Oct 28 2020 — Tony Charles — Policy Options — Back in 1999, the Supreme Court’s Marshall decision recognized that Mi’kmaq First Nations have had, and continue to have, a treaty right to catch and sell fish. As a result, First Nations have been increasing their presence in the fishery over the past 20 years. Yet all that time, what the Court specified as the […]
Oct 22 2020 — Policy Options — It has been 21 years since Donald Marshall Jr. was acquitted by the Supreme Court of Canada of illegal fishing under Canada’s federal fishing laws and regulations. His defence was that the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1760-61 provided him with a treaty right to harvest and sell fish. The courts have stated that Indigenous […]
Oct 21 2020 — Policy Options — While the mantra for the COVID-19 crisis has been “let’s build back better,” it will be impossible to do so without acknowledging that this pandemic has hit demographic groups unequally. Immigrant women faced many challenges in the workforce before COVID, but this pandemic has had a way of further exacerbating existing social and economic inequities. […]
Oct 21 2020 — Andrew Griffith — Policy Options — Just how diverse is the federal public service? This question recently has attracted more scrutiny, particularly when it comes to the inclusion of Black Canadians in the bureaucracy. Before February, no Black person had made it to the deputy minister rank of the public service – Caroline Xavier is now associate deputy minister of immigration, […]
Oct 20 2020 — Colin Busby — Policy Options — As the COVID-19 crisis deepens, more and more people are losing their workplace health insurance. Even before the pandemic, an estimated 10 to 20 percent of Canadians were not enrolled in either public or private drug plans and 35 percent lacked similar coverage for dental care. 1.6 million Canadians reported unmet mental health needs. The […]
Oct 19 2020 — Heather Boushey — Policy Options — The impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and the resulting recession is best understood in the context of what has happened to the U.S. economy over the past 40 years. These four decades marked a period of growing economic inequality and slower growth that left the economy and our workers and families […]
Oct 16 2020 — Policy Options — This summer, in the middle of a health and economic crisis, Canada’s finance minister resigned. His concerns over the cost and scope of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s green economic recovery plans were reportedly a contributing factor.
Oct 14 2020 — Ivy Lynn Bourgeault — Policy Options — Women remain conspicuously absent from decision-making tables across Canada despite being disproportionately affected by COVID-19 at work and at home. Women’s voices in policy-making would amplify the message that the overwhelming burden of “care work” women shoulder, especially during this pandemic, makes all work and our recovery from COVID-19 possible.
Oct 8 2020 — Policy Options — The recent spike in COVID-19 cases across the country is a sober reminder that a return to normalcy is still far away. But that doesn’t mean that policy-makers shouldn’t be planning ahead. There’s already a nascent debate about what priorities ought to guide our post-pandemic recovery. Some, for instance, have argued for an ambitious “green” […]
Oct 7 2020 — Lori Spadorcia — Policy Options — There has been much discussion about the mental health crisis that is upon us due to the lasting impacts of the pandemic. But the crisis was not the making of COVID-19. It’s been in the works for some time now. Prejudice and discrimination have been pervasive forces putting mental health on the outside, instead of […]
Oct 6 2020 — Sherri Torjman — Policy Options — Early 2020 sent COVID-19 shock waves around the world. The devastation saved its knockout punch for groups already struggling to find steady ground: racialized communities, Indigenous Canadians and persons with disabilities. Many individuals living on their own were at special risk due not only to low and unstable incomes but also to anxiety and the […]
Oct 5 2020 — Policy Options — COVID-19 has imposed a global economic shock the like of which hasn’t been seen since the Great Depression. Pre-COVID, the world was just starting to come to terms with the extent of change needed to avoid widespread ecosystem collapse due to climate change.
Oct 2 2020 — Policy Options — Despite their status of being at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19, people with disabilities have largely been left out of the conversation around supporting Canadians throughout this global pandemic. Perhaps we can start by talking about the short-sightedness of the federal government’s original plan for a one-time payment of up to $600 for people […]
Oct 1 2020 — Ray Orb — Policy Options — As the Rural Forum Chair with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), I’ve seen first-hand how rural communities have shaped Canada’s pandemic response. I’ve seen them protect frontline services and take extraordinary steps to keep people safe. Canton De Gore, Que., set up a home-delivery service for vulnerable residents. In northern B.C., Fort St. John […]
Sep 28 2020 — Liisa Galea and Victoria Gay — Policy Options — Women’s health research is chronically underfunded, and women’s health receives little attention across the spectrum of health research, from funding to academic opportunities. Although steps have been taken to incorporate sex and gender-based analysis (SGBA) into research in Canada, there is a continued lack of analyses of sex and gender across health research areas. This […]