A Canadian Priorities Agenda

The culmination of a two-year IRPP project designed to initiate a broad-based and informed public debate on economic and social policy choices and priorities for Canada.

The everyday reality for policy makers is that governments have limited means at their disposal - whether in revenue, manpower, or political capital - and must therefore choose carefully which policies to pursue. A Canadian Priorities Agenda brings together some of the best policy minds in the country to examine these choices. The forty-five individuals who played a role in the CPA process include agenda-setters who helped identify the eight broad policy challenges at issue, analysts who submitted their policy recommendations, critics who provided their assessment of the policies proposed, and judges whose task it was to review the evidence and arguments presented and assemble a policy package from the proposals on offer. Each of the individuals involved has contemplated, analyzed, and debated Canadian policy for many years. Most have experience either in government or in advising government at the highest levels. A Canadian Priorities Agenda departs from the standard "silo" approach to public policy research and deliberation used in most recent contributions to Canadian economic and social policy analysis, making this path-breaking volume an invaluable resource for all engaged in improving public policy. Contributors include Wendy Dobson (Toronto), Alain Dubuc (La Presse), Jean-Yves Duclos (Laval), Robert Evans (British Columbia), David Foot (Toronto), Michael Hart (Carleton ), John Helliwell (British Columbia), Clyde Hertzman (British Columbia), Mark Jaccard (Simon Fraser), Richard Lipsey (Simon Fraser), Steve Morgan (British Columbia), Nancy Olewiler (Simon Fraser ), W. Craig Riddell (British Columbia), Nic Rivers (Simon Fraser), Andrew Sharpe (Centre for the Study of Living Standards), Carolyn Tuohy (Toronto), and William Watson (McGill).