For rural and remote communities, broadband access is not a game
Over the last decade, Canadians from coast to coast to coast have decried consecutive governments for not doing enough to support rural and remote broadband access. Canadians in these communities should have access to broadband supports—it’s 2019, after all. There are a whole host of reasons given that not every Canadian has access to affordable […]
Innovation
Canada’s economy needs workers with global learning experiences
In a column published recently in The Hill Times, Perrin Beatty and Paul Davidson argued that Canada has to up its game when it comes to connecting post-secondary students with international learning experiences. “In our rapidly changing world,” they wrote, “Canadian employers need workers who are culturally aware, resilient, and adaptable—skilled in problem solving, communication, […]
Critics decry new minister as election ploy, say Liberals dropping ball on rural internet access
Shifting responsibility for getting better internet connectivity in rural areas to a new cabinet minister may just be a “smoke screen” for the Liberals dropping the ball on the file and other rural issues, say opposition MPs. But Liberals and stakeholders say there’s time for real progress on broadband and other rural files before the […]
Privacy watchdog calls for ‘incremental’ approach to digitizing government services
As the federal government looks to digitize Canadians’ access to government services, the privacy commissioner says that it should take an “incremental” approach, arguing that its experience with the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system speaks to the pitfalls of cutting corners to save time and money. “[That experience] speaks to the need to implement this incrementally,” […]
Innovation minister, Finance Committee chair, member top most-lobbied MPs of 2018
A committee chair, a minister, and a backbencher were 2018’s top-lobbied MPs, according to a Hill Times analysis that observers said made sense given the Parliamentarians’ close contact with budget planning and the Liberals’ much-touted innovation mandate. Chair of the House Finance Committee Wayne Easter notched 182 mentions in communications reports from registered lobbyists, followed […]
Industry players call for regulatory tweaks as empty shelves harsh retailers’ buzz
Some industry experts say the Canadian government’s legal pot regime can be tweaked to help address immediate supply concerns, but the federal minister in charge of overseeing the regulatory system said a national cannabis supply shortage isn’t to blame for unstocked retail shelves in parts of Canada. In an email interview with The Hill Times, […]
Black market, supply chain issues will improve as legal weed market matures, says Blair
The federal minister responsible for the legal cannabis system in Canada says the black market will continue to shrink in 2019 as the legal cannabis market matures. In an email Q&A interview with The Hill Times, Minister for Border Security and Organized Crime Prevention Bill Blair (Scarborough Southwest, Ont.) said the illegal market won’t be […]
Weed or feed? A Canadian food security issue
In December, the University of Guelph and Dalhousie University released the 9th edition of Canada’s Food Price Report, and while the report paints a generally rosy picture of 2019 food prices, partly due to decreasing meat prices and small increases across most food categories, a sobering statistic from the report was that overall food prices are expected to increase by 1.5 to […]
Cannabis
