ABI/Inform Global. ProQuest .

The Department of Finance Canada is the federal government department responsible for creating the federal budget, monitoring and providing advice to government on the country's economic and fiscal affairs. Every province and territory in Canada also has a Finance Minister and department:
Provincial/Territorial Finance Departments. By Finance Canada. http://www.fin.gc.ca/access/linkse.html

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada audits government departments, agencies and Crown corporations as well as the Public Accounts of Canada. The Auditor General is appointed for 10 years and reports directly to Parliament so is independent of government. In 1995 the new position of Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development was created within this Office, to provide oversight of the federal government's efforts to protect the environment and foster sustainable development. Provinces and large cities also have an Auditor General.

The Elections Canada is responsible for the neutral administration of federal elections. The Chief Electoral Officer reports directly to Parliament and is independent of government. Each province/territory also has a similar office:
Contact Information for Provincial and Territorial Election Officials. By Elections Canada. http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=lin&dir=url&document=index&lang=e&textonly=false

Many of these bodies have published excellent research reports and other documents. Some of the most recent ones published by the currently existing bodies will be available on their web sites. Check your library catalogue, AMICUS, or a large provincial research or legislative library for the documents created in earlier years. Some examples of these are given in the Selected Primary Sources section.

Briefs to Committees: One of the important ways in which government bodies, research organizations, and others advise and lobby government is to submit briefs to government committees of all sorts, advising them on the impact of proposed legislation. These briefs or reports may be found as separate publications by the authoring body, or as part of the "Evidence" of parliamentary committees.

Economic Council of Canada. 1963-1993.
This was a Crown corporation reporting to the Prime Minister. It was an important advisory council to federal government on economic policy for thirty years and published annual reviews of the economy and hundreds of excellent research papers. (Note: Existing regional "economic councils" by that name, e.g. Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, are independent organizations with specific agendas so tend to be much more one-sided in their analyses and policy proposals.)

See Selected Primary Sources for examples of some key government documents.

See Selected Primary Sources for selected examples.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. http://www.policyalternatives.ca
An independent, non-partisan research institute founded in 1980. Best known for their annual Alternative Federal Budget, since 1994, and more recently alternative provincial budgets, they publish many other research publications on public finance issues. Some examples:
The Art of the Impossible: Fiscal Federalism and Fiscal Balance in Canada. By Hugh Mackenzie. 2006. 57 p.
the Social Benefits and Economic Costs of Taxation: A Comparison of High- and Low-tax Countries. By Neil Brooks and Thaddeus Hwong. 2006. 55 p.
Squandering Canada's Surplus: Opting for Debt Reduction and "Scarcity by Design". By Armine Yalnizyan. 2004. 15 p.

Canadian Tax Foundation. http://www.ctf.ca An independent tax research organization since 1945 that publishes extensively on government finance and the tax system in Canada. Besides its core publications: Finances of the Nation, and the Canadian Tax Journal, some examples of other research published:
A Fiscal History of Canada: The Postwar Years. By J. Harvey Perry. 1989. 1058 p.
Financing the Canadian Federation, 1867-1995. By David Perry. Canadian Tax Paper no. 102, 1997. 376 p.
Municipal Revenue and Expenditure Issues in Canada. By Harry M. Kitchen. Canadian Tax Paper no. 107, 2002. 350 p.

Green Budget Coalition. http://www.greenbudget.ca/main_e.html A coalition of many environmental groups. Since 2000 they have been publishing news releases, briefs, etc. on how to make the budget more environment-friendly. Best known for their annual: Recommendations for Budget [year].

Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP). http://www.irpp.org A national, independent, nonprofit research organization that publishes on many public policy issues including public finance, electoral reform, and economic, fiscal, monetary and tax policy. For example:
Changing Dynamics in Election Campaign Finance: Critical Issues in Canada and the United States. By Jennifer Smith and Herman Bakvis. 2000. 40 p.
Is the Debt War Over? Dispatches From Canada's Frontline. Ed. by Christopher Ragan and William Watson. 2004 365 p.
Parliament's Performance in the Budget Process: A Case Study. By Peter Dobell and Martin Ulrich. 2002 24 p.
Searching for an Alternative to the GST. By Neil Brooks. 2990. 35 p.

Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance. Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto. http://www.utoronto.ca/mcis/imfg/
This institute conducts research on government finance and governing structures in Canada's large cities. They sponsor conferences and other events, have an online newsletter and their publications: articles, papers, presentations and others are available on their web site.

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). http://www.idea.int/parties/finance
This is an inter-governmental Organization of which Canada is a member country. It works to strengthen democratic insitutions and processes around the world. The "Political Party Finance" section features its encyclopedic Handbook on the Funding of Political Party and Election Campaigns and the Political Finance Database . Other publications:
The Delicate Balance Between Political Equality and Freedom of Expression: Political Party and Campaign Financing in Canada and the United States. Ed. by Steve Griner and Daniel Zovatto. Co-published with the Organization of American States. 2005. 70 p.

The NFB online catalogue can be searched by keyword or browsed by subject. Click on "Find a Film". Relevant "Subject Categories" include "Politics and Government -- Canada", or "Economics", then "Finance, Investment and Taxation".

See Part 5: Recorded Images for selected specific videos.