CMNS 261

Finding Public Policy Documents

Sylvia Robertssroberts@sfu.ca

778-782-3681

Policy: Definition

…an overall plan embracing general goals and procedures and intended to guide and determine decisions.

   The Penguin English Dictionary .(2000). Retrieved 04 February 2006,

from xreferplus. http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/1163851 .

Public policy changes initiated by…

Political parties (election promises) International treaties Government departments responding

to environmental influences, e.g. technology, other gov’t policy

Interest groups such as consumer or trade associations

Expert bodies

Public policy documented in… Legislation: bills, statutes, regulations Committee reports, proceedings, evidence Record of debates (Hansard) Case law Annual reports & budgets for ministries,

government agencies Position papers by ministries, NGOs, industry

associations, think tanks, etc. Policy manuals

Event Document1. Legislation introduced2. Debate in parliament at 2nd reading3. Referred to committee for study4. 3rd reading5. Senate6. Royal assent7. In force8. Specific aspects regulated

1st reading billHansard for record of debatesCommittee report

3rd reading billPossible amendmentsAnnual statutesOrder in CouncilRegulations

Public policy research Both primary & secondary sources are

important in understanding public policy

Ask yourself:• What’s the subject of the policy?• What jurisdiction is responsible: federal,

provincial, municipal / local?• Is the policy based on law or some other

authority?• What documents express this policy?

Primary sources Crucial in defining policy Primary public policy documents

produced and distributed by government departments & agencies

Documentary research into public policy involves records of • Intended policy • Implementation & interpretation of

policy• Review of policy

Secondary sources Provide background for in-depth analysis Provide clues to help identify primary

documents Examples:

• Monographs & research reports• Academic journal articles• News articles• Reports from think tanks & policy institutes• Position papers produced by interest groups

(industry, NGOs, consumers, professionals)

How to find policy sources?

Continue by searching for secondary sources that discuss the policy issues raised in the document

Use these both for their content and to identify leads to additional primary sources for further research

How to find policy sources?

START by reading your policy document

Note significant groups, events and documents, especially:• Government (ministries, agencies,

committees)• Interest groups, researchers, lobbyists

(witnesses, submissions)• Legislation, law cases, policy papers• Significant events and dates

Executive Branch – Types of policy documents

Position papers Program reports Studies Proposed budgets Task force & Royal

Commission reports Annual reports & other

administrative materials

Finding Executive Branch documents Search the top level web site at the appropriate

jurisdictional level, e.g. Government of Canada, to identify key gov’t agencies concerned with this topic

Continue by searching/browsing web sites for these specific ministries or government agencies

Use the Canadian Research Index to identify gov’t reports and policy papers by topic

Look for references to gov’t bodies and specific policy documents in academic literature and news articles

Legislative Branch - Types of policy documents

Bills Statutes Regulations, Record of debates (Hansard) Committee reports Minutes & proceedings of

committee meetings

Finding Legislative Branch documents

Pending legislation (bills) found on the Parliamentary web site

Current statutes on the Dept of Justice web site

Search the text of the Debates of the House of Commons in Hansard

Commons /Senate Committee reports via the Parliamentary web site

Use secondary source (specialized encyclopedias, indexes, articles) to find relevant legislation by topic

The Judiciary (law reports) Law reports are published judicial decisions

e.g. CCH Canadian Ltd v. Law Society of Upper Canada

Use secondary sources specific to legal materials to identify case reports by topic:• The Canadian encyclopaedic digest,

western, • The Canadian Abridgement Digests• Index to Canadian Legal Literature

You can also find references to case law in academic literature and news articles

Interest Groups

Legislation & government policy is influenced by consultation with constituents / citizens and with interest groups

Interest groups may focus on a single issue or represent a specific political perspective on many issues

Interest Groups may represent:

Industry Professiona

ls Consumers Citizens Think tanks Trade

unions Bureaucrat

s

Activists NGOs Cultural perspectives

(language, religion) Demographic

perspectives (disabilities, seniors, poverty)

Identifying Interest Groups

Start to identify stakeholders for your policy issue by looking at list of witnesses and submissions in your policy document

Supplement this with individuals or groups named in secondary sources (e.g. news) and on association web sites

Check out the lobbyist registry

Identifying Interest Groups’ Positions Go to the Parliamentary web site to

find Committee proceedings, minutes and evidence

Look for publications by or about these groups on the web, such as: • position papers • listserv discussions• letters to government

Use news sources to search for articles that mention or quote them

Other national policy documents Secondary sources can provide

names of specific documents or agencies

Use article indexes, web searches Can search portal sites for specific

governments OR legislative or executive branch web sites

Government structures or their approach to policy issue may differ from Canada

PROCESS Use the research guides and read your

course notes Take good notes as you go Follow your leads Talk to librarians (in person or via AskAway

) if you encounter difficulties Citation guides for government documents

at the end of the guide