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Reforming labour‐market policy governance: the Quebec experience
Author(s) -
Haddow Rodney
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
canadian public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.361
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1754-7121
pISSN - 0008-4840
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-7121.1998.tb01293.x
Subject(s) - corporate governance , political science , politics , private sector , humanities , public administration , economy , management , law , economics , art
Research on labour‐market programs suggests that their effectiveness is enhanced when the private sector is involved in designing and directing them. One way of bringing this influence to bear involves the creation of concerted deliberative assemblies, dominated by organized business and labour, that are granted an important decision‐making authority regarding these measures. This article examines the effort to launch such a deliberative assembly in Quebec, the only Canadian province that has, to this point, succeeded in putting such an assembly into place durably. The model has encountered significant obstacles ‐ above all, the resistance of officials and politicians who are anxious to protect their traditional policy‐making prerogatives, as well as to protect labour‐market programs from uninformed and self‐interested private‐sector input. Nevertheless, the governance reform has acquired a clear record of accomplishments since it was launched in 1991. Moreover, while the Quebec political economy is clearly more auspicious for the concentration model than is the case elsewhere in Canada, it nevertheless offers some useful insights to those who might attempt to apply the model elsewhere in Canada. Sommaire: Selon les recherches sur les programmers concern ant le marché du travail, I'efficacitée de ceux‐ci augmenterait lorsque le secteur prive participe à leur conception et à leur direction. L'un des moyens permettant de faire jouer ce facteur consiste a creer des assemblées délibératives dominées par les syndicats et le patronat, à qui l'on accorded une grande autorité décisionnelie en ces matières. Dans cet article, on examine I'effort de lancer une telle assemblée délibérative au Québec, seule province Canadians qui, à ce jour, ait réussi à mettre sur pied une telle structure de manière Permanente. Ce modèle s'est heurtéà des obstacles importants, surtout à la résistance des functionaries et politicians qui voulaient proteger leurs prérogatives déci‐sionnelles traditionnelles, mais aussi á la difficulté de protéger les programmes du