Unit 3
Policy Formation: The Institutions and Processes of Political Governance

This unit explains the institutions and processes of political governance. You will be introduced to a model of the policy process and the core political, bureaucratic, and constitutional institutions that affect the policy process. Then, in the latter part of the commentary, you will examine the decision processes of the most powerful institutions of the Canadian government.

The readings for Unit 3 focus on a range of related issues. In the first, Stephen Brooks (2004) provides a detailed overview of the machinery of government. This reading will round out what you learn from the commentary. Sharon Sutherland (1993) provides a comprehensive overview of the role of the public service in policy development. Her analysis includes some discussion of the structure of the public service, the tension between politics and administration, and other important issues. In the final reading, Donald Savoie (1999) develops his well-known argument regarding the ongoing centralization of policy-making-power in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the offices of key bureaucratic structures known as central agencies.

Learning Objectives

When you have completed Unit 3, you should be able to achieve the following learning objectives:

1. Outline and discuss the machinery of government and the various stages of the policy process
2. Explain the impact of Canada’s core constitutional institutions on policy-making
3. Discuss the role of the various political and bureaucratic institutions in the policy process
4. Describe, in some detail, the process of policy decision-making by Cabinet
5. Comment on the power of “the centre” in the policy process