National Newswatch

Canada’s governance crisis

Sep 28 2023 — — An opaque regulatory process that has stymied oil and gas development efforts, deterred investment, and dampened competitiveness, while giving market share to Russia and other authoritarian energy producers. A $35 billion Canadian Infrastructure Bank that has only finalized two projects, and failed to leverage any private sector dollars. A medicare system that struggles with mismanagement […]

Liberals’ fortunes hinge on new health minister

Aug 25 2023 — — You’d be excused if you didn’t know Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed a new health minister during his cabinet shuffle over the summer. For instance, CBC political pundits offered no commentary whatsoever about Ajax MP Mark Holland leaving his previous role as Government House Leader to take over from Jean-Yves Duclos as Canada’s Health Minister […]

TOWARD A CANADIAN GRAND STRATEGY OF RESTRAINT

Aug 23 2023 — — It is widely believed within the Canadian foreign policy establishment that Canada is, and ought to remain, an influential “middle power.” According to this narrative, since the Second World War, Canada has been able to exercise outsized influence on international affairs by acting as a “helpful fixer” – that is, by mobilizing its soft power […]

Canada has waited long enough to tax the tech giants

Aug 18 2023 — — Canada is finally following through on its commitment to tax large foreign digital corporations. At least, it is planning to do so at some point after January 2024. The federal government’s proposed digital services tax (DST) on online giants like Meta, Amazon, and Google is heightening trade tensions with the U.S., but that should not […]

Government policies frustrating mining potential in Nova Scotia

Aug 16 2023 — Alex Whalen and Julio Mejia — Nova Scotia’s mining industry remains an important part of the provincial economy. With its production of gold, gypsum, limestone, salt and other minerals, the industry employs more than 5,000 Nova Scotians and contributes almost $500 million annually to the provincial economy. Unfortunately, government policies are frustrating the industry’s growth. Every year, the Fraser Institute surveys […]

Play an epic game of “I spy” with your smartphone

Aug 4 2023 — Staff — The Big Backyard BioBlitz offers critical data for nature conservation. Over the August long weekend, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is encouraging people to get closer to nature and contribute to protect the species they love! NCC’s fourth annual Big Backyard BioBlitz runs for five days, from August 3 to 7, from coast to […]

Reimagining Canada as Inter-National: Understanding First Nations-Provincial Relationships

Jul 14 2023 — — Relationships between Indigenous Peoples and settlers are often reduced to interactions between two groups: Canada and Indigenous peoples, simplifying the relationships between them and obscuring the complexity of both. Moreover, the focus is usually on relations with the federal government. Yet most interactions between governments and Indigenous peoples occur at the provincial level. This paper […]

Toward a Universal Dental Care Plan: Policy Options for Canada

Jun 22 2023 — — Canada is a laggard when it comes to providing public funding for dental care, ranking close to the bottom of OECD countries. However, the federal government’s proposed Canadian Dental Care Plan could change that. In its 2023 budget, the federal government pledged $13 billion over five years to implement the plan, which will provide dental […]

The Federal Spending Power in the Trudeau Era: Back to the Future?

Jun 7 2023 — — The Canadian government’s use of federal tax funds to pursue policy objectives that rest within the purview of the provinces — a practice known as the spending power — has played an important role in Canada’s political development since 1945. Although it is not mentioned in the Constitution, the spending power has been used by […]

Canadians wait much longer for drugs than Americans and Europeans

Jun 5 2023 — Nigel Rawson and Bacchus Barua — Canadians have access to fewer new drugs than Americans and Europeans, and consequently may endure undue suffering from ailments and disease. And we wait much longer for drugs that are approved here. For once, this unfortunate situation has little to do with bureaucratic lethargy but rather hostility governments and public agencies have shown towards the […]

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