New Mowat Bulletin
Federal Budget 2010
The Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation is an independent, non-partisan public policy think tank. We were established in 2009 with seed money from the Ontario government.
We undertake applied public policy research and engage in public dialogue on federal issues important to the prosperity and quality of life of Ontario and Canada. The Mowat Centre has a mandate to propose innovative, research-driven public policy recommendations that work on behalf of Canadians in all regions of the country, including Ontario.
The Mowat Centre believes that many foundational federal programs are built around outdated assumptions and need to be modernized in light of new Canadian and global economic and social realities.
The development of a dynamic, next-generation policy agenda for Canada will be facilitated by the best academic research, a deep knowledge of international practice, an awareness of the realities of government decision making and an appreciation of the real work of program delivery in communities.
We undertake our work in a manner that supports engaged and thoughtful public debate on policy issues.
The Mowat Centre is committed to generating knowledge collaboratively and capitalizing on new communications technologies. We connect leading public policy researchers with government decision-makers and practitioners to ensure that research is relevant, timely and informed by an understanding of government and practice.
We believe a prosperous, equitable, and dynamic Canada requires strong provinces, including a strong Ontario, and strong cities.
Canada’s policy agenda has stalled in recent years. Fresh research and evidence are needed to kick start the national conversation about our policy choices.
The Mowat Centre is an independent non-partisan think tank. Our research focuses on those federal policy frameworks and strategies that will most strongly affect Ontario’s prosperity and quality of life in the next century. Our research is comparative, our recommendations are evidence-based and our proposals are grounded in an understanding of how government works and what makes Canada special.
Our research will bring new evidence to old questions and will make recommendations for new strategies and approaches to some of Canada’s most important policy questions.
At the Mowat Centre we conduct our own research, commission research from leading and new scholars and engage in collaborative research projects with other organizations.
We consider our research a success if it influences the public conversation, has an impact on the policy agenda, engages a wide audience and, ultimately, is translated into real policy change that makes Canada a more successful country.
In the best tradition of think tanks, the animating spirit of our research will be to suggest new but practical ways of looking at long-standing public policy challenges, free from the constraints of short-term political pressures or the policy choices of the past.
The Mowat Centre has eight research streams:
Our early research will focus on approaches to providing income and training support to the unemployed, options for improving federal-provincial cooperation on immigration policy, supporting innovation and economic transformation through effective economic development strategies, and improving representation in the Canadian Parliament.
Matthew Mendelsohn and J. Scott Matthews examine the political implications of Ontarians' changing views about the Canadian federation.
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In the March 2010 issue of Policy Options a number of prominent analysts address questions regarding Canada’s pension system, including: Is there a pension crisis? Will there be sufficient resources in both public and private pensions to look after Canadians in the future? And what kind of pension reform should Canadians be considering?
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This study by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy analyzes Canada’s equalization program and suggests that, in many important areas, levels of government service in the traditional and largest “have” provinces such as British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario are significantly below those in recipient (i.e. "have not") provinces.
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The Maytree Foundation and its policy partners offer a number of proposals for addressing some of the current challenges confronting employment insurance, caregiver benefits, community engagement, diversity in the arts, immigrant job training and refugee policy reform in Canada.
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Barbara MacLaren and Luc Lapointe propose a re-thinking of social benefits for migrant workers from both an ethical and economic perspective.
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Matthew Mendelsohn outlines how the Mowat Centre will bring a new approach to Canadian public policy research.
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Jennifer Wallner
There is a tension between federalism and the welfare state. Federalism, which preserves diversity...
When the global economic crisis hit last fall, Canadian politicians were consumed with debates about...
Ken Kernaghan
Governments are paying increasing attention to the inter-generational transfer of knowledge within the...