When Canada knew how to lead on the environment
This is Environment Week in Canada. It was created decades ago by an act of Parliament to raise awareness and support environmental action. The first week of June was chosen in order to bracket June 5, World Environment Day. Back in the 1980s, when I was the senior policy advisor to the minster of the […]
Canada’s effort to reduce plastics pollution have been found wanting
Recently, Canada has been getting some bad press. Since 2013, the Philippines has been asking Canada to take back some 69 shipping containers filled with garbage, erroneously labelled as recyclable material. Fed up with the Canadian federal government’s inertia, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte finally threatened to “declare war” on Canada if we continue to let […]
Senate amendments, ‘toothless’ regulations undercut Bill C-69
This June marks the 120th anniversary of Treaty 8, which, according to our tradition, is solemnized by the Creator to bind both parties in a promise between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians that is supposed to last “as long as the sun shines, the grass grows, and the river flows.” However, the latest legislative brinksmanship unfolding […]
Auditor General’s Office doesn’t have enough money to do its job
Canadians may have heard of Sheila Fraser, or the late Michael Ferguson, but most Canadians likely don’t know too much about the auditor general, that is until the AG tables a scandalous performance audit. The sponsorship scandal was discovered through an auditor general report; the F-35 procurement fiasco was discovered through an auditor general report; […]
Businesses across Canada recognize opportunities, challenges of doing business in China
As Canada’s largest business association, with members of all sizes, in all sectors and regions of the country, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce regularly hears from members about their experiences with China. Not surprisingly, we have been hearing a great deal lately about the issues facing a number of our companies and sectors doing business […]
What will it take for the Trudeau government to ban single-use plastics?
Canada is in a plastic waste crisis, and Canadians know it. But despite all signs pointing to the need to follow the lead of other jurisdictions taking steps to ban single-use plastics, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and the Trudeau government have largely skirted the issue. What will this mean for the pending national strategy on […]
Why Ottawa needs a national food-allergy action plan
Last fall, policymakers were given a glimpse into the urgency with which families affected by food allergy live on a daily basis. The global shortage of EpiPen auto-injectors made headlines and prompted cross-partisan interest, ultimately leading Health Minister Ginette Petitpas-Taylor last year to temporarily allow supplies of Auvi-Q as an alternative to lessen the burden […]
‘The model doesn’t make any sense’: Senators, Inuit orgs call for Nutrition North transformation
A federal program that subsidizes the cost of sending perishable food to remote communities has a “model that doesn’t make any sense” for northerners, according to Senators who live in the territories and the organizations that represent their communities. Following a new study that questioned the effectiveness in the program in Nunavut, some hope that […]
Move Kandahar monument to Beechwood National Memorial Centre to save face
OTTAWA—On Monday, May 13, a low-key, invitation-only, VIP ceremony took place at the Department of National Defence’s new Carling Campus. This was held to re-dedicate the monument, which had originally stood on the Kandahar airfield during Canada’s decade-long commitment to the conflict in Afghanistan. The cenotaph began as an impromptu tribute to fallen comrades, and […]
The glass ceiling remains to be shattered for women in peace and conflict-prevention efforts
When representatives of the Liberal government attend Women Deliver next week, they are likely to showcase their Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), which is supposed to represent a major shift of Canada’s approach to women in its foreign relations. And why shouldn’t they? A focus on gender equality including the promotion of sexual and reproductive […]
