Donna E. Wood

Intergovernmental Relations Post-devolution: Active Labour Market Policy in Canada and the United Kingdom 1996–2006

Devolution of active labour market policy has been pursued by both the Canadian and UK governments during the past decade and, as a result, new intergovernmental relationships have developed. These are compared, focusing in particular on relationships between the Government of Canada and the Government of the province of Alberta, and the UK Government and the Scottish Executive. The analysis concludes that intergovernmental relations and the workability of the intergovernmental relations system in the two countries are fundamentally different. This is due to distinct features in the structure of the state (the constitution, the number of sub-state governments and the asymmetry between them, how finances are shared, and how power is divided), and in the governing structure for active labour market policy (the degree of decentralization, the power of central government to act, the involvement of actors external to government, and the operation of the intergovernmental machinery) in each country. It is also due to the continued presence in the UK, during the period of this research, of two powerful forces of intergovernmental accommodation not found in Canada—a unitary party system and unified civil service.

Building Flexibility and Accountability into Local Employment Services

Human resources and skills are becoming increasingly important to economic development. In the context of the economic downturn, challenges such as high youth unemployment call for a collaborative approach between local employment officials, educational institutions and wider social and economic partners. But do local labour market offices have sufficient flexibility in the implementation of their policies and programmes to contribute effectively to local strategies? If local labour market offices are to be given more flexibility, how can this be reconciled with the need for accountability and the achievement of national policy goals?The Canada case study for the Building Flexibility and Accountability into Local Employment Services project explores the level of local accountability and flexibility within labour market policy in Canada, focusing in particular on the provinces of Alberta and New Brunswick. This report is one of four country reports, with the other participating countries being Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Devolution and Democracy: Labor Market Policy in Canada and the United Kingdom 1996–2006

As a result of the devolution of labor market policy, new governance arrangements have arisen in the past decade in both Canada and the United Kingdom. These emerging relations are analyzed with respect to the degree to which they have facilitated the democratic engagement of stakeholders, citizens and legislators. Post devolution the Canadian federal system demonstrates decreased democratic engagement, while in the United Kingdom it has increased substantially. This is attributable to the competitive intergovernmental relationship in Canada, and the unwillingness on the part of federal and provincial politicians and officials to collectively engage with stakeholders and citizens. In contrast, intergovernmental relations in the early days of United Kingdom devolution are cooperative, due to the presence of civil service and political party accommodation processes not found in Canada. The European Union also contributes to democratic engagement in the United Kingdom, providing an opportunity for social partners and civil society to participate in policy making.