Apr 20 2018 — Policy Options — The federal government has begun to look at ways of ensuring young people charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act are diverted by police and the courts to specialized programs and services that provide comprehensive supports. It’s critical that these supports represent a collaborative approach among governmental, non-profit and community programs and services that include […]
Apr 18 2018 — Mark Winfield — Policy Options — Since early April, the concerns over the fate of the expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline in the face of the British Columbia government’s objections have been elevated to the level of a constitutional and political crisis, driven by an artificial deadline set by the pipeline’s Houston-based owner. The hyperbole about how the fate […]
Apr 17 2018 — Policy Options — The intersection between mental illness and criminal justice has a long history. In the past, asylums and institutionalized care focused on keeping patients away from society. They were concerned with containment and caretaking instead of recovery. Despite advances in care, and increased awareness and understanding, stigma and discrimination about mental illness still runs deep.
Apr 16 2018 — Policy Options — The worldwide chorus of #MeToo has been duly noted on Parliament Hill. Many former political staffers and Hill denizens are quick to criticize the status quo. The Hill’s hallowed halls are filled with instances of staff of all partisan leanings, genders and orientations facing harassment in their workplace. The names and parties change, and yet […]
Apr 13 2018 — Jason MacLean — Policy Options — Kinder Morgan’s April 8 ultimatum to Canada — clear a direct path for our Trans Mountain pipeline expansion by May 31 or we’ll down tools for good — has been called an economic and constitutional disaster. The good news is that it’s neither of those things. The bad news? It’s much worse.
Apr 12 2018 — Policy Options — When the federal government announced the Canada C3 expedition last year, almost 5,000 people applied to sail through the Canadian Arctic via the Northwest Passage. But when the government announced it would develop a new Arctic Policy Framework, guiding federal activities on 40 percent of Canada’s land mass, few people noticed.
Apr 11 2018 — Jennifer Ditchburn — Policy Options — Imagine if decades from now a student of Canadian political history is digging into the Kinder Morgan pipeline saga. What kind of picture would she get from scanning the news databases from April 2018? A frustrated project proponent, Kinder Morgan, puts the development of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on hold, amid a pitched jurisdictional […]
Apr 10 2018 — Brittany Andrew-Amofah — Policy Options — The federal government is about to embark on nationwide antiracism consultations. The initiative is not without its naysayers. The announcement of the $23-million plan in the 2018 budget has been critiqued by prominent Conservative MP Maxime Bernier and media pundits. Warnings to the government to “be careful” and to “keep a low profile” have cast […]
Apr 9 2018 — Policy Options — Over the past decade, politicians in Canada and internationally have been increasingly turning to digital media, including social media, for political communication, mobilization and organizing, in and out of elections. From Donald Trump and Barack Obama in the United States to Narendra Modi in India, Alexander Van der Bellen in Austria and Theresa May in […]
Apr 6 2018 — Robert Wolfe — Policy Options — Donald Trump has been clear from the start of his presidency: the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a terrible deal (the “worst trade deal”) for the United States. If it can’t be fixed, he will terminate it. The effort to respond to his concerns while preserving Canada’s and Mexico’s most important free trade […]
Apr 5 2018 — Peter Harder — Policy Options — On March 22, Parliament faced an anxious moment when Conservative senators tried to manoeuvre the defeat of Bill C-45, legalizing cannabis in Canada. There are important historical and democratic reasons why Canada’s Senate should not vote down a legislative proposal that has its origin in an election promise. In this article, I attempt to explain, […]
Apr 3 2018 — Policy Options — The world has always been able to count on Canada to punch above its weight on issues of global concern, including the potential impacts of climate change. However, doing the right things depends on doing things right. If we agree that Canada should do more than its part, we need to think globally. We need […]
Mar 28 2018 — Policy Options — While some may see Canada’s efforts to reconcile human rights policy, trade policy and foreign policy as futile and akin to “mixing oil with water” (as Melchizedek Maquiso wrote recently in Policy Options), I argue that we must do our utmost to blend them. Refusing to confront the complex interwoven nature of our various international […]
Mar 27 2018 — Policy Options — Women entrepreneurs contribute billions of dollars to the Canadian economy and to the communities where they live. Our recent study Everywhere, Everyday Innovating: Women Entrepreneurs and Innovation (sponsored by BMO, Government of Canada, Carleton University and the Beacon Agency) examines how and where women are innovating in Canada. We crossed the country interviewing 146 entrepreneurs […]
Mar 26 2018 — Chris Montgomery — Policy Options — As Bill C-45, the marijuana legalization legislation, works its way through the Senate, a number of senators are faced with an perennial problem: how do they exercise their role of providing advice to the Crown and oppose a government Bill that has the support of the democratically elected House of Commons? By passing the Bill […]