Shifting sands
Subtitle: government-group relationships in the health care sector
By: Joan Price Boase.
Series: Canadian public administration series = Collection administration publique canadienne; Canadian public administration series.
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Montreal; Buffalo
Language: eng
Number of pages: 213
Subjects: Medical policy -- Canada.; Medical policy -- Ontario.; Medical policy -- Alberta.; Medical policy -- Nova Scotia.; Medical policy -- Quebec (Province); Health Policy -- Ontario.; Interinstitutional Relations.; Government -- Ontario.; Health Planning Organizations -- Ontario.; Health Policy -- Nova Scotia.; Health Policy -- Alberta.; Politique sanitaire -- Canada.; Politique sanitaire -- Ontario.; Politique sanitaire -- Alberta.; Politique sanitaire -- Nouvelle-Écosse.; Politique sanitaire -- Québec (Province).
Description: In this comparative study Joan Boase traces the evolution of relationships among governments and health care interest groups in four provinces - Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Alberta - and finds that, although they have faced similar problems, they have responded in different ways.

The author employs several theoretical approaches to explain these responses, including community/policy networks, institutionalism, and state traditions, and uses case studies to illustrate the intense interest group activity that has occurred in this sector. Boase reaches three conclusions: (1) with the development of a national health insurance plan, government actions have shifted from reliance on interest group liberalism towards concerted efforts to plan the structure of the welfare system; (2) the different systems of interest intermediation that evolved in the provinces reflect the underlying political and administrative culture and institutional structures within the provinces; and (3) the unique proactive approach taken by Ontario in the 1980s was a deliberate effort to modify the institutional arrangements through which groups had traditionally influenced policy.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [181]-207) and index.
"Institute of Public Administration of Canada."