School Highlights
May 29 SPP Faculty member and former director, Nancy Olewiler is this year's recipient of the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the Education, Training and Development category. Recognized nationally as one of Canada's most prestigious awards for women, the YWCA Vancouver Women of Distinction Awards honour women whose outstanding achievements contribute to the well-being and future of our community.
See Award Photo
Feb 23+24, 2018 SFU School of Public Policy will host the 2018 IPAC/CAPPA National Policy Administration Case Competition for Masters students - the first time it's being held in Western Canada.
May 17 MPP Co-op students working in Ottawa this summer attended the President's Alumni + Friends Reception at the Chateau Laurier See Photo
May to August For details about our summer Co-op work experience program contact Eva Lewis at evat@sfu.ca. View InfoSheet
April 19 MPP students organized the first Policy Student Showcase featuring research posters related to Capstone and BC Priorities projects. Guests included alumni, Co-op supervisors, faculty, prospective students and others in the SFU Vancouver community.
February 21 2nd year student Hope Caldi was selected as the winner of the 2017 Blueprint 2020 National Student Paper Competition sponsored by the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) and the Institute of Public Administration Canada (IPAC). As one of five finalists, Hope presented to a panel of Deputy Ministers based on her paper, Offering a Warmer, Wiser Welcome: Recommendations for Reforming Canada's Immigration Loan Program, which was selected on the basis of its originality, research, clarity, significance, and relevance to the Government of Canada and the public service.
February 18 Congratulations to our policy case team Connor Hasegawa, Chris Kylleso, Lucas Neufeld, and Twyla Smith for taking 3rd place at the national case competition hosted by Ryerson. Twelve teams competed this year, and we look forward to hosting this prestigious event in 2018.
Recent Research
Seeing the Problem through the Trees: Policy Options for Improving Retention of Old Growth in Central Walbran by MPP students Jay Barban, Matthew Jackson, Sydney Jordan, Matt Mayers and Rachel Spence in conjunction with the Sierra Club of BC. This research work was conducted as part of the School's BC Priorities Project program addressing current policy issues in BC.
In high demand: Addressing the demand factors behind Toronto's housing affordability problem by Josh Gordon, was commissioned by the Ryerson City Building Institute to contribute to the housing affordability debate in Toronto. It shows that the primary determinants of Toronto’s high housing prices lie on the demand side, and that the element of foreign investment has been under-appreciated by various public authorities to this point. It argues that the case for supply-side reform is overstated and would not address the immediate challenges facing the city.
Opportunities in Transition - an Economic Analysis of Investing in Youth Aging out of Care by Marvin Shaffer and Lynell Anderson in conjunction with Fostering Change and Vancouver Foundation.
Access the following titles via our Working Paper Series
Toward a Broader Base for Personal Taxation: Reconciling Equity and Efficiency prepared for Canadian Income Tax Centennial Celebration, Canadian Tax Foundation by J.R. Kesselman
Improving education for indigenous children in Canada was the focus of a C.D. Howe Institute conference in April co-organized by John Richards.
A Conference Report was prepared as well as two policy reports, If we had 300 Million Dollars: Funding for Reserve Schools and First Nations Elementary-Secondary Education: a National Dilemma
Economic Growth and People’s Determination about Immigration: The Case of Switzerland by D.M. Gross.
Vancouver’s Housing Affordability Crisis: Causes, Consequences and Solutions by J.C. Gordon Executive Summary and Full Report
What’s the matter with Sweden? Explaining radical cuts to unemployment insurance in a bastion of social democracy by J.C. Gordon.
How Can Fast Access to Temporary Foreign Workers Ensure Priority to Domestic Workers? A Canadian policy experiment by D.M. Gross.
In the News
September 28, 2016 Year 1 MPP student and research coordinator at Crosstown Clinic featured in CBC news article, BC's clinic's free heroin enables addicts to have 'meaningful life again', coordinator says.
September 1, 2016 Asst. Professor Josh Gordon's op-ed Toronto, don't let Vancouver's housing crisis become yours in the Globe & Mail
March 29, 2016 Asst. Professor Josh Gordon and 2nd Year MPP student Anjum Mutakabbir on Data on Canada’s housing market are fine, but we need action now in the Globe & Mail.
January 25, 2016 Asst. Professor Josh Gordon's op-ed The illusion of home equity gains has weakened our will to act, appears in Globe & Mail.
