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Back to Blakeney: Revitalizing the Democratic State
A collection of essays reflecting on the legacy of Saskatchewan social justice-driven politician Allan Blakeney
Allan Blakeney believed in government as a force for good. As premier of Saskatchewan, he promoted social justice through government intervention in the economy and the welfare state. He created legal and constitutional structures that guaranteed strong human rights, and he safeguarded the integrity of the voting system to support a robust democracy. Blakeney encouraged excellence in public administration to deliver the best possible services and used taxes to help secure equality of opportunity.
In Back to Blakeney , a diverse set of scholars reflects on Blakeney’s achievements, as well as his constitutional legacy―namely, the notwithstanding clause―and explores the challenges facing democracy today.
“I can think of no other biographical work in this country that is so competent in its multi-faceted approach to its subject.” ―David Edward Smith, author of The Constitution in a Hall of Canada at 150
Michael Atkinson (University of Saskatchewan), Simone Chambers (University of California Irvine), David Coletto (Carleton University), John Courtney (University of Saskatchewan), Alex Himelfarb (University of Toronto), Russell Isinger (University of Saskatchewan), Gregory P. Marchildon (University of Toronto), David McGrane (University of Saskatchewan), Dwight Newman (University of Saskatchewan), Roy Romanow (Chancellor, University of Saskatchewan), Melanee Thomas (University of Calgary), Katherine Walker (University of British Columbia), Reg Whitaker (University of Victoria), John Whyte (University of Regina), Nelson Wiseman (University of Toronto)
Allan Blakeney believed in government as a force for good. As premier of Saskatchewan, he promoted social justice through government intervention in the economy and the welfare state. He created legal and constitutional structures that guaranteed strong human rights, and he safeguarded the integrity of the voting system to support a robust democracy. Blakeney encouraged excellence in public administration to deliver the best possible services and used taxes to help secure equality of opportunity.
In Back to Blakeney , a diverse set of scholars reflects on Blakeney’s achievements, as well as his constitutional legacy―namely, the notwithstanding clause―and explores the challenges facing democracy today.
“I can think of no other biographical work in this country that is so competent in its multi-faceted approach to its subject.” ―David Edward Smith, author of The Constitution in a Hall of Canada at 150
Michael Atkinson (University of Saskatchewan), Simone Chambers (University of California Irvine), David Coletto (Carleton University), John Courtney (University of Saskatchewan), Alex Himelfarb (University of Toronto), Russell Isinger (University of Saskatchewan), Gregory P. Marchildon (University of Toronto), David McGrane (University of Saskatchewan), Dwight Newman (University of Saskatchewan), Roy Romanow (Chancellor, University of Saskatchewan), Melanee Thomas (University of Calgary), Katherine Walker (University of British Columbia), Reg Whitaker (University of Victoria), John Whyte (University of Regina), Nelson Wiseman (University of Toronto)
368 pages, Paperback
Published August 24, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 21, 2021
A solid read. It’s been a long while since I’ve read any political science and this made me realize I missed it. I think what struck me most about this collection of essays is that it gets to the heart of how we ended up here politically: the erosion of public trust and belief that government can and should be working to make people’s lives better and to mitigate inequality; the polarization or silo-ing of public discourse; propaganda; authoritarian right wing leaders; public policy aimed at placating the wealthy.
Blakeney cuts an interesting figure because he wasn’t just a statesman - he had a very particular vision or philosophy of what governance could and should be. If I have any criticism of the book, though, it might be that it never really digs into the 1982 loss. How did a man so committed to public service and responsive government come to be seen as so out of touch with the people that he was trounced after 11 years in office? It’s hard to believe looking back that someone so intelligent and thoughtful and who made such enormous contributions to provincial and national policy was so under-appreciated in office.
Blakeney cuts an interesting figure because he wasn’t just a statesman - he had a very particular vision or philosophy of what governance could and should be. If I have any criticism of the book, though, it might be that it never really digs into the 1982 loss. How did a man so committed to public service and responsive government come to be seen as so out of touch with the people that he was trounced after 11 years in office? It’s hard to believe looking back that someone so intelligent and thoughtful and who made such enormous contributions to provincial and national policy was so under-appreciated in office.
August 9, 2020
A collection of interesting lectures about Premier Alan Blakeney's legacy as the Saskatchewan premier to actualize Tommy Douglas' vision of single-payer healthcare for that province, as well as his post-public-life thoughts on the mechanisms of democracy. A bit deeper than I need at the moment, so I stopped about a third of the way through.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews