Bouchard, Genevieve <br/><br/>
Policy-making and administrative discretion :  the case of immigration in Canada 

 -  2002 
<br/><br/> Decisions in complex and controversial policy areas are often left to civil servants. As a result, civil servants use their discretionary power to make decisions that will likely have important consequences for society. This is the case with immigration. Partially based on interviews conducted with canadian and quebecois immigration agents, the authors note that the use of the judgement of civil servants is an important factor in the selection process of newcomers. The authors recognize also that discretion can take different forms: procedural discretion, selection grid discretion, and final decision discretion. This case study enables a better understanding of both the use of judgement in the decision-making process and the role of street-level civil servants in the policy implementation process