Canada and Europe: Comparisons and Relations

The intellectual focus of this conference section is research-based analysis of possibilities for transnational learning between Canada and the EU/ EU member states. The section will promote three strands. The first strand involves panels and papers that address a comparative approach to the study of common policy dilemmas facing Europe and Canada as well as comparative analysis of policy responses. Topics covered might include, for example, social policy; immigration policy and integration of immigrants; democratic legitimacy and political participation; and environmental policy, energy security, and climate change. The second aspect of the conference section involves panels and papers that examine processes of decision-making in multilevel governance/federal systems. The third aspect focuses on the analysis of the Canada-Europe relationship, including the manner in which relations may promote transnational policy learning. Common policy challenges face Canada and Europe in many sectors. For example, social exclusion and increasing social inequality are growing problems on both continents; marginalization has a particularly important impact on youth and on immigrant groups. Also affecting immigrants are new security concerns and the growing influence of xenophobic political actors creating pressures to restrict immigration, to crack down on unregulated border crossings, and to regulate access to citizenship more closely, accompanied most notably in some European countries by a concomitant rise in anti-immigrant sentiments in society. At the same time Canada and European countries are struggling more broadly with patterns of failed labour market inclusion. Other common challenges relate to democratic participation, political legitimacy, and government responsiveness. Canada shares with many (but not all) European countries declining rates of voter turnout and public participation; at the EU level these tendencies are even more marked than at the national level in Europe. Another focus on comparative policy analysis relates to the integration of economic, social and environmental decision making; the science/policy linkage; and the involvement of stakeholders and publics in environmental policy deliberation. Reasons for differing policy approaches in Canada and Europe in relation to a variety of issues are of special interest: the Arctic, the energy/climate change linkage, renewable energy, social welfare and employment policy, and multiculturalism. Multi-level governance (including federal) systems such as the EU and Canada face particular problems of public legitimacy and of policy coordination across many policy sectors. Popular loyalties may be divided between various levels of government, lines of accountability may be blurred, and federal or supranational institutions may seem distant from the citizen. In Europe this is occurring even as EU decisions have an increasing impact on everyday life and despite the European Commission’s efforts to adopt measures that will bolster the Union’s democratic legitimacy. In the Canadian context, institutional and/or constitutional arrangements produce unclear lines of accountability between federal, provincial and municipal authorities, generating political distrust, disinterest and cynicism on the part of the public. Included under this theme would also be panels and papers that examine policy making mechanisms in multi-level governance and federal systems (including federal states within Europe or the EU, and Canada). Such multi-level decision-making poses challenges of internal coordination and policy consistency across jurisdictions both within the EU and Canada; examination of the role of legislation and enforcement/judicial mechanisms as well as soft power tools to bring increased policy coordination within federal systems is also relevant. Equally problems of effectiveness and problem-solving capacity also arise in multi-level systems. On the other hand, while multi-tiered structures of governance in Europe and Canada raise issues of effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of various levels of government, they also provide interesting venues for innovation which also warrant closer analysis. The relationship between Canada and Europe/the EU or particular countries within Europe is the third focus theme of the section. The recent signing of the Canada-Europe Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) make this topic particularly current. However, opportunities for realization of possibilities for enhanced cooperation under these agreements and possible spin-off effects, both domestically and in regard to relations of both partners with the United States (particularly as the TTIP is under negotiation), require deeper examination. More broadly, the move from a uni-polar to a type of multi-polar global system creates challenges but also opportunities for cooperation between the middle-power Canada and Europe in the international sphere, particularly (but not only) in areas where Canada’s interests sometimes diverge from those of the United States. Important areas of current or potential cooperation include international conflict management, reinforcement of international law, promotion of human rights, and possibilities for generating multilateral or international regimes to address global security issues. While Canada-EU summits and agreements often set out ambitious goals for the relationship, the follow-through can be halting and inconsistent. Canada is a ‘strategic partner’ for the EU, but it is not the only one. As the junior partner in a trilateral relationship involving the US, Canada, and Europe, Canada often faces a risk of finding itself isolated or subject to the decisions of others. Other themes addressed in this aspect could include implications for Canada of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy, as well as the future direction of NATO in providing a continued transatlantic security instrument. Papers that address innovative policy responses and that take a genuinely comparative approach are most welcome. An underlying objective of the conference section is to maximize mutual learning between Canada and Europe, based on a robust research agenda and methodology. This Section is supported by the Canada-Europe Transatlantic Dialogue, a Canada-Europe research network: http://labs.carleton.ca/canadaeurope/.