Canadian exports at risk when America is first to free trade agreements
OTTAWA—News that the U.S. is poised to launch a bilateral trade deal with Japan after bowing out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership should be a wake-up call for Canada to implement trade agreements with Asia-Pacific economies or we’ll be left behind. The Trump administration is working at breakneck speed on a number of files, and trade […]
NAFTA renegotiation gives Canada chance to improve deal, say politicos and business reps
While U.S. President Donald Trump’s determination to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement is causing concern in certain quarters, opposition MPs and business representatives say it’s an opportunity for Canada to improve and modernize the decades-old trade agreement. “I think that we have an opportunity to push for things that we weren’t able to […]
Overwhelming evidence supports need for Canadian atrazine ban
The Health Canada agency responsible for evaluating pesticides based on their health and environment risks, is about to decide the fate of atrazine. Atrazine is a pesticide used extensively in corn production, but its widespread use is disconcerting. It’s known to change the gender of frogs and harm aquatic ecosystems, and it has been linked […]
Canada’s bioeconomy: a sustainable source of growth and prosperity
For 40 years, digital technology has accelerated productivity and economic growth. Today, the rapidly growing bioeconomy (agriculture, forestry, fisheries, etc.) is affecting a similar transformation. Based on DNA rather than silicon, Canadian innovation in the bioeconomy—fuelled by cutting-edge science and technology—is already reaping benefits in health, the environment and other sectors and promises to have a […]
House Government Operations Committee leaps into action to protect whistleblowers, or does it?
OTTAWA—Whistleblower protection advocates across Canada were celebrating last week when the news broke that Treasury Board President Scott Brison had suddenly asked the House Government Operations Committee (OGGO) to conduct a review of the federal whistleblower protection law (the PSDPA). This review, which by law should have taken place five years ago, has been steadfastly blocked […]
How Trudeau can protect his climate legacy in a post-Trump era
For the first time ever, we have a climate change strategy, the Pan-Canadian Framework, that most—if not all—governments have bought into. It’s a big achievement for our prime minister. However, as our leaders start figuring out how to put that plan into action, they would be wise to note the efforts to unravel former U.S. […]
Mental health care of Canada’s young people can rapidly, frugally be improved
Response to “Missing: a child and youth mental health strategy at provincial and national levels” (The Hill Times, online, Jan. 5, 2017). There is a nationwide need to enhance rapid access to effective evidence-based mental health care for young people and their families. Most mental illnesses can be diagnosed before the age of 25, with the […]
Liberals should be worried
TORONTO—Liberals should be worried. The odds are growing that the Trudeau government could fail in its overarching pledge to strengthen the middle class, a pledge that is supposed to drive almost everything the government does. But unless it can improve Canada’s potential growth rate for the economy, driven by innovation and a resulting improvement in […]
APEC Digital Hub: towards borderless international digital solutions for mental health, meeting Canada’s innovation and trade goals and growing the economy
Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s Advisory Council recently released its report, The Path to Prosperity, making several recommendations on how Canada can seize the 21st century to become an innovative nation and increase economic growth. It is a bold set of recommendations that the government should not ignore. In today’s complex and undpredictable world, the Path […]
How I imagine Trudeau to meet Trump in Washington, D.C., on Monday
TORONTO—[The scene: the Oval Office. Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump have just completed their photo-op in the Rose Garden. Gerald Butts and Steve Bannon are present to take notes.] Trump: Wow! I’m exhausted! That photo-op wore me out! [Brightening.] Wanna go check out some peeler bars, Justy? Putin owns a few really good ones here […]
