Canadian Public Policy

Police Powers in Canada: The Evolution and Practice of Authority by R. C. Macleod; DavidSchneidermanReview by: Jim HacklerCanadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Dec., 1995), pp. 479-481Published by: University of Toronto Press on behalf of Canadian Public PolicyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3551355 .

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for a potential investor. Rather, en- vironmental costs and responsibilities may be related to other types of legislation (e.g., liability laws which allow the court to place liability for current environmental damage on previous owners of a business) and to the administration of the law (e.g., the process of having to obtain permits and approvals may entail costly delays for investors). Sec- ond, in light of the increasing emphasis in economics on market-based incentives as a means of dealing with pollution, it is impor- tant to examine whether the legal system in Canada is a help or a hindrance to their success. On this matter, Benidickson merely says that 'formidable design and im- plementation challenges remain' (p.47). While this is clearly an area for future re- search and, perhaps, collaboration between legal experts and economists, I would have liked to have seen more discussion of these matters in his essay.

Whereas Benidickson's essay is helpful for the economist, Olewiler's discussion of the impacts of environmental regulations on competitive firms is couched in terms that a non-economist can readily under- stand. However, her synthesis of the various types of studies looking at the ef- fects - either negative or positive - on in- vestment is welcome to economists, since empirical work in this area is often pub- lished in hard to access sources. I like the fact that she tries to update some of the pre- vious work since the early work appears to show the environmental regulations on average do not affect economic activity very much. While her efforts are stymied by the lack of a consistent set of data over time, her analysis points out the need to have bet- ter quality data. In addition, she identifies key areas of necessary future research.

I find the Doern article to be the weakest of the three, probably because it is the most ambitious and wide-ranging in scope. While his historical analysis of the evolution of the separate institutions governing trade, in- vestment and environment is succinct and makes for interesting reading, I was disap- pointed with the analysis of future trends

associated with the convergence of the three. Aside from the observation that domestic policy now has international re- percussions and international policy has domestic repercussions, Doern does not re- late the discussion of future trends back to the overall issue of the impact of en- vironmental regulation on investment ac- tivity.

On the whole I like this collection of es- says because it contains a set of com- plementary but diverse views. Since en- vironmental issues are by their very nature multidisciplinary, this makes for refreshing reading. On this matter, I do have a small cavil. In his essay, Doern makes the case for more extensive use of expert and scientific opinion in making environmental deci- sions. I think a fourth essay written by an ecologist or chemist might have rounded out the discussion.

DIANE P. DUPONT, Department of Economics, Brock University

Police Powers in Canada: The Evolu- tion and Practice of Authority edited by R.C. Macleod and David Schneiderman. Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1994. Pp.xix,355. $28.00.

This book is the product of a project organ- ized by the Centre for Consitutional Stu- dies at the University of Alberta. The book is divided into five parts. Part One reviews the history of police powers with DeLloyd Guth going back to the Middle Ages and noting influences from England and France that may have affected the Canadian scene. Greg Marquis notes that in the 19th cen- tury police performed a number of social service functions. In the 1920s the police were beginning to view their function as a more limited role of crime-fighting. R.C. Macleod looks at the RCMP and provincial policing and notes that circumstances in Western Canada rather than long-range planning may have been the influential fac-

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tors in creating the present institutions. Part Two deals with police powers and

citizens' rights. Roger Shiner approaches the topic from a philosophical perspective which was pretty heavy going for this social scientist. Don Stuart asks if the Charter of Rights has made it difficult for police to carry out their tasks. Unlike the United States, Canada has not followed the exclu- sionary rule, that is, throwing the evidence out if it was gathered improperly. The Charter, however, may allow more evidence to be excluded. Martin Friedland uses a dis- cussion of the Charter and the activities of the now defunct Law Reform Commission to debate the efficacy and advisability of at- tempting reform through legislation or through litigation and the courts.

Part Three discusses police organization and minority representation. Aboriginal policing is central to this topic and Curt Griffiths asks if deficiencies in policing con- tribute to the Native crime problem. So far experiments in this area have not provided either promising or clear guidelines. Harish Jain describes some of the problems in re- cruiting visible minorities and clearly favours more efforts in this direction. But would that help? Chris Braiden notes that the 27 police officers at Rodney King's beat- ing included African American, Latino, and female officers - and none of them did any- thing to stop it.

Part Four focuses on police and politics. Are the police independent agents? Can they remain aloof from the politics and poli- ticians of the day? James Robb uses the prosecution of a journalist to ask if some police charges are politically motivated and whether such prosecution restricts the freedom of expression of the press. He also refers to factors which led up to the passage of Bill C-79. In 1990 police were investigat- ing allegations of misuse of public funds by Members of Parliament. Bill C-79 was passed rapidly which gave Parliament ex- traordinary authority and made the inves- tigating and charging of Members of Parlia- ment more difficult. As David Smith notes in the next chapter, Bill C-79 'goes some

way to placing Members of Parliament be- yond the reach of the Police'(p.192). Philip Stenning's chapter in this section suggests that efforts to separate the police from politics makes little sense in theory or in practice. He also raises questions about the recent popularity of community policing. Does this greater sensitivity to the commu- nity also make police more receptive to political currents?

Part Five provides some local case stu- dies. Jean-Paul Brodeur and Louise Viau focus on the Oka crisis of 1990 and the Oc- tober crisis of 1970. While the conflict with the Front de liberation du Quebec (FLQ) led to no police officers being disciplined for violating citizens' rights, the armed con- frontation between the Mohawks and the provincial police in Quebec has led to 39 police officers facing disciplinary action. The core of this chapter deals with what may become a more common event: how should authorities respond to crises? In the final chapter Chris Braiden reviews the evolution of community policing in Edmon- ton. Unlike the cautious, prudent, and scholarly authors who have trouble coming to conclusions, Braiden bluntly states that the entrenched culture of policing and managerial complacency has led to parking one's brain at the beginning of a shift and performing policing tasks as part of mind- less rituals.

The resulting anthology reflects both the strengths and the weakness of such collec- tions. The strengths are apparent as top Canadian scholars in policing offer sophis- ticated ideas. Weakness appears in develop- ing coherent themes in a systematic man- ner. For example, there are several para- digms that try to 'explain' the role of mod- ern policing. A Marxist-based paradigm suggests that crime is a crude form of social protest against a capitalist system which favours a few and exploits the many. Greg Marquis points out why such a paradigm has been popular among many authors (p.25). David Smith (p.201) and Philip Sten- ning (p.210) also raise the issue, but is this perspective right? Is this 'explanation' sup-

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ported by empirical evidence? Is it a fig- ment of scholars' imaginations, or some- where in between? Many restate the gen- eral debate but rarely help us make an assessment.

Macleod is an exception. He offers a more specific explanation of how Canadian policing differs from the British and Amer- ican models, being more akin to policing in some European countries (p.45). Macleod does not buy the 'Canadian national character makes us more inclined to defer to authority' theme. Rather, the way Canadian police institutions came into ex- istence explains their current character. This implicitly challenges the Marxist par- adigm.

Several chapters ask if the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has hand- cuffed the police. Don Stuart discusses both sides of the issue and argues for a clarifica- tion of police powers, presumably by the courts. But do court decisions lead to clari- fication? And, according to present evi- dence, does the Charter make police work less effective? This type of issue character- izes many of the contributions in this book. Overlapping topics and issues are explored from many different angles, but does the current accumulation of evidence provide us with tentative answers to prevailing questions, answers which admittedly could change with new evidence?

The most refreshing paper was the one by 30-year policeman, Chris Braiden. While scholars and lawyers are obtuse, Braiden says things clearly: 'By the time we reach the higher ranks ... whatever passion and

originality we once possessed are on the wane. Also, when people have been around each other for a quarter-century, collective intellectual boredom sets in. In such a state of ennui people are more apt to be cynics than champions, crotchety than creative. Most senior officers got there by being good followers' (p.314). And 'Good work doesn't generate policy, screw-ups do'(p.315). Long after I have forgotten scholarly termin- ology I will remember 'Management by Stomping Around'. Braiden may not al-

ways be right, but he is clear. The book will be useful for scholars, but

it suffers from verbosity and the lack of a name and subject index.

JIM HACKLER, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta

Canada: The State of the Federation 1994 edited by Douglas M. Brown and Janet Hie- bert. Kingston, Institute of Intergovern- mental Relations, Queen's University, 1994. Pp.ix,234. $20.00.

This is the ninth edition of a work which by now has become a principle staple in the diet of all students of Canadian federalism. The 1994 edition, like its eight predeces- sors, will become required reading for all of those, whether they be bureaucrat, under- graduate, or journalist, who study the viscera of Canadian federalism.

Like all of its predecessors, with the ex- ception of 1992, this edition is divided into four sections: the first includes a sound overview of the state of the federation in 1994 by Douglas Brown; a short but nevertheless insightful study of the Bloc Quebbcois as the official opposition by Alain Noel, and a study of the past, present and possible future of the Reform Party by Th'rBse Arseneau. The major theme of all three essays is the 'fallout' from the 1993 general election and the assumption of power of the 'red booked' Liberals.

Part Two, as in previous years, includes essays on three provinces. This year they are Alberta, Newfoundland and Ontario. Of all of the sections, this one contains the most significant essays in the book; these are discussed later.

Section Three contains three essays all authored by women academics. (Five of the nine essays are by women academics which is a considerable improvement from pre- vious years.) The first by Jill Vickers en- titled 'Why Should Women Care About Fed- eralism?' is a remarkable tour de force

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