8 Caledon Institute of Social Policy
The first step in policy formulation is to determine the desired objective. Policy directives can
be understood as an expression of commonly accepted societal values
– e.g., fairness and
equity are often cited as strong Canadian values. Public policy is basically shaped by and must be
consistent with these values.
Within this context, the selection of objectives typically derives from priorities and
imperatives set at the political level. The desired objective may be rooted in the platform of a
political party or approved at its policy conference. A policy direction may be announced, for
example, in the Speech from the Throne that opens a new Parliamentary session or in the
federal Budget. It may be signaled in a ministerial or departmental announcement regarding the
government’s intended agenda in a certain area, such as promoting skills and learning,
reforming the income security system, supporting a bio-based economy or investing in
environmentally clean technologies.
Policy objectives can also arise from negotiations with provinces/territories and
subsequent intergovernmental agreements that effectively incorporate an explicit or implicit
agenda. For instance, the framework agreements on early childhood development, discussed
below, form the foundation for work in this area.
Policy directives derive as well from obligations, such as international covenants, to
which Canada has made a commitment. Canada is a signatory, for example, to the UN
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(1966). Through their signatures, nations commit themselves to bring legislation, policies and
practices into line with these obligations. These documents, at least in theory, are supposed to
act as drivers, though action often lags far behind.
International trade agreements represent another form of commitment with which
national policy is supposed to line up. These have resulted in major shifts in the economy and
associated policies in respect of these agreements
– many of which have not worked in Canada’s
favour in recent years (read ‘softwood lumber’).
Policy directives also arise from a range of driving forces that have a social, environ-
mental or economic impact. A health or weather-related emergency, such as the 2003 SARS
crisis in Toronto, the 2003 driest-BC-summer-on-record forest fires in Kelowna and the 1998
Canadian ice storm, usually generates new policies and public responses that would not have
been introduced in the absence of these crises.
Other examples of policy changes brought about through powerful driving forces include
the collapse of the east coast fishery, which prompted a set of policies on labour market
adjustment and reconstruction of the economic base. The rising demand for fuel has created
pressures upon the energy supply throughout the world and has accelerated the search for renewable