Ending TB among Canada’s Indigenous peoples: treat the fundamental causes, not just the disease
Last year, the federal government announced it would spend $27.5-million over five years on an ambitious plan to end tuberculosis (TB) across Inuit Nunangat, Inuit regions of Canada, by 2030. The plan’s specific objective was to reduce rates of TB to levels lower than are seen currently in the rest of Canada. This is an […]
Report, like northern infrastructure, does not go far enough
A House of Commons committee report intended to take a comprehensive look at northern infrastructure needs was released last week. The House Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs report comes at a critical time; the government’s new Arctic Policy Framework is set to be released in the coming weeks. The future of northern infrastructure, […]
Canada’s Arctic needs investments in infrastructure, health, economic development, education
What if someone came into your home, took away your food, your livelihood, your kids, your land, lied to you, told you to move, abused you, assigned you a racially based identification number and commanded you to wear it at all times, eliminated your only means of transportation and hunting for food for your family […]
Budget bill completes INAC split, but union says transition still ‘in flux’
A year and a half after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised the dissolution of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada into two separate departments, the government has put forward legislation to make it official. But First Nations and employees’ advocates say there wasn’t nearly enough consultation about how the split would play out. About 10 per […]
The North needs more infrastructure to unlock its wealth potential
Few industries come to mind that have a stronger connection and reliance on infrastructure than the mining sector. Frequently situated in remote and northern regions, mines are often located in areas without any roads, telecommunications services, or easily accessible transportation, all essential to getting goods to market. Nowhere is Canada’s infrastructure deficit more acute than […]
Territories spent less on infrastructure than without feds’ funding boost: PBO report
The territories spent $111-million less on infrastructure projects in the past two fiscal years than they would have without the federal government’s funding boost, according to a report released April 9 by the parliamentary budget officer. For every federal infrastructure dollar that, on average, they received, the three northern territories spent $3.70 in 2017-2018, a […]
Infrastructure is Canada’s backbone
Critically important infrastructure is too often poorly maintained or lacking in sufficient future planning. Delaying maintenance is a misplaced budgetary economy. Insufficient planning is symptomatic of a lack of realistic forethought. Both represent a much greater cost than is often acknowledged. The railway to the northern port town of Churchill, Man., is a prime example. […]
Is the Canadian Coast Guard underfunded?
OTTAWA—Is the Canadian Coast Guard underfunded? “When there is more ice, you need more icebreakers. When there is less ice, you need more icebreakers.” At first, I was puzzled by this statement from a Canadian Coast Guard officer. The first part is obvious enough, the second part was less so. The reason for the second […]
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 […]
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 […]
