Universities, industry, and research say substantial investments in research needed on regular basis

Post-secondary institutions and industry advocates are applauding the Trudeau government for rolling out millions in new funding for research since assuming office but say robust investments and other inducements are needed on a regular basis to ensure Canadian schools and businesses remain competitive on the global stage. In the 2016 budget, the Trudeau government earmarked […]
Universities and the innovation ecosystem
Innovation has been stated as an objective of public policies for many decades now, though different governments have made it more or less of a priority in their actions. Universities are always a core component of government mandates, or strategies for innovation, and for good reason. They are the primary location for the creation of […]
The aggrieved and the beguiled: experts and evidence in troubled times

Is it not a curious fact that in a world steeped in irrational hatreds which threaten civilization itself, men and women—old and young—detach themselves wholly or partly from the angry current of daily life to devote themselves to the cultivation of beauty, to the extension of knowledge, to the cure of disease, to the amelioration […]
Innovation agenda about creating good-paying jobs, says Bains

For Navdeep Bains, the goal is simple. Whether it’s superclusters, skills upgrading, or university research, the minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development says the Trudeau government’s innovation-steered investments are being trotted out to accomplish one immensely important task—to create jobs, and good-paying, middle-class supporting jobs, at that. And while that may be easier said […]
Here’s hoping for education funding boost for those in need abroad
The recent terrorist attack in Manchester reminds us of the tragic cost of keeping important issues in the dark. This June 5 to 7, the replenishment conference for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) will be held in Ottawa. This little-known organization is the instrument that the international community has created precisely to combat obscurantism, and […]
Helping the poor in Canada, abroad shouldn’t be zero-sum game
In a troubled and complicated world, we need to maintain focus on helping those in the greatest need. Many complain that we should be spending our foreign-aid money at home where we have extensive poverty but lack the will to deal with it. Being poor in Canada is a luxury compared to the lives lived […]
RCMP: More reports for the archives

OTTAWA—It’s spring, and the hardiest of perennials in the Canadian policy garden is in full flower. The RCMP and the never-ending wailing about how to fix its “culture of dysfunction” and “insularity,” in the words of two recent reports, is already standing tall among the many other perennials in the government’s garden of things needing […]
Education is the strongest tool to change health, poverty outcomes
With Mother’s Day earlier this month, it’s a good time to remind Canadians that purchasing favourite gift choices—flowers and chocolate—can have a devastating effect on children overseas. These commodities come mostly from the developing world, where they may depend on child labour and in the case of chocolate, child slavery. Countries with few opportunities and […]
Territorial Development

House security officers wear baseball caps, stickers as employer refuses to negotiate new contract

PARLIAMENT HILL—House of Commons security officers have been wearing baseballs caps and stickers calling for “respect” since May 1 amid an escalating labour standoff between their union and the heads of the Parliamentary Protective Service, who are members of the RCMP. Along with general complaints over the handling of labour relations, the guards, who are part […]