BLOG #3 CANADA AND LOCAL ECONOMIC AND PUBLIC POLICIES

For the third and final blog,  I am choosing the theme : CANADA AND LOCAL ECONOMIC AND PUBLIC POLICIES. 

Since we discussed Canada's standing with other countries last week, and given some of the events that have shaped up in the last few weeks, it is appropriate to discuss how the Canadian government is handling some of our own local issues. What better time to discuss the state of some of the issues that has been going on in the last few week. Some of the more controversial issues that have come up includes the recent development of the Keystone Pipeline, last year's election results in Ontario's ,  investigations conducted by elections Canada, the state of the budget, the controversy behind the current oil prices and the declining dollar etc. This blog is slightly different that the first one, as I would like all of you to concentrate more on news that combines both economic and public policies rather than just the monetary/fiscal policies. Consider discussing the following:

1) How is the Canadian government dealing with these issues? What are their strategies and reform policies ( if any)?

2) What are some of the pros and cons of these economic/political issues?

3) What are its repercussions on the Canadian people?

4) (Where/when possible) - How does this issue or news tie in with the course content.

The blog is due Sunday , March 15th  before midnight. If you have not completed a blog yet, this will be your last chance to do ( Please keep in mind that it is worth 5% of your final grade) .

BLOGGING OPTION #2: CANADA AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

This week's blogging theme is : CANADA AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. We have been discussing the provisions of NPM, privatization as well as other NPM related services. In lieu of last year's global recession, Harper has made trips to China and India to boost international trade with Asia. I felt that it would be very appropriate to discuss Canada's involvement in multilateral and/or bilateral agreements ( whether it be trade related or political agreements). What about Canada's involvement with Israel and the EU in relation to ISIS? Keep in mind, that you do not need to restrict your blog specific summits as you can definitely branch out and discuss other recent political agreements between Canada and the world. For example, how does the Obama's second term in office affect our relationship with them? Since the previous blog was about monetary and fiscal themes, this blog should solely be about political and multilateral/bilateral trade agreements ( there must be an international connection, for example - troops in Afghanistan, relieving international debt, peacekeeping and so on).

Your news item does not have to be very recent ( I will allow you to go back at least 6-12 months). However do discuss how these multilateral agreements will affect Canada and the Canadian political and economic systems in the future.

You still have your three different methods of delivering this blog ( using a pseudonym, posting it on the blog site directly, or by uploading it privately through the dropbox). The blog is due by Sunday, FEB 15th before midnight.

WELCOME TO BLOG SPOT 2250DE

Since there are many ongoing issues affecting public administration and governance lately, I felt that it would be appropriate to set up a blog so that everyone can share their opinion on current events relating to this course. There are 3 blogging oppurtunities in total for this course. You will be required to blog on ANY ONE of the three "headline" news item based on a theme for that week. THIS WEEK' s THEME is : MONEY MONEY MONEY! So you can share your opinion on any news even relating to finances, taxes, monetary service, pension budget, government overspending etc that you heard or read about recently. Keep in mind that these are blogs and not discussions, so one individual post by you is more than sufficent. You do not need to include the link of the news article, or even mention it, as long as you discuss the subject matter that you heard or read about.
Your blogging is not limited to just newspaper items, as you can comment on ANY news article, or event you heard or read about within the last few weeks/month. Your comments can be opinionated, however you must relate it to the course content. To access the blog site, simple click on the link found on the navigational bar on the course homepage. This link will take you directly to the course blog site.

DISCLAIMER: Please keep in mind that these blogs are public blogs, which means that your blogging posts are available to the public. If you are NOT comfortable with this , you have two options:
1) You can submit your blog via the course homepage under dropbox or
2) you can use a pseudonym and email me your pseudonym at ( nmohan@uoguelph.ca)
Some student prefer to blog in private, which is why we have set up the dropbox option for those who would like to submit their blogs privately using a word document. Some have opted to use pseudonyms for the public blog site and some their real names. We have made accomodations for all of these options. Blogging is NOT the same as discussion, so it is not necessary to respond or critique anyone's blog post if they are on the public forum. The main aim of this assignment is to get students to keep up with current news and share their thoughts on the subject matter.
To create a new blog or to post a comment, please sign in using your google, twitter or yahoo accounts. If this does not work, you can create a new account or use the other methods of submitting your blog.
IF YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS WEEK's THEME, then YOU MUST SUBMIT YOUR BLOG BY SUNDAY June 1st by 11:59 PM in order to obtain 5 marks. You may choose to participate in all three and we will pick your best grade.

If you have any questions about this, please email me or post it in the main discussion forum.

Regards
Prof Mohan