Trans Mountain pipeline: will it happen?
VANCOUVER—Will the Government of Canada finally approve the Trans Mountain pipeline on June 18, the date of a promised decision? To answer that, let’s look at some history. Kinder Morgan, a pipeline company essentially based in Texas, proposed to expand its existing oil pipeline from Alberta to Pacific tidewater in Burnaby, B.C., a Vancouver suburb. […]
Indigenous Relations Policy Briefing
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 […]
Whole-of-society approach needed to keep plastics in economy, but out of landfills
One year ago, Canada’s plastics and chemistry industries committed to paving the path forward for Canada in the global challenge of tackling single-use plastics. Two bold goals were set: 100 per cent of plastics packaging being recyclable or recoverable by 2030; and 100 per cent of plastics packaging being re-used, recycled, or recovered by 2040. […]
Departing Chinese ambassador on career ‘fast-track,’ rhetoric worsened relations, say former diplomats
Lu Shaye’s short stint in Canada suggests the politically connected outgoing Chinese ambassador is on a career fast-track, according to former Canadian diplomats who say Mr. Lu’s departure could be a positive shift in the chilly status quo. But not everyone thinks a vacancy at the Chinese Embassy means it’s a chance to hit the […]
New-parent MPs allowed year-long pass from House duties under long-awaited leave changes
Long-awaited parental leave provisions are in the final stretch in the House of Commons, with the proposed new system allowing Members of Parliament to be absent from the House Chamber for up to 12 months after the arrival of a new child. “I feel hard work is accomplished now. But I’m just a little bit […]
Union pans $2.6-billion public-private contract to modernize federal heating, cooling
Private-sector consortium Innovate Energy has been awarded a $2.6-billion, 35-year contract by the government of Canada to modernize and operate heating and cooling facilities in the National Capital Region. But the largest federal public service unions are crying foul, saying public-private partnerships “regularly fail.” The current system connects more than 80 buildings in Ottawa and […]
Is the Navy missing a great opportunity?
OTTAWA—At a recent Canadian Maritime Advisory Council meeting in Ottawa, I was disappointed to learn again that the Royal Canadian Navy still had no plan to install multi-beam echo sounders (MBES) on the Arctic offshore patrol ships (AOPS) which are under construction now. I was also concerned with the fact that only approximately eight per […]
International interest in the Arctic continues to heat up, is Canada ready?
The Arctic has always been an important symbol for Canada, a geographic statement of our place and status in the world as a northern power. Unfortunately, Canada’s interest in and attention to the Arctic has often been just symbolic. Generations of Canadians and their governments have grown used to thinking of the Arctic as “up […]
Defence policy and advice from the department should be an amalgamation of perspectives
Over the past several months, the trial and eventual stay of charge on Vice-Admiral Mark Norman has been a spectacle for Canadians. Behind the immediate headlines, however, is a broader and much more consequential debate on the organization and responsibilities within the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). This is not […]
