White Paper - White Papers in Government

White Papers in Government

White papers originated in governments, and many point to the Churchill White Paper of 1922 as the earliest well-known example. Today, publishing a white paper signifies a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. White Papers are a "... tool of participatory democracy ... not unalterable policy commitment". "White Papers have tried to perform the dual role of presenting firm government policies while at the same time inviting opinions upon them."

In Canada, a white paper "is considered to be a policy document, approved by Cabinet, tabled in the House of Commons and made available to the general public". The "provision of policy information through the use of white and green papers can help to create an awareness of policy issues among parliamentarians and the public and to encourage an exchange of information and analysis. They can also serve as educational techniques".

"White Papers are used as a means of presenting government policy preferences prior to the introduction of legislation"; as such, the "publication of a White Paper serves to test the climate of public opinion regarding a controversial policy issue and enables the government to gauge its probable impact".

By contrast, green papers, which are issued much more frequently, are more open-ended. Also known as consultation documents, green papers may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation or they may set out proposals on which the government wishes to obtain public views and opinion.

White papers published by the European Commission are documents containing proposals for European Union action in a specific area. They sometimes follow a green paper released to launch a public consultation process.

Examples of governmental white papers include White Paper on Full Employment, White Paper of 1939, and the 1966 Defence White Paper.