This thesis traces changes in economic livelihood among Canadian Parkland Indians during 1800-1930, primarily to analyze the Indians' transition from a relative economic independence to membership in an economically disadvantaged population sector. Concepts of opportunity and constraint are utilized. The growth of settlement in Western Canada in the nineteenth century generated novel economic opportunities for Indians; however, constraints were also imposed, and these gathered strength in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Indians are seen in this study as economic agents, who took an active role in seizing opportunities and responding to constraints. It is suggested this approach contrasts with many which assume post-contact Indian peoples to be relatively passive objects of Euro-Canadian or Euro-American action. Economic opportunities discussed are those associated, successively, with equestrian living and bison-hunting on the Plains; the growth of the transport trade, the pemmican trade; adoption of Christianity and aspects of Western civilization; subsistence and commercial agriculture; and, more recently, wage labour. A primary constraint developed out of government policy. A special body of legislation had been created for Indians, and after 1879 a new policy was implemented in the West to exert comprehensive control over numerous sectors of Indian life. It affected livelihood by discouraging economic enterprise and imposing difficulties in obtaining financial credit. It also drastically reduced the scope for initiative on the part of native leaders. When Indians left their home reserves in later years to seek wage labour, their lack of skills and inability to remedy social disadvantages trapped them in a poorly-paid employment. A "culture of poverty" explanation, emphasizing Indians as 'patients', has frequently been advanced to explain Indian poverty. In this study that approach is criticized. It is argued that Indian poverty developed not through failure of Indians to adjust to the growth of settlement. Rather it was a consequence of constraints imposed upon them by (a) government policy and (b) impediments to social mobility. The study has utilized both archival and field data. Archival research was carried out in Winnipeg and Ottawa, and field research at Indian reserves in the eastern Parklands. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The study, extending over two summers a and one uni­versity year, was an endeavour 1) to determine the existence and nature of an innate activity pattern in porcupines under laboratory conditions, 2) to determine the behaviour of por­cupines in their natural habitat, 3) to compare field and laboratory data on the behaviour of the porcupine and 4) to determine the home range of the porcupine. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

From 2006-2008, both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia proposed changes to their French second language (FSL) policies and programs. In observing the cases, it becomes clear that government officials made use of policy instruments to both implement policy and navigated the policy process. This work builds off existing literature that seeks to understand the instrument selection process, as well as the impact of policy tools on the policy-making process and more specifically, on the actors involved directly and indirectly in it. Using a framework that incorporates components of Contextual Interaction Theory and elements of procedural policy instrument scholarship, the project endeavours to identify what instruments were used to develop and implement FSL policy in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, as well as to comprehend why the tools were selected. The dissertation relies on document analysis and semi-structured interviews conducted with government officials and stakeholders to determine that instrument selection is based on the actors’ cognitions, motivations, and available/accessible resources. Furthermore, legitimacy plays an integral role in the selection of instruments. Government policymakers are faced with varying degrees of legitimacy, as expressed by actors indirectly involved in the policy process. Inevitably, these actors react to policy content and the policy process, which leads to sometimes contentious interactions. The current research expands on the educational policy literature by using a lens that accounts for the role of instruments in the policy process and provides a nuanced understanding of how the actors’ interactions shape and influence policy-making. It makes an original contribution to the policy instruments literature by developing a framework that accounts for the selection criteria used by both policymakers and stakeholders when choosing policy tools and resources. This dissertation contributes to the discipline of public administration and the field of public policy primarily by expounding the explanatory value of policy instruments regarding what they can tell us about the policy process, policy-making and policy outcomes. It does this by looking at how it is actors both directly and indirectly involved in the policy process interpret policy instruments and shows how government’s policy-making capacity is constrained not only by the resources available to it but by the resources accessible to actors indirectly involved in the policy process. Looking at the reciprocal nature of tool selection and tool implementation helps to explain policy-making and outcomes, as well as accounts for the roles of actors both proximately and peripherally involved in the process.

Social workers are increasingly using eye movement, desensitization, and reprocessing (EMDR) to help clients recover from trauma. Little is known about how social workers who work with traumatic client material while using EMDR as their main psychotherapeutic modality experience vicarious trauma. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experience of vicarious trauma among social workers in Eastern Canada who used EMDR in their practice with clients. Constructivist self-development theory was the framework that informed this study. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with 7 EMDR social work participants who were selected using purposive sampling. Participants were required to have a masters level social work designation, EMDR training, and practice with trauma material at least 40% of the time they see clients. Findings from the narrative analysis showed that participants' concepts of 'self' changed over time, with the changes becoming less acute. Understanding how EMDR social workers experience vicarious trauma has implications for policy, practice, future research, and for social change related to trauma. Social workers who are less likely to become traumatized may fit a prototype that may be more appealing to organizational stability. Clinicians may be able to see the signs and symptoms of vicarious trauma and take more time for education and self-care. Finally, study findings may further research on vicarious trauma and EMDR.

Plusieurs études récentes démontrent que la prolifération de la végétation dans le Nord a augmenté sous un climat en réchauffement lors des quatres dernières décennies, surtout dans la zone de transition entre toundra et taïga. L’accroissement des arbustes a un effet sur les propriétés de la neige et du bilan d’énergie de surface. L’objectif de cette recherche est d’améliorer la caractérisation de l’impact des arbustes sur l’évolution de la neige (accumulation et fonte) en utilisant des données terrains et la télédétection. La recherche a été réalisée sur le site d’Umiujaq, au Nunavik, représentatif de la zone de transition entre l’Arctique de basse latitude et les zones subarctiques. La profondeur de neige, mesurée le long de nombreux transects qui couvrent plusieurs types de végétation (toundra arbustive, toundra de lichen, forêt ouverte et forêt fermée d’épinettes) démontre l’effet d’emprisonnement de la neige dans la zone de transition entre une zone de toundra arbustive vers une zone de forêt d’épinettes. Cet effet est lié à la hauteur de la végétation et à la perte de densité (la profondeur de neige augmente par des facteurs de 2,5 à 3). De plus, des mesures de profondeur de neige en continue ont été prises par deux stations météorologiques situées l'une en zone de toundra arbustive et l'autre en zone de forêt. Les résultats montrent que la neige réagit de façons très différentes selon la couverture du sol, mais reste très dépendante des sites considérés. Des analyses spatiales à très haute résolution (Pléiades) et à moyenne résolution (Landsat et MODIS) suggèrent un délai dans la fonte entre les zones de forêts et les zones de toundra de lichen et arbustives. Une technique de mesure de profondeur de neige par télédétection à haute résolution est aussi discutée. / Abstract : Recent studies have shown that northern vegetation has been growing in relation to a warming climate over the last four decades, especially across the transition zone between tundra and taiga. Shrub growth affects snow properties and the surface energy budget, which must be better studied to quantify shrub-snow-climate feedbacks. The objective of this research is to improve the characterization of the impact of shrubs on snow evolution, from its accumulation to its melt, using in-situ and satellite measurements. The research is presented for the Umiujaq site, Nunavik, representative of the low Arctic – Subarctic transition zone. Snow depth, measured along numerous transects spanning different land cover types is found to increase by a factor 2.5 to 3 between tundra and forest, while snow density decreases. This illustrates the trapping effect of vegetation well. Complementary continuous snow depth measurements using weather stations from two sites (tundra with low shrubs and a small clearing with shrubs within the forest) show different site-dependent behaviors. Spatial analysis from high-resolution Pleiades images combined with Landsat (Normalized Difference Snow Index) and MODIS (Fractional Snow Cover) images suggest a slight delay in melt over open and dense forest areas compared to tundra and dense high shrubs. A technic to measure snow depth using high resolution is also discussed.

Thèse réalisée en cotutelle entre l'Université de Montréal et l'Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté / Les feux, le climat et leurs interactions sont des facteurs clés de la dynamique des forêts boréales. Dans un contexte où les changements climatiques en cours augmentent les risques d’incendies, une hausse de la fréquence des feux constitue une menace pour les populations locales (qualité de l’air, risques sanitaires, décès, etc.), les ressources forestières (déforestation, baisse de volume bois, etc.) et l’environnement (perte d’habitats naturels, hausse des émissions de CO2, pollution diverse, etc.). Comprendre les dynamiques passées aidera à gérer durablement les forêts boréales et à anticiper les effets des changements climatiques futurs. A l'aide d’analyses paléoécologiques multiproxies (chironomes, charbon de bois, pollen) de trois carottes sédimentaires (lacs Mista et Adèle (est du Québec), Aurélie (Ouest du Québec)), nous avons documenté les interactions à long terme entre le climat, le feu et la végétation le long d’un gradient longitudinal est-ouest du Québec au cours des 8500 dernières années. Nos résultats suggèrent l'existence d'un fort contraste de températures estivales entre l'est et l'ouest du Québec avant 7000 ans AA (avant l’actuel). Dans l'est, durant cette période, l'influence indirecte des vestiges de l'Inlandsis Laurentidien et les conditions de surface de l'océan contrebalancent l'insolation maximale pour induire des conditions estivales plus fraîches. La température estivale maximale n'est atteinte qu'entre 6000 et 5000 ans AA. L'ouest du Québec est peu ou pas affecté par ces influences et l'évolution des températures semble parallèle à la diminution de l'insolation pendant l'été, avec un maximum de températures autour de 7500 ans AA. Les changements de températures estivales ne semblent pas jouer un rôle prépondérant sur la dynamique de la végétation et des feux à l’est du Québec. La dynamique à long terme de la pessière à mousses de l’est est contrôlée, entre autres, par la taille et la fréquence des feux. Au lac Adèle, la pessière à mousses s'est ouverte vers 3000 ans AA. Mais le seuil de résilience de Picea mariana a probablement été dépassé vers 1500 ans AA, conduisant à la transformation de la pessière à mousses en pessière à lichens. Des incendies récurrents à intervalles rapprochés semblent être le principal mécanisme de déclenchement. Au lac Mista, la pessière à mousses s'est ouverte vers 2000 ans AA, mais elle s’est probablement redensifiée au cours des 300 dernières années. Bien que la pessière à mousses semble résiliente, elle reste dans un état d'équilibre précaire car la fréquence des incendies pourrait augmenter dans le contexte du changement climatique et déclencher la transformation de la pessière à mousses en pessière à lichens. A l’opposé des sites à l’est du Québec, à Aurélie (ouest du Québec), les feux semblent moins récurrents avec le refroidissement de la température estivale. Il existe une relation entre les variations de température estivale et la végétation. Il y a donc un contraste entre l’est et l’ouest sur les processus de contrôle de la dynamique de la végétation. / Fire, climate and their interactions are key factors in the dynamics of boreal forests. In a context where the ongoing climate change is increasing fire risk, a rise in fire frequency poses a threat to local populations (air quality, health risks, deaths, etc.), forest resources (deforestation, drop in timber volume, etc.) and the environment (loss of natural habitats, rise in CO2 emissions, various types of pollution, etc.). Understanding past dynamics will help to manage boreal forests sustainably and anticipate the effects of future climate change. Using multiproxy paleoecological analyses (chironomids, charcoal, pollen) of three sediment cores (lakes Mista and Adèle (eastern Quebec), Aurélie (western Quebec)), we have documented the long-term interactions between climate, fire and vegetation along a longitudinal east-west gradient in Quebec over the past 8500 years. Our results suggest the existence of a strong contrast in summer temperature between eastern and western Quebec prior to 7000 years BP (before present). In the east, during this period, the indirect influence of the remnants of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and ocean surface conditions offset maximum insolation to induce cooler summer conditions. Maximum summer temperatures were only reached between 6000 and 5000 cal yr BP. Western Quebec is little or unaffected by these influences, and the evolution of temperatures parallels the decrease in insolation during summer, with a temperature maximum around 7500 cal yr BP. Changes in summer temperatures are probably not the main factor controlling fire and vegetation dynamics in eastern Quebec. The long-term dynamic of the eastern spruce-moss forest is controlled, among other things, by the size and frequency of fires. At Lake Adèle, the spruce-moss forest opened around 3000 cal yr BP. But the resilience threshold of Picea mariana was probably exceeded around 1500 cal yr BP, leading to the transformation of the spruce-moss forest into a lichen woodland. Recurrent fires at short intervals seem to be the main triggering mechanism. At Lake Mista, the moss forest opened around 2000 cal yr BP, but has probably redensified over the last 300 years. Although the spruce-moss forest seems resilient, it remains in a precarious state of equilibrium, as the frequency of fires could increase in the context of climate change, triggering the transformation of the spruce-moss forest into a lichen woodland. In contrast to the sites in eastern Quebec, in Aurélie (western Quebec), fires seem to recur less frequently as summer temperatures cool. There is a relationship between summer temperature variations and vegetation. There is therefore a contrast between east and west in terms of the processes controlling vegetation dynamics.