Nearly $2-billion in government subsidies does little to improve animal welfare
No matter how you feel about paying taxes, you probably don’t like to see them wasted. One of the worst things a government can do is spend precious taxpayer dollars in ways that do not reflect the priorities and values of the majority of its citizens. So it is particularly frustrating to see our government […]
‘Every half degree matters, every action matters’: IPCC report tackles role of land use in climate change
Canada has a unique opportunity to play a leadership role in nature-based solutions to climate change, say environmental experts, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a special report last week on why land use must be considered a vital tool in the battle against climate change. The IPCC, the United Nations body tasked […]
Last chance to lobby MPs sees June numbers shrink, with influencers eyeing the campaign season
The waning days of the House’s busy legislative calendar were coupled with an unsurprising dip in lobbying, but some were making the most of the last month with MPs in Ottawa before an extended break for the campaign ahead of an October election. With party platforms still being written, June was a good time for […]
Lobbying watchdog says glitch in system skewed volume of registrations
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tenure in office has undoubtedly brought a surge in lobbying activity, but a glitch in the registry’s system resulted in an overrepresentation of the number of lobbyists actively registered, says the commissioner. In its 2018 annual report, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying (OCL) indicated there were 9,084 lobbyists registered […]
In the push for women’s empowerment, rural women can’t be left behind
Globally, the momentum for gender equality and justice is growing. Nowhere was this more evident than at the Women Deliver conference, where more than 8,000 leaders, advocates, and experts from around the world gathered in Vancouver from June 3 to 6 to fight for women’s empowerment. Canada is building on and advancing this greater global […]
Northern Canada facing the climate change challenge in practical, culturally meaningful ways
The threat of climate change to property and infrastructure has become increasingly apparent to Canadians. With increasing intensity and frequency, forest fires and floods are having a devastating impact on all kinds of communities, whether rural or urban. But imagine a world where climate change puts your way of life and cultural identity at risk. […]
‘The model doesn’t make any sense’: Senators, Inuit orgs call for Nutrition North transformation
A federal program that subsidizes the cost of sending perishable food to remote communities has a “model that doesn’t make any sense” for northerners, according to Senators who live in the territories and the organizations that represent their communities. Following a new study that questioned the effectiveness in the program in Nunavut, some hope that […]
Untying food aid in Canada: policy matters
When Cyclone Idai devastated crops in Mozambique and neighbouring countries in March, humanitarian agencies rushed in to supply food to the cyclone victims, sourcing that food from farming areas close to the disaster. That practice—local sourcing for food aid—is a relatively new development in the humanitarian field. Before 2008, Canada’s food aid was almost all […]
New agriculture minister Bibeau most lobbied in first month on the job
In her first month as Agriculture Minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau was the most lobbied in cabinet, according to March filings in the federal lobbying registry. In meetings spread throughout the month, she spoke to 17 different groups and was mentioned in 19 reports. It continues the trend of Ms. Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) meeting with more organizations […]
Let’s ditch the silos: towards an integrated agri-food policy framework
The Canadian government has identified the agriculture and agri-food sector as an engine of growth, with some pretty ambitious targets over the next decade. The 2017 Barton Report by the government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth proposed that Canada should boost its agriculture exports by $11-billion and its agri-food exports by $19-billion by 2027. The […]
