Public Policy of Globalization in Canada

Public policy is embedded into the day-to-day lives of Canadian citizens. Although some may not be actively aware of the multitude of policies, they do determine every aspect of the Canadian society. There are policies that govern air, water, food, transportation, technology, taxes, health and immigration. But this is not an exclusive list of Canadian public polices. Two domains of public policy are domestic and foreign. Internal rules and regulations that govern within a nations border are known as domestic policies (Gale, 2008). Foreign polices are diametric in that they consist of international relations that take place outside a nation’s border. When take together on a global scale, they can be described as global public policies. Globalization can be defined by “homogenized culture, a global economy, and a borderless world” (McBride, 2011, p. 10). To fully understand globalization one should consider all aspects such as, social, culture, technology, economic and political. Globalization has mainly impacted foreign policy, but it has also had an effect on domestic policies. Both policies are not only influenced by globalization, there are various other factors that contribute to the formation of public policies. Often times it can prove difficult to separate the effects that impact both forms of public policy because they are intertwined. Need thesis statement – what are you arguing or exploring in this paper. Also, should there be definitions in your intro? Maybe consider breaking the intro into 2 paragraphs.

Governmental policies in Canada today continue to change and evolve along with the needs of people and the consequences of globalization. More recently were the creation of polices that resulted from ...

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...s to the analysis of politics, in that governments are self-interested who seek to maximize power and as a result they will not satisfy “public interests” (McBride, 2011, p. 30). It logically follows then that these theorists proclaim that the driving force behind policy agendas are special interests and not the people (or globalization).

The paradigm shift from domestic to foreign policies succeeded from the paradigm shift in ideologies. This led to international changes where states no longer managed national economic systems (McBride, 2005, p. 8). As trade and investment spheres grew rapidly, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney agreed to start negotiating free trade agreements. In 1989 the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) came into effect. By 1994 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented but it was originally signed in 1993.