Master of Public Policy Capstone Projects

Permanent URI for this collection

https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/100096

This community houses the collection of University of Calgary Capstone projects from the School of Public Policy, Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Capstone projects are closed access unless permissions have been granted to Libraries and Cultural Resources to make them publicly accessible.

Authors: If you would like to make your Capstone project publicly accessible, please contact digitize@ucalgary.ca to grant permissions.

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 94

Open Access
A look at policy surrounding long-term neurorehabilitation for people with acquired brain injury in Alberta
(2018-09-11) Ryan, Shrianne; Zwicker, Jennifer
In Alberta, there is an inadequate amount of community and outpatient neurorehabilitation services available to support the growing number of individuals who suffer from acquired brain injury (ABI). ABI is an injury to the brain that is not hereditary, congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma. Many individuals with ABI become dependent on costly health and social services, resulting in high-expenses for Alberta. Even though ABI is a growing concern for Alberta, no provincial policy strategy has been put in place to ensure Albertan’s get timely access to community and outpatient rehabilitation programs after being discharged from acute care and inpatient rehabilitation. Instead, many individuals either wait a long time before being admitted to important rehabilitation programs or they never receive treatment at all. A reason for a lack of policy can be attributed to how there is limited research in Alberta that looks at the overall benefits of community-based neurorehabilitation programs. Therefore, the overall policy recommendation is that the provincial government should establish a comprehensive and province-wide study that looks at the effectiveness and benefits associated with community neurorehabilitation programs in Alberta. To accomplish this study, Alberta should fund additional community neurorehabilitation programs to the ones already in existence so that more individuals with ABI can be included. The results of this study came from the analysis of data from a rehabilitation centre located in Alberta called the Association for the Rehabilitation of the Brain Injury (ARBI). The purpose of the analysis was to determine if there was an overall significant improvement for clients in terms of health outcomes and quality of life after undertaking community neurorehabilitation. In addition to improved health outcomes, cost of care based on place of residence at admission, discharge and follow-up was analyzed to determine if rehabilitation is a cost-effective solution to the growing ABI health crisis. First, the costs of care were determined by looking at the costs associated with four different residence categories including one’s own home, the hospital and two living support services under Alberta’s continuing care system for individuals with ABI. These living support services include personal care home (PCH) and long-term care (LTC). The costliest place of residence was determined to be the hospital, followed by LTC, PCH and own-home in that order. Depending on the severity of disability, individuals may need more support and thus reside in a more expensive place of residence, proving costly for Alberta. Next, the cost of care data was analyzed by comparing two different cases, case 1 and case 2. Case 1 represented client’s undergoing rehabilitation at ARBI and case 2 represented the situation where clients did not go to ARBI. First, the two cases were compared to see if there was statistical significance, and then the calculated difference between case 1 and case 2 was compared to the cost of rehabilitation at ARBI. The results of this study found there to be both a clinically significant and statistically significant improvement for client’s in different areas of impairment, suggesting that community neurorehabilitation positively improves health and social outcomes for individuals with ABI. Additionally, the cost of care results found there to be positive cost savings associated with undergoing rehabilitation at ARBI. The total cost of case 1 and case 2 was calculated to be $11,377,800 and $17,980,950.00, respectively for an overall cost savings of $6,603,150.00 or $194,210.29 per person over 65 months. When the cost of ARBI was added to case 1, there was still an overall cost savings of $5,637,550.00, or $165,810.29 per person over 65 months. Overall, the results of this study indicate that the Government of Alberta only needs to help a few individuals through neurorehabilitation programs like ARBI to experience substantial gains. Therefore, the overall policy recommendation is based on the results of this study, as well as from other research studies, that found community neurorehabilitation to be a critical next step in the recovery of individuals with ABI. Community neurorehabilitation is a multidisciplinary approach that combines specialized clinical and social supports to deliver an individualized and evidence-based pathway of care. ABI can have a lot of different negative impacts on an individual, and so a multidisciplinary approach is important. This study, along with other research has shown that timely access to equitable and intensive multidisciplinary neurorehabilitation services can improve patient outcomes and quality of life while also reducing an individual’s reliance on health and social services. Therefore, the overall policy recommendation is based on how Alberta needs to take more action to fully understand how to best help individuals with ABI while also reducing the burden on government health and social services.
Open Access
Academic, Political, and Community Engagement: Crafting Pandemic Preparedness Policies for Vulnerable Families
(2020-09-04) Kohek, Jessica Ann; Zwicker, Jennifer
To optimally support the health of families, interventions provided by community organizations must be evidence-based. Research attracts awareness to particular community issues; however, there is often a disconnect between research collection and subsequent translation into community-level policies. Evidence-based interventions may have proven efficiency, yet research rarely results in the political action necessary to translate interventions into community practices. When research does inform policies, and programs, the process can take decades. Implementation of evidence-based practices is necessary to mobilize research into practice and improve outcomes for families who rely on services. This project sought to identify the challenges community organizations face in accessing and providing evidence-based services, as these services promote optimal outcomes for families. COVID-19, as a focusing event, has highlighted pre-existing political, economic, and structural impediments to knowledge mobilization. The barriers and solutions proposed by participants in the research have pre-existed, but been exacerbated by, the context of a pandemic. Prior to conducting research, a literature review informed the need for increased support, communication, and funding for community organizations. The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used after the literature review was conducted to contextualize this need in Calgary. Five NGT groups were held over the course of two weeks to generate ideas surrounding barriers to evidence-based service provision throughout COVID-19, as well as solutions that have the potential to address aforementioned challenges. The three main barriers prioritized by participants included reduced revenue streams, transition to online service delivery, and inadequate communication and collaboration with government. Participants emphasized two solutions: person-centred policies and programs, and reciprocal collaboration. The literature and NGT groups result both support a need for cross-ministerial collaboration, community-based research partnerships, and engagement and consultation with community organizations. These findings are not novel or unique to COVID-19. Barriers mentioned preceded the pandemic, and solutions provided have continual impacts to support the health of families outside the context of a pandemic. Policy recommendations promote the priorities iterated by participants in the NGT groups. To address the barriers to evidence-based service provision throughout COVID-19, three policy options are recommended: (1) education and consultation with community organizations, (2) subsidy and grant provision for community-based research, and (3) formalizing a local network of researchers, community organizations, and policymakers. Next steps include validating the results of this study with an online Delphi and conducting a multijurisdictional environmental scan to determine best practices to support families with evidence-based service.
Open Access
Accelerating Energy Grid Modernization in Canada: Reasons and Recommendations for Canadian Smart Grid Development
(2021-08) Magnaye, J.; Shaffer, B.
Open Access
Adopting Open Banking in Canada: An Analysis of Current Global Frameworks
(2020-09-14) Taylor-Kerr, Andrew James; Beaulieu, Eugene
Financial technology or fintech is a rapidly evolving and disruptive development within the financial sector. New technologies arising from fintech innovations are changing how consumers access and utilize financial services while also allowing new fintech firms to compete within the financial sector. As fintech innovations proliferate throughout the financial sector benefits are being seen globally from growing financial inclusion, increased access to capital for small and medium enterprises and improved operational efficiencies for financial firms. Developments from fintech innovations do come with potential drawbacks that regulators are working to address. Fintech has the potential to adversely affect banking sector stability and presents increased cyber-attack risks that adversely affect firms and consumers, requiring regulators to adapt in response to these issues. One regulatory response that has gained traction globally for its ability to harness fintech competition and innovation while maintaining a more secure and stable financial system is that of open banking. Open banking is a regulatory approach that allows consumers to opt in and opt out of sharing their personal financial data with financial firms. Open banking also creates opportunities for more secure transfers of personal financial data by discouraging a data collection practice known as ‘screen-scrapping’, currently utilized by fintech firms, by allowing them to collect personal financial data through more secure application programming interfaces (API). With the permission of the consumer open banking frameworks usually obligate firms to transfer personal financial data via API to another firm who then utilize that data to develop consumer-centric products for customers. Canada, praised globally for the security and stability of its financial system, has been slow in developing an open banking framework and is now at risk of being left behind jurisdictions that have chosen to harness the competition, cyber-security and innovation advantages open banking can bring. To aid Canada in developing an effective open banking framework this capstone examines the regulatory approaches to open banking that have been developed in several jurisdictions including the U.S. and EU. A comparative analysis is conducted to identify what aspects of current regulatory approaches to open banking Canada can utilize in developing its own successful open banking framework. It is concluded that Canada should build on the strengths of its secure and stable financial system to become a ‘fast follower’ in developing an open banking framework that will enable it to attract further fintech investment and transform itself into a global leader in fintech innovation. Based on the comparative analysis of open banking frameworks several jurisdictions have developed the following recommendations are made to ensure Canada’s prospective open banking framework will enable it to become a global fintech leader:
Open Access
Alberta in the Age of Renewable Power: Policy Lessons from Germany and Sweden
(2019-09-03) Anderson, ALyssa; Winter, Jennifer
In an increasingly carbon-constrained society, governments across the world have designed policies to support the development of renewable electricity. In particular, Germany and Sweden are world leaders in the development of renewable electricity. In contrast, the province of Alberta has limited experience creating a policy environment that encourages renewable electricity generation. This capstone project explores the policy lessons that Alberta can take from Germany and Sweden to foster the development of renewable electricity. By incorporating lessons learned from Germany and Sweden, the Alberta government could adopt new policies that increase the proportion of electricity derived from renewable sources. This paper is arranged into four chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of Alberta, Sweden, and Germany’s past and present renewable electricity policies. The second chapter analyzes each jurisdiction’s current policy according to four criteria: 1) effectiveness, as quantified through the compound annual growth rate in renewable electricity capacity or generation; 2) diversity of actors, as evaluated through any special provisions that promote the participation of companies of varying sizes; 3) diversity of technologies, through an analysis of the number of renewable technologies able to secure support under each program; and 4) each program’s impact on household electricity costs, as measured by the compound annual growth rate in the size of the electricity surcharge as a share of household electricity costs/kWh. The third chapter compares public acceptance of renewable energy in each region through an analysis of public opinion polls. Finally, the fourth chapter summarizes the policy lessons Alberta can take from Germany and Sweden to foster the development of renewable electricity. There are four lessons Alberta can take from Germany and Sweden. First, as seen in Germany, the government's ability to anticipate changes required to integrate renewables into the electricity grid may limit the effectiveness of Alberta's future renewable policy. Second, the Alberta government could improve future policy by making special provisions to promote a diversity of actors; however, Alberta can learn from the overwhelming participation of small actors in Germany’s auctions by limiting their future provisions to those that provide a level playing field for all actors. Third, for Alberta to encourage a diverse range of technologies while still promoting the most cost-effective electricity production, the province could implement a technology-neutral policy first (as seen in Sweden), followed by a transition to a technology-specific policy (as seen in Germany). Lastly, if Alberta strives to become a large-scale producer of renewable electricity, it may have to impose an electricity surcharge on consumers; however, it is likely the surcharge will stabilize as Alberta’s renewable sector matures, as seen in Germany and Sweden. In brief, this capstone provides the foundational knowledge required to understand renewable electricity policy in Alberta, Sweden, and Germany. This paper also offers specific policy lessons that Alberta may apply to keep pace with the global push towards a clean and renewable power sector.
Open Access
Alternative Policies for Managing the End-of-Life Oil and Gas Liabilities in Alberta
(2018-09-14) Lim, Michael; Mansell, Robert
Oil and gas well assets go through various stages of their life cycles. Different stages include exploration/drilling, production, and end-of-life management. All stages need to be appropriately regulated to balance environmental costs and monetary returns. In particular, the end-of-life management is often an overlooked aspect of resource policies. However, end-of-life liabilities, or the cost associated with plugging wells and reclaiming affected sites, need to be managed properly to protect the Crown, industry, and landowners. This research project puts an emphasis on the financial aspects of the end-of-life management of liabilities. The financial aspect involves setting aside appropriate funds or deposits to abandon and reclaim wells and well sites within a reasonable time period. If appropriate measures are absent, the Crown, the ultimate resource owner, and landowner may bear the environmental costs of resource extraction. To prevent that outcome, the regulator (the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) in Alberta), imposes a requirement of financial backing for the environmental liabilities that can be used even in the case of bankruptcy or insolvency. Over the last 35 years or so, end-of-life management policies in Alberta have evolved. The current generation of policy was established in 2001. The policy framework relies on two mechanisms, residual values of oil and gas assets and the Orphan Well Association. In Alberta, the AER mandates oil and gas producers to maintain certain residual asset values of oil and gas assets. Those values act as collateral for eventual abandonment and reclamation. If there aren’t sufficient residual asset values for the outstanding environmental liabilities, the industry funded OWA manages the end-of-life liabilities. However, with the recent decline of oil prices and the recent Redwater ruling, those mechanisms are no longer viable. As a result, new policy solutions are required to deal with the end-of-life existing wells and newly drilled wells. In Alberta there is currently anywhere between $611 million to $9.217 billion of irrecoverable environmental liabilities carried by already insolvent or bankrupt producers. Those liabilities come from 160,000 inactive or non-producing wells. This research project examines the following policy options: upfront deposit of financial security; cyclical adjustment to Orphan Fund levy; accelerated abandonment of wells; and public funding with policy reforms. Each policy option is evaluated on five criteria: public benefits; cost to the industry; cost to the crown: private benefit of policy; and, applicability of policy. Based on the assessment, policy solutions are proposed to deal with the end-of-life liabilities of both existing wells and newly drilled wells. The upfront deposit of financial security is the most appropriate solution for newly drilled wells. The solution imposes more financial responsibility for individual producers to cover the end-of-life liabilities. A combination of cyclical adjustments to Orphan Fund levy and public funding should be used to deal with the existing liabilities.
Open Access
An analysis of the First Nations Finance Authority as a viable off-ramp to the inadequate First Nations property rights framework under the Indian Act
(2019-09-05) Bhaidani, Tanzeel; Flanagan, Thomas
This capstone provides an overview of the inadequate property rights framework that First Nation communities are subject to under the Indian Act, describes some of the major off-ramps to the Indian Act, and analyses the effectiveness of the First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA). First Nations of Canada have lower quality of life indicators compared to the average Canadian. This is in part due to an inadequate framework of property rights under the Indian Act, which prohibits fee-simple ownership. The inability to leverage reserve land and assets as collateral has resulted in First Nations people being subject to high interest rates due to uncertainty. This pushes them further into the cycle of poverty and substandard living conditions. In the past, governing First Nation reserve lands under the Indian Act has been lengthy, cumbersome, and difficult mainly because the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) has decision-making power over First Nations. Independence on INAC and the Indian Act can only be achieved through sustainable economic growth from private investment in and independent revenue from capital, research, new technology, human capital, etc. As a result, several off-ramps have been recommended and implemented, which offer more autonomy and control to First Nations people. These mainly include: 1) Property taxation under the Fiscal Management Act allows First Nations to address issues regarding economic development, services, and fiscal integration; seek professional advice; access affordable long-term financing; attract investment on their land; and work towards building partnerships with other governments. 2) Land management under the Land Management Act allows First Nations to opt out of 1/3 of [viii] the Indian Act’s provisions and create their own land codes to legally manage their land, enter contracts, borrow money, and expend and invest money. 3) Self-government under Section 35 of Canada’s Constitution Act allows First Nations to have decision-making authority and jurisdiction upon some or all of their affairs, upon signing a treaty or agreement with the provincial and federal governments. Despite several advantages, these off-ramps do not help First Nation communities to borrow money for community, land, or infrastructure development. This is resolved by the FNFA, a relatively new and less-studied off-ramp, a not-for-profit Aboriginal led financial lender. FNFA provides continuous access to low interest and long-term (up to 30 years) loans to First Nation communities collectively, without collateral. FNFA calculates every community’s unique borrowing capacity based on their revenue-generating activities. A “revenue intercept mechanism” allows FNFA to directly collect its repayment from the community’s revenue-pool, with certainty. To date, there has been no default on an FNFA loan. FNFA loans are tailored to meet the unique needs of each First Nation; are legally bound and enforceable under the Fiscal Management Act and Financing Secured by Other Revenues Regulations; create high investor certainty; promote accountability and transparency; establish a system of regulatory oversight in case of non-compliance; are relatively quicker to implement; have all-party support; and most importantly allow First Nations to hold decision-making power. To date, FNFA has 91 member First Nations across 8 provinces and 1 territory and has loaned over $634 million dollars which have generated an economic output of over $1.4 billion and 6,786 jobs. Despite several successes, FNFA faces geographical, linguistic, political, bureaucratic, legislative, and conceptual challenges and limitations. However, continuous efforts [ix] are being made to address these, which makes it a viable off-ramp to the Indian Act. The off-ramps discussed throughout this capstone project have created several opportunities for First Nations in Canada. However, they are more favorable to already well-organized First Nations. Property tax only works if there is something worth taxing; land management is only useful when the land is valuable, self-government is a very lengthy process, and even borrowing from the FNFA can only significantly help those communities who have a sufficient revenue stream to pay it back. Therefore, a majority of First Nation communities are continuing to struggle. However, efforts made by the First Nations, federal and provincial governments are steps in the right direction and must be recognized and appreciated.
Open Access
An Examination of Alberta’s Minimum Wage
(2018-08-30) Kosiorek, Keyli; Tombe, Trevor
Throughout its history, the minimum wage has always been a controversial policy. Politicians, economists, businesses and citizens are continually engaged in debates over its effectiveness and its unintended consequences. Initially designed to protect workers from exploitation, the minimum wage has been gaining popularity as an anti-poverty tool. In fact, in recent history there has been a $15 minimum wage movement taking place across North America that aims to put more money into the pockets of those in need and thus reduce poverty. In 2015, under the newly elected NDP government, the Government of Alberta implemented the $15 minimum wage policy. Their plan to reach $15 consisted of a 47% increase of the minimum wage in just 3 years. Alberta was the first province in Canada to implement such a policy, but since then, Ontario and British Colombia have followed in their footsteps. There is an abundance of research on the minimum wage from both the US and Canada, much of which is focused on the impact of the minimum wage on employment. While researchers have not reached a consensus on the magnitude of the effects, most agree that increasing the minimum wage has a negative impact on employment, especially for low-skilled workers and youth. While the research is plentiful, there have been no studies that have examined the impact of the $15 minimum wage movement on employment. Additionally, there has been no study that has looked at Alberta specifically. This paper adds to the existing literature by analyzing the impact that a rapidly increasing minimum wage has had on employment and unemployment in Alberta. To understand the effects of Alberta’s increasing minimum wage on employment and unemployment, I used a natural/observation study of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Alberta was the treatment group in my study because its minimum wage increased significantly starting in 2015. Saskatchewan was the natural control group in my study because they did not increase their minimum wage arbitrarily and only adjusted it slightly each year for inflation. Because the two provinces are so similar in many ways including industry, political landscape, Saskatchewan’s data became the baseline measure of the experiment. Thus, any changes in Alberta’s employment rates that were not seen in Saskatchewan could attributed to the increase in minimum wage that Alberta experienced. For my study I used pooled time-series data collected from the Canadian Labour Force Survey to compare the two provinces in a regression analysis. The analyses were run on four different age groups: 15+, 15-24, 25-54 and 55+. The results from my empirical analysis were consistent with previous literature with coefficients for the employment rate between -0.068 and -0.434 for the period between 1997 and 2017 in Alberta. I also found coefficients for the unemployment rate between 1.064 and 2.327 in the same time period. These results indicate that the increase in the minimum wage in Alberta resulted in a reduction in the employment rate and an increase in the unemployment rate. In addition to this empirical analysis, I looked at the cost of Alberta’s minimum wage increases since 2015. I calculated that the increase from $10.20 to $15 per hour will cost Albertans over $725 million. This is over four times the cost of tax benefit programs such as Alberta’s Family Employment Tax Credit. Such programs are better targeted towards those who need support. In this section of my paper I compare these two policies and the pros and cons of each. It is important to consider the costs and benefits of each policy prior to implementation to ensure that all objectives are being met and that the policy does not create more harm than good. I conclude my paper with three suggestions for policy makers to consider when developing minimum wage policy: First, I suggest that policy makers should have a clear understanding of who earns the minimum wage prior to making any changes. Secondly, I suggest that policy makers should be clear about their objectives in order to create policies that best target their desired group. Finally, I suggest that all policy decisions should be based on detailed cost-benefit analysis and that all documents should be disclosed to the public for transparent debates.
Embargo
Analysis of an Electricity Market Restructuring Reform: The Case of Mexico
(2020-09-10) Flores, Brenda; Shaffer, Blake
In 2013, Mexico started reforming its electricity sector, expecting improvements in the performance of the industry and increases in consumers’ welfare. The 2012-2018 administration introduced competition to their generation segment and created a Wholesale Electricity Market through a series of constitutional amendments. It aimed to attract private capital to modernize the sector and improve the quality and reliability of energy supply in the country. It also sought to decrease the high electric costs and encourage the incorporation of clean energy in the sector. However, consumer prices have not reflected the improvements in competition in the market. This framework has allowed the current government to propose measures that are opposed to the competitive model. The purpose of this project is to analyze the implemented policies and their consequences, as well as the implications of keep increasing market competitions or returning to a state-owned utility monopoly. Paul Joskow developed some key principles for reforming processes to create efficient electricity markets. These principles can be used as a “standard model” for jurisdictions restructuring their power sector. The model can be helpful to analyze any country’s restructuring electricity reforms. This project compares them to Mexico’s measures to identify barriers to competition and other sources of inefficiencies in the Mexican electricity market. According to the literature review, the model based on Joskow’s principles for a successful liberalizing reform mainly consists of: i) Privatization of state-owned utilities, ii) Vertical separation of competitive segments, iii) Designation of a single Independent System Operator (ISO), iv) Promotion of efficient access to the transmission network, v) Creation of voluntary public wholesale spot energy and operating reserve market institutions, vi) Development of active demand-side institutions and vii) Creation of independent regulatory agencies. For a reform to be successful, it also needs a strong political commitment to it. Furthermore, nonstable market rules and regulatory imperfections deter potential investments in new generating capacity. Mexico complied with the vertical and horizontal separation of the state utility, the designation of an ISO, the creation of the institutions for a wholesale market and the creation of independent regulatory agencies. Nevertheless, the Mexican restructuring process did not privatize its state-owned utility. That decision makes it harder to incentivize performance improvements and the utility can be used to pursue political agendas. Also, Mexico is still in an early stage in the development of demand-side management institutions, limiting the efficiency of the market to incorporate demand responses. Moreover, prices have not decreased due to the increasing congestion in various links of the national transmission network. Additionally, with the change in administration, there is currently weak political support for the reform and the market rules are unstable, discouraging investment. The legal separation of CFE was pulled back and two temporarily suspended agreements may allow for exclusionary behaviour in the access to transmission. These actions impose further barriers to competition.
Open Access
Appraising Canadian Development Assistance before and after CIDA
(2022) Akrouch, Hepa; Hiebert, Maureen
In 2013, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), an organization vested with administering foreign aid programs in developing countries, was folded into the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. This capstone will assess the impact of this administrative change on Canada’s development assistance strategy and recipient countries. It will also shed light on whether the decision to merge CIDA into the Department of Foreign Affairs has contributed negatively or positively to Canadian development assistance, all of which will ideally inform future development assistance policy initiatives and governance of development aid.
Open Access
Artificial Intelligence, Government Employment and Productivity: Implications for Canadian Federal Government Employment and Costs From AI-augmented Services Implementation
(2018-09-15) Neff, Benjamin; Mansell, Robert
For any government, being responsible with the taxes of its citizens is of the upmost importance. Therefore, the services it provides must be of the highest quality and efficiency. In recent years, that expectation was unrealized by the average Canadian citizen. Federal services continue to be slow, bothersome, unsatisfactory, and inefficient. However, new technological investment could reverse this course and facilitate a more efficient and satisfactory service. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a group of cognitive technologies that could provide such changes. As AI is increasing in ubiquity across all sectors of the economy and society at large, there is a substantial debate over how AI will affect them. While there is substantial optimism of the eventual productivity growth and new job creation, there is also pessimism that the technologies will replace far more jobs than they create. Some estimates project that nearly half of the current American jobs will be replaced with AI labour in the next 40 or so years. AI is proving itself to be a general purpose technology that will change the shape of how businesses are run and how the economy is structured. However, this is causing a substantial amount of concern associated with middle class income and employment growth. [vii] In the next 5 to 7-year period, Ai will continue to cause disruptions in employment decisions in all sectors of the economy—that includes government work. As such, the Canadian federal government needs to formulate a plan regarding if and how much it should invest into AI. This study explores the effects of AI on the Canadian government based on comparative studies of AI on US government employment. It finds that in a medium-term timeframe, the federal government could accrue an annual benefit of up to $4.1 billion annually from forgone salary costs from a sample of 23 departments and agencies. These savings are from up to 97 million annual labour-hours that could be replaced through a high level of investment into AI. Based on a comparative analysis with developments in the United States, a number of policy recommendations are advanced. These include the following. • Start investing into AI technologies today. The benefits from machine learning and the development processes are compounding. The earlier the government starts, the sooner they can produce increasing efficiencies. • Provide AI literacy training for the current workforce. This prepares and equips government workers to adapt to complementary tasks and prevents morale disruptions. • Reduce the workforce. Government jobs that become predominantly redundant should be eliminated with prudent investment of the savings in salary costs. • Consult citizens. Citizen input is critical for AI implementation to foster political support for a long process that might not produce visible results quickly. • Avoid AI decision-making. For ethical reasons, humans should be the primary decision makers to prevent data biases.
Open Access
Campaigns of Disinformation: Modern Warfare, Electoral Interference, and Canada’s Security Environment
(2019-07-30) Tuttle, Devin; Rioux, Jean-Sébastien
This capstone develops a risk assessment of Canada’s democratic institutions as it relates to potential foreign interference in the 2019 federal election, determining what factors should be of most concern for Canadian policymakers charged with defending Canada’s democratic infrastructure from foreign interference. Through a literature review of non-linear warfare, social media networks and algorithms, I discuss the technological and behavioural factors that have contributed to the vulnerabilities in Western states, namely the advent of a changing media and information environment. I argue that changes in technological and information accessibility have allowed states who have been traditionally disadvantaged in terms of warfare capabilities to overcome these asymmetries. I go on to explore cases of recent interferences in domestic by Russia and China, providing a comprehensive overview of each state’s motivations for engaging in non-linear warfare: historical grievances against the Liberal International Order, changing tactics in modern warfare, and interference strategies in foreign elections. Following these case studies, I then assess why Canada is viewed as a target from the perspectives of both Russia and China, and the different motivations of these states in intervening in Canada. Following an assessment of Canada’s security environment as it relates to election interference, I evaluate the safeguards Canada has put in place to defend against attacks to its democratic institutions. I devise a risk matrix that codifies the threats Canada will likely face during the pre-election and election period leading up to the 2019 federal election. This capstone concludes with a recommendation that urges Canada to institute a National Centre for Strategic Communications and Digital Democracy that would develop cohesive strategies to safeguard democracy in Canada against foreign influence campaigns, cyber-attacks, and disinformation.
Open Access
Canadian Refugee Policy: An analysis of the Syrian refugee resettlement initiative in Alberta
(2018-09-14) Mendonca, Luisa; Rioux, Jean-Sébastien
The Syrian War has drastically destroyed the country creating an enormous wave of refugees fleeing for safety to neighbouring countries as well as, to North America and Europe. The Syrian Horizontal Initiative (referred as the “Syrian Initiative” in this capstone) resettled Syrian refugees in 280 communities across Canada. Canada has resettled 21,876 GARs, 3,931blended visa-office referred Syrian refugees and 14,274 Privately sponsored refugees (PSRs), being a total of 40,081 Syrian refugees in Canada, as of January 2017. By July 31, 2018 Canada has resettled 17,732 more Syrian refugees, being of a total of 57,815 Syrian refugees resettled in the country (Please see Appendix 1 for table). In fact, the Syrian Initiative has been considered one of the fastest resettlement-refugee initiatives in recent history. Due to the speed of this initiative, the Federal government did not consider how much cities and provinces would be impacted by this influx. The policy making process for this initiative revived issues and differences between policymaking and policy implementation in the processes of refugee integration. Throughout this capstone, I focused on analyzing and identifying the gaps between the decision-making processes and how it has reflected on provinces and municipalities as the federal government, and therefore, what were the key issues of resettlement identified by local service providers in this sector, municipalities and provinces. In fact, one of my key findings was the issues regarding communication and coordination of services and decisions between the federal and provincial governments, as well as local organizations. For this capstone, I focused on the impact of the Syrian Initiative in Alberta and specifically in Calgary. I investigated the recent history of the Canadian Refugee Policy and looked into Government reports, City and municipalities’ resettlement strategies, key umbrella organization reports, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Open access Data, among recent articles and research about the Syrian crisis in Canada. In addition, I also researched Alberta’s and Calgary’s local partnership initiatives aimed to help with the Syrian Initiative. In conclusion, communication and information sharing between agencies at all levels of government, continued partnership and coordinated services could help bridge the gap in services and lack of planning between policy making and implementation. With an Advisory committee consisting of key players of the sector, such as, umbrella organizations, municipalities and provincial government representatives, the Federal government could help better plan its refugee policies and consult them on how this policy could affect local organization, services and communities in Canada. This would foster better policy implementation and planning to help newcomers in Canada.
Open Access
Caring for socially disadvantaged patients
(2021-09) Morin, N.; Forest, P.G.
Open Access
Case Studies in Canadian Regulatory Review: Recommendations for a Better Policy & Process
(2019-08-23) Lathrop, John; Leslie, Myles
Infrastructure projects in Canada have become highly divisive across regional, political and cultural lines. Regulatory reviews have been slowed or halted due to public opposition, consultative mismanagement and a poor or incomplete understanding of where legal authority lies and how it must be used. Current policy approaches to consultation are unequal to the task of allowing stakeholders to work through these points of contention in an atmosphere of efficient consensus building. Using three specific examples of stalled energy infrastructure projects, this capstone presents process reform options for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the consultation process. Its opening section begins by outlining the political perspectives shaping energy infrastructure approval debates, showing how economic and environmental concerns are central points of contention among stakeholders. It then examines the intersection of culture, law, and economics, showing how the values and norms of Aboriginal communities are ingrained in legal frameworks that confer a duty to consult on the government. The same economic and environmental arguments used in the energy infrastructure debate also shape these legally mandated, culturally informed discussions. The opening section then closes with an examination of the laws, policies, and organizations that presently structure the processes of consultation. The central argument through this account of energy infrastructure contention is that present policy approaches are inadequate and require reform. The second section of the capstone presents three case studies of stalled or failed energy infrastructure approvals, highlighting in each case the specific challenges and shortcomings of existing approaches and processes. A common thread throughout all three is the inadequacy of current policy to facilitate meaningful conversations. The closing section of the capstone draws on a range of scholarly literatures to present options for meeting the challenges described in the first two sections.
Open Access
CF-39 Arrow II: A Swedish Solution to the CF-18 Replacement Problem
(2018-09-17) McColl, Alexander; Bercuson, David J.
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau ordered 138 CF-18 fighter jets in 1980. As of September 2018, 76 modernized CF-18s remain in service. Over the past two decades, four different Prime Ministers have been involved in selecting a replacement for the CF-18. With a purchase price of over $16 billion and a potential total lifetime cost of over $40 billion, the CF-18 replacement will be the second most expensive military procurement in Canadian history. Not only will the CF-18 replacement program have to fight for funding against the general austerity and easy riding nature of Canadians, but it will also be running concurrently with the largest military procurement in Canadian history: The National Shipbuilding Strategy. This paper reviews the history of Canadian military procurement, with emphasis on the successful New Fighter Aircraft (NFA) program of the 1970s that selected the CF-18, and how those lessons should be applied to the CF-18 replacement. This paper argues that, absent the political will to provide considerably more than 1.15% of GDP in defence spending, the Canadian Forces can no longer afford to be a modern multipurpose force and should instead move to a Navy centric force structure. By reviewing how the CF-18 serves at home on the NORAD mission, in Europe on NATO air policing missions, and as part of coalition combat missions; the minimum requirements for the CF-18 replacement are identified. This paper recommends employing the NFA methodology to design a defence policy for easy riders. Such a defence policy will meet military objectives with best value, state-of-the-art technology that also offers full industrial offsets for Canadian industry. The best value solution to the CF-18 replacement is the least expensive jet in the competition: the Saab Gripen.
Open Access
Charitable Services and Holes in the Social Safety Net: Spatial Accessibility of Women’s Shelters
(2019-09-09) Walton, Mackenzie; Kneebone, R. D.
Charitable organizations play a crucial role in Alberta’s social safety net by providing important services to at-risk populations. Non-profits and charities mobilize local donations of labour and money to provide services efficiently, but it is not guaranteed that charitable social services are distributed equitably. In 2017, non-public charities in Alberta received approximately $42 billion in revenue from the provincial government to deliver health, education, and social services, but not all Albertans are able to access the plethora of services. Spatial accessibility studies with a more coordinated approach to social service planning can play a role in ensuring that these services are distributed equitably to all Albertans. Spatial accessibility analysis can determine if communities across Alberta have access to crucial social services. This analysis uses a combination of Canada Revenue Agency, Census, and HelpSeeker.org data to determine which communities and populations in Alberta have access to one crucial social service: domestic violence women’s shelters. Reasonable travel distances, or “service areas,” for the 40 women’s shelters in Alberta were created using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. This then allows for the identification and analysis of communities outside of reasonable travel distances of women’s shelters, which this study refers to as a “service desert”. Women’s shelters operate as a vital space for survivors of domestic violence, and the findings of this study have identified that over 245 000 Albertans live in areas outside the service areas of women’s shelters. Albertans outside the service areas of primary or emergency women’s shelters tend to have lower incomes, a larger proportion of houses living under the low-income measure, and higher Indigenous populations. These population attributes have been linked to higher rates of domestic violence, which suggest that many communities without access to women’s shelters may be in the highest need of women’s shelters. The service desert for secondary, or long-term, women’s shelters serves even fewer Albertans and includes Alberta’s third and fourth largest cities. The spatial accessibility analysis of women’s shelters identifies gaps in the social safety net where government action can provide safety, security, and support to survivors of domestic violence. Addressing these gaps in the social safety net is more complicated than just building new women’s shelters. Social service users, like survivors of domestic violence, often require a multitude of social services. Charitable services require more than just provincial government backing, but also individual donations of time and money, and coordination between several organizations and governments. To properly address gaps in the delivery of charitable social services, system integration of services and regional social service mapping will allow for both more efficient and equitable distribution of charitable services.
Open Access
Charter Schools and Educational Diversity in Alberta: Assessing the success of Alberta charter schools and the potential for expansion in Alberta and other Canadian provinces
(2018-06-04) MacPherson, Paige T.; Flanagan, Tom
Charter schools have been operating in Alberta for over twenty years, yet their growth has been limited in the province and the model has not expanded to the rest of Canada. Functioning as autonomous, government-funded, non-profit schools which charge no tuition – each offering a unique educational approach and performing independent research – charter schools represent an innovative model of public education. An analysis of provincial enrollment data shows charter school enrollment is growing relative to total school age population in Alberta, and anecdotal evidence shows strong parental demand for charter schools. An analysis of grade six and nine Provincial Achievement Test (PAT) score data in Alberta between 1997/98 and 2016/17 shows that charter schools on average almost always outperform all other types of schools – notably outperforming independent schools – while operating at a much lower cost to government than traditional public schools. When broken down school by school, it has been shown that charter schools achieve consistently high average PAT scores, and the few charter schools that fall below the traditional public school average scores have shown steady improvement over time. Yet, the provincially mandated cap on the number of schools in the province has not been reached. It appears that regulatory and practical barriers have constrained the expansion of charter schools in the province. The Alberta government could implement policy reforms to remove these barriers, reallocate additional funding for transportation and some capital costs, and encourage charter school growth. For decades, charter schools have served as an integral part of the educational choice frameworks in both Alberta and the United States, and represent an opportunity for other Canadian provinces looking to increase diversity within their education systems and better engage students who are not best served by traditional public schools. A review of the education systems in each Canadian province and a literature review of existing research on charter schools in the United States and Alberta demonstrate that charter schools likely cannot be introduced without overcoming some political barriers. However, charter school policies bring great potential for offering a wider range of educational options to students of all income levels, and may be exceptionally valuable for engaging disadvantaged student populations in classroom learning. By several measures, the Alberta government’s experiment with charter schools has proven successful for students, but there is room to grow. The introduction of charter schools is a worthwhile policy for other provincial governments to consider, and the Alberta model offers useful lessons to aid in the process.
Open Access
Child Sexual Abuse in Alberta: A Culture of Silence and Inaction
(2018-09-13) Sekhon, Hamreet; Wells, Lana
In today’s changing social landscape with shifting social attitudes, more than ever before survivors of sexual abuse are coming forward with their experiences. Despite the increase in reporting and attention to sexual abuse; incidences of child sexual abuse remain under reported. The aim of this paper is to examine the prevalence of child sexual abuse, analyze literature regarding preventative policy methods, review current Alberta legislation with respect to child sexual abuse, and discuss how the government of Alberta can further their commitment to preventing child sexual abuse through a change in legislation. An analysis of the scope of the problem of child sexual abuse makes it apparent that child sexual abuse is a widely prevalent issue. The literature and legislation review suggest that efforts concerning child sexual abuse prevention have been focused on secondary and tertiary prevention and as a result, will not entirely resolve the problem. This paper illustrates the severe long-term health impacts endured from child sexual abuse and the economic impact that childhood sexual abuse has on Canadian society. In addition, the paper identifies a gap in education and lack of primary prevention measures. The literature suggests that any policy or preventative strategy should be mindful of the needs of diverse and marginalized populations. To prevent child sexual abuse, legislation and research should shift towards evidence-informed prevention measures. The findings of this report suggest the Government of Alberta: • Increase funding towards primary prevention • Create a provincial task force to review the validity and applicability of Erin’s Law • Develop a child sexual abuse provincial framework that is actionable • Call upon the Government of Canada to create a national study on child sexual abuse It is critical that legislation be used as a tool that not only protects children but prevents abuse. Challenging the status quo will require the Alberta government to change legislation substantially while adopting a new paradigm that incorporates both primary and secondary prevention.
Open Access
Chinese Investment in Canada: Trends and Policy Responses
(2018-09-12) Bettcher, Kai Valdez; Dahlby, Beverly G.
After constructing a novel, transaction-level dataset on China’s direct investment into Canada, this paper examines the trends of said foreign direct investment over the past quarter century and places them within the context of their ongoing public policy issues. China’s investment into Canada has a controversial history, in large part due to concerns over China’s state-ownership of the investors. By presenting the scale and forms of this investment, it is possible both to determine what avenues exist to respond to it, and to assess how founded concerns over ownership are. The dataset reveals that China’s investors conducted 783 transactions into Canada for the period 1993 through 2017, for a total of C$86 billion. State-owned investments have played a significant role in China’s investment history in Canada, but have in recent years become less significant than private investment flows from China. Still, the controversy surrounding China’s investment activities continues to draw significant attention, with the result being a need for evidence-based responses to the costs, benefits, risks, and opportunities of said investment. Options for amendments to the Canadian Investment Canada Act are one such avenue to improve the system, but must balance public and international investment concerns, and need to be conducted alongside enhanced investment monitoring policies.