Cool ideas: the critical nexus between research and innovation in Northern and remote Canada
Northern and remote Canada face distinct challenges that affect everything from the quality of life, to economic development and public safety. A lack of key infrastructure, weak basic government services, difficulties accessing high quality education, challenging geography and isolation, systemic food insecurity, and the legacies of colonialism remain important problems, even after decades of policy […]
Feds hope low earth orbiting satellites are answer for rural broadband access
In the recent budget, the government announced $1.7-billion for its plan to get broadband access for all Canadian homes by 2030, but how much funding will go to satellites to cover the most remote and northern communities remains unclear. In the 2019 budget, the Liberal government announced $1.7-billion for the Universal Broadband Fund, which will […]
Bill C-83 needs to pass by the time Parliament rises in the summer
In the context of our prison system, Canadians unfamiliar with the term administrative segregation might think of this as solitary confinement. Basically, this is when an offender is separated from the general prison population for reasons of safety. Segregation may be deemed necessary to protect the offender, which is often the case with a former […]
How university-industry collaborations fuel innovation
The postwar ingenuity of Stanford University and its role in building Silicon Valley as a technological epicentre are legendary. One of the keys to its success was the meeting of academia, the private sector and government. It’s a model that serves as inspiration for successful technology parks around the world and now for the University […]
Feds need to increase support for all research to prepare Canadians for changes on the horizon
Research is one of the fundamental drivers of progress. From the study of societal well-being in our ever-changing world, to the new technologies that now dominate our lives, and even the way we view ourselves against the backdrop of our universe, research is key. We are in an era of large-scale change, some of it […]
Proposed federal tool to ‘blacklist a country,’ stop visa processing alarms immigration lawyers
The Liberals’ omnibus budget bill gives the government a political tool to stop issuing some visas or permits to people from countries it deems difficult to deal with in deportation proceedings, a measure some immigration lawyers are calling “overly broad” and a “blunt instrument” without the necessary checks and balances. One of the measures in […]
Floods remind us we haven’t learned lessons of the past
OTTAWA—In 1791, after a century of habitation in the flat plains along the Saint Lawrence River, an earthquake hit the parish of Kamouraska, Que., damaging the church and some of the town’s buildings. The priest at the time, Joseph-Amable Trutault, called it a “sign from God” the parish should move. However, he had an ulterior […]
Quebec’s relationship with the oil industry: it’s complicated
The Lac-Mégantic disaster remained seared in Quebec’s consciousness. The train that exploded in July 2013—one example of the fiftyfold increase in oil-by-rail between 2009 and 2013—had come through the American Midwest, crossed into Canada at Windsor, then passed through Montreal before heading toward the Maine border to cut across the northern part of the state, […]
Tax changes in budget bill to alleviate Phoenix overpayment burden
Long-awaited tax changes to help federal employees saddled with the unusual problem of getting paid too much thanks to the problem-plagued Phoenix payroll system have made it into legislation—a year after the government first signalled help was on the way. Among the dozens of statutes affected by Bill C-97—the Liberals’ final budget implementation bill of […]
Canada’s corporate ethics watchdog a ‘positive tool,’ says incoming Mexican ambassador
Canada’s newly created corporate ethics watchdog is an “innovative and very welcome new institution” for businesses and governments, says the incoming Mexican ambassador to Canada. Countries, including Mexico, could learn from Canada’s model, said Juan José Gómez Camacho, who came to Canada in mid-March and expects to get the official diplomatic nod later this month […]
