What’s your issue? Taxes, climate change, health care top leaders’ campaign pitches this election
With less than a week to go until Oct. 21, there’s been plenty of lamenting over the issues that aren’t being talked about this campaign. So, what have the leaders spent their time spotlighting? And what issues have media definitively brought to the fore? The Hill Times took a look at the issues raised by or with […]
The misconception of Canada’s foreign aid generosity
Earlier this year, Statistics Canada reported that in 2017 there were 278,000 fewer children living below the poverty line, compared to 2015 when the Liberals took office. Through policy measures, including the introduction of the Canada Child Benefit, the Liberal government has done some admirable work in reducing poverty in this country. For this, credit […]
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 […]
In Afghanistan, chronic malnutrition a bigger threat than conflict
War in Afghanistan continues amid uncertain peace talks. Renewed fighting in recent weeks is yet another confirmation that this is one of the world’s most dangerous places. Nearly two decades after the fall of the Taliban and the deployment of Canada’s military, perceptions are still being shaped by news stories about conflict, terrorist attacks, and […]
The glass ceiling remains to be shattered for women in peace and conflict-prevention efforts
When representatives of the Liberal government attend Women Deliver next week, they are likely to showcase their Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), which is supposed to represent a major shift of Canada’s approach to women in its foreign relations. And why shouldn’t they? A focus on gender equality including the promotion of sexual and reproductive […]
Silence is bad for women’s health
Powerful forces of change have swept across the world since the start of the #MeToo movement two years ago. That movement has put the issue of widespread sexual assault and harassment front and centre among the challenges facing women today; it has helped break down barriers holding back women at work and at home. Tarana […]
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 […]
Time is ticking for MPs, Senators to pass human rights bills
There is an enormous amount of consequential human rights legislation approaching the parliamentary finish line. The time to get it across shrinks daily. Only four sitting weeks remain in this session of Parliament for MPs, five for Senators. Rather than return to Parliament in the fall, MPs will be out hustling for votes. That means […]
Canada should weigh in on the crisis in Central America
OTTAWA—The history of United States’ intervention in Central America is a long, bloody, and depressing story. How many tens of thousands of civilians—mostly peasants—were tortured and killed by U.S. soldiers and their proxies and the right-wing dictatorships Washington has backed for a century in the region is unknowable. But the record of atrocities and suffering […]
Let’s show international solidarity for flood victims
For the past several days, many of our fellow citizens have been going through situations of angst with the floods that have hit the eastern part of Canada. This horrible occurrence should at least open us a bit to the fate of countries of the South. In India, the country is dealing with a violent cyclone, and in Mozambique, floods just appear […]
