University and College Research Policy Briefing
UN says there will be no medical evacuation gap in Mali peacekeeping mission, but mum on details
The United Nations says there will be no lapse in medical evacuations critical to its Mali peacekeeping mission after Canada ended such efforts in August, but, with Romania’s takeover not official until October, it won’t explain how the gap is being filled. The Canadian peacekeeping task force, which began in August 2018, concluded its medical […]
Military was too slow to act after finding hate group recruiter in its ranks
OTTAWA—The saga of Master Cpl. Patrik Mathews continues to be a puzzler, with a plethora of unanswered questions. What we do know for sure is that Mathews joined the Canadian Army reserves eight years ago as a combat engineer. He was promoted twice to his current rank, and received training in the usual combat engineer […]
Start of Trans Mountain pipeline construction amid election a threat to Liberals in B.C., say observers
Construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project will be underway during the federal election, and while the start of work may steal steam from certain Conservative attacks, observers say it’s overall likely bad news for Liberal fortunes in seat-rich British Columbia. “From the Liberals’ perspective, it’s a big problem. I really, for the life […]
Mark Carney’s radical idea for fixing the world economy
TORONTO—At the G-7 leaders’ summit in Biarritz, France, the principle goal was to give U.S. President Donald Trump no excuse for another of his childlike temper tantrums or ugly tweets. French President Emmanuel Macron, the host, didn’t even try to produce a communique and, at a time when the world faced major risks to the […]
Liberals’ UN peacekeeping pledges left half finished
As Canada exits its peacekeeping mission in Mali, an expert in the field says Canada has only met half of its commitments to re-engage in UN peacekeeping missions, and those that were met are not being sustained. Walter Dorn, a defence studies professor at Kingston’s Royal Military College and Toronto’s Canadian Forces College specializing in […]
Widespread opposition to carbon price, even among left-leaning voters, as price ticks up, study suggests
Many Canadians rank the environment high on their list of preoccupations, but there’s little appetite for a carbon price to rein in emissions, according to a new study released Thursday. The latest data from the Digital Democracy Project suggests that while 17 per cent of respondents indicated the environment was a top election issue, on […]
Party’s place in political ecosystem can influence platform rollout, strategists say
The Liberals under Jean Chrétien broke platform ground with the much-vaunted “Red Book,” which inspired copycats for its detailed accounting of the party’s promises. The Stephen Harper Conservatives stuck to a disciplined, five-point platform in the 2006 campaign. Progressive Conservative Doug Ford’s campaign for Ontario premier bucked tradition when he decided not to release a […]
Grits, Tories back addition of third shipyard to Canadian plan, but questions abound over future boom-bust cycle return
As the Canadian government moves forward with the addition of a third shipyard to its National Shipbuilding Strategy, defence procurement experts are raising questions over whether or not the addition could lead to a return to a boom-and-bust shipbuilding cycle. Under the shipbuilding strategy, Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax and Seapsan in British Columbia were the […]
Voters will return politicians to sender if backs turned on rural Canada
Compared to vote-rich urban Canada, rural ridings can seem unappealing to federal candidates. Due to their sparser demographics, they are tougher and more resource-intensive to campaign in. Rural ridings often resist change, sticking to traditional voting patterns (which favour the Conservatives). Priorities and issues for rural residents may differ greatly from their urban counterparts, which […]
