Regional Ministers: Power and Influence in the Canadian Cabinet Herman Bakvis Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991, pp. xiv, 378

Abstract

equalization payments and their importance, unemployment insurance spending and recent attempts to reduce its "regional component," and federal regional development efforts. Bruce Doern and Brian Tomlin describe the failure to get a deal on a subsidies code in negotiating the Free Trade Agreement and the many dangers awaiting Canada if or when one is negotiated in the 1990s. They discuss the differing national proposals, the US contention that only Canada subsidizes its exports and the fact that a Free Trade Agreement was only possible when the subsidies issue was put aside. They also suggest that the acceptability of generally available subsidies may give new life to supporters of universality in social programmes. The article by Susan Phillips offers an interesting discussion of the consultation process between government and interest groups. She describes the growth of rights-based groups that believe that they are entitled to be heard and often act as if they owned that right. She also discusses the problems inherent in what constitutes consultation and the emerging problems associated with the funding of groups. Daiva Stasiulis examines a number of aspects of the Conservative government's policies with regard to visible minorities, including its emphasis on economic development and immigration, employment equity and multiculturalism. Michael Prince reviews Conservative pension policies since 1984. Finally, Les Pal makes the argument that the abortion issue, which seemed to be quite unique in the early 1980s, has now been joined by other issues in national politics since the failure of the Meech Lake Accord. The "post-Meech syndrome" saw an increasing number of issues characterized by a similar all-or-nothing politics much like that of the recent politics of abortion. This is an excellent volume but it does raise one concern for this reviewer. A good number of the studies are less concerned with "how Ottawa spends" than they are with describing a particular area of federal policy-making. It may be time for the editors to decide what the real purpose of this volume is and to stick with their decision.