Business-Government Relations in Canada

Vernon V. Kakoschke was a lawyer in the law department of Canadian Pacific.

This textbook is probably the first comprehensive study of business/government relations in Canada. Stanbury, a professor in the Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration at the University of British Columbia, is most well known for his contribution to the study of Canadian competition policy. Apart from being a recognized expert on anti-combines legislation, he has also published numerous works in such fields as government regulation, interest groups, and Native peoples.

The most valuable part of this book is the analytical framework that it provides the student of government-business relations. This framework tries to identify the important variables which influence the processes involved in dealing with government and, to a lesser extent, the outcomes that the relationship produces. It is this framework that makes the book stand out from most of the other literature in this field.

In a chapter entitled “Describing Leviathan,” Stanbury describes the impact of government on the Canadian economy. Another chapter, on issues management, provides a good overview of how issues evolve and get on the public policy agenda. The possible strategies that corporations might use to handle public policy issues are also outlined. Three chapters then focus on lobbying as a specific technique for influencing public policy for the benefit of an interest group.

Although this book is not a “how to” manual for firms and trade associations, it does contain a substantial amount of valuable material on how to influence public policy. Besides being required reading for every MBA student in Canadian universities, this book should be the starting point for any serious student of the subject of govennment-business relations in this country.