic tour de force that will give pause to even the most jaded Senate-basher or the most zealous proponent of Senate reform.

Reforming Parliamentary Democracy, F. Leslie Seidle and David C. Docherty, eds., Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2003, pp. vii, 246

This book derives from a conference held by the Canadian Study of Parliament Group at which distinguished persons discussed the efforts for reform in Westminster style parliamentary democracies. Topics covered include: second chambers (the British House of Lords, South Africa); proportional representation (New Zealand); the role of the Crown (Australia); political rights and representation of aboriginal peoples (New Zealand and Canada); and federalism and devolution (Britain and Canada). An introduction and conclusion by the editors, and a useful chapter by Jennifer Smith on reform of the Canadian Parliament complete the book.

Western Visions, Western Futures: Perspectives on the West in Canada, 2nd ed., Roger Gibbins and Loleen Berdahl, Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003, pp. viii, 226

Which is real—the past, or interpretations of the past? When it comes to discussing western Canada's place in the national scheme of things, history hangs heavy; which may be why even works of political science intone Creighton and Careless, Lower and W.L. Morton. The authors of the book under review, Roger Gibbins, CEO and president of the Canada West Foundation and Loleen Berdahl, its Director of Research, cite at one point Quebec's motto je me souviens, but their own study, despite its title, looks back as much as it does ahead.

The Integrity Gap: Canada's Environmental Policy and Institutions, Eugene Lee and Anthony Perl, eds., Vancouver: UBC Press, 2003, pp. xi, 288.

This collection, which grew out of papers presented at a conference at the Sookyung Centre for Canadian Studies in Seoul in 1999, is one of a number of recent publications to call attention to a peculiar feature of Canadian environmental policy. In spite of our much publicized commitment to greenery at home and our hectoring criticism of other countries' environmental policies abroad, our own record, when closely examined, proves to be lamentable and is actually getting worse in comparison with our counterparts in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This yawning gulf between promise and performance is the “integrity gap” of Lee and Perl's title.

Quand la jeunesse entre en scène. L'Action catholique avant la Révolution tranquille, Louise Bienvenue, Montréal : Les Éditions du Boréal, 2003, 291 p.

La contribution de Louise Bienvenue à la connaissance de la société québécoise et à sa compréhension est double. Tout d'abord, son étude montre “ que, sur le mode réformiste, les jeunes militants d'Action catholique ont contribué, à leur façon, au changement social pendant les années 1930 et 1940, principalement en ce qui a trait à l'amélioration du statut des jeunes ”. (256) La Grande Noiceur, quasi-mythe rattaché à un dirigeant au moins aussi déphasé que despote, comptait donc des zones d'éclaircies qui obligent à reconnaître que l'avènement du Québec moderne est bien enraciné dans des évolutions qui ont précédé 1960! De cette façon, la lecture de Louise Bienvenue met bien en lumière la relativité des ruptures historiques que, souvent sans trop y réfléchir, l'on considère plus ou moins erronément comme beaucoup plus radicales que ce que la réalité sociale tend à montrer; les interventions politiques autoritaires et répressives qui accompagnent régulièrement les révolutions fournissent justement des indices des limites et de la fragilité des changements conçus comme ruptures. Au Québec, la révolution que l'on s'est plu à qualifier de tranquille l'est d'ailleurs demeurée au point de provoquer des tensions sociales qui ont culminé au début des années 1970.

The Politics of Public Management: The HRDC Audit of Grants and Contributions, David A. Good, The Institute of Public Administration of Canada Series in Public Management and Governance; Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2003, pp. 240

The literature in public administration in some ways suffers from not having more practitioners reflecting, writing and analyzing their experiences. Thus David Good's book analyzing the HRDC's so-called “billion dollar boondoggle” is a welcome contribution. His background as both a senior manager/executive within the Federal government and his academic credentials—a doctorate in policy and administration sets him apart—as a practitioner-academic. Good possesses the senior public manager's mind for detail and this book provides a clear account of the ebbing and flowing of events, beginning with the January 2000 release of HRDC's internal audit that implied a loss of a billion dollars, to the Auditor General's report of October that same year which, while critical of monitoring and reporting practices, concluded that only $85,000 was unaccounted for. The media and the opposition, at this point quickly lost interest.

Continentalizing Canadian Telecommunications: The Politics of Regulatory Reform, Vanda Rideout, Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2003, pp. xiii, 256

A recent headline in The Globe and Mail, “Labour unrest dogs the telecomm industry,” could have been written at almost any time over the past decade or more. The industry is facing fundamental structural change, driven by new technologies, regulatory reform, and market shifts and management has, predictably, focused on reducing labour costs. For anyone seeking to understand the political economy of restructuring in the telecommunications sector, this slim volume is a valuable addition to the literature. The author traces the story of telecommunications regulation from its origins in the First National Policy to neo-liberal restructuring (up to 2002), with special attention to the impact of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). As a work of history, the book provides a helpful map of major regulatory and policy shifts in the telecommunications sector. In tracing these shifts, the author discusses broader issues, such as the key role of telecommunications in “advanced electronic capitalism” (3) and the conflicts that accompanied the change from “a Fordist telecommunications regime” to a “continental” one (5).

Chrétien and Canadian Federalism, Politics and the Constitution, 1993–2003, Edward McWhinney, Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2003, pp. 220.

Edward McWhinney, a legal scholar and former professor of political science, sat as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra through much of the Chrétien period. The title of the book promises an examination of the Chrétien era in terms of its legacy for Canadian federalism and the constitution. Sadly, the book fails to deliver. Although the author is quick to insist that his work is not a “personal biography” (12), but rather an analysis framed through “participant observation,” the examination of the past decade's events is largely a form of political memoir, with little by way of a sustained analysis of Canadian federalism or the constitution.

La voie canadienne : repenser le multiculturalisme, Will Kymlicka (traduit de l'anglais par Antoine Robitaille), Montréal, Boréal, 2003.

Une des qualités des travaux de Will Kymlicka c'est qu'ils conjuguent la réflexion philosophique avec les considérations empiriques dans l'analyse des enjeux politiques touchant de près la situation actuelle et le devenir des démocraties libérales contemporaines. Dans la voie canadienne : repenser le multiculturalisme, le théoricien reprend l'essentiel de sa démarche mais adopte un style quelque peu différent. Plus près de l'essai politique que de l'œuvre scientifique, W. Kymlicka signe un plaidoyer sans équivoque en faveur du modèle canadien de multiculturalisme et d'une conception asymétrique du fédéralisme. Désirant lutter contre le sentiment d'impuissance vis-à-vis des politiques de la diversité culturelle – sentiment ambiant, selon lui, dans l'opinion publique canadienne – le philosophe libéral s'adresse directement aux “ Canadiens ” pour leur démontrer que les politiques publiques canadiennes de la diversité culturelle sont légitimes et efficaces et, à ce titre, qu'elles devraient encore “ nous ” inspirer confiance.

La seconde Révolution tranquille—Démocratiser la démocratie, Gil Courtemanche, Montréal, Boréal 2003, 172 p.

C'est bien à une seconde Révolution tranquille que l'auteur-journaliste-essayiste Gil Courtemanche nous convie tout au long de ce petit essai au ton pamphlétaire, écrit dans l'euphorie consécutive au sommet de Porto Allegre. Démocratiser la démocratie, voilà la véritable finalité de cette seconde Révolution tranquille, qui, contrairement à la première, devra venir de la base.

Egalité hommes-femmes ? Le militantisme au Québec : le PQ et le PLQ, Evelyne Tardy (avec la collaboration de Rébecca Beauvais et André Bernard), Montréal, Collection science politique, Cahiers du Québec, Ed. Hurtubise, 2003, 222 p.

Lors des dernières élections québécoises du 14 avril 2003, la proportion de femmes élues a augmenté, avec trois femmes députées de plus, soit une représentation à hauteur de 30% contre 28% auparavant. Indéniablement, le pourcentage de femmes élues n'a cessé de progresser depuis le milieu des années 80, soit quarante ans après l'obtention du droit de vote. La représentation parlementaire des femmes au Québec dépasse ainsi largement la moyenne mondiale qui est de 14%. Néanmoins, la proportion d'élues peut paraître encore faible, sinon insuffisante, par rapport au vivier de militantes existant dans les partis (37% de femmes en moyenne) et de l'objectif idéal de parité. Analyste incontournable du rapport des Québécoises au politique et du militantisme féminin, Evelyne Tardy, dans son dernier ouvrage, tente d'expliquer cette sous-représentation des femmes parmi les candidats aux différentes élections, à la lumière, notamment, des propos tenus par les militants et militantes. Une telle analyse conduit à s'intéresser aux ressources potentielles en femmes politiques. En effet, si les militants et militantes agissent pour faire triompher leurs idées, ils n'ont pas forcément de responsabilité de direction. Ils se situent en quelque sorte entre l'amateur (ils s'initient à la politique) et le professionnel de la politique. C'est aux instances dirigeantes des partis qu'il revient de sélectionner ceux qui sont susceptibles de remplir des fonctions politiques. Seules les hypothèses relatives au fonctionnement des partis politiques ont dond été retenues pour cette recherche dont les auteurs ont considéré comme militant “ toute personne qui siégeait à un comité exécutif du parti, qu'il soit local, régional ou central, autrement dit toute personne qui était susceptible de se voir confier des responsabilités au sein du parti (27). ” Il n'en demeure pas moins que les militants se caractérisent aussi par une grande diversité et qu'une typologie plus fine aurait pu enrichir le propos. On aurait pu imaginer, par exemple, de distinguer le militant ponctuel, dont la mobilisation est fonction de l'enjeu, du militant engagé qui prend des responsabilités dans l'organisation (seul considéré ici a priori) et enfin le militant qui possède un mandat électif. Parallèlement aux militants et militantes de base, il aurait été intéressant également de s'intéresser aux personnalités féminines qui ont fait carrière dans ces partis, aux militantes devenues députées ou ministres, par exemple, à leur profil et à leur parcours au sein du parti, par rapport aux hommes, pour avoir une analyse différenciée des parcours d'exception et d'une éventuelle évolution des années 70 à aujourd'hui. On aurait ainsi dégagé les profils valorisés par chacun des partis politiques.

Citizenship in Transformation in Canada, Yvonne Hébert, ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002, pp. 289

One of many surprises found in reading of Citizenship in Transformation in Canada is that the title bears little relation to the substantive content of the book. Although preoccupied with citizenship in a broad sense, on closer inspection it is principally devoted to the exigencies of citizenship education in Canada. From the volume's title, I anticipated that this collection would address a broad range of conceptual and substantive themes in the emerging field of citizenship studies rather than focus almost exclusively on the specific problematic of civic education in Canada. In this vein, while many of the papers in the collection offer a reliable introduction to the changing nature of citizenship education, the editor's opening remarks are remarkably cautious in light of what the title suggests.

Women's Legal Strategies in Canada, Radha Jhappan, ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002, pp. ix, 407

After more than two decades of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it is only appropriate that feminist scholars would turn a critical eye to the achievements for social justice obtained through the courts. In this collection of nine essays, the authors grapple with the difficult question of whether the courts have done more harm or good to women's causes. The result is an interesting, at times challenging, and sometimes puzzling set of reflections on the future of women's legal strategies in Canada.

Still Counting: Women in Politics Across Canada, Linda Trimble and Jane Arscott, Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2003. pp. xvi, 210

Numbers matter. This is Trimble and Arscott's fundamental message. The ratio of women in elected and appointed political posts to their proportion in the population at large is a measure of fairness in political representation that has obvious implications for women's impact on political processes and policy outcomes. Although Canadian in perspective, the authors draw international comparisons where appropriate and find Canada rather lacking. Perennial under-representation, despite marked improvements over the past three decades, is an evident problem and an issue worthy of investigation.

Gendered States: Women, Unemployment Insurance, and the Political Economy of the Welfare State in Canada, 1945–1997, Ann Porter, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003, pp. 355

It is amazing that Canadian society has been consistently bewildered as to the social, political and economic placement of women. In her new book, Ann Porter explains that the labour requirement that enabled women's participation in the workforce during the Second World War created a post-war environment that was inequitable, illogical, gendered, and “regulating.” Thus, progressive measures were to produce regressive results, as they were taken for the sake of nationalism and not gender equality. Porter documents the change in Unemployment Insurance (UI) policy from limited coverage for certain groups of male workers that could not engage in productive labour to “site of contestation over women's entitlement to state benefits” (66).

Feminist Perspectives on Canadian Foreign Policy, Claire Turenne Sjolander, Heather A. Smith and Deborah Steinstra, eds., Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. xiv, 246

This timely must-read collection of fourteen essays is a welcomed addition to a growing body of feminist Canadian foreign policy literature. It is an accessible collection which challenges traditional Canadian foreign policy analyses (including feminist ones) by deploying feminist approaches and presenting feminist foreign policy (re-)formulations. Each author carefully explains relevant feminist theory or scholarship to link tightly their theoretical arguments with their case studies.

The Politics of the Welfare State: Canada, Sweden, and the United States, Gregg M. Olsen, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. vi, 258

This book presents a familiar puzzle in comparative politics: how are we to understand variation in the design and scope of social programs and substantive outcomes for citizens in the three welfare states under scrutiny. As Olsen argues, all three cases are “advanced, industrialized, and highly affluent capitalist nations…. and all three nations enjoy average per capita incomes and standards of living that are among the highest in the world” (10). Yet we find great variation on a number of social indicators such as poverty levels, and income and wealth disparities. All three have also “experienced marked increases in inequality and welfare state retrenchment in recent years” (11) but yet “they continue to differ along these dimensions, even in the face of similar domestic strains and other exogenous pressures related to global integration” (11). The question is how do we account for the variation in the use of social policy to assuage inequalities and respond to these exogenous pressures.

Welfare Hot Buttons: Women, Work, and Social Policy Reform, Sylvia Bashevkin, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002, pp. viii, 188.

Welfare Hot Buttons raises important, and in some ways uncomfortable, questions. Its major argument, in comparing social policy reform in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, is that the conservative leaders (Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell) were, in their social policy reforms, less punitive, less restrictive and less obsessed with paid work than their post-conservative successors (Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Jean Chrétien). This raises important questions about the importance of elections and of elected politicians. There were real expectations that, to take the Canadian example, electing Chrétien's Liberals was a major shift away from Mulroney's Conservatives yet, as Sylvia Bashevkin shows, this was not true in the vital policy area of social policy reform.

Imagining Interest in Political Thought: Origins of Economic Rationality, Stephen G. Engelmann, Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2003, pp. x, 194

This always fascinating but sometimes frustrating volume undertakes to trace the natural history of what its author calls neo-liberalism, meaning the kind of economic analysis and approach to governance practiced by such denizens of the Chicago school as Nobel Prize winner Gary Becker and appeals court Justice Richard Posner. A professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Engelmann contends that this mode of analysis grew out of a way of thinking that was brought to maturity by Jeremy Bentham but had already begun to take root in Cromwell's England.

Workfare: Why Good Social Policy Ideas Go Bad, Maeve Quaid, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002, pp. 244

This book begins with the premise that workfare, properly administered, is good social policy. The author dismisses the moral arguments surrounding this policy: i) that workfare distinguishes the deserving from the undeserving; ii) that workfare is a form of slavery, forcing the poor to work in order to survive; iii) that workfare creates important responsibility for the recipient; iv) that workfare safeguards welfare recipients' status as citizens able to fully participate in a democratic society. These are controversial moral assertions about the merits or demerits of workfare that the author refuses to address. Instead, the author, as an expert in organizational behaviour and human resource management, is interested in whether this policy meets the goals it establishes. If workfare is to lead recipients to greater job prospects then this is the measuring stick that should be used to assess the success of workfare, argues Maeve Quaid.