Date of Award
1985
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Abstract
During the past twenty years, both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick established Royal Commissions which recommended large-scale reform in provincial-muncipal relations. The New Brunswick government implemented most of the reforms proposed whereas the Nova Scotia government did not. The different outcomes in the two provinces can be explained by focusing on certain characteristics of each province's decision-making structures and patterns of demand articulation, using Salisbury's approach.;This study shows that the theoretical elements contained in Salisbury's model are useful for the study of public policy, although refinements had to be made. The decisional system had to be defined in terms of the key elements of the Canadian political system, largely in terms of executive-bureaucratic arrangements. Moreover, the analysis of demand patterns utilized the seemingly neglected distinction between demand patterns of limited versus broad scope.;The New Brunswick experience following the Byrne Commission was one of redistributive policy with the introduction of the 'Program for Equal Opportunity' which resulted in massive changes in provincial-municipal relations. The demands in relation to the Byrne Commission were of an integrated pattern of broad scope and the decisional system New Brunswick was found to be integrated.;The Nova Scotia policy response to the Graham Commission was one of self-regulatory policy in that the provincial government delegated de facto authority to the municipal sector for the development of municipal policy. The decisional system in Nova Scotia was fragmented and the demand pattern was integrated, but of limited scope.;The cases discussed in this study bring to light an important aspect of local gvernment reform. Major municipal reform is unlikely to be implemented unless it can be seen to be associated with other issues of social or economic importance that transcend the municipal sector; that is, it must be associated with a demand pattern of broad scope. This has important consequences for municipal reform because it suggests that only by outside pressure will the municipal sector be significantly reorganized.
Recommended Citation
D'entremont, Harley Louis, "Provincial Restructuring Of Municipal Government: A Comparative Analysis Of New Brunswick And Nova Scotia" (1985). Digitized Theses. 1431.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/1431