Identity, citizenship, and mobilization: the Nationalities Branch and World War Two
Article Abstract:
A perennial theme of Canadian political debates is the nature of Canada's national identity. It is becoming increasingly clear that this issue is intimately bound up with the question of citizenship, since contemporary identity claims are often couched in the language of rights and the contemporary Canadian state actively encourages identity through citizenship development. The few existing studies on modern Canadian citizenship policy tend to locate its origins in the 1960s, or at best in the 1946 Citizenship Act. This article shows that the questions of identity, citizenship and mobilization were addressed first during World War Two in an agency called the Nationalities Branch of the Department of National War Services. While contemporary policy certainly differs from these origins, the Nationalities Branch nonetheless was the parent of all subsequent administrative organs devoted explicitly to citizenship development. The article shows that citizenship policy first developed around the question of ethnic identity, that "identity formation" through citizenship policy is a coherent field of government activity that pre-dates the Citizenship Act, and that mobilization is an equally coherent field of government practice, even in a liberal-democratic state such as Canada. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Publication Name: Canadian Public Administration
Subject: Government
ISSN: 0008-4840
Year: 1989
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New challenges in public administration
Article Abstract:
Some fundamental questions are being asked about how government is organized and about public servants, their roles and relationships to ministers and Parliament, and the skills and values they need to do their jobs. Sadly, much of what is being said about federal public servants is based on cliches and myths. The purpose of the paper is to consider the forces at play that are changing the federal public service and to review new conditions and circumstances under which public servants must now operate. The paper also looks to the future and points to new emerging challenges for public servants and for the study of public administration. The paper concludes with the suggestion that greater emphasis must be placed inside government on managing human resources more effectively and that a new corporate culture among federal public servants must emerge. It also concludes with a plea for more academic studies on managing in the public sector and on government organization. The paper also calls for closer collaboration between public servants and the academic community. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Publication Name: Canadian Public Administration
Subject: Government
ISSN: 0008-4840
Year: 1988
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The impact of the Charter of Rights on public administration
Article Abstract:
Maternity benefits and the possible sex discrimination entailed are discussed in light of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A Supreme Court decision in the case of Bliss v. A.-G. Canada is analyzed and compared with an article by Professor Marc Gold wherein he addresses the same case. The courts and administrators are seen to process public policy issues in vastly differing ways. Individual justice must go together with governmental efficiency, but not at the expense of morality.
Publication Name: Canadian Public Administration
Subject: Government
ISSN: 0008-4840
Year: 1985
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