Progressives who generally have a more ambitious view of the role of the state A solid working definition of state capac- in the economy and society ought to be ity is “the government’s ability to do its concerned about its effectiveness if for job effectively: to raise taxes, maintain no other reason than it influences the order and provide public goods.”7 The public’s willingness to embrace thei. [...] the Privy Council Michael Wernick recently observed:25 Donald Savoie, a well-regarded public administration scholar, is more blunt Something happens, and the instinct in his assessment26 of the costs and of ministers is to add rules and con- consequences of the federal govern- straints or to add oversight bodies. [...] from parts of the Public Service Employ- ment Act used by the political arm of the The government could establish a government to staff the Prime Minister’s relatively small agency — a Canada Office and ministers’ offices. [...] Establish a new centralized policy As public policy expert Robert Asselin and oversight capacity to co-ordinate and I wrote in the 2021 paper: multi-departmental policy initiatives CARPA is not therefore a substitute for Although there is common concern in a the existing panoply of departments, lot of policy and public administration agencies and programs focused on commentary about the centraliza. [...] comes to the efficiency and effectiveness of the state, and the benefits that confers The primary goal of this paper has on the country and its population.
- Pages
- 37
- Published in
- Canada
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary ..............................................................................6 3
- Introduction ............................................................................................. 3
- Chapter 1 3
- What is state capacity ........................................................................ 3
- Chapter 2 3
- What is the status of Canadas state capacity ............................ 3
- Chapter 3 3
- Why does strengthening our state capacity matter ................. 3
- Chapter 4 3
- How can we boost our state capacity ........................................... 3
- Conclusion 3
- .............................................................................................. 3
- Endnotes .................................................................................................. 3
- Acknowledgements .............................................................................. 3
- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4
- The pandemic exposed weaknesses in Canadian governance including the countrys lack of health-care capacity from intensive care beds to personnel to medical technologies such as ventilators. 7
- CHAPTER 1 8
- WHAT IS STATE CAPACITY 8
- High capacity states helped to provide the institutional conditions that either enabled growth and innovation or at least prevented their destruction through warfare or rent- seeking. 9
- State efficiency and effectiveness are key to understanding the public mood and political circumstances. 11
- CHAPTER 2 12
- What is Canadas state capacity 12
- Another major challenge for Canadian governments is policy co-ordination and implementation on cross- cutting files across multiple departments and agencies. 15
- CHAPTER 3 20
- WHY DOES STRENGTHENING OUR STATE CAPACITY MATTER 20
- Canadas public spending as a share of GDP has gone from 30 percent in 1962 to as much as 46 percent in 2021. 21
- CHAPTER 4 23
- HOW CAN WE BOOST OUR STATE CAPACITY 23
- The interchange program is not merely a professional version of a semester abroad. It is a means by which we can diversify the experiences perspectives and voices in government itself. 28
- CONCLUSION 31
- Acknowledgements 35
