We are not really ‘The North’
OTTAWA—Thirteen years ago, I went to Whitehorse, the first time I had ever been north of the 60th parallel. It was a memorable visit, as I was enveloped by the northern lights, travelled around the region, and met people of all ages and backgrounds to talk about international policy. In doing so, I was part […]
Senators should dig in to a soil-health study
In 1984, the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry published a report, entitled “Soil at Risk: Canada’s Eroding Future.” The study, under the chairmanship of Senator Herbert Sparrow, who later went on to form the Soil Conservation Council of Canada in 1987, provided the government with several recommendations in an attempt to reverse […]
Canadian oil and gas: where in the world are we going?
One of the most contentious issues in Canadian politics is squaring oil and gas development with the country’s climate commitments. Can the two be aligned? It’s a very open question. A sober look at global energy demand offers a way to think through the challenge. The International Energy Agency published its 2019 World Energy Outlook […]
Lessons for Canada to be learned from Australian liquefied natural gas development
In 1964, liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo was delivered for the first time from Algeria to the United Kingdom. Today, there are more than 400 trade routes and upwards of 50 countries participating in the global LNG trade. For a time in 2018, Australia overtook Qatar as the world’s largest exporter of LNG. Alberta and […]
Natural Resources
The prime minister is winning the carbon pricing fight, he shouldn’t back down now
Over the coming weeks, the federal government will have to make big decisions that will determine just how effective Canada’s carbon price will be at reducing emissions. Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick have all proposed weaker carbon pricing systems for their industrial emitters and are now asking the feds to allow them to implement those […]
No exit timeline for NATO training mission strengthening Iraq military, says outgoing commander
The outgoing Canadian commander of the NATO advising and training mission in Iraq says there isn’t a timeline for the mission to end. “I don’t think there’s urgency on the part of NATO and allies to get us out of there,” Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin told The Hill Times last week. “But there’s no desire to […]
Federal transit spending could sustain high cost, high carbon cities
In the wake of months of climate action grandstanding from all sides of the stadium, Canadians are suffering an election hangover. Now that cabinet has been sworn in, it is time to sober up and reflect on meaningful climate action. With the exception of the Conservatives, all parties made it to step one of the […]
Ford government wants to reform panoply of business support programs
TORONTO—The Ford government has signalled its intention to reform the panoply of business support programs (including tax incentives, direct funding initiatives, and so on) that was inherited from its predecessor. It has already consolidated and reformed various regional development programs and is poised to undertake more ambitious reforms in its 2020 budget. These are positive steps. Research on […]
Diversity, inclusion minister should act as ‘catalyst’ with cross-ministerial power, say advocates
Renaming the multiculturalism ministry to diversity and inclusion has drawn mixed reactions from affected communities, as advocates await the release of the ministerial mandate letter to signal whether action is likely to come with the new title, or if it’s just “window dressing,” as some fear. Within Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s (Papineau, Que.) expanded 37-member […]
