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

The politics of fear: what ‘tough on crime’ gets wrong about public safety

Defence & SecurityBY DERICO SYMONDS

• This approach may generate compelling soundbites, but decades of evidence show it does little to improve public safety while deepening systemic inequities.

A retrofit mission could power Carney’s made-in-Canada agenda

Labour & EmploymentBY BETSY AGAR

‘Devil in the details’: feds move to combine procurement regulations in a bid to cut red tape

Government contractsBY IREM KOCA

NDP MPs rally for Labour Code changes

Labour & EmploymentBY ANDREW MEADE

Canadian military colleges report offers honest approach to right the ship

Defence & SecurityBY KATE ARMSTRONG

Canada needs a real digital sovereignty strategy—not half measures

InnovationBY JOHN RUFFOLO

A bigger defence budget may increase Canada’s hollow force risk

Defence & SecurityBY ANDREW ERSKINE

Closing the First Nations infrastructure gap would benefit us all

Indigenous RelationsBY JULIE PELLERIN

‘Belonging is a two-way street’: New study examines immigrant retention as Canada loses one in five newcomers

ImmigrationBY STUART BENSON

MOST RECENT POLICY BRIEFINGS

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NDP keep fighting as new Liberal government’s honeymoon period comes to a close

PolicyBY NDP MP JENNY KWAN

• To meet the eye-popping military spending commitment of five per cent of Canada’s GDP, there will be deep cuts to programs and services to

Local progress on energy, Arctic security must survive federal cuts

ArcticBY LYNNE COUVES

Royal Canadian Air Force unveils two planes for training program

Defence & SecurityBY ANDREW MEADE

Third-period politics: history’s lesson for Carney and Canada-U.S. relations

Foreign PolicyBY JOHN DELACOURT

Finding courage in the Senate to question the government in responsible, responsive ways

PolicyBY SENATOR MARILOU MCPHEDRAN

‘Cutting red tape,’ mental health and primary care on the health docket this fall

HealthBY TESSIE SANCI

Liberals need to get it together on pharmacare

HealthBY EDITORIAL

Second Hudson Bay port can link Western Canada’s resources to markets abroad

Indigenous RelationsBY MORRIS BEARDY

Back to Parliament: Time to build Canada together

Labour & EmploymentBY REBECCA BLIGH

AGRICULTURE

School food advocates hopeful program will survive fall budget cuts, but say Ontario falling short of ‘all in’

NewsBY STUART BENSON

AI can’t save farming if our soils keep dying

OpinionBY ASIM BISWAS

Treat agriculture as national defence with a strong water strategy

OpinionBY JOHN SIMPSON

Supply management works well for Canadians

OpinionBY BRUCE MUIRHEAD, JODEY NURSE

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Biotechnology

Canada at risk of collateral damage in U.S. drug pricing war

OpinionBY ANNETTE ROBINSON

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

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DEFENCE & SECURITY

Future planning needed amid Canada’s defence budget boost

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

A thin façade of combat capability

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

‘Sunshine is what is needed’: 2025 election, foreign interference issues on deck for PROC this fall

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

Foreign influence watchdog needs experience and compassion, not eminence: national security experts

NewsBY STUART BENSON

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Environment

Will Inuit voices be heard when it comes to nation-building projects?

OpinionBY NDP MP LORI IDLOUT

Uncertainty surrounds assessments plans for national interest projects 

OpinionBY ROBERT B. GIBSON

Canada can’t cop out on the climate

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

Strengthening climate policy to build long-term prosperity

OpinionBY SIMON DONNER, LOUISE COMEAU, ROBERT HORNUNG

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FINANCE

New budget watchdog says ‘deficit will absolutely be higher’ than forecast, feds have no clear fiscal anchors

NewsBY IREM KOCA

Canada faces a budget reckoning as deficit pressure mounts

OpinionBY JOSIE SABATINO

Carney ‘did the right thing’: feds’ new support for national pharmacare ‘positive,’ but evolving stance surprises advocates

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Upcoming budget critically important to meet challenges, cost of living, and unemployment, head on

OpinionBY NDP MP DON DAVIES

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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

Russia’s air war of flimsy decoys

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

Can the United Nations stop Israel? Canada can lead

OpinionBY EDWARD JACKSON, GORDON BREEDYK

‘Excessive secrecy’: PMO not releasing summaries of some Carney-Trump calls 

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

Canada is ‘evaluating’ ties with Israel, observers say that shouldn’t be done alone 

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

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health

Canada can’t afford to stop moving

OpinionBY ELIO ANTUNES

The NDP race is on

OpinionBY SHEILA COPPS

Union raises alarm over pending Public Health Agency job cuts

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

Feds risk missing deadline for reducing tuberculosis rates in Inuit communities

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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Industry and Manufacturing

Canada, Europe, and NATO: a renewed commitment to shared security

OpinionBY LIBERAL MP STEPHEN FUHR

The return of the wildcat strike?

OpinionBY CARLO FANELLI

Any new industrial strategy must be an innovation strategy

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Look to C.D. Howe for lessons on defence procurement

OpinionBY JAMIE CARROLL

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infrastructure and transport

First Nations chiefs criticize feds for failing to consult on Indigenous body tied to Major Projects Office

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Let’s fix our EV problem and break the Canada-China trade logjam

OpinionBY HUGH STEPHENS

Railways: Canada’s next great nation-building project

OpinionBY LAURENCE NGUYEN

Calls mount for the Arctic to make national-interest list with launch of Major Projects Office: there’s an ‘Achilles heel in the North’ 

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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innovation

Not investing in social innovation is holding back our economy

OpinionBY MARIE-CHRISTINE LADOUCEUR-GIRARD, ANDREA NEMTIN

Why Canada must lead on AI in higher education now

OpinionBY ANN FITZ-GERALD, DMYTRO CHUMACHENKO

From aid to advantage: re-imagining Canada–Africa relations

OpinionBY SELAH GETAHUN

Innovation put Canada ahead in AI; adoption will decide who benefits

OpinionBY SARAH STOCKDALE, AVERY SWARTZ, KIRSTEN KOPPANG TELFORD

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intergovernmental

Premier Legault’s cabinet shuffle takes his party nowhere

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

An autumn of contrasts in Parliament, and the Bloc Québécois will make its mark

OpinionBY BLOC MP CHRISTINE NORMANDIN

Define ‘Canadian’: questions loom over Carney’s ‘protectionist’ procurement policy push 

NewsBY IREM KOCA

A dose of realism about Canada’s LNG plans

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

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justice

Canada’s deafening silence defending the International Criminal Court 

OpinionBY MARK KERSTEN

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

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Labour & employment

On affordable housing, Ottawa should support bottom-up initiatives, not impose top-down solutions

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Post-pandemic uptick in public servant sick days making the case for remote work, say unions

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

‘Course correction’ needed to ensure new childcare spaces meet federal accessibility targets, says economist

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

The Canada that Dryden believed in remains at risk today

OpinionBY LES WHITTINGTON

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Lobbying

Build Canada Homes must prioritize ‘right’ kind of housing, affordability and green energy, say advocates

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Economic lobbying in July rises to meet demand for nation-building projects, interprovincial trade

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Steel, auto sectors seek relief after latest ‘crushing’ tariff hike 

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

‘The honeymoon period will be over’: politicos expect high bar for Carney’s first budget, and omnibus-bill headaches

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

See all

natural resources and energy

Canada should fast-track the idea that Indigenous rights and critical minerals go hand in hand

OpinionBY SAGA WILLIAMS, MARISA BECK, TAMARA KRAWCHENKO

Environmental groups, LNG advocates conflict over natural gas demand as Major Projects Office launches

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Safeguarding Canada’s freshwater heritage

OpinionBY CAMERON FIORET, MAUDE BARLOW

How the Indigenous workforce can STEM the tide for the coming energy tsunami

OpinionBY JOHN DESJARLAIS

See all

Women, Gender and Diversity

Canada’s public service needs updated visible minority hiring targets

OpinionBY WAHEED KHAN

Carney becomes second sitting prime minister in Canadian history to march at Pride

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

WAGE isn’t in a funding crisis—it has a design flaw

OpinionBY REBECCA BAILEY, SARAH HASHEM

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

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

See all

Indigenous Relations

Don’t pray in Quebec, but pray for Quebec

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

Indigenous consent isn’t a veto: it’s how durable, co-governed projects get built

OpinionBY TIM GRAY, EMILY MCMILLAN, RACHEL PLOTKIN, JESSICA CLOGG

Air Canada mess is a lesson for government

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

Cuts to Indigenous Services Canada sparking concerns of return to ‘Band-Aid solutions,’ and ‘mistakes of the past’

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

See all

Upcoming Policy briefings

Exclusive lists

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

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

MPs’ annual office budgets for 2025-26

MPs’ annual office budgets for 2025-26

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