Policy Topics | Policy Briefings

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• Agriculture
• Biotechnology
• 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

Fisheries and Oceans

Defending Canada, where ocean capability runs deep 

OpinionBY KENDRA MACDONALD

• Marine sensing systems, Arctic surveillance infrastructure, autonomous vessels, AI-enabled maritime platforms, and shipbuilding capacity are foundational to Canada’s sovereignty and economic resilience.

Defending Canada, where ocean capability runs deep 

OpinionBY KENDRA MACDONALD

• Marine sensing systems, Arctic surveillance infrastructure, autonomous vessels, AI-enabled maritime platforms, and shipbuilding capacity are foundational to Canada’s sovereignty and economic resilience.

Nearly 2,000 jobs and $1.5-billion to be cut across five departments by 2030, PBO analysis shows

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

Canada’s plan to boost its economy must include rebuilding wild fisheries

OpinionBY JOSH LAUGHREN

Coastal communities ‘running out of time’ without fisheries fund renewal, say opposition critics as DFO faces $544M in cuts

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Q&A | Cod quota ‘pressure is enormous’ on fisheries minister

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW

Federal fish science analyses continue to muddy the waters in salmon farm fight

NewsBY STUART BENSON

The markets are hungry for Canadian cod. Will we deliver?

OpinionBY SYLVIE LAPOINTE

Oceans must take centre stage in nation-building projects

OpinionBY DEREK ARMITAGE, TREVOR SWERDFAGER

Rebuilding Canada’s fisheries for climate and economic security

OpinionBY JOSH LAUGHREN

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Water

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B.C. suit says feds used consultations to justify ‘bad-faith’ Discovery Island salmon farming ban

NewsBY STUART BENSON

• Cermaq Canada is alleging former fisheries minister Joyce Murray disregarded the advice of her department and government scientists.

B.C. suit says feds used consultations to justify ‘bad-faith’ Discovery Island salmon farming ban

NewsBY STUART BENSON

• Cermaq Canada is alleging former fisheries minister Joyce Murray disregarded the advice of her department and government scientists.

To protect nature, Canada must ratify the High Seas Treaty

OpinionBY SUSANNA FULLER

Feds’ plan for fish-farm transition no catch, say wild salmon, industry advocates

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Reconciliation that works for all in Canada’s fisheries

OpinionBY GENNA CAREY

Federal resource management decisions undermine collective power of community-based fisheries 

OpinionBY COURTNEY GLODE

N.L. minister slams feds for ‘total chaos and poor decision-making’ on fisheries file

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW

Fish fight

FeatureBY PETER MAZEREEUW, RIDDHI KACHHELA

Liberal MPs toe party line after breaking historical agreement on northern cod

OpinionBY COURTNEY GLODE

Protecting wild salmon populations doesn’t require banning farms

OpinionBY GARY D. MARTY

AGRICULTURE

From pulses to power: why plant-based agriculture is smart trade policy

OpinionBY COLIN SARAVANAMUTTOO

With global volatility the new normal, Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector must be resilient, innovative, and competitive

OpinionBY SOPHIE CHATEL

Canada’s family farms are strategic assets, and our tax laws are putting them at risk

OpinionBY DERRYN SHROSBREE

Unleashing Canada’s agricultural potential

OpinionBY CONSERVATIVE MP JOHN BARLOW

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Biotechnology

Canada’s missing life sciences industrial strategy is leaving economic growth on the table

OpinionBY MICHELLE MCLEAN

PMPRB closes all open drug-pricing investigations before implementing new guidelines on Jan. 1

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Bloc joins push for mandatory labelling of genetically engineered foods

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Canada’s research strength is world-class—now we need to all pull in the same direction

OpinionBY BENOIT-ANTOINE BACON

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DEFENCE & SECURITY

Carney should have consulted Grit caucus before supporting U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, say some Liberal MPs: ‘what the hell’

NewsBY ABBAS RANA

Carney has a hard time explaining Canada’s position towards India

OpinionBY MATT GURNEY

Carney’s jarring, bloodless, defensive response to Trump’s war on Iran

OpinionBY SUSAN RILEY

Why, prime minister, did Canada support an increasingly belligerent U.S. president in unleashing the dogs of war?

OpinionBY MICHAEL HARRIS

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Environment

Farmers must be protected from climate chaos

OpinionBY ELIZABETH MAY

Feds mum on wilting conservation program funding as nature spending dips 62 per cent

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

The bathtub is overflowing: why Canada’s climate strategy needs to pull the plug

OpinionBY NA’IM MERCHANT

‘Once you get a carveout from one province, it’s game over’: Ottawa-Alberta MOU draws advocates with economic and environment concerns

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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FINANCE

Feeding the world is an economic opportunity

OpinionBY LIAM MACDONALD

Next parliamentary budget officer needs to be top-notch, unfettered, fearless, without bluster

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

How to fix Canada’s sputtering productivity

OpinionBY ANN MARIE VAUGHAN

Main estimates set out $502.8-billion for 2026-27 as National Defence tops voted spending

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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FOREIGN POLICY

Protect supply management in CUSMA review, agriculture sector reps tell feds

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Carney threads the needle of support for American-Israeli attacks on Iran

OpinionBY SHEILA COPPS

Carney takes first critical steps with India and China

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

‘What’s going on?’: Canadians wonder why Conservatives losing MPs, says Nanos of Carney’s growing popularity

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

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health

LeBlanc, Michel meet with pharma sector as U.S. buckles down on cutting drug prices

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Ottawa discourages health-care innovation, and patients pay the price 

OpinionBY NADEEM ESMAIL, MACKENZIE MOIR

Canada’s trade ambitions rest on a food system we’re dismantling

OpinionBY SEAN O’REILLY

Outspoken health advocate Joss Reimer talks about finding ‘common ground’ with government as she becomes Canada’s top doctor

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

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Industry and Manufacturing

Canadians can’t afford to wait for Right to Repair legislation 

OpinionBY EMILY CHUNG

Industrial benefits policy needs a ‘relook,’ says ex-senior public servant, as Conservative MP pushes for contract records

NewsBY IREM KOCA

MPs celebrate canola tariff relief, but national security, pork, remain opposition concerns with China

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Canada’s auto sector ‘hangs in the balance’ as CUSMA review looms in 2026: ‘there’s no sugar-coating it, this is going to be a critical year for the industry’

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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infrastructure and transport

Projects of national interest should include modernizing Highways 17 and 11

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

The water emergency in Kashechewan must spur action on federal legislation

OpinionBY ALVIN FIDDLER

Trade diversification always failed, this time could be different

OpinionBY DANIELLE GOLDFARB

Diversifying Canada’s trade and ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ share in the opportunity

OpinionBY LIBERAL MP JUDY SGRO

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innovation

The science behind solving food insecurity in Canada

OpinionBY GABRIEL MILLER

Agricultural research, innovation, and commercialization: drivers of a resilient future

OpinionBY CSG SENATOR ROB BLACK

Ottawa unsure how to regulate AI chatbots after Tumbler Ridge report, as Solomon says ‘all options are on the table’

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

‘He comes from our side’: Writers’ Union CEO calls Solomon an AI ‘cheerleader,’ asks him to slow down strategy

NewsBY MARIA COLLINS

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intergovernmental

Most Albertans don’t support separation, but referendum poses unintended, temporary consequences for Poilievre’s federal Conservatives in the province, says pollster

NewsBY AIDAN RAYNOR

‘Playing with fire’: Tony Manera recalls pushback during sovereignty debate

OpinionBY TONY MANERA

B.C.’s Eby may not be long for the job

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

New policy adding nurse practitioners to public health-care plans will go ahead April 1

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

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justice

‘We’re getting closer’: religious groups lobbying feds say they’re hopeful of progress on stalled Liberal anti-hate bill

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Reconciliation is not dead, but Indigenous Peoples are still dying in Canada’s hospitals

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

Republican Party can rein in U.S. President Trump—if it’s brave enough

OpinionBY MICHAEL HARRIS

Tory Senator Housakos proposes invoking notwithstanding clause to uphold certain mandatory minimums

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

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Labour & employment

‘This is our home, so we need to be part of the solution’: Inuit-led university to strengthen Canada’s Arctic, say Senators

NewsBY JUSTIN S. CAMPBELL

When it comes to affordable childcare, both public and private operators need federal support

OpinionBY CHLOE DUSSER

Ottawa has a housing initiative, but not a homeownership plan

OpinionBY KEVIN LEE

Investing in Indigenous housing strengthens Canada, and the solutions are ready

OpinionBY JOHN GORDON

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Lobbying

‘A fundamental shift’: new strategy an opportunity to grow domestic industrial base, say lobbyists

NewsBY SERGIY SLIPCHENKO

Questions loom over NDP’s voter verification process as leadership contest enters final stretch

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Liberals see path forward for budget bill, but Conservatives still have ‘huge concerns’ with cabinet’s ‘regulatory sandbox’

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Ottawa’s lowered lobbying registration thresholds will reshape government relations

OpinionBY SUZANNE SABOURIN, MICHAEL WALSH

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natural resources and energy

The missing critical mineral underpinning Canada’s entire defence and industrial strategy

OpinionBY W. BRETT WILSON

Building industrial strength: a regional approach to Canada’s critical materials 

OpinionBY ALISON CRETNEY

Canada’s critical mineral moment is real, but delivery depends on people

OpinionBY MEGAN GORDON

Mineral exploration and mining: a Canadian signpost for the future

OpinionBY JEFF KILLEEN

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Women, Gender and Diversity

In a fractured world, women peacebuilders are essential 

OpinionBY RACHEL WARDEN

‘It’s not my bill, it’s our bill’: Senator Henkel and 50 advocacy groups push for law calling for women’s health framework

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Liberals hope ‘national unity’ council quells divisions after scrapping Islamophobia and antisemitism envoys

NewsBY STUART BENSON

The politicking of identity has always been a nation-building project

OpinionBY ERICA IFILL

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Indigenous Relations

Urban Indigenous funding cutbacks threaten ‘backbone’ of Friendship Centre services, says Ontario federation head

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Canada’s critical minerals opportunity runs through First Nation lands

OpinionBY MARK PODLASLY

A partial table cannot deliver justice for Indigenous people

OpinionBY BRENDAN MOORE

Keeping the North strong and free also means ensuring a better way of life for northerners

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

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Exclusive lists

Who’s backing the NDP leadership contenders?

Who’s backing the NDP leadership contenders?

Tracking job cuts in the federal public service

Tracking job cuts in the federal public service

Take The Hill Times year-end news quiz

Take The Hill Times year-end news quiz

First-quarter expenses: MPs spent nearly $28-million

First-quarter expenses: MPs spent nearly $28-million

This Parliament’s ethics roundup: blind trusts, recusals, gifts, and more

This Parliament’s ethics roundup: blind trusts, recusals, gifts, and more

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Carney government bills: tracking their progress into law

Carney government bills: tracking their progress into law

The number of sick days claimed by bureaucrats, broken down by department

The number of sick days claimed by bureaucrats, broken down by department