L'ami américain. L'image de la « relation particulière » et le processus de prise de décision au Canada pendant la crise monétaire internationale de 1971

Cet article étudie le comportement des décideurs canadiens pendant la crise monétaire internationale de 1971. Nous présenterons en premier lieu une description des problèmes touchant le système monétaire international à la fin des années 60 et les mesures prises par le gouvernement américain pour les résoudre. Les États-Unis en introduisant le 15 août 1971 une surtaxe à l'importation créèrent toute une surprise. Nous verrons les raisons pour lesquelles le gouvernement canadien fut pris par surprise alors que des signes avant-coureurs existaient, et nous démontrerons que les décisions prises par la suite et les choix qu'il fit jurent étroitement liés à l'image dont se faisaient les décideurs canadiens de cette « relation particulière » canado-américaine.This paper examines the behaviour of Canadian decision-makers during the 1971 international monetary crisis. First, it gives a description of the problems affecting the international monetary System in the 1960s and of the measures taken to solve them, focusing in particular on the dynamics that led the American government to impose, on August 15, 1971, a surcharge on imports. Then the paper explores the reasons why Canadian decision-makers were taken by surprise when signs that such a decision was forthcoming existed and analyses the cognitive processes and reasoning that informed their response. The paper argues that both the reason for the surprise and the decisions taken afterwards were closely linked to the image that Canadian-American relations were regulated by a « special relationship ». The papers ends with an analysis of the evolution of this image

The Uses and Abuses of the Euro in the Canadian Currency Debate. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series, Vol. 3 No. 3, August 2003

(From the introduction). In the late 1990s, some prominent Canadian economists – notably Thomas Courchene, Herbert Grubel, Richard Harris, and Robert Mundell – began arguing that a North American common currency would solve the problems underlying the growing gap between U.S. and Canadian real GDP per capita.1 They succeeded in provoking a lively economic policy debate that occurred in parallel with the launch of the euro. The purpose of this paper is to examine the uses – and abuses – of European parallels by both sides in the economic policy debate that peaked in the 1999-2001 period. The body of the paper begins by providing an understanding of the European case. Hence, the second section outlines our interpretation of the major developments in the birth of the euro. The third section, the core of the paper, examines in detail the use of European parallels in the Canadian currency debate. We start by providing a brief overview of the protagonists in the debate. We then continue by arguing that the euro provided a “temporal spur” for the Canadian discussion but that it was only one among several important factors. We argue further that the proponents of a North American common currency relied very little on the European experience to support their case for the need for a common currency. Where they did use the European experience, however, was in their analysis of the institutional form that a common currency in North America might take. We argue that the opponents of a North American common currency were correct in viewing this as an abuse of the European parallel. In the concluding fourth section, we summarize our findings and argue that the most important parallel between the European and North American forces for a common currency is that both were driven primarily by politics

Quality evaluation of onion irradiated in Argentina and stored in Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a qualidade da cebola, cv. Valenciana Sintética 14, irradiada com 60 Gy e transportada por rodovia de Buenos Aires, Argentina, para Piracicaba, SP, Brasil. O lote de cebola irradiada (20 sacos de 20 kg cada) e o lote controle (20 sacos de 20 kg cada) foram armazenados durante seis meses à temperatura ambiente (20ºC a 28ºC) e umidade relativa de 50% a 100%. O controle de qualidade foi feito todo mês, por meio de análises físicas, químicas e sensoriais. O tratamento com radiação reduziu a perda de peso dos bulbos e conservou alta a porcentagem de bulbos comerciáveis sem afetar as propriedades sensoriais. Aos 180 dias de armazenamento, a perda de peso nas amostras não-irradiadas foi de 32%, significativamente maior do que nas amostras irradiadas (13%). A porcentagem de bulbos comerciáveis foi de 92,3% das amostras irradiadas, contra 52,3% das amostras não-irradiadas.The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of the onion cultivar Valenciana Sintética 14, irradiated with 60 Gy and sent by road from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. The irradiated onion lot (20 bags of 20 kg each) and the control lot (20 bags of 20 kg each) were stored up to six months at 20ºC-28ºC and RH ranging from 50% to 100%. Quality control was made every month by physical, chemical and sensorial analysis. The radiation treatment reduced the weight loss of the bulbs and preserved the high percentage of marketable bulbs without affecting the sensorial properties. After 180 days of storage, the weight loss of unirradiated samples was 32%, significantly higher than irradiated samples (13%). The percentage of marketable bulbs was 92.3% for irradiated samples, and 52.3% for unirradiated samples

What's in a Name? Shifting Identities of Traditional Organized Crime in Canada in the Transnational Fight against the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta

The Italian antimafia authorities have warned Canadian law enforcement about the risks and the growing concerns for the infiltration of clans of the Calabrian mafia, known as ‘ndrangheta, in Eastern Canada. The alarm linked to the rise of the ‘ndrangheta challenges the paradigms of traditional organized crime in Canada, because the ‘ndrangheta is presented as traditional but also innovative and more pervasive than other mafia-type groups. Through access to confidential investigations and interviews to key specialist law enforcement teams in Toronto and Montreal, this article investigates today's institutional perception of mafia – the ‘ndrangheta in particular – in Canada when compared to Italian conceptualizations. I will argue that the changes in narratives in Canada can be read in relation to changes in the Italian identity in the country, moving towards regionalization and specialist knowledge of ethnic differences

"Taking the field: The EU and the governance of European football"

This paper examines the involvement of the EC in the governance of European football. The first part recounts the history of EC intervention focusing in particular on the 1995 semifinal "Bosman ruling" of the European Court of Justice, and the more recent agreement on transfer rules negotiated by the European Commission with various football organizations. The second part analyses EC involvement both in terms of its motives and methods and concludes that such an involvement, far from being atypical because taking place in the era of the so-called "retreat of the state," represents an instance of contemporary "governance.