Oct 13 2021 — Olivier Jacques, Daniel Béland and André Lecours — Policy Options — On Oct. 18, 2021, Alberta is holding two referendums along with municipal and Senate elections. One focuses on the federal equalization program. Albertans will be asked: “Should Section 36(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 – Parliament and the Government of Canada’s commitment to the principle of making equalization payments – be removed from the Constitution?” […]
Sep 24 2021 — Policy Options — All governments in Canada will face challenging fiscal circumstances over the next few years because the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in appropriate but very significant deficits. Governments will need additional revenues to fund a stronger, more inclusive recovery, as well as deal with urgent crises like inequality and climate change. However, recent provincial budgets already […]
Sep 20 2021 — Andrew Perez — Policy Options — In May 2004, the year then-rookie Liberal prime minister Paul Martin triggered a general election for June 28, I was a Grade 12 student swept up in the euphoria that had been building around Martin’s long-anticipated ascension to the nation’s highest office. I walked into my local Liberal MP’s campaign office in London, Ont., eager […]
Sep 20 2021 — Ann Dickie and Sanjay Ruparelia — Policy Options — Many democracies have confronted a key challenge since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020: how to balance public safety and electoral participation. However, many of the changes introduced to meet this imperative were already in existence, at least in part, before the pandemic arrived, and their ramifications will extend beyond our current […]
Sep 15 2021 — Sabreena Delhon — Policy Options — At its best, social media is a powerful tool to improve our democracy, providing a way to hold politicians to account, share information and express ideas as well as disagreement. For those seeking office, social media has become a vital tool to manage and execute campaigns – a way to connect with constituents, demonstrate authenticity […]
Sep 6 2021 — Michael Wernick — Policy Options — Political parties don’t like to talk about spending cuts – except perhaps to insinuate that the other parties have some hidden agenda. They try to project to voters that they can be trusted to manage the finances of the federal government, but details will always be sketchy. Campaign promises tend to be specific about shiny […]
Sep 1 2021 — Salma Ataullahjan — Policy Options — As a young child in Pakistan, there were few things I would look forward to more than a journey to Kabul. Whether driving to Kabul with my family or flying in with the nuns from the convent where I studied, Afghanistan was always an exciting place at that time. The Afghanistan of my youth was […]
Aug 30 2021 — Andrew Potter — Policy Options — The collapse of the government of Afghanistan and the rapid takeover of the country by the Taliban in the immediate aftermath of the pullout of U.S. forces has stunned the international community. Among the stunned we can count the Americans themselves, who had assumed it could take two to three years, and not a matter […]
Aug 27 2021 — Luong Phuc Nguyen — Policy Options — It has been more than 10 years since my second and last tour with the Canadian Forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan, a time that also marked the end of Canada’s presence in that province and the beginning of its training mission in Kabul. I first came to North America as a refugee from the Vietnam War, […]
Aug 26 2021 — Max Fawcett — Policy Options — In the annals of annoying portmanteaus, the phrase “she-cession” doesn’t even come close to the top 10. But when it comes to triggering Conservatives, it might be at the top of the list. Witness the overwrought reaction last week to the prime minister’s usage of it from conservative social media users and outlets like the […]
Aug 11 2021 — Monica Gattinger — Policy Options — The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underscores yet again the urgency to act, noting that climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying. In Canada, there is far more consensus and support for taking action in business and society than there was even five years ago, and we have a comprehensive plan […]
Aug 10 2021 — Colin Busby — Policy Options — The economic disruptions of the pandemic showed the shortcomings in Canada’s out-of-date social safety net. Issues like the inability of the Employment Insurance (EI) program to process a large number of claims in a short period of time, self-employed or gig-workers’ lack of EI eligibility and the absence of sufficient job-protected leave, sent federal and […]
Jul 21 2021 — Martha Friendly and Lynell Anderson — Policy Options — The April 2021 federal budget was momentous for Canadian child care, committing significant federal dollars to building a national system of accessible, affordable, high quality, inclusive child care for all. Among its policy elements was a recognition that meeting this long-term goal will require “working with provinces and territories to support primarily not-for-profit sector child […]
Jul 20 2021 — Natalia Mishagina — Policy Options — The majority of Canadians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, setting the stage for the gradual reopening of the economy. With this in mind, policy-makers are starting to turn their attention to the post-pandemic recovery and helping displaced workers adjust to new economic realities.
Jun 19 2021 — Policy Options — This past April, the Liberal government announced the first federal budget since 2019. In hopes of a strong pandemic recovery, the budget promises massive policy measures. With transformative spending and net debt now reaching an unbelievable $1 trillion, it’s shocking what little say we actually have in the budget process. In fact, when it comes […]