Policy Topics | Policy Briefings

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• Environment
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• Infrastructure and Transport
• Innovation
• Intergovernmental

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

health

Think of the children when reforming Canada’s drug approval system

OpinionBY CHARLOTTE MOORE HEPBURN, CATHERINE LITALIEN

• By embedding children’s needs more explicitly within regulatory decision-making, we can ensure that medicines proven safe and effective in comparable jurisdictions can reach Canada’s kids faster.

Think of the children when reforming Canada’s drug approval system

OpinionBY CHARLOTTE MOORE HEPBURN, CATHERINE LITALIEN

• By embedding children’s needs more explicitly within regulatory decision-making, we can ensure that medicines proven safe and effective in comparable jurisdictions can reach Canada’s kids faster.

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

‘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

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

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Ongoing grievance over public service health-plan switch an ‘interesting’ case, says labour lawyer

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

As Canada redefines its place in the world, rare disease patients are still looking south

OpinionBY KAIT LAFORCE

MOST RECENT POLICY BRIEFINGS

Health

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Why Ottawa must make 988 funding stable and secure

OpinionBY ANDREW PEREZ

• Mental health care must be accessible, reliable, and permanent regardless of who is in government. Lives depend on it.

Why Ottawa must make 988 funding stable and secure

OpinionBY ANDREW PEREZ

• Mental health care must be accessible, reliable, and permanent regardless of who is in government. Lives depend on it.

Beyond funding: why flexible, locally grounded care models matter now

OpinionBY BERNARD LORD

Canada is facing a teen vaping crisis

OpinionBY DOUG ROTH

Children’s health care is the foundation of a healthy Canada

OpinionBY EMILY GRUENWOLDT, KATHARINE SMART

Can Canada be truly sovereign without health independence?

OpinionBY GABY BOURBARA

Health care is a human right

OpinionBY LINDA SILAS

Access to what?

OpinionBY IVY OANDASAN

Canada must take lead in fighting health misinformation as vaccine hesitancy rises and U.S. pulls back from WHO, say sector experts

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

One country, one standard of care

OpinionBY BUKUN ADEGBEMBO

AGRICULTURE

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

OpinionBY COLIN SARAVANAMUTTOO

Food affordability isn’t the problem, it’s a symptom

OpinionBY DANA MCCAULEY

Farmers must be protected from climate chaos

OpinionBY ELIZABETH MAY

Feeding the world is an economic opportunity

OpinionBY LIAM MACDONALD

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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

We have the wrong Army

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

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

NewsBY ABBAS RANA

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

OpinionBY MICHAEL HARRIS

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

OpinionBY MATT GURNEY

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Environment

Revive the Jane Goodall Act and end elephant captivity in Canada

OpinionBY RICK QUINN

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

Unlocking women’s potential is Canada’s economic advantage

OpinionBY WOMEN AND GENDER EQUALITY MINISTER RECHIE VALDEZ

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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Fisheries and oceans

‘It’s reconciliation’: Green Leader May endorses feds’ agreement with Musqueam Nation as minister clarifies private property concerns

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Defending Canada, where ocean capability runs deep 

OpinionBY KENDRA MACDONALD

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

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FOREIGN POLICY

The art of the deal in Iran

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

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

OpinionBY SHEILA COPPS

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

OpinionBY SUSAN RILEY

Carney takes first critical steps with India and China

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

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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

Unleashing Canada’s agricultural potential

OpinionBY CONSERVATIVE MP JOHN BARLOW

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

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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

Sole Quebec NDP MP Boulerice says potential provincial run has ‘absolutely nothing to do with’ party’s status

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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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

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

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

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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

Sometimes the resource roller-coaster is a great ride

OpinionBY HEATHER EXNER-PIROT

Why Canada should peacefully enrich its uranium

OpinionBY ALEXANDER MACDONALD, JEREMY WHITLOCK

Four crucial outcomes Canadians need from the Alberta-Ottawa MOU talks

OpinionBY CHRIS SEVERSON-BAKER

Pipelines or a national power grid: what should Canada build now?

OpinionBY ISG SENATOR ROSA GALVEZ, GEOFF STRONG, RICHARD VAN DER JAGT

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Women, Gender and Diversity

In a fractured world, women peacebuilders are essential 

OpinionBY RACHEL WARDEN

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

Celebrating Black Canadian trailblazers who’ve played a critical role in public life

OpinionBY WAHEED KHAN

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Indigenous Relations

First Nations leaders unveil artifacts returned to Canada from Vatican City

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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

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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