McGill Expert Alert: Canadian Federal Budget 2011

The following McGill University experts are available to comment on the Canadian Federal Budget 2011.

Professor William Watson (Department of Economics)

Expertise: Trade policy, public finance, Canadian public policy in general

William Watson has taught economics at McGill since 1977. He was appointed to a three-year term as chairman of the Economics Department in June, 2005. Born and raised in Montreal and educated at McGill and Yale, he is a Senior Research Fellow at Montreal’s Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) and a Research Fellow at the C. D. Howe Institute in Toronto. He writes on economics and other matters weekly in the National Post and every other week in the Montreal Gazette and Ottawa Citizen. In 1989 a story of his in Saturday Night magazine won the National Magazine Awards Gold Medal for humour.

Online: 
http://people.mcgill.ca/william.watson/ http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/tags/William+Watson/default.aspx

Languages:  English

Professor Chris Ragan (Department of Economics)

Expertise: Macroeconomics and economic policy, inflation, monetary policy, and exchange rates consumption and saving behavior, labour markets and unemployment.

Professor Ragan is David Dodge Chair in Monetary Policy, C.D. Howe Institute, Toronto and was President, Ottawa Economics Association, 2009-11 He is also co-author of Economics, Thirteenth Canadian Edition (with R. Lipsey), Pearson Education Canada, 2010. 
 
Online: 
http://people.mcgill.ca/christopher.ragan/academicwriting/ http://people.mcgill.ca/christopher.ragan/nationalpost/

Languages: English and French (print only)

Professor Antonia Maioni (Department of Political Science)

Expertise: Social policy and the welfare state in Canada provincial politics, Quebec politics, Canadian political process, health care reform in Canada and the United States

Professor Maioni is past Director of the Institute for the Study of Canada at McGill University, where she also holds the positions of Associate Professor of Political Science and William Dawson Scholar. Professor Maioni has published widely in the fields of Canadian and comparative politics, with a particular focus on public policy. Her most recent research projects were funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and the Max Bell Foundation. She currently teaches in the Department of Political Science and Canadian Studies at McGill University, and is a member of the International Masters in Health Leadership team in the Desautels Faculty of Management.

Online: https://www.mcgill.ca/politicalscience/faculty/maioni/

Languages: English and French

Professor Wendy Thomson (School of Social Work)

Expertise: comparative Canada and UK political systems; Aboriginal issues: child welfare, social policy, social work education; Public policy: public service reform, poverty, social policy, social work; Health services: reform, system design, performance, patient choice

Dr Thomson joined McGill University as Professor of Social Policy and Director of the School of Social Work in 2005. Currently, Thomson teaches social policy and management and is associated with the Centre on Research on Children and Families, the Institute on International Development Studies, and the McGill World Platform's program on Social Determinants of Health. She advises governments on health and social services in Canada, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and serves as Director on several Boards including, the Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal” and the McGill University Health Centre. Amongst her research grants are studies examining social exclusion in Nunavik, and Evidence-based Management of Child Welfare (both from the SSHRC), access to professional education at McGill for Aboriginal people, and minority language community access to health services in Quebec (both funded by Health Canada). In September 2009, she was appointed as Commissioner of the Ontario Commission to Promote Sustainable Child Welfare, Ministry of Children and Youth Services. 
 
Formerly, she was British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Chief Adviser on Public Service Reform, and led the Office of Public Service Reform in the Cabinet Office. From 1999 to 2001, she set up the first inspection service of local government in England and Wales, as Director of Inspection at the Audit Commission.

Online: https://www.mcgill.ca/socialwork/faculty/thomson/

Languages: English and French (print only)