Bibeau a ‘surprise’ in ag role, but presents chance to ‘go to bat’ for sector, say observers
Marie-Claude Bibeau’s appointment as the new agriculture and agri-food minister came as a surprise to the agriculture community, stakeholders say, but they note that as an MP hailing from a riding full of dairy farmers, she has been a “good voice” for supply-managed industries. Ms. Bibeau was unexpectedly shuffled to the file on March 1, […]
Canada is a target, not collateral damage, in the U.S. trade war against China
It has become clear that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, in the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Canada and China, have relied heavily on courting support from the United States while dismissing Beijing’s criticism over Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou’s arrest. They claim Ottawa is just following the rule of law […]
Let’s end plastic waste
Plastic waste reduction has been on the forefront of the federal policy discussion over the last year, from a commitment to reduce the amount of single-use plastics in federal government operations, to Canada leading the development and completion of the G7 Ocean Plastics Charter that was signed by the European Union and five G7 countries […]
U.S. security concerns about Huawei are bunk: it just wants to smother competitors, says China’s ambassador
For some time now, there have been rampant remarks that Huawei’s equipment poses threats to the national security of Western countries. The United States was the first to announce that it would exclude Huawei’s equipment from its domestic 5G market. Among the Five Eyes intelligence alliance members, Australia and New Zealand have followed suit, while […]
Without new funding, key part of Canada’s stem cell research ecosystem to close
Health care in Canada sits upon a precipice. We are faced with a looming crisis as costs for degenerative disease nears $200-billion each year and hospitals struggle to contend with chronic overcapacity. And yet, at no time before has there been so much promise for new and innovative therapies—many of which will provide treatments for […]
Alex Benay: the public service’s disruptor-in-chief
Alex Benay, the country’s chief information officer, doesn’t really have his own office in the Flaherty Building. Instead, he sits near the window, surrounded by his staff. He was originally supposed to be in a room in the middle of a floor of the 90 Elgin St. tower, but staff said he dragged his desk […]
As smart cities become our norm, we must be smart about a data strategy
Canadians’ attention has been drawn to the issue of smart cities by the public debate over the merits of Sidewalk Labs’ proposed Quayside development in Toronto. The project brings home a vision of cities embedded with sensors that continuously harvest data about infrastructure and human activity alike. The intense discussions that have broken out around […]
Bains says legislative changes needed to update privacy rules
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains says the federal government supports legislative changes to Canada’s privacy regime to protect Canadians’ data and meet new “challenges of the digital world.” In an email Q&A interview with The Hill Times, Mr. Bains (Mississauga-Malton, Ont.) said this week the Liberal government “agrees that legislative changes to Canada’s privacy regime are needed,” […]
How regions become innovation hubs
With an eye toward the upcoming 2019 federal election, public sector officials are looking for new approaches to improve the economic vitality of their economies, the livelihood of their citizens and, not coincidentally, their electoral prospects. Public sector efforts in Canada and the United States include: federal investments in field crop research and innovation, the […]
Microgrids eyed as new way to deliver macro impact
On Aug. 14, 2003, the lights went out across much of Ontario and several northeastern states. The Milky Way, normally only visible in more remote communities, could be seen from downtown Toronto, as light pollution was no longer obscuring the solar system. Some 10 million Ontarians were affected, while nearly 50 million Americans were left […]
