Stephanie Paterson - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Stephanie Paterson
The paper applies feminist policy analysis to investigate the ways in which leisure is represente... more The paper applies feminist policy analysis to investigate the ways in which leisure is represented in the policy frameworks facing new mothers in Toronto and Montreal. We argue that despite considerable policy gains, the role of leisure as a mechanism of wellbeing has been neglected in social policy discussions. In particular, we demonstrate that leisure is represented in ways that discursively align with broader political goals, thus muting its potential to transform social relations. Jouer avec la maternite: Les enjeux politiques du loisir et la transition a la maternite a Montreal et a Toronto. Resume Cet article utilise une analyse feministe de politique sociale pour explorer les differentes facons par lesquelles le loisir est represente dans les structures des politiques auxquelles les nouvelles meres font face a Toronto et a Montreal. Nous proposons que malgre des gains majeurs en politiques, le role du loisir en tant que mecanisme de bien-etre demeure neglige dans les discuss...
Critical Policy Studies, 2021
ABSTRACT In this paper, we use the Empathic Policy Framework to explore the concept of vulnerabil... more ABSTRACT In this paper, we use the Empathic Policy Framework to explore the concept of vulnerability in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that vulnerability is not a state of being, but rather an effect produced by emotional policy discourse. As a result, people are not inherently ‘vulnerable’, but rather ‘vulnerabilized’. We make this claim by exploring the potential of the EPF to illuminate the process of vulnerabilization in the context of migrant agricultural workers in Canada, exposing the emotional policy discourses that constitute vulnerability and enabling policy analysts to engage empathically with policy subjects. We aim to show that, when viewed this way, following philosopher Shelley Tremain, vulnerability is an ‘apparatus of power that differentially produces subjects, materially, socially, politically, and relationally’. The EPF can help attune policy analysts to these processes and the effects produced by them.
Girlhood Studies, 2018
Nova Scotia’s Guide for Girls and Manitoba’s 4 Girls Only! represent recent shifts in policy that... more Nova Scotia’s Guide for Girls and Manitoba’s 4 Girls Only! represent recent shifts in policy that aim to include and empower young women vis-a-vis public policy. In this article, we analyze these manuals, illuminating the ways in which young women are configured as subjects in late modern capitalist societies such as Canada. We show that, as neoliberal subjects, young women are increasingly expected to be autonomous and self-governing yet appear to require guidance to follow the right path towards future ideal neoliberal citizenship. Thus, despite their notable intentions, the manuals identify and target certain forms of conduct as problematic, eschewing a broader discussion of the structural causes of a variety of social problems such as poverty, unemployment, poor health, sexual violence, and stress, thus raising important questions regarding policy by, for, and about young women.
Social Policy & Administration, 2018
The transition to motherhood is a time of tremendous change, during which maternal subjects exper... more The transition to motherhood is a time of tremendous change, during which maternal subjects experience important shifts in their relationships with family, friends, employers, and state. Parental leave policies have potential to mitigate some of these changes, contributing positively to health and economic outcomes. Indeed, such policies have been identified as essential for achieving gender equality, serving to address both recognition and redistributive claims. In this paper, we explore parental leave policy through the lens of first time mothers in Canada, where two distinct policy regimes coexist. Using narrative analysis, we examine the ways in which the transition to motherhood is embodied and enacted through policy experiences. The stories we uncover, stories of helplessness, of control and resistance, and of stymied progress, illuminate how leave policies differently position maternal subjects in complex social settings.
Review of Radical Political Economics, 2010
Integrating insights from strategic bargaining analysis with the cooperative conflicts approach, ... more Integrating insights from strategic bargaining analysis with the cooperative conflicts approach, this paper explores the implications of conjugal violence against women and women’s resistance to violence for bargaining processes and outcomes. It is argued that analyses of conjugal violence must situate strategic behavior in social context, thus problematizing theoretical and empirical analyses that point to a direct negative correlation between women’s economic resources and violence. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of policy implications. JEL classifications: D13, D19
Journal of Canadian Studies, 2011
After long periods of activism and policy debate, Ontario and Quebec were the first two provinces... more After long periods of activism and policy debate, Ontario and Quebec were the first two provinces to integrate midwifery into their health-care services. Despite its success and growing popularity in the post-legislative era, midwifery was a highly contentious policy issue, with debates emerging at every level of policy development. In this essay, the authors explore how these debates played out in media. Specifically, the authors suggest that the frames produced by newspapers during this period served to align midwifery with broader provincial socio-political discourses, which in turn legitimized state intervention in the area of reproductive health. At the same time, however, the authors demonstrate that where Ontario media representations muted differences between midwives and physicians, representations in Quebec emphasized them. Thus, the authors show that in very different ways, media representations of midwifery in Ontario and Quebec both established a discursive context in which the state had to "act on" midwifery and midwives, and also challenged the potential of midwifery to transform women's birth experiences.
Rules, Rules, Rules, Rules, 2006
Canadian Public Administration, 2016
Canadian gender equality policy has taken a “technocratic turn” that favours bureaucratic experti... more Canadian gender equality policy has taken a “technocratic turn” that favours bureaucratic expertise to monitor and measure (in)equality rather than participatory and consultative mechanisms. While the processes and impacts of this shift are well documented at the federal level, less is known at the provincial level. This article takes stock of provincial gender equality mechanisms, demonstrating variations in women's policy agencies (WPAs) across the ten provinces. It then links these variations to the discursive politics of gender equality within each province. We demonstrate that the potential for transformative orientations of gender equality emerges in WPAs with broad consultative mechanisms.
Abstract will be provided by author.
Critical Policy Studies, 2010
The politics of midwifery in Ontario, Canada, offers rich insights into feminist policy and polic... more The politics of midwifery in Ontario, Canada, offers rich insights into feminist policy and policy analysis, illuminating both challenges and opportunities for social change. In this article, I employ the discourse coalitions framework to investigate the claims-making process during early debates of midwifery. I argue that early midwifery advocates framed the debate around the issue of patriarchal politics, connecting the
Social Policy & Administration, 2015
In the past decade, Canadian federal and provincial governments have designed programmes to facil... more In the past decade, Canadian federal and provincial governments have designed programmes to facilitate entry into trades in an attempt to stimulate economic growth. As part of these efforts, increasing attention is focusing on programmes to encourage women to enter skilled trades, while paying little attention to those trades traditionally dominated by females. In this article, we explore the gendered dimensions of apprenticeship programmes in Canada, demonstrating the ways in which gender inequality is reproduced by programmes that situate employers and women as responsible for change. In particular, using a case study, we illustrate that the gendered structure of the labour market is preserved and reproduced. While efforts have targeted women to facilitate entry into non-traditional occupations such as electricians and plumbers, female-dominated trades such as hairstylists remain untouched, thereby sustaining the gendered wage structure of the economy. Thus women remain segregated in low-paying trades and receive fewer public supports when pursuing training in these segregated trades. The article argues that apprenticeship training and certification is constructed to respond to the needs of male-dominated trades, but not the needs of female-dominated trades. Ultimately, the public policy decisions that make up the apprenticeship training and certification system in Canada reproduce gender inequality.
Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 2010
Policy Studies, 2014
ABSTRACT The social construction of target populations (SCTP) approach assumes that policies are ... more ABSTRACT The social construction of target populations (SCTP) approach assumes that policies are constructed to benefit (or punish) specific groups of citizens based on their relative power and social construction. This contribution tackles one of the most sustained critiques of the SCTP literature, namely, how a group can alter its social construction and power. Stated differently, how does a group move from being constructed as dependent or deviant to contenders or advantaged? In 1991, the government in Ontario, Canada, proclaimed what is arguably the most progressive midwifery legislation in the world. The Midwifery Act established midwifery as a self-regulating profession, fully integrated into the province's public health insurance system, and enables midwives to catch babies in hospitals, homes and birthing centres. What is striking about the legislation is the contentious debate preceding it, in which midwives were constructed as ‘quacks’, incompetent and unclean, compared to professional physicians. In this paper, we explore the role of commissions of inquiries (COI) in shifting social constructions. Specifically, we argue that COI legitimised the authoritative knowledge of moral entrepreneurs and facilitated the necessary interaction between moral and political entrepreneurs, which in turn reconstructed midwives from ‘quacks’ to experts, and resulted in significant policy change.
Canadian Woman Studies, 2004
Ce papier utilise une approche gouuernementalepour explorer les implicationsde la rkgkwentation d... more Ce papier utilise une approche gouuernementalepour explorer les implicationsde la rkgkwentation dessagesfemrnes. L 'auteur assure que cette nouuellefd~on defaire est une nouuelle $ m e de surveilhnce qui est potentiellement alarmante pour Le statut des sages-femmes. T h e ... consequences of professionalization may run counter to the reasons for defending the profession in the first place. Midwives, in short, may become more like doctors instead of more like midwives (Oakley and Hood 164).
Critical Social Policy, 2009
While there has been considerable attention paid to Canada's anti-woman abuse policy framewor... more While there has been considerable attention paid to Canada's anti-woman abuse policy framework, much of this attention has neglected its implications for women's resistance to abuse. This paper attempts to address this gap by using the lens of women's resistance to analyse the anti-woman abuse policy in Canada. I begin by exploring the ways in which the policy framework constructs the `problem' and considering its implications for women's choice in resistance strategy. Using the Canadian General Social Survey on Victimization (1999), I apply independent samples tests to explore women's (non)usage of various strategies, as it varies by class, race, and ability. I conclude with suggestions for policy reform.
Canadian Public Administration, 2010
... Among these approaches is the “problem representation” framework, developed by Carol Bacchi (... more ... Among these approaches is the “problem representation” framework, developed by Carol Bacchi (1999, 2000 ... text, requiring analysts to consider the ways in which the “problem” is represented by (and in turn shapes) policy discourse and language, what is problematized ...
Canadian Journal of Political Science, 2009
turels, qu'elle ne définit pas, sinon pour évoquer le paradoxe de l'absolu pluriel~69! et pour af... more turels, qu'elle ne définit pas, sinon pour évoquer le paradoxe de l'absolu pluriel~69! et pour affirmer que ces derniers sont laissés à la libre appréciation de leurs défenseurs. Ce disant, elle renchérit en affirmant que la culture ne saurait constituer un capital d'impunité et d'irresponsabilité. Elle en remet en disant que la condition culturelle ne peut dominer la condition humaine. Faut-il pourtant rappeler que ni le droit ni les droits ne tolèrent les pratiques dégradantes? Et que la lente reconnaissance des droits culturels n'affectera pas cet état de fait. Au-delà des généralités, voici une page qui aurait mérité des illustrations convaincantes. Bref, pour la professeure Vernes, la tolérance est une misère politique nécessaire. Et encore une fois, la «tolérance à cette tolérance-là» a été mise à rude épreuve au Québec depuis quelques années. En résumé, un petit ouvrage où il faut lire entre les lignes pour y trouver son compte. Mais de telles collections «instantanées», où le travail de l'éditeur est réduit à sa plus simple expression, sont utiles et valent leur pesant d'or, malgré quelques coquilles et des caractères d'imprimerie bien petits! Peut-être pas la meilleure façon d'inciter à la lecture philosophique les moins gourmands.
Canadian Journal of Political Science, 2011
. Ontario&amp... more . Ontario's Midwifery Act came into effect on January 1, 1994, at a time of radical health care restructuring, marked by hospital closures and staffing cuts. In addition, feminist backlash was rampant in the popular media. Given these conditions, some have suggested that midwifery legislation was implemented because it aligned with the government's cost-cutting initiatives, while others have suggested that the government was responding to the dissatisfaction with obstetric practice outlined by a well-organized lobby. While these factors were no doubt important in the passing of the legislation, I offer a more critical reading of the policy texts, suggesting that the legislation and its enabling regulations problematize not only costs or client satisfaction but also the knowledge of midwives and the women they serve. In framing the issue as one of public safety, the policy ensemble introduced a new form of birthing expert—the expert midwife—reimposing a hierarchical relationship in the birthing process, serving to reify medical science and to objectify birthing women. In so doing, the legislation potentially silences claims for both professional and reproductive autonomy.Résumé. La Loi sur les sages-femmes de l'Ontario est entrée en vigueur le premier janvier 1994 au cours d'une période houleuse dans le domaine de la santé qui fut marquée par des fermetures d'hôpitaux et des réductions de la main-d'œuvre. De plus, à cette époque, les médias populaires avaient clairement adopté une position antiféministe. Étant donné cette conjoncture, on proposa dans quelques articles que cette loi fut adoptée parce qu'elle cadrait bien avec les priorités gouvernementales de coupures budgétaires, tandis que d'autres insistèrent que le gouvernement ne faisait que réagir au mécontentement à l'endroit de la pratique obstétricale exprimé par un groupe d'intérêts puissant. Ces facteurs ont sans doute joué un rôle important dans l'adoption de la loi, mais je propose, en contrepartie, une interprétation plus critique des textes de politiques publiques. J'avance que la loi et sa réglementation soulignent une problématique qui va au delà des coûts et de la satisfaction de la clientèle, englobant aussi le savoir des sages-femmes et celui de leurs clientes. En formulant le débat en termes de sécurité publique, la législation a instauré une nouvelle forme d'expertise – l'experte sage-femme – qui réimpose une hiérarchie professionnelle dans le domaine de l'accouchement, ce qui a pour effet de solidifier la position de la…
International Review of Public Policy, 2021
The paper applies feminist policy analysis to investigate the ways in which leisure is represente... more The paper applies feminist policy analysis to investigate the ways in which leisure is represented in the policy frameworks facing new mothers in Toronto and Montreal. We argue that despite considerable policy gains, the role of leisure as a mechanism of wellbeing has been neglected in social policy discussions. In particular, we demonstrate that leisure is represented in ways that discursively align with broader political goals, thus muting its potential to transform social relations. Jouer avec la maternite: Les enjeux politiques du loisir et la transition a la maternite a Montreal et a Toronto. Resume Cet article utilise une analyse feministe de politique sociale pour explorer les differentes facons par lesquelles le loisir est represente dans les structures des politiques auxquelles les nouvelles meres font face a Toronto et a Montreal. Nous proposons que malgre des gains majeurs en politiques, le role du loisir en tant que mecanisme de bien-etre demeure neglige dans les discuss...
Critical Policy Studies, 2021
ABSTRACT In this paper, we use the Empathic Policy Framework to explore the concept of vulnerabil... more ABSTRACT In this paper, we use the Empathic Policy Framework to explore the concept of vulnerability in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that vulnerability is not a state of being, but rather an effect produced by emotional policy discourse. As a result, people are not inherently ‘vulnerable’, but rather ‘vulnerabilized’. We make this claim by exploring the potential of the EPF to illuminate the process of vulnerabilization in the context of migrant agricultural workers in Canada, exposing the emotional policy discourses that constitute vulnerability and enabling policy analysts to engage empathically with policy subjects. We aim to show that, when viewed this way, following philosopher Shelley Tremain, vulnerability is an ‘apparatus of power that differentially produces subjects, materially, socially, politically, and relationally’. The EPF can help attune policy analysts to these processes and the effects produced by them.
Girlhood Studies, 2018
Nova Scotia’s Guide for Girls and Manitoba’s 4 Girls Only! represent recent shifts in policy that... more Nova Scotia’s Guide for Girls and Manitoba’s 4 Girls Only! represent recent shifts in policy that aim to include and empower young women vis-a-vis public policy. In this article, we analyze these manuals, illuminating the ways in which young women are configured as subjects in late modern capitalist societies such as Canada. We show that, as neoliberal subjects, young women are increasingly expected to be autonomous and self-governing yet appear to require guidance to follow the right path towards future ideal neoliberal citizenship. Thus, despite their notable intentions, the manuals identify and target certain forms of conduct as problematic, eschewing a broader discussion of the structural causes of a variety of social problems such as poverty, unemployment, poor health, sexual violence, and stress, thus raising important questions regarding policy by, for, and about young women.
Social Policy & Administration, 2018
The transition to motherhood is a time of tremendous change, during which maternal subjects exper... more The transition to motherhood is a time of tremendous change, during which maternal subjects experience important shifts in their relationships with family, friends, employers, and state. Parental leave policies have potential to mitigate some of these changes, contributing positively to health and economic outcomes. Indeed, such policies have been identified as essential for achieving gender equality, serving to address both recognition and redistributive claims. In this paper, we explore parental leave policy through the lens of first time mothers in Canada, where two distinct policy regimes coexist. Using narrative analysis, we examine the ways in which the transition to motherhood is embodied and enacted through policy experiences. The stories we uncover, stories of helplessness, of control and resistance, and of stymied progress, illuminate how leave policies differently position maternal subjects in complex social settings.
Review of Radical Political Economics, 2010
Integrating insights from strategic bargaining analysis with the cooperative conflicts approach, ... more Integrating insights from strategic bargaining analysis with the cooperative conflicts approach, this paper explores the implications of conjugal violence against women and women’s resistance to violence for bargaining processes and outcomes. It is argued that analyses of conjugal violence must situate strategic behavior in social context, thus problematizing theoretical and empirical analyses that point to a direct negative correlation between women’s economic resources and violence. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of policy implications. JEL classifications: D13, D19
Journal of Canadian Studies, 2011
After long periods of activism and policy debate, Ontario and Quebec were the first two provinces... more After long periods of activism and policy debate, Ontario and Quebec were the first two provinces to integrate midwifery into their health-care services. Despite its success and growing popularity in the post-legislative era, midwifery was a highly contentious policy issue, with debates emerging at every level of policy development. In this essay, the authors explore how these debates played out in media. Specifically, the authors suggest that the frames produced by newspapers during this period served to align midwifery with broader provincial socio-political discourses, which in turn legitimized state intervention in the area of reproductive health. At the same time, however, the authors demonstrate that where Ontario media representations muted differences between midwives and physicians, representations in Quebec emphasized them. Thus, the authors show that in very different ways, media representations of midwifery in Ontario and Quebec both established a discursive context in which the state had to "act on" midwifery and midwives, and also challenged the potential of midwifery to transform women's birth experiences.
Rules, Rules, Rules, Rules, 2006
Canadian Public Administration, 2016
Canadian gender equality policy has taken a “technocratic turn” that favours bureaucratic experti... more Canadian gender equality policy has taken a “technocratic turn” that favours bureaucratic expertise to monitor and measure (in)equality rather than participatory and consultative mechanisms. While the processes and impacts of this shift are well documented at the federal level, less is known at the provincial level. This article takes stock of provincial gender equality mechanisms, demonstrating variations in women's policy agencies (WPAs) across the ten provinces. It then links these variations to the discursive politics of gender equality within each province. We demonstrate that the potential for transformative orientations of gender equality emerges in WPAs with broad consultative mechanisms.
Abstract will be provided by author.
Critical Policy Studies, 2010
The politics of midwifery in Ontario, Canada, offers rich insights into feminist policy and polic... more The politics of midwifery in Ontario, Canada, offers rich insights into feminist policy and policy analysis, illuminating both challenges and opportunities for social change. In this article, I employ the discourse coalitions framework to investigate the claims-making process during early debates of midwifery. I argue that early midwifery advocates framed the debate around the issue of patriarchal politics, connecting the
Social Policy & Administration, 2015
In the past decade, Canadian federal and provincial governments have designed programmes to facil... more In the past decade, Canadian federal and provincial governments have designed programmes to facilitate entry into trades in an attempt to stimulate economic growth. As part of these efforts, increasing attention is focusing on programmes to encourage women to enter skilled trades, while paying little attention to those trades traditionally dominated by females. In this article, we explore the gendered dimensions of apprenticeship programmes in Canada, demonstrating the ways in which gender inequality is reproduced by programmes that situate employers and women as responsible for change. In particular, using a case study, we illustrate that the gendered structure of the labour market is preserved and reproduced. While efforts have targeted women to facilitate entry into non-traditional occupations such as electricians and plumbers, female-dominated trades such as hairstylists remain untouched, thereby sustaining the gendered wage structure of the economy. Thus women remain segregated in low-paying trades and receive fewer public supports when pursuing training in these segregated trades. The article argues that apprenticeship training and certification is constructed to respond to the needs of male-dominated trades, but not the needs of female-dominated trades. Ultimately, the public policy decisions that make up the apprenticeship training and certification system in Canada reproduce gender inequality.
Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 2010
Policy Studies, 2014
ABSTRACT The social construction of target populations (SCTP) approach assumes that policies are ... more ABSTRACT The social construction of target populations (SCTP) approach assumes that policies are constructed to benefit (or punish) specific groups of citizens based on their relative power and social construction. This contribution tackles one of the most sustained critiques of the SCTP literature, namely, how a group can alter its social construction and power. Stated differently, how does a group move from being constructed as dependent or deviant to contenders or advantaged? In 1991, the government in Ontario, Canada, proclaimed what is arguably the most progressive midwifery legislation in the world. The Midwifery Act established midwifery as a self-regulating profession, fully integrated into the province's public health insurance system, and enables midwives to catch babies in hospitals, homes and birthing centres. What is striking about the legislation is the contentious debate preceding it, in which midwives were constructed as ‘quacks’, incompetent and unclean, compared to professional physicians. In this paper, we explore the role of commissions of inquiries (COI) in shifting social constructions. Specifically, we argue that COI legitimised the authoritative knowledge of moral entrepreneurs and facilitated the necessary interaction between moral and political entrepreneurs, which in turn reconstructed midwives from ‘quacks’ to experts, and resulted in significant policy change.
Canadian Woman Studies, 2004
Ce papier utilise une approche gouuernementalepour explorer les implicationsde la rkgkwentation d... more Ce papier utilise une approche gouuernementalepour explorer les implicationsde la rkgkwentation dessagesfemrnes. L 'auteur assure que cette nouuellefd~on defaire est une nouuelle $ m e de surveilhnce qui est potentiellement alarmante pour Le statut des sages-femmes. T h e ... consequences of professionalization may run counter to the reasons for defending the profession in the first place. Midwives, in short, may become more like doctors instead of more like midwives (Oakley and Hood 164).
Critical Social Policy, 2009
While there has been considerable attention paid to Canada's anti-woman abuse policy framewor... more While there has been considerable attention paid to Canada's anti-woman abuse policy framework, much of this attention has neglected its implications for women's resistance to abuse. This paper attempts to address this gap by using the lens of women's resistance to analyse the anti-woman abuse policy in Canada. I begin by exploring the ways in which the policy framework constructs the `problem' and considering its implications for women's choice in resistance strategy. Using the Canadian General Social Survey on Victimization (1999), I apply independent samples tests to explore women's (non)usage of various strategies, as it varies by class, race, and ability. I conclude with suggestions for policy reform.
Canadian Public Administration, 2010
... Among these approaches is the “problem representation” framework, developed by Carol Bacchi (... more ... Among these approaches is the “problem representation” framework, developed by Carol Bacchi (1999, 2000 ... text, requiring analysts to consider the ways in which the “problem” is represented by (and in turn shapes) policy discourse and language, what is problematized ...
Canadian Journal of Political Science, 2009
turels, qu'elle ne définit pas, sinon pour évoquer le paradoxe de l'absolu pluriel~69! et pour af... more turels, qu'elle ne définit pas, sinon pour évoquer le paradoxe de l'absolu pluriel~69! et pour affirmer que ces derniers sont laissés à la libre appréciation de leurs défenseurs. Ce disant, elle renchérit en affirmant que la culture ne saurait constituer un capital d'impunité et d'irresponsabilité. Elle en remet en disant que la condition culturelle ne peut dominer la condition humaine. Faut-il pourtant rappeler que ni le droit ni les droits ne tolèrent les pratiques dégradantes? Et que la lente reconnaissance des droits culturels n'affectera pas cet état de fait. Au-delà des généralités, voici une page qui aurait mérité des illustrations convaincantes. Bref, pour la professeure Vernes, la tolérance est une misère politique nécessaire. Et encore une fois, la «tolérance à cette tolérance-là» a été mise à rude épreuve au Québec depuis quelques années. En résumé, un petit ouvrage où il faut lire entre les lignes pour y trouver son compte. Mais de telles collections «instantanées», où le travail de l'éditeur est réduit à sa plus simple expression, sont utiles et valent leur pesant d'or, malgré quelques coquilles et des caractères d'imprimerie bien petits! Peut-être pas la meilleure façon d'inciter à la lecture philosophique les moins gourmands.
Canadian Journal of Political Science, 2011
. Ontario&amp... more . Ontario's Midwifery Act came into effect on January 1, 1994, at a time of radical health care restructuring, marked by hospital closures and staffing cuts. In addition, feminist backlash was rampant in the popular media. Given these conditions, some have suggested that midwifery legislation was implemented because it aligned with the government's cost-cutting initiatives, while others have suggested that the government was responding to the dissatisfaction with obstetric practice outlined by a well-organized lobby. While these factors were no doubt important in the passing of the legislation, I offer a more critical reading of the policy texts, suggesting that the legislation and its enabling regulations problematize not only costs or client satisfaction but also the knowledge of midwives and the women they serve. In framing the issue as one of public safety, the policy ensemble introduced a new form of birthing expert—the expert midwife—reimposing a hierarchical relationship in the birthing process, serving to reify medical science and to objectify birthing women. In so doing, the legislation potentially silences claims for both professional and reproductive autonomy.Résumé. La Loi sur les sages-femmes de l'Ontario est entrée en vigueur le premier janvier 1994 au cours d'une période houleuse dans le domaine de la santé qui fut marquée par des fermetures d'hôpitaux et des réductions de la main-d'œuvre. De plus, à cette époque, les médias populaires avaient clairement adopté une position antiféministe. Étant donné cette conjoncture, on proposa dans quelques articles que cette loi fut adoptée parce qu'elle cadrait bien avec les priorités gouvernementales de coupures budgétaires, tandis que d'autres insistèrent que le gouvernement ne faisait que réagir au mécontentement à l'endroit de la pratique obstétricale exprimé par un groupe d'intérêts puissant. Ces facteurs ont sans doute joué un rôle important dans l'adoption de la loi, mais je propose, en contrepartie, une interprétation plus critique des textes de politiques publiques. J'avance que la loi et sa réglementation soulignent une problématique qui va au delà des coûts et de la satisfaction de la clientèle, englobant aussi le savoir des sages-femmes et celui de leurs clientes. En formulant le débat en termes de sécurité publique, la législation a instauré une nouvelle forme d'expertise – l'experte sage-femme – qui réimpose une hiérarchie professionnelle dans le domaine de l'accouchement, ce qui a pour effet de solidifier la position de la…
International Review of Public Policy, 2021