Policy Topics | Policy Briefings

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

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• Health
• Industry and Manufacturing
• Infrastructure and Transport
• Innovation
• Intergovernmental

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

Indigenous Relations

The water emergency in Kashechewan must spur action on federal legislation

OpinionBY ALVIN FIDDLER

• If the government does not act now, our First Nations communities will continue to be plagued with more critical infrastructure failures.

The water emergency in Kashechewan must spur action on federal legislation

OpinionBY ALVIN FIDDLER

• If the government does not act now, our First Nations communities will continue to be plagued with more critical infrastructure failures.

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

OpinionBY LIBERAL MP JUDY SGRO

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

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

A partial table cannot deliver justice for Indigenous people

OpinionBY BRENDAN MOORE

Arctic security investments must also improve living conditions in the North, say territories

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Wide-eyed patriotism is an Indigenous value

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

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

OpinionBY JOHN GORDON

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

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

Indigenous innovation: part of the tradition, not the trend

OpinionBY KATHY MANNERS

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Indigenous Reconciliation

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‘The ground on which we stand’: innovation and Indigenous sovereignty

OpinionBY JESSICA KOLOPENUK

• In national innovation policy, the knowledge and concerns of Indigenous peoples are often treated as constraints to be overcome rather than strengths to be supported.

‘The ground on which we stand’: innovation and Indigenous sovereignty

OpinionBY JESSICA KOLOPENUK

• In national innovation policy, the knowledge and concerns of Indigenous peoples are often treated as constraints to be overcome rather than strengths to be supported.

Housing is reconciliation: why Canada must prioritize Indigenous housing

OpinionBY MARGARET PFOH

‘I will always be an advocate,’ says retiring Indigenous senior civil servant Gina Wilson after decades working to ‘bridge worlds’

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

A shifting geopolitical environment leaves the Arctic central to Canada’s sovereignty and security

OpinionBY NDP MP LORI IDLOUT

Make federal funding permanent for Canada’s suicide crisis helpline, say Conservative and NDP critics

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Principled-based pragmatism and the wisdom of the seven generations

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

‘Stark contrast’ between Carney and Trudeau’s approach to Indigenous relations, says ITK president Obed

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

‘Very few truly understand how it currently works’: procurement watchdog puts defence contracting under microscope

NewsBY IREM KOCA

Poilievre praises a president who threatens democracies—including ours—on a daily basis

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

AGRICULTURE

The grass is greener where you water it

OpinionBY CSG SENATOR TODD LEWIS

Bloc MP Perron condemns ‘ridiculous’ spending cuts that will shutter research farms across Canada

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

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

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

‘Unprecedented’ 2025 for canola industry, with record-breaking economic lobbying

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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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

Q&A | Canada’s ‘ambitious’ defence strategy and the ‘tough slog’ ahead, with Mark Norman

FeatureBY PETER MAZEREEUW

The road ahead on foreign interference

OpinionBY HENRY CHAN

New defence strategy unveils big numbers and contradictions

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy needs an Indo-Pacific gear

OpinionBY VINA NADJIBULLA

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Environment

The EV revolution: baby steps and tinkering won’t get us to the podium

OpinionBY SUSAN RILEY

Climate change should be the big story of 2026

OpinionBY BILL HENDERSON

The real rupture we face: what Carney’s next speech needs to say

OpinionBY TREVOR HANCOCK

How the pursuit of innovation and sustainability can supercharge the Canadian economy

OpinionBY MARENA WINSTANLEY

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FINANCE

‘Everyone should feel the hit’: ministerial offices and PMO should be cut, too, say some leading public policy experts

NewsBY ABBAS RANA

‘All about’ NATO: bulk of feds’ $5.4-billion spending request boosts defence programs

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Canada faces ‘an emergency of extraordinary proportions’ with Trump, say foreign affairs and trade experts

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Building a more innovative Canadian economy won’t be easy, but it will be worth it

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

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Fisheries and oceans

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

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FOREIGN POLICY

‘Like something out of a bad day in Afghanistan’: ex-politicos share views from the ground in Mexico

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Canada needs informed diversification to navigate in a turbulent world

OpinionBY GEORGE ABONYI, DAVID ABONYI

Four years and counting in Ukraine

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

Trade diversification always failed, this time could be different

OpinionBY DANIELLE GOLDFARB

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health

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

OpinionBY BERNARD LORD

Canada is facing a teen vaping crisis

OpinionBY DOUG ROTH

A plan to strengthen health care and measure outcomes

OpinionBY LIBERAL MP HEDY FRY

Canada must respond to U.S. policy by increasing our support for pharmaceutical innovation

OpinionBY LIAM MACDONALD

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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

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

Renewable energy sector adds concerns about wind-tower costs to steel industry crisis talks: ‘there’s a ton of urgency’

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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infrastructure and transport

Canada can’t trade on hope

OpinionBY RODRIGUE GILBERT

Infrastructure is the missing link in Canada’s diversification strategy 

OpinionBY PASCAL CHAN

Think big: Senate Building should be turned into high-speed rail hub in 2037

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

Lack of trade infrastructure, insufficient supports for small business among realities of trade-war woes, say experts

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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innovation

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

NewsBY MARIA COLLINS

To ban or not to ban? Experts wary of restricting social media access for kids, as feds watch Australian approach

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

Building Canada’s digital future

OpinionBY DELPHINE ADENOT-OWUSU

From promise to reality: scaling innovative housing in Canada

OpinionBY TASNIM FARIHA

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intergovernmental

Tumbler Ridge tragedy, U.S. attacks on Canada are showing a different side of Pierre Poilievre 

OpinionBY SHEILA COPPS

Milliard takes on the Quebec Liberal mantle

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Hearings at National Assembly offer insight into Bill 1

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Alberta MPs shouldn’t just quietly wait for separatist issue to blow over

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

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justice

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

Despite early ‘spirit of co-operation’ on some bills, Liberal agenda still failing to launch in Parliament, say politicos

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Emergencies Act architect says courts checked government overreach, advises against further appeal

NewsBY STUART BENSON

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Labour & employment

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

Solving Canada’s housing crisis starts with a reality check

OpinionBY JANICE MYERS

A home is a human right: why inclusion must be built in

OpinionBY JANET FORBES, BEN ROWLEY

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Lobbying

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

Libya was a warning, Venezuela is the test

OpinionBY AKOLISA UFODIKE

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natural resources and energy

The world has too much LNG—so why is Canada fast-tracking more?

OpinionBY MARK KALEGHA, OLAF WEBER

Canada’s green jobs strategy needs more than good intentions

OpinionBY LIN AL-AKKAD

Federal environmental impact assessments are in even more jeopardy   

OpinionBY KEN RUBIN

Trump’s hit on Venezuela just gave Canada a bruise

OpinionBY ERICA IFILL

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Women, Gender and Diversity

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

Here’s how Parliament can tackle the rise in anti-feminist ideology

OpinionBY SHARI GRAYDON

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Indigenous Relations

A decade of delays on Indigenous rights

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

No, Indigenous people are not coming for your privately owned land

OpinionBY COREY SHEFMAN

Bill to create modern treaty commissioner wins Bloc, NDP, and Green support

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW

Democracy, like a Christmas gift, is best unwrapped

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

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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