
The Guardian
Perspectives on the Ministry of Finance of Ontario
Patrice Dutil(Editor)
University of Toronto Press
Published on 18. June 2011
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-1-4426-4254-6 (ISBN)
Description
Finance departments have often been portrayed as guardians of the public purse. In The Guardian, a multidisciplinary group of contributors examines the Ministry of Finance of Ontario since the Second World War. During the last sixty years the Ministry was transformed from a relatively small 'Treasury' to a sophisticated policy machine. What started as a modest bookkeeping operation evolved into a key bureaucratic and policy agency as the government of Ontario assumed a leadership position in developing the province.
These essays reveal Ontario's 'finance' as a dynamic policy issue shaped by the personalities of premiers and ministers, the energies of public servants at all levels, and a critical dialogue between political and administrative worlds. Drawing on different methodologies, this collection profiles a ministry as policy entrepreneur, spender, revenue generator, capacity builder, budget director, program manager, and intergovernmental agent. The Guardian fills a significant gap in public administration literature and in so doing describes how Ontario's Ministry of Finance defined its role as 'guardian.'
These essays reveal Ontario's 'finance' as a dynamic policy issue shaped by the personalities of premiers and ministers, the energies of public servants at all levels, and a critical dialogue between political and administrative worlds. Drawing on different methodologies, this collection profiles a ministry as policy entrepreneur, spender, revenue generator, capacity builder, budget director, program manager, and intergovernmental agent. The Guardian fills a significant gap in public administration literature and in so doing describes how Ontario's Ministry of Finance defined its role as 'guardian.'
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
38 figures; 9 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
680 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4426-4254-6 (9781442642546)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2010
1st Edition
University of Toronto Press
€63.95
Available for download
Person
Patrice Dutil is a professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction
SECTION 1: STRUCTURES AND CONTEXTS OF THE GUARDIAN
1 The House Frost Built: Institutional Change and the Department of Treasury, 1943-1961
KEITH B ROWNSEY
2 From 'Treasury' to 'Finance': The Anatomy of a Guardian, 1961-2001
PATRICE DUTIL AND DEVYN LEONARD
3 Priority Setters and Guardians: The Relationships between Premiers and Treasurers in Ontario, 1960-2001
JP LEWIS
SECTION 2: THE GUARDIAN IN POLICY MAKING
4 Intergovernmental Guardians: Treasury's Role in Setting the National Agenda, 1959-1967
P.E. BRYDEN
5 From Pragmatism to Neoliberalism: Ontario's Hesitant Farewell to Dr Keynes
BRYAN EVANS AND JOHN SHIELDS
6 Thoughts into Words: The Budget Speech, 1968-2003
PATRICE DUTIL, PETER RYAN, AND ANDRE GOSSIGNAC
7 The Ontario Ministry of Finance as an Exception in Canadian Public Administration
LUC BERNIER AND JOSEPH FACAL
SECTION 3: THE GUARDIAN AND BUDGET MAKING
8 Dealing with Complexity: Innovation and Resistance in Crafting the Expenditure Budget, 1961-1985
CAROLINE DUFOUR
9 Budget Making in the Ontario Ministry of Finance, 1985-2000
KEN OGATA AND GARY SPRAAKMAN
10 'Guardian' as 'Spender': Infrastructure Investment, 1960-2005
GERVAN FEARON
11 Guardians in Check: The Impact of Health Care on the Ontario Budget, 1960-2004
PATRICE DUTI L
Conclusion
PATRICE DUTIL
Contributors
Introduction
SECTION 1: STRUCTURES AND CONTEXTS OF THE GUARDIAN
1 The House Frost Built: Institutional Change and the Department of Treasury, 1943-1961
KEITH B ROWNSEY
2 From 'Treasury' to 'Finance': The Anatomy of a Guardian, 1961-2001
PATRICE DUTIL AND DEVYN LEONARD
3 Priority Setters and Guardians: The Relationships between Premiers and Treasurers in Ontario, 1960-2001
JP LEWIS
SECTION 2: THE GUARDIAN IN POLICY MAKING
4 Intergovernmental Guardians: Treasury's Role in Setting the National Agenda, 1959-1967
P.E. BRYDEN
5 From Pragmatism to Neoliberalism: Ontario's Hesitant Farewell to Dr Keynes
BRYAN EVANS AND JOHN SHIELDS
6 Thoughts into Words: The Budget Speech, 1968-2003
PATRICE DUTIL, PETER RYAN, AND ANDRE GOSSIGNAC
7 The Ontario Ministry of Finance as an Exception in Canadian Public Administration
LUC BERNIER AND JOSEPH FACAL
SECTION 3: THE GUARDIAN AND BUDGET MAKING
8 Dealing with Complexity: Innovation and Resistance in Crafting the Expenditure Budget, 1961-1985
CAROLINE DUFOUR
9 Budget Making in the Ontario Ministry of Finance, 1985-2000
KEN OGATA AND GARY SPRAAKMAN
10 'Guardian' as 'Spender': Infrastructure Investment, 1960-2005
GERVAN FEARON
11 Guardians in Check: The Impact of Health Care on the Ontario Budget, 1960-2004
PATRICE DUTI L
Conclusion
PATRICE DUTIL
Contributors