This research project will examine how precarious work conditions (e.g., casual, temporary, contract-based, and normally poorly paid work) impact women workers, particularly those who are historically marginalized, including racialized women, Indigenous women, women with disabilities, and GLBTTQ women. It will also examine the impacts of precarious employment on women as users of public programs and services. This research is important for the Canadian Labour Congress because it will help them better understand the wide range of experiences that workers in Canada face.

The proposed project will help develop an online forum that can be used as a public consultation tool for governments as they make important public policy decisions. This forum will be developed and tested in the City of Markham as a case study. The model will then be refined so that it can be applied to other jurisdictions. The result will be a framework and online panel that can be used by various actors to communicate with and learn firsthand from citizens through digital technology.

The intern is expected to conduct a comparative study of what modifications are warranted to access and allocation processes of Canadian fisheries policy and legislation. Looking at the policies in place in other countries the aim is to identify policies that can be viably implemented into the Canadian context. It appears that within jurisdictions around the world, there have been successful implementations of innovating policies, which have enhanced the viability of resource management, and successful conservation measures.

The intern is confronted with a classical question in political economy: what kind of political institutions can facilitate economic development? The City of Vancouver represents a fascinating case study in which three important players are locked up in a strategic relationship that can either spur or damage the prospects of further economic development of the city. Player A, City Government, seeks to extract more revenues in taxation in order to accommodate the demands to provide welfare and services.