Policy Topics | Policy Briefings

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• Agriculture
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• Defence & Security
• Environment
• Finance
• Fisheries and Oceans

• Foreign Policy​
• Health
• Industry and Manufacturing
• Infrastructure and Transport
• Innovation
• Intergovernmental

• Indigenous Relations
• Justice
• Labour & Employment
• Lobbying
• Natural Resources and Energy
• Women, Gender and Diversity

Finance

Conservatives ‘riding the stronger horse’ in competing narratives about budget: pollster Lyle

NewsBY IAN CAMPBELL

• The Liberals made it ‘eminently clear’ the change to capital gains tax ‘is a fight that they want,’ says former Liberal staffer Carlene Variyan. But so far the Tories have ‘batted it down pretty well,’ says former Conservative staffer Laura Kurkimaki.

Conservatives ‘riding the stronger horse’ in competing narratives about budget: pollster Lyle

NewsBY IAN CAMPBELL

• The Liberals made it ‘eminently clear’ the change to capital gains tax ‘is a fight that they want,’ says former Liberal staffer Carlene Variyan. But so far the Tories have ‘batted it down pretty well,’ says former Conservative staffer Laura Kurkimaki.

Time for some Liberal soul searching

OpinionBY TIM POWERS

Business investment key to addressing Canada’s productivity crisis

OpinionBY TEGAN HILL

Liberals continue ‘big budget’ spending trend, increasing capital gains tax to maintain deficit

NewsBY CHELSEA NASH

Budget projects savings through ‘natural attrition’ of public service jobs

NewsBY MIKE LAPOINTE

Defence over diplomacy spotlighted in Liberal budget, with modest initial spending on foreign service reform

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

Equity loan guarantees will pave path to economic reconciliation

OpinionBY WAYNE MCQUABBIE, GREGORY NEWTON, JOHN BEAUCAGE

The federal carbon-pricing plan’s broken promise to small business

OpinionBY JAIRO YUNIS

Environmental groups urge an end to fossil fuel subsidies in two reports outlining Canada’s oil and gas financing

NewsBY MIKE LAPOINTE

MOST RECENT POLICY BRIEFINGS

Financial Sector, Investment & Banking Policy Briefing

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Great Rebuild: Part III Special Report

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Reopening the Economy Policy Briefing

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Trudeau and Poilievre aren’t focused on what needs to be done

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

• Canada urgently needs a bold growth strategy if we are to face the future with confidence, rather than channelling down into a despairing view that this country is broken and can’t be fixed. If we're broken, it will be a self-inflicted fate.

Trudeau and Poilievre aren’t focused on what needs to be done

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

• Canada urgently needs a bold growth strategy if we are to face the future with confidence, rather than channelling down into a despairing view that this country is broken and can’t be fixed. If we're broken, it will be a self-inflicted fate.

Hard to see the ‘big picture’: Canada must improve how budget and estimates are presented, say public finance experts

NewsBY IAN CAMPBELL

Public money has no party

OpinionBY SHEILA FRASER, MICHèLE GALIPEAU, MICHAEL PICKUP, DENISE HANRAHAM, CAROL BELLRINGER

Liberals’ pre-budget ‘full-court press’ to win back younger voters a stress test for caucus election readiness, say politicos

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Are Canadians buying what the Liberals are selling in their pre-budget push?

OpinionBY TIM POWERS

Close Canada’s financial help gap before it’s too late for struggling households

OpinionBY ELIZABETH MULHOLLAND

A closer look at the federal carbon tax

NewsBY STEPHEN JEFFERY

Basic income is a concept Conservatives should champion

OpinionBY WIL ROBERTSON

The booming use of productivity-eroding stock buybacks will come under the microscope with new federal tax

OpinionBY LES WHITTINGTON

AGRICULTURE

Canada’s system of supply management: an innovative, modern solution

OpinionBY ROGER PELISSERO

Economic value of agriculture industry often overlooked by feds, argue sector advocates

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Climate change will affect your grocery prices

OpinionBY NAVIN RAMANKUTTY AND KUSHANK BAJAJ

Agriculture can do more than just put food on our plate

OpinionBY RENE VAN ACKER, AMY PROULX, AND MARTIN SCANLON

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Biotechnology

Does Canada need a more integrated strategy for pandemic responses? Yes

OpinionBY ISAAC BOGOCH AND DAVID NAYLOR

Canada’s biomedical brain drain is reversing. Let’s continue that trend

OpinionBY MICHAEL MAY, ALLISON BROWN

Talent shortage a priority for biotech sector emerging from pandemic

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Canada’s place in the world of biotechnology research and application is in jeopardy

OpinionBY NDP MP RICHARD CANNINGS

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DEFENCE & SECURITY

Canada’s updated defence policy muted on UN peacekeeping as historic low contributions persist  

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

Struggling low-cost air carriers require feds’ intervention on price competition, says aviation expert

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Integrity commissioner report spotlights gross mismanagement at Corrections Canada

OpinionBY IAN BRON

Seeing will be believing with Canada’s defence policy update

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

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Environment

Why wait for disasters to strike to draw on research evidence?

OpinionBY JOHN N. LAVIS AND KERRY WADDELL

To curb pollution, government should put a price on it, says letter writer

Opinion

Inuit at the UN plastic talks

OpinionBY LISA KOPERQUALUK

Investing in plastics recycling infrastructure to create a circular economy

OpinionBY KATE BAILEY

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Fisheries and oceans

Unlocking the power of the ocean: threading the economic needle on the path to net zero

OpinionBY KENDRA MACDONALD, TRINE JøRANLI ESKEDAL

Reel returns: the economic mandate for rebuilding fisheries

OpinionBY REBECCA SCHIJNS

Department of Fisheries and Oceans undermining minister’s mandate

OpinionBY KAREN WRISTEN

Catching up with Fisheries Minister Lebouthillier’s team

FeatureBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

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FOREIGN POLICY

Predicting Poilievre’s foreign policy plans

OpinionBY BHAGWANT SANDHU

Modi expected to win India’s election

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

How women are helping deliver a healthier, polio-free world

OpinionBY JENNIFER JONES, STEPHANIE URCHICK

How should we prepare for the unpredictable? Talk to Americans

OpinionBY KEVIN LYNCH AND PAUL DEEGAN

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health

National surgical wait times strategy needed

OpinionBY TRISH BARBATO

Time for Poilievre to join a constructive pharmacare conversation

OpinionBY BHAGWANT SANDHU

House Health Committee calls for a national breast implant registry

FeatureBY MAGDELENE CRESKEY

School food program should focus on healthy plant-based eating

OpinionBY COLIN SARAVANAMUTTOO

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Industry and Manufacturing

Foreign investment rules designed for an economy that no longer exists

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Firefighters and environmentalists are asking for PFAS action

OpinionBY CASSIE BARKER

Expanded electric capacity to handle EVs must be taken seriously, say experts

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Fighting inflation one gigabyte at a time

OpinionBY ROBERT GHIZ

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infrastructure and transport

Budget overlooks need for trade-enabling infrastructure

OpinionBY LINDSAY KISLOCK

Roads, horses, and carts, oh my! Time for Canada to take trade-enabling infrastructure seriously

OpinionBY PASCAL CHAN

Better climate-risk mapping data a must as Canada addresses housing crisis, says experts

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Time to stop building infrastructure for yesterday’s climate

OpinionBY RYAN NESS

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innovation

Should telecommunications be nationalized?

OpinionBY MARK HANCOCK

EV battery fires are a global problem that we need to address in Canada

OpinionBY JOSIPA PETRUNIC

Driving down emissions with electric school buses

OpinionBY NDP MP LAUREL COLLINS

The electric-vehicle era is just getting rolling

OpinionBY LIBERAL MP ADAM VAN KOEVERDEN

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intergovernmental

Is there another Charest in the Quebec Liberals’ future?

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Horrendous death of three women brings some action on gender-based violence, but there’s a long way to go

OpinionBY LES WHITTINGTON

Are we sleepwalking to another national unity crisis?

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Mass departures from municipal politics are understandable

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

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justice

Bill 21 should be quickly repealed

OpinionBY FRANK BAYLIS

Internet freedom can co-exist with child protection

OpinionBY ANU GEORGE CANJANATHOPPIL, JOHN TANAGHO

Federal parties in court April 22 after judge denies adjournment request in voter data case

NewsBY IAN CAMPBELL

We must demand greater accountability from police

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

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Labour & employment

Housing the latest skirmish pitting progressive government against zombie neoliberalism

OpinionBY LES WHITTINGTON

A trading nation needs a globally engaged workforce

OpinionBY PERRIN BEATTY

Freeland’s budget should focus on housing, ending homelessness, writes Ottawa reader

Opinion

Time to act on Canada Disability Benefit promise

OpinionBY RENZE NAUTA, ANDREAE SENNYAH

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Lobbying

Sponsored travel climbed back to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 as MPs accept trips to Israel, Taiwan, U.K.

NewsBY STEPHEN JEFFERY

Poilievre’s communication record shows corporate lobbyists shouldn’t panic, say lobbyists

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Democracy Watch wants lobbying commissioner’s office to probe firm with links to top Conservative adviser Jenni Byrne

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

First phase of pharmacare must not ‘create new gaps’ in existing coverage, say lobbyists

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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natural resources and energy

First Nations and the right to say yes

OpinionBY CONSERVATIVE SENATOR DAVID WELLS

A cap on emissions will actually hinder Canada’s environmental, social, and economic efforts

OpinionBY DEBORAH YEDLIN

Budget 2024 is critical to the future of made-in-Canada biofuel projects

OpinionBY BOB LAROCQUE

We need more natural infrastructure, and fast

OpinionBY RICHARD GROSSHANS

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Women, Gender and Diversity

Beyond International Women’s Day: sustaining support of Indigenous women entrepreneurs

OpinionBY MAGNOLIA PERRON

Difference does not mean worse: embracing neurodiversity in the workspace

OpinionBY AMIN KAMALEDDIN

Will Canada support changes to international law on gender persecution?

OpinionBY RHONDA GOSSEN

House report on preventing human trafficking met with mixed reviews

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

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Indigenous Relations

Canada’s budgetary process: a failing grade in First Nations partnership

OpinionBY GRAND CHIEF CATHY MERRICK

It’s not comedy to make money off a mass murderer

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

Senate bill seeking to criminalize forced sterilizations raises concerns over unintended consequences

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

Our day to talk about the elimination of racism

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

Exclusive lists

Cabinet’s communications and chiefs of staff list, 2024

Cabinet’s communications and chiefs of staff list, 2024

U.S. election preoccupies Canada’s top 50 foreign influencers as feds’ focus gets pulled from Asia strategy

U.S. election preoccupies Canada’s top 50 foreign influencers as feds’ focus gets pulled from Asia strategy

Cabinet’s communications and chiefs of staff list, 2024

Cabinet’s communications and chiefs of staff list, 2024

House committee trips that have been granted a travel budget in the 44th Parliament, so far

House committee trips that have been granted a travel budget in the 44th Parliament, so far

Fraser voted best minister in Question Period and best public speaker in The Hill Times’ Politically Savvy Survey 2023

Fraser voted best minister in Question Period and best public speaker in The Hill Times’ Politically Savvy Survey 2023

Telford three-peats at the top of the 20th Terrific 25 Staffers list, LRB’s Wendy Wu voted Best All-Round

Telford three-peats at the top of the 20th Terrific 25 Staffers list, LRB’s Wendy Wu voted Best All-Round

A ‘more challenging and volatile’ world: Russia, China, U.S. top of mind for top 50 foreign policy influencers

A ‘more challenging and volatile’ world: Russia, China, U.S. top of mind for top 50 foreign policy influencers

Top 30 consultant lobbyists with highest number of communications in 2022

Top 30 consultant lobbyists with highest number of communications in 2022