Since the election of the Mike Harris Conservative government in 1995, Ontario has been the site of some of the most turbulent provincial‐local relations ever experienced in a Canadian province. The province's agenda has included restructuring and realigning the responsibilities and resources of municipal governments and asserting control over the financing and governance of Ontario's education system. The sheer size of this agenda and the interconnections between its two main elements have made the quest to simplify or disentangle provincial‐local relations impossible to achieve. This article documents events as the Conservatives moved from their “Common Sense Revolution” election manifesto to develop and implement a plan for disentanglement of provincial and local government services. It also identifies themes and potential lessons that emerge for government agenda setting and intergovernmental relations. Sommaire: Depuis que le gouvernment conservateur de Mike Harris fut élu au pouvoir en 1995, 1'Ontario a été aux prises avec des relations provinciales‐locales qui sont parmi les plus turbulentes qu'une province canadienne n'ait jamais subies. La province a entrepris de restructurer et réaligner les responsabilités et les ressources des gouvernements municipaux et d'établir son contrôle sur le financement et la gérance du système d'éducation de l'Ontario. L'envergure même de cet agenda et les liens qui relient ses deux principaux éléments ont rendu impossible l'idée de simplifier ou de démêler les relations provinciales‐locales. Cet article examine le déroulement des événements, lorsque les Conservateurs, partant de leur déclaration électorale concemant la eAvolution du bon sens, ont élaborté et mis en oeuvre un plan visant à démêler les services gouvemementaux provinciaux et locaux. II définit également des thèmes et des lecons qui pourraient être utiles lorsqu'un gouvernement veut formuler un plan d'action, ou lorsqu'il s'agit de relations intergouvernementales.

Drawing on research that is part of the five-year Major Collaborative Research Initiative project examining public policy in Canadian municipalities, this article provides an overview of the federal-municipal machinery developed to facilitate urban policy and program development. The ''federal-municipal machinery'' refers to the many programs and initiatives that have been used to structure federalmunicipal relations and influence urban policy and development. The research time frame begins with the period leading up to the creation of the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs, in 1971, and continues through four decades to include recent events of note such as the creation of the Prime Minister's Caucus Task Force on Urban Issues, the subsequent announcements of the New Deal, and the Gas Tax Fund for Canada's cities and communities. The authors begin with a discussion of why federal governments involve themselves in municipal and urban affairs and then provide an overview of their analysis by identifying patterns and trends in the evolution of federal-municipal machinery. They then discuss the effectiveness of the machinery, over three periods, and conclude by considering the implications of their findings for the future of federal-municipal relations in the context of the growing pressures facing urban Canada.Sommaire : Fondé sur la recherche entreprise sur cinq ans dans le cadre du projet intitulé ß Grands travaux de recherche concertée ý qui examine la politique gouvernementale dans les municipalités canadiennes,

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Birds in agricultural environments have exhibited steep global population declines in recent decades, and effective conservation strategies targeting their populations are urgently needed. In grasslands used for hay production, breeding birds’ nest success improves substantially if hay harvests are delayed until after mid-July. However, few studies have investigated private hay producers’ willingness to alter their harvesting practices, which is a critical factor for bird conservation where most land is privately owned, such as in the North American Great Plains. We surveyed Nebraska hay producers to examine whether livestock production, wildlife knowledge, and hunting activity affects their willingness to alter haying practices for bird conservation. The majority (60%) of respondents expressed willingness to delay harvesting hay to allow birds time to nest successfully. Livestock producers and those more knowledgeable about wildlife were more willing to delay hay harvests, whereas active hunters were less willing to do so. Our findings suggest that a majority of private producers show a high potential for engaging in grassland bird conservation activities. Landowners’ willingness to participate in bird conservation programs and actions could be further encouraged through extension and education efforts connecting hay producers with information, support, and funding for bird conservation.

The evaluation field’s understanding of Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies must improve in ways that do not serve to privilege Western ways of knowing, and governmental priorities for accountability. The literature has not identified ways to bridge these in practical ways, nor move the field to balance community and government needs. The paper describes Indigenous ontology and epistemology related to evaluation, then identifies practical challenges bridging Western and Indigenous approaches using the example of the Indigenous Youth Futures Partnership project (IYFP), a seven-year SSHRC sponsored grant. We suggest that there are approaches that work well in these contexts, but that agency is vitally important to establish reciprocity.

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