Policy Topics | Policy Briefings

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

Intergovernmental

New Leaf Liberals want to root out Ontario Liberal shortcomings, not back a particular leader, says co-founder

NewsBY STUART BENSON

• The push to oust Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie in September is heating up as her supporters go on the offensive, accusing the still-budding New Leaf Liberals of colluding with Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith.

New Leaf Liberals want to root out Ontario Liberal shortcomings, not back a particular leader, says co-founder

NewsBY STUART BENSON

• The push to oust Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie in September is heating up as her supporters go on the offensive, accusing the still-budding New Leaf Liberals of colluding with Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith.

The One Canadian Economy Act: a new governance framework

OpinionBY LORI TURNBULL

Feds dropped internal trade barriers, but provincial deals risk ‘solving a patchwork with another patchwork’

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

Time for a public national first ministers’ meeting with First Nations

OpinionBY KYRA WILSON

Wildfire response needs to improve before another national park burns, says Alberta MP McPherson

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

‘He’s using us’: independent byelection candidates say ‘frustration’ getting ‘louder’ over Poilievre parachuting into Alberta riding

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

We need a fix for bureaucratic delays—but is it a pipe dream?

OpinionBY MATT GURNEY

Feds have to fight comms with comms to tackle Alberta alienation problem

OpinionBY SHEILA COPPS

Is Plamondon a wolf in expensive clothing?

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

MOST RECENT POLICY BRIEFINGS

Canada Part I: Interprovincial Trade & Labour

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The North Policy Briefing

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Saskatchewan Senator pushes for a national emergency response agency to fight wildfires

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

• Under Canada’s current system, provincial and territorial governments have jurisdiction over emergency responses, but as out-of-control wildfires continue to burn, some are pushing again for a national FEMA-like agency to lead the response.

Saskatchewan Senator pushes for a national emergency response agency to fight wildfires

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

• Under Canada’s current system, provincial and territorial governments have jurisdiction over emergency responses, but as out-of-control wildfires continue to burn, some are pushing again for a national FEMA-like agency to lead the response.

A new Arctic archipelagic defence concept will project Canada’s power in the North

OpinionBY ANDREW ERSKINE

Tea, tradition, and the throne

OpinionBY NON-AFFILIATED SENATOR IRIS PETTEN

‘It’s like a war zone’: Secretary of State Belanger says Saskatchewan wildfires are leaving ‘traumatic and depressing’ losses in their wake

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Bill removing internal trade barriers risks undermining policy innovation 

OpinionBY MARK WINFIELD

The notwithstanding clause threatens our democracy

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Bill C-5 grants ‘superpowers’ never before seen in ‘environmental law history’: Bloc critic Patrick Bonin

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

It’s time for Ottawa to fully fund NIHB program, say Northwest Territories and Nunavut health ministers

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Visions of a gold rush in expanded oil exports fly in the face of a decades-old reality

OpinionBY LES WHITTINGTON

AGRICULTURE

Carney: don’t gamble with Canada’s food security

OpinionBY MILTON DYCK

Rural Canada: a national barometer and strategic economic imperative

OpinionBY JACQUES LEFEBVRE

Why we must defend supply management

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Turning the tables on ‘Positive Nutrition’

OpinionBY JACQUES J.M. SHORE, SUZANNE SABOURIN

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Biotechnology

U.S. tariffs on pharmaceuticals could complicate an already complex supply chain

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

A different ‘philosophy’ steers new drug pricing guidelines, says top PMPRB bureaucrat after contentious path to rule changes  

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Canada’s next top doctor must be a ‘focal point’ for public health amid changes in the U.S., concerns about next pandemic

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

From momentum to leadership: securing Canada’s biotech future

OpinionBY WENDY ZATYLNY

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DEFENCE & SECURITY

Major powers resorting to war more often, and doing so without even trying to justify it under the UN Charter rules

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

The Armed Forces’ selective accountability

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

Sniffing out alleged terrorists in the military’s ranks

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

Buckle up, federal public service cuts expected to be deep

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

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Environment

Canada must lead on circular solutions to end plastic pollution

OpinionBY CHRISTA SEAMAN

Vanuatu puts Canada on notice about climate inaction

OpinionBY BARNALI CHOUDHURY

High engagement with oil and gas industry a ‘bad look’ for feds, say environmental advocates: ‘pick a lane’

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Top UN court’s ruling to protect climate could impact Canadian lawsuits, Carney’s ‘nation-building’ projects

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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FINANCE

House Finance Committee faces pre-budget time crunch ahead of fall tabling 

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

Trade, housing, prosperity: none of it happens without construction

OpinionBY RODRIGUE GILBERT

Lobbyists address Canada-U.S. dynamic in face of shifting tariffs from unpredictable Trump: ‘it’s changed’

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Crown-Indigenous Relations departmental plan raises questions about role in Liberals’ major projects push

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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Fisheries and oceans

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

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FOREIGN POLICY

Former Conservative trade minister eyes expanded Canada-U.S. pact for added negotiating leverage

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

Operation Storm: remembering tragedy, upholding democratic values

OpinionBY DEJAN RALEVIC

Carney shouldn’t be cowed by Trump

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

Trump ‘a potential risk’ for Carney and his ‘full-throttle government,’ says Nanos, but he’s still preferred PM

NewsBY CHRISTOPHER GULY

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health

Speed up bureaucrats’ return to work by making athletic therapy more accessible

OpinionBY TARYN TAYLOR

Trump’s tariffs are a collision with economic reality

OpinionBY FARSHID KERAMAT

Still no strategy: the federal silence on women’s health

OpinionBY SHAY FREGER

We need to design better systems to target hepatitis

OpinionBY JENNIFER VAN GENNIP

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Industry and Manufacturing

Bill C-5 is a turning point in Canadian history

OpinionBY GARY MERASTY

What will kill the electric car this time: Trump or Canada’s haplessness?

OpinionBY SUSAN RILEY

Canada’s economic future runs on brain power

OpinionBY JENNIE Z. YOUNG, JULIAN KARAGUESIAN

Canada’s government and banks are stuck on oil—and this is a problem

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

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infrastructure and transport

Steel industry players say retaliatory tariffs for Canadian steel need ‘real teeth’ as lobbying efforts heat up

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Why industrial policy is critical to nation building

OpinionBY AARON COSBEY

One simple trick to solve the government’s procurement woes?

OpinionBY SIMON ENOCH

The path forward on reconciliation and building infrastructure

OpinionBY MARK QUINN, BILL SCHAPER, JAMIE CARROLL

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innovation

Canada never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity, but we better not miss it this time

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Space: the critical link to Canada’s defence, sovereignty, and economic growth

OpinionBY BRIAN GALLANT

Was repealing the digital services tax a missed opportunity for Canada or the right call?

OpinionBY ADAM FROMAN

Fixing what isn’t broken: why the CRTC should rethink broadband labels

OpinionBY MARK GOLDBERG

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justice

Military police chief is ignoring the law, shutting down probes into complaints: watchdog report

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW, SAMANTHA WRIGHT ALLEN

Senate throws a lifeline to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

OpinionBY ERROL MENDES

Kelly looks at how governments react to judicial invalidation in Constraining the Court

FeatureBY JAMES B. KELLY

‘This is a book about gender-based violence, with a focus on intimate partner abuse,’ says Donner-nominated author of And Sometimes They Kill You

FeatureBY PAMELA CROSS

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Labour & employment

Official languages education sector disappearing thanks to our broken immigration system

OpinionBY GONZALO PERALTA

To build a better housing market, stop taxing housing like cigarettes

OpinionBY MARK KENNEY

Shooting ourselves in the foot: we can’t afford to misunderstand the temporary foreign worker program

OpinionBY CHRISTINA SANTINI

It’s time we treat campus infrastructure as a nation-building project

OpinionBY GABRIEL MILLER

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Lobbying

Global Affairs Canada misconduct complaints have more than doubled since 2023

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

Tighter registration threshold for lobbying means more transparency, but also more administrative work for businesses in challenging times, say lobbyists

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Domestic innovation and canola concerns top economic development advocacy in a busy June

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

‘It’s a massive task’: Carney’s ethics screen won’t prevent conflicts of interest, warn critics

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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natural resources and energy

Why bold infrastructure investments are key to our economic resilience

OpinionBY KIP EIDEBERG

Finding open ice: Canada’s future depends on batteries and critical minerals

OpinionBY DAN BLONDAL, TRENT MELL, TREVOR WALKER

Questioning the safe disposal of spent enriched uranium fuel: letter writer

Opinion

Bill C-5 revealing itself as a Trojan horse designed to appease Alberta’s fossil fuel interests

OpinionBY JOHANNE WHITMORE, FRANçOIS DELORME

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Women, Gender and Diversity

Plan tackling gender-based violence needs funding renewed, say advocates amid concerns over budget cuts

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

‘It’s being levelled’: advocates worried about potential 81 per cent cut to Women and Gender Equality Canada’s budget by 2028

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

Before the cuts: a bureaucracy baseline from an employment equity lens 

OpinionBY ANDREW GRIFFITH

There’s no better time for Canada to embrace its diversity

OpinionBY JENNIFER ST. GERMAIN

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Indigenous Relations

Creating a two-tiered Canada with budget cuts that divide by race

OpinionBY ANNE LEVESQUE

Breaking through the invisible screen: removing hidden procurement barriers

OpinionBY SARAH JACKNIFE

Disorganization mars Bill C-5 summit, but progress possible if Liberals commit to consultation, chiefs say

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Canada Post being used to traffic drugs to First Nations in crisis

OpinionBY MICHAEL YELLOWBACK, ANGELA LEVASSEUR

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Exclusive lists

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Ranking the best and worst federal departments, by public service survey results

Ranking the best and worst federal departments, by public service survey results

The PBO’s take on public service bloat and staffing cuts

The PBO’s take on public service bloat and staffing cuts

House and Senate steering committee members named

House and Senate steering committee members named

All eyes on Trump: meet the top 50 foreign policy influencers navigating Canada’s role in a rocky world

All eyes on Trump: meet the top 50 foreign policy influencers navigating Canada’s role in a rocky world

Meet Carney’s parliamentary secretaries, half of whom are rookie MPs

Meet Carney’s parliamentary secretaries, half of whom are rookie MPs

The 19 entities asking for the biggest spending boosts in the 2025-26 main estimates

The 19 entities asking for the biggest spending boosts in the 2025-26 main estimates

Meet Mark Carney’s 38-member senior team

Meet Mark Carney’s 38-member senior team