Let’s end plastic waste
Plastic waste reduction has been on the forefront of the federal policy discussion over the last year, from a commitment to reduce the amount of single-use plastics in federal government operations, to Canada leading the development and completion of the G7 Ocean Plastics Charter that was signed by the European Union and five G7 countries […]
U.S. security concerns about Huawei are bunk: it just wants to smother competitors, says China’s ambassador
For some time now, there have been rampant remarks that Huawei’s equipment poses threats to the national security of Western countries. The United States was the first to announce that it would exclude Huawei’s equipment from its domestic 5G market. Among the Five Eyes intelligence alliance members, Australia and New Zealand have followed suit, while […]
How Ottawa can unlock the door to home ownership
Owning a home is part of being middle class. This fundamental belief has been shared by Canadians from coast to coast, for generations. Until now. Canadians have watched as rising house prices and tightening of mortgage rules have locked thousands of would-be homebuyers out of the market. As a result, more and more young Canadians […]
Canada’s current approach to Arctic short-term in nature
When discussing marine shipping in the Arctic, the answer—as with most questions on the North—requires a whole-of-government approach. On April 30, 2018, a review of the 1972 Pilotage Act was submitted to the minister of transport as part of the Oceans Protection Plan (the last substantial changes to the act were passed in 1998) by […]
We are in a climate emergency
We are in a climate emergency. The debate is no longer about how we can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is: how do we eliminate all emissions as quickly as possible? In this context, the transportation sector offers a wide array of low-hanging fruit. In Canada, transportation is the second largest climate-threatening sector—right after […]
Addressing the accessible transportation gap: access in an age of digital disruption
Transportation is often associated with hard infrastructure such as roads, tracks, curbs, airports, and ferry terminals. In the not so distant past, it was rare to think of digital technologies as being important to transportation. Today, the reality of the sector is much different. First, it was digital systems for facilitating ride-sharing which completely changed […]
Universal pharmacare benefits business and working families
Every government struggles with how best to support the people it serves. One hopes and assumes that decisions are based on thorough research, meaningful consultations, and with the guidance of experts in the field. So far, the federal government can check off all of these boxes when it comes to pharmacare. It appointed a council […]
Here’s what should be in Morneau’s next federal budget
TORONTO—Finance Minister Bill Morneau will present his fourth—and perhaps last—budget on Tuesday, March 19. It will be a pre-election budget, so will include a long and boastful list of accomplishments and, in the words of Finance Canada, “build on the success of the government’s plan, with continued investments in the things that matter most to […]
Bill C-69 is our chance to level up Canada’s environmental laws, and we can’t afford to miss it
Canadians depend on the federal government to safeguard our families, our health and the environment from pollution, toxic contamination and other potential harms. But in 2012, our environmental safety net was drastically weakened, leaving Canadians with toothless laws and flawed decision-making processes that put the environment and public at risk. Right now, we have a […]
Transport Minister Garneau says Ottawa’s ‘interested’ in potential benefits from West Coast high-speed rail proposal
Transport Minister Marc Garneau says he expects a report from a government-struck task force on school bus safety to be available before he meets with provincial and territorial transport ministers in the spring. In an email Q&A interview with The Hill Times for today’s transportation policy briefing, Mr. Garneau (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount, Que.) said the task force—bringing together […]
