Paper instructions:
For this assignment you must write a researched response to a policy issue about which there is currently
public debate in Canada. By current debate, we mean that within the research community there
are differing positions about how society or the government should act or respond to this issue. For
example, a few years ago it was made public that employers have abused the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
This program was created to allow employers to bring workers to Canada to fill jobs that were
going unfilled in Canada. While it appears that sometimes the program works that way, there have
been news reports that sometimes the program is used to bring in foreign workers at cheaper labour
rates than employers are currently paying Canadians. The bulk of these positions are in Alberta
(84,000), Ontario (49,000), and British Columbia (28,000) (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/
politics/temporary-foreign-workers-everything-you-need-to-know/article18363279/). However, Ontario
actually has the most foreign workers despite having an unemployment rate above the national
average. The controversy has several sides to it: some argue that the program is essential to Alberta;
other argue that the program is being abused to fire Canadians from jobs; and others argue that the
program adds workers to provinces that already have high unemployment rates.
For this assignment you can pick one of the following options; if you want to write on a different policy, bill, or law, you must first get permission from your TA. You may not write on any topic related to marijuana legalization.
Topics:
Bill C-23
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
Safe Third Country Agreement
Trans-Pacific Partnership
North American Free Trade Agreement
Task 1. Find a social or public policy program like the Temporary Foreign Worker program. Do some
research to identify the various positions that people take on the issue: a good place to start is by looking at Editorials and other articles in newspapers and magazines.
Task 2. Examine the existing evidence (Find at least four [4] different sources), and decide which possible
explanation makes the most sense to you, given what you have learned through your research.
Task 3. Using the sources that you chose, write a 800-1000 word report in which you summarize the
evidence for the possible answers to the question and use that evidence to show how one perspective
offers more compelling or convincing evidence than the other(s). That is, in your report show your
readers how the evidence supporting one side of the controversy seems a better explanation for the data
than the opposing viewpoint(s). Your report should show readers the case in favour of one explanation
over the other so that readers can follow your thinking and arrive at a similar conclusion to yours about
this topic.
Make sure you ultimately take a side in the various explanations that you report.
Length: 800-1000 words
Purpose: Your purpose in writing this paper is to practise thinking and writing like a social scientist.
Assemble the evidence, decide upon the best explanation for the evidence, and then write an essay in
which you present a well-researched and logical argument in favour of one of the positions you encounter
in the research.
Genre: Position essay. Use APA documentation style.
Audience: Write for other students and professors who are interested in public policy questions but are
unfamiliar with the details of the particular topic that you chose. Assume they have the background to
understand the policy aspects of the issue but they lack the particular background on your topic.