How Ottawa Spends, 2002-2003: The Security Aftermath and National Priorities

Jeffrey Moon is head of the Documents Reference/Data Centre at Queen’s
University.

The focus of this, the 23rd edition in the How Ottawa Spends series, is
the federal government’s innovation agenda and not, as the title
implies, issues related to 9/11. In the essay on health spending, for
example, discussion of 9/11 is limited and strictly budgetary in nature.
In the essay on state control of information, the topic is mentioned
only briefly in the context of anti-terrorism legislation. Only two
essays concentrate on the events of 9/11 and their implications: the
chapter dealing with the security aftermath and national priorities in
the third Liberal mandate, which gives a colorful, if somewhat dated
(Stockwell Day?), overview of the parties and personalities in the
post-9/11 Parliament; and the chapter titled “Inside the Perimeter,”
which provides a succinct picture of U.S. and Canadian policy agendas
both before and after 9/11.

In the opening chapter, the editor provides an overview of each of the
book’s 12 essays, which makes the abstracts at the back of the book
seem somewhat redundant (although each abstract is also provided in
French). Two useful appendixes provide political and fiscal facts and
trends. The book is not indexed, which is unfortunate given the scope of
topics covered. Each essay is thoroughly referenced.

This book marks a welcome homecoming for G. Bruce Doern, who served as
editor of the How Ottawa Spends series from 1980 to 1983.