Public Policy at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy | University of Toronto

1. Solving a Policy Problem:

Protecting against harm in consumer contracts means allowing consumers to stand up to aggressive businesses and keep their right to choose as they see fit when spending their money.  Economic, contract law and competition theory are all relevant to framing interventions that protect consumers while allowing business innovation and competition. Also, in developing policy, engagement with those who your changes will affect is critical. This seminar will explain the kinds of harm provincial consumer policy most often addresses and use cases of how the government responded when competition in water heaters “boiled over” to illustrate the model in action, as well as describe how federal and provincial roles in the market intersect and the limits of what law and regulation can or should try to accomplish.

2. Working with Stakeholders:

Public policy professionals use a variety of processes and techniques to access expertise and hear from the public and various stakeholders, as they develop evidence-based policy advice to Cabinet. Consultations can range from a narrow presentation of proposals for feedback on how to solve a recognized problem to open-ended processes that seek to bring experts and interested people together in a collaborative effort to provide consensus-based solutions.  The process needs to fit the nature of the problem, the kinds of organizations and people who have a stake in the outcome, and the politics of the day. This portion of the seminar will compare different approaches to consultations.

Speakers:

Phil Simeon, Manager, Standards Development Accessibility Directorate of Ontario

Rob Harper, Senior Policy Advisor, Government and Consumer Services