Master of Public Policy, Administration and Law (MPPAL) Major Research Papers (MRP) and Topics in Public Policy Papers

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https://hdl.handle.net/10315/37803

This collection features the work of Masters of Public Policy, Administration and Law graduate students, including Major Research Papers and Topics in Public Policy Papers. For more information about the MPPAL program, contact sppagpd@yorku.ca.

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Now showing 1 - 11 of 11

Open Access
Year 1, The Experience of Syrian Refugees in Toronto: Government-Assisted versus Privately Sponsored Refugees.
(2017-08) Salti, Shireen; Couto, Naomi
Research Questions – What are the most useful services and programs offered to Syrian refugees during their first year of arrival? In particular, how have these services differed in the way they offer support to government-assisted refugees and privately sponsored refugees? How do integration trajectories differ between government-assisted refugees and privately sponsored refugees within their first year of arrival? Design/methodology/approach – This study utilizes qualitative interviewing strategies to address the research questions. I have adopted an inductive approach for this research where the theory was derived by gathering data through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with eight government- assisted and seven privately sponsored Syrian refugees in Toronto a year following arrival. I used the social inclusion versus social exclusion framework and the social capital theory as key concepts when analyzing the data. My approach in this research was fueled by social justice and equity issues that emerged within my own life history as a female Palestinian immigrant in Canada. With that perspective in mind, the inception and design of this study was guided by feminist research. Interviews were analyzed for emergent categories and common themes. Findings – The most useful services and programs offered to Syrian refugees during their first year of arrival were government agencies and community organizations. These services differed in the ways that they offered support to government assisted and privately sponsored refugees. Government assisted refugees often referred to individuals they have established connections with such as host volunteers or settlement workers when faced with challenges, as opposed to privately sponsored refugees who depended on their sponsor for access to a wide range of services and resources. Moreover, my findings illustrate that trust influences the building of bonding and bridging social capital and the way in which the host society responded to Syrian refugees’ language challenges influenced their sense of social inclusion and/or social exclusion. Findings also suggest that the orientation session was found to be insufficient by most Syrian refugees as it did not cover the most useful information needed for their early integration period. In general, the integration trajectories of privately sponsored refugees are currently considered to be more positive than government assisted refugees as privately sponsored refugees have less language challenges post migration and have access to sponsors who sustain a social connection beyond the early months of resettlement. Research limitations/implications – By investigating stories of Syrian refugees in Toronto, the study explores subjective views of refugee experiences in this unique and rarely examined group. A larger sample will increase the confidence of the study’s findings and future studies should examine dynamics of these issues over time. Originality/value – This paper presents insight onto the integration trajectories of Syrian refugees from their own perspectives in the short term and how trust and empathy can play a role in facilitating a sense of social inclusion and the building of bonding and bridging social capital. The study’s qualitative approach enabled the examination of pre and post migration challenges experienced by Syrian refugees beyond those typically studied in this literature and led to unique recommendations that provide useful data for program and policy design.
Open Access
Summer Of The Gun - Part 2: The City Of Toronto's Approach To Addressing Gun Violence.
(2019-05) Clancy, Ryan; Soennecken, Dagmar
Research Questions - Why does gun violence in the City of Toronto continue to increase? How are gun violence intervention policies being designed, implemented, and evaluated in the City of Toronto? How are funding decisions being influenced and made in the City of Toronto in response to gun violence? Design/Methodology/Approach – This research paper utilizes qualitative interview and data triangulation strategies to respond to the research questions. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with civil servants, politicians, and researchers who have experience in gun violence intervention policy. The Policy Analytical Capacity and Punctuated Equilibrium theories were used as the primary frameworks in interpreting and analyzing the qualitative interview data. The Policy Window theory was also considered but its ultimate use was limited. Interview data was analyzed, coded, and then explained through identification of common themes. Upon identification of common themes, research data was juxtaposed with other data sources (quantitative statistics, briefing notes, reports, academic journals, literature reviews, jurisdictional evaluations, etc.). Results – The rise of income and social inequality in the City of Toronto is a major contributor to the rise in gun violence. Youth living in marginalized communities do not feel safe and are obtaining and using guns as a form of protection and for a sense of safety. Poor community-police relations and the frequency and severity of violence in marginalized communities are contributing to the reduced feelings of safety. Funding allocations and political decision-making is being heavily influenced by the Toronto Police Service and Toronto Police Service Association. Research findings revealed characteristics of an ‘Iron Triangle’ relationship between the Mayor, the Toronto Police Service, and Toronto Police Service Association. The organization, resources, and inside access of the Toronto Police Service relative to community actors maintains the enforcement-centric policy-approach. The City of Toronto has a strong capacity for evidence- based decision making in the area of gun violence intervention policy. The Toronto Public Service has demonstrated application of best-practice contemporary policy-design approaches in formulating the Toronto Youth Equity Strategies. The short-term nature of funding cycles presents challenges in the implementation stage. Limited resources allocated to program evaluation, the trade-offs involved, high-cost of external evaluations, limited internal capacity for research, and under-utilization of reports prevent the institutionalization of the policy evaluation stage. Recommendations – Opportunities for further research include examining the role of social media in gun violence and the impact for policy-making, the applicability of effective public-health approaches (Ceasefire) for local adoption, longitudinal empirical studies using the policy-windows theory, and social return on investment studies of effective gun violence intervention initiatives. Establishment of new cooperative research partnerships with graduate programs with a focus on program evaluation to build internal capacity for evaluation. Development of an organization to unify the voice of community actors is recommended to balance the power imbalance policy-influence with respect to gun violence intervention policy-making. Research Limitations: The major research paper is a qualitative-focused research study on individual interviewee participants perceptions augmented by data triangulation strategies. This study was conducted at a specific point of time. A larger sample would increase confidence of the study’s findings. As the sample is not a probability-based sample, it is not intended to be used as representative of what is happening in other jurisdictions. Originality/Value: This paper presents insights into the perceptions of policy actors within the field of gun violence intervention policy in the City of Toronto. This local-perspective provides a unique examination of how policies are being formulated, implemented, and evaluated during a time of record-breaking levels of gun violence.
Open Access
Where the Work Gets Done? Functions of Ontario Legislative Committees: A Content Analysis
(2020-04) Gajic, Sara; Klassen, Thomas
There is limited literature examining the functions of Canadian legislative committees as they relate to the creation of public policy. Given the uniquely high level of partisan discipline in Canadian legislatures, it is possible that the political context in which Canadian legislative committees exist make it uniquely difficult for committees to perform the same functions as legislative committees in other nations. Therefore, this study conducts a content analysis of Hansard from 1990 to 2007 to examine the role(s) Ontario legislative committees may play in the development of public policy. The paper hypothesizes that the centralization of power in the Premier’s Office and high level of partisan discipline affects the ability of Ontario committees to affect the development of public policy. The paper searched for instances of the term “committee” in Ontario Hansard documents from 1990 to 2007, a period spanning three governments led by three political parties, and categorized instances in a random sample based on the topic alluded to in each instance of the word’s use. The results indicated that the top two contexts in which committees were mentioned were in the context of altering legislation/motions and consultation. Consultation emerged as a uniquely Canadian committee function that may be related to the high level of partisan discipline in the Ontario legislature, while altering legislation/motions is a function of committees in many legislatures across the world.
Open Access
The Impact Assessment Act, 2019, Climate Change, and Political Priorities in Canada
(2020-04) Offenheim, Alyssa; Spotton Visano, Brenda
The Impact Assessment Act, 2019 was presented as establishing stronger rules to protect the country’s environment and renewing public trust in the decision-making about resource development. The purpose of this study is to constructively assess the extent to which the Act can be used to support Canada’s climate change commitments. Through political analysis, this study finds that as a discretion-based tool, the Impact Assessment Act is designed to accommodate the longstanding economic vision of a Canada, with the attempts to accommodate environmental and social issues highly dependent on context and application. This research can contribute to understanding of the extent to which this tool aligns with Canada’s international commitment to addressing climate change, which can stimulate attention to whether this tool is appropriate in today’s context of growing environmental concern.
Open Access
Public Funding of Ontario Catholic Schools: To Caesar What is Caesar's and to God What is God's
(2020-07) Bustos, Andres Urrutia; Karimi, Sirvan; Ingram, Susan
Section 93 of the Constitution Act 1867, the linchpin of the public funding of Catholic schools, conferred the right to public funding to Catholic schools (and Protestant schools) to protect religious minorities and to secure the Confederation. Since then, Catholic schools in Ontario have enjoyed this exclusive privilege despite the fact that Catholics are not a minority anymore and that Canada has evolved toward a secular, multicultural, and human rights based society. Section 93 has perpetuated this discriminatory practice by a loophole that pits Section 15 against Section 93 of the constitution. Contrary to popular belief, the abrogation of Section 93 can be accomplished through a straightforward legislative enactment, which has not been carried out due to a combination of political and societal factors, rather than legal and constitutional obstacles. It is very difficult to expect that any politician in Ontario will advance a proposal to abrogate Section 93 when a substantial part of Ontario’s population still supports Catholic schools or their public funding; this is despite of polls showing that rejection for continued public funding is marginally superior to its support and despite the difference in academic performance between secular and Catholic schools being less than 7%. Therefore, the proposed “ecumenical” public schools herein may serve as a temporary compromise or as a first step to the complete secularization of Ontario’s education system.
Open Access
Officers of the Assembly and the Ontario Legislature: Reconsidering the Relationship
(2020-07) McCauley, Jocelyn; Constantinou, Peter
Officers of Parliament, or as the are referred to in Ontario, "officers of the Assembly", have emerged within Westminster systems as a recognized tool for enhancing parliamentary oversight and increasing transparency in government. However, in Ontario, the absence of a clearly defined relationship with the provincial legislature has meant that certain officers of the Assembly have felt it necessary to "lobby" individual members and committees, as well as the media, in order to carry out their accountability and oversight functions. This lack of clarity places unnecessary stress on the relationship between independent officers, the Ontario Legislature, and the public sector, and can also negatively impact the public's perception of government overall. This paper looks specifically at the relationship between the Ontario Legislature and officers of the Assembly, in terms of their governance structures, their appearances in legislative committees, and references to their work in House and committee proceedings. It finds that reforms are needed in order to strengthen officers' relationships with the Legislature. Independent officers possess few powers of enforcement and as such, strong ties to the Assembly are necessary to ensure that recommended action is taken by legislators defend public trust and dollars.
Open Access
The Accessibility of Elections to Canadians with Cognitive Disabilities
(2020-09) Lai, Jennifer; Spotton Visano, Brenda
It is enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that all Canadian citizens are guaranteed the right to vote. This research paper explores whether persons with cognitive disabilities are able to exercise this right based on the accessibility provisions provided for in Canadian electoral law. A mixed methodology approach was used to investigate this topic, where qualitative interviews with persons with cognitive disabilities from countries and regions with similar social and policy contexts to Canada’s were used to identify facilitators and barriers to voting. Canada’s 14 different electoral acts were ranked based on the number of accessibility provisions they possessed that could facilitate voting. Ontario was identified as the jurisdiction with the most provisions that could facilitate voting in persons with cognitive disabilities. Trends in the secondary sourced data also revealed that a lack of electoral knowledge and a lack of social support were the most significant barriers to voting for persons with cognitive disabilities. A supportive social network was unanimously identified in the secondary data as a significant facilitator to voting. In fact, it was identified in the secondary data sources that persons with cognitive disabilities that did not have a supportive social network were unable to use the existing accessibility provisions in their region. This finding represents the limitations of Canada’s current accessibility provisions in their ability to facilitate voting for persons with cognitive disabilities. None of Canada’s provisions mandate that social service workers or election officials ensure that persons with cognitive disabilities receive the support they need to understand the electoral process prior to election day. This research paper makes the recommendation that such policy provisions are implemented in Canadian electoral law in order to increase the accessibility of elections to Canadians with cognitive disabilities.
Open Access
Diversity training in the workplace: Assessing effectiveness and outcomes
(2021-04) Kovacs, Gyula; Couto, Naomi
Purpose: This paper reviews the existing literature regarding the effectiveness of diversity training within organizations and examines the empirical evidence and theoretical foundations that support claims that such initiatives can help reduce racist attitudes and behaviours. Methodology: The author conducted a thorough examination of relevant research reported in academic and practitioner publications. Findings: On balance, the evidence supports the contention that diversity training can lead to positive outcomes, but results vary depending on (i) the culture of an organization; (ii) the quality of its leadership; and (iii) the type of diversity training that is offered. Implications: Findings support the assertion that training alone will not eliminate racist attitudes and behaviours in the workplace and must be supported by additional measures to affect positive change. The author concludes with recommendations in this regard. Limitations: The author of this paper did not conduct any independent empirical research. Findings are based on studies conducted by others that likely contain their own limitations and weaknesses, including small sample sizes, inadequate use of diversity training metrics, and an over-reliance on self-reported evaluations (Alhejji et al., 2016, p. 140).
Open Access
Bursting the Ottawa bubble: Government Dispersal & Localization in the Context of a Diversity Strategy
(2022-07) Holmes Weier, Jennifer
The Canadian Public Service envisions a future where they are an inclusive institution where all can belong, powered by a diverse workforce that is representative and reflective of Canada. I was curious about how this commitment to reflect and represent Canada could be achieved when much of the policy workforce is assigned to the National Capital Region (HR Datahub, 2021). Could greater government dispersal and localization foster a more diverse policy workforce? To explore this question, a research project was designed that would a) review and synthesize the relevant literature, b) conduct background research on relevant legislation, policy, and data, and c) conduct a micro case study of the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and lived experiences of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) policy leaders on both diversity and the role of geography in diversity. The review of the evidence suggests that greater dispersal of federal policy jobs to communities across Canada could foster a more representative workforce. This finding comes with a caution that equity-conscious hiring and workplace locational flexibility alone does not create an inclusive work environment. Leaders must also be ready to centre diversity and inclusion in their approach to leadership and have the personal and professional tools to do so. Interviews with ESDC leaders, as a window into the leadership of Canada’s public service, reveals more support and intentionality is needed in this regard. To remove geographic restrictions for diversity purposes with a meaningful inclusion strategy behind it could act as a catalyst for transformation toward the diversity and inclusion vision.
Open Access
Perspectives of Working Mothers in the Ontario Public Service on Hybrid Work Arrangements
(2023)
This exploratory qualitative study examines how hybrid work has impacted working mothers in the Ontario Public Service. Twenty-two participants with children between eighteen months and seventeen years participated in focus groups to understand their perspectives and experiences of the impact of hybrid work on their domestic and professional lives during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current time. The study's results confirm that the participants reported the impact depended on what phase of hybrid work was being discussed, with different challenges occurring earlier in the pandemic compared to the current time. In the present-day hybrid work arrangements, participants reported an overall positive impact from hybrid work in their domestic lives, including housework, childcare responsibilities, and self-care. The reported impact of hybrid work on the participants' professional lives was more nuanced; participants reported increased productivity and satisfaction levels working at home compared with earlier in the pandemic, while remote connection and communication with work colleagues and management remained an ongoing challenge. The perspectives on boundaries between domestic and professional life were divided between participants who appreciated the flexibility of extended hours while working remotely and others who were concerned about the meshing of work and professional life. This small-scale study provides avenues for future larger-scale research, which can help inform the hybrid work policy for the Ontario Public Service and other public service areas moving forward.
Open Access
From Blue to Green : A Case Study of a Non-Police Crisis Intervention Program in Toronto
(2023-05-22)
For many years, the police have become the default first responder to mental health crisis calls in Canada and many other jurisdictions around the world. Phrases such as“street-corner psychiatrist” or “the gatekeeper of the mental health care system” are often used to describe the overreliance on police in responding to mental health crises. The increasing interactions between police and person with mental illnesses (“PMIs”) and the nature of these interactions in recent years have called into question the appropriateness of the role of police in responding to mental health-related service calls. In a recent effort to decrease police involvement in mental health crises, the City of Toronto piloted a non-police, community-led crisis intervention program called the Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) in 2021. This exploratory qualitative study aims to capture the perspectives of policy and frontline staff from the TCCS program to answer the question: “What are the key characteristics of a crisis intervention program to ensure effective responses to people in mental health crises?” Findings from this study suggest that an effective crisis intervention service should have the following characteristics: timely and accessibility of service, responding without law enforcement accompaniment, connecting PMIs to facility-based care as needed through warm hand-offs, empowering PMIs to make their own choices by taking a client-centred approach, building community trust and rapport through engagement and psychoeducation, and providing flexible services to meet the unique needs of PMIs. Crisis intervention provides an opportunity to positively effect change at a turning point in an individual life to help decrease the likelihood of such behaviour in the future. The success of a crisis intervention program is only as great as the resources behind it. Inter-governmental collaboration and investment in community-based resources, including shelter beds, housing, stabilization centers, and support to front-line staff are crucial to ensure a consistent continuum of care for PMIs.

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