Northern Public Affairs Magazine

SPPA PhD students Sheena Kennedy and Joshua Gladstone, together with University of Toronto PhD student Jerald Sabin, have founded a new public policy magazine for northern Canada called Northern Public Affairs.

“In the North, as in every other region of Canada, the decisions of governments and other powerful institutions have direct bearing on people’s lives and livelihoods,” says Gladstone. “We saw a real need to focus attention on public affairs in the North beyond what the daily news cycle could provide.”  

The magazine publishes three times per year, offering a mixture of independent analysis, essays, interviews, and statements by northern leaders. It also acts as a vehicle for communicating the findings of important research to policy-makers. 

“One of the primary objectives of the magazine is to create a forum for discussing and debating ideas, issues, and challenges related to Northern public policy,” says Kennedy. “We are committed to publishing material in the magazine that represents the diversity of voices, perspectives and languages that make up the fabric of Northern Canada.”

The publishers also maintain a website featuring frequent policy updates and contributions from bloggers from across northern Canada and internationally.

The idea for the magazine came about in November, 2011 when a group of researchers, policy-makers and civil society organizations from across northern Canada met in Yellowknife to discuss the outcomes of ongoing social economy research. Questions about how to effectively communicate the policy-relevance of the research led to the concept of a publication dedicated to promoting policy debate in northern Canada.

Kennedy, Gladstone, and Sabin started Northern Public Affairs in January 2012 as a not-for-profit enterprise with the support of the Nunavut Research Institute, the Aurora Research Institute, the Yukon Research Centre, and the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation. An advisory board provides additional advice and support.

The inaugural issue of the magazine was launched at the Yellowknife Public Library on June 19 with the support of the School of Public Policy and Administration. The launch was well attended, with members of the local community, MLAs, and the mayor of Yellowknife present … see the video .

The next issue of the magazine will be released in fall 2012. For more information, or to subscribe to the magazine, go to www.northernpublicaffairs.ca.