Kathy L. Brock

Dr. Kathy L. Brock is a Professor, School of Policy Studies and cross-appointed to the Department of Political Studies, Queen’s University, Past-Chair of the National Accreditation Board for Programs in Public Administration, former President of the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration, and former National Research Chair for the Institute of Programs in Public Administration. She has published books, academic articles and reports on the Canadian and comparative politics and government, federalism and constitutional matters, Indigenous governance, the judiciary and executive and the nonprofit sector. She has been active in public affairs as a nonpartisan advisor to federal, provincial and territorial governments, political parties, an Indigenous organization/leaders, & non-profit organizations. A dedicated professor, she received the 2008 Pierre De Celles IPAC Award for Teaching Excellence in Public Administration (national award) and the 2009 Frank Knox Award (Queen’s University) for Teaching Excellence and was a finalist for the 2020 Queen’s Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence.

Recently Professor Brock has pursued an active research program and public engagement relating to federalism, the pandemic and its impacts on parliamentary democracy and governance in Canada Including:

Books
1. Co-Author with Geoffrey Hale, Federalism in Canada: Evolving Constitutional, Political, and Social Realities. (Irwin Law and Institute of Parliamentary and Political Law, 2023).
2. Co-Editor with Geoffrey Hale, Managing Canadian Federalism beyond the Pandemic
(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, forthcoming 2024). .

Chapters in books
1. “Cooperative Federalism and Managing Intergovernmental Relations at the Executive Level Through the Pandemic: Setting the Framework” in Kathy Brock and Geoffrey Hale, Managing Canadian Federalism beyond the Pandemic (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, forthcoming 2022).
2. With Geoffrey Hale, “Pandemic Federalism” in Kathy Brock and Geoffrey Hale, Managing Canadian Federalism beyond the Pandemic (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, forthcoming 2022).
3. “Federalism After the Pandemic: Looking Forward” in Kathy Brock and Geoffrey Hale, Managing Canadian Federalism beyond the Pandemic (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, forthcoming 2022).
4. With Andrea Migone, "Protests, Diversity and Differences that Matter... For Some," in David Thomas and Christopher Sands eds., Canada and the United States: Differences that Count (Toronto: University of Toronto Press).

Invited Papers, Commentaries in Refereed Journals
1. Kathy Brock and Robert P. Shepherd, “The Trudeau Government and GIC Appointments in Canada,” International Journal of Public Sector Management 35:4
463-479. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-07-2021-0182
2. “Policy Labs, Partners and Policy Effectiveness in Canada,” Policy Design and Practice, (Published online February 2021). DOI: 10.1080/25741292.2021.1880063
3. With Lori Turnbull, “Balancing Accountability and Action during COVID-19: how the Emergencies Act provided a model for an empowered Parliament.” Canadian Public Administration 63:3 (September 2020), pp. 350-356. Invited Commentary.
4. With Jean-François Savard, Isabelle Caron and Robert Shepherd, “Teaching Public Administration in the COVID-19 Era: Preliminary Lessons Learned.” Canadian Public Administration 63:3 (September 2020), pp. 528-33. Invited Commentary.

Administrative Leadership and Reports to Governments, Other Organization
1. Co-Lead and Steering Group Member of Canada School of Public Service- Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration Dialogue Study Teams 2020-2021.
2. With Geneviève Tellier, “Public Sector and Parliamentary Accountability: Learning from COVID-19.” A Report to the Canada School of Public Service-Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration Dialogue Study Teams, Government-Parliamentary Accountability Sub-Theme Group, April 2021, 20 pp. Involved interviews with federal public officials and comparative research on government experiences with COVID. My paper focusses on the question of parliamentary accountability.
3. Lead author and editor on the School of Policy Studies Working Group on Governance, “The Impact of COVID-19 on the Future of Governance in Canada: A White Paper.” A collection of eight papers written by Queen’s scholars. 100 pp. My authored contributions: with Graeme Murray, “Introduction: A Results-Based Synopsis”; Brock, “The Perils of Reduced Parliamentary Scrutiny”, with Lori Turnbull, “Multiparty Agreements and A Better Model for Parliament during Crises”.

Media and Public articles
1. with Robert P. Shepherd. 2022. “Everyone Should Be Concerned If the Federal Government Bypasses the Canada Gazette.” The Conversation. January 19. https://theconversation.com/everyone-should-be-concerned-if-the-federal-government-bypasses-the-canada-gazette-174938
2. “There can be magic even in a COVID Christmas.” OpEd in the Ottawa Citizen, December 22, 2020.
3. “COVID-19: Good intentions aren’t the same as good governance.” OpEd in the Ottawa Citizen, July 13, 2020.
4. “The Coronavirus Challenge to Democracy.” OpEd in the Ottawa Citizen, May 29, 2020.

Professional Presentations and Conference Participation
A. Papers:
1. “Government Accountability during COVID-19: Agile or Off-Centre?” with Lori Turnbull. Presented to the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration national conference, June 4, 2021.
2. Cooperative Federalism and Managing Intergovernmental Relations Through the Pandemic: Setting the Framework.” Paper presented to the Managing Canadian Federalism beyond the Pandemic Workshop, held online, March 19, 2021.
3. “Finding/Restoring the Links Between Good Governance and Democratic Governance.” Presented to the Panel on “The Not-So-New Normal: The Impact of COVID-19 on Core Public Administration Education,” at the 2020 National Association (Network) of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration National Annual Conference, Online, October 14-16, 2020.
B. Presentations:
1. “Analysis of the Government’s Decision to Prorogue Parliament in August 2020.” Invited appearance and presentation to the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, by Zoom, December 10, 2020.
2. “Governance through COVID-19: Lessons for Disruption,” to the Institute on Governance Policy Crunch Series, by Zoom, October 6, 2020.
3. “Holding Government Accountable During COVID (or not…).” Invited presentation to Kingston Rotary Club, September 17, 2020.
4. “Action, Accountability and Good Governance during COVID” to the Contagion Cuture Lecture Series, Queen’s University, September 1, 2020.
5. “COVID-19 and the Use of Emergency Legislation” to the Institute of Public Administration National Capital Region, by Zoom, July 8, 2020.
6. “Moving Online: Maintaining Quality with Live Cases.” Invited presentation for Teaching Public Policy and Public Administration in Times of COVID at the CAPPA Workshop, held by Zoom, June 2, 2020.

Conference Organizing
1. Member of Organizing Committee, Canada School of Public Policy and Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration Joint Conference on the Forward Agenda: Public Administration in Canada, May 18, 2021. Second session to follow in late June.
2. Member of Organizing Committee for Workshop on Teaching Public Administration During Covid, 2020.

June 2021