Think Tanks

Jun 19 2021 — Jason Clemens, Milagros Palacios and Niels Veldhuis — Fraser Institute — In a recent interview, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland explained the need to focus on economic growth to deal with many of Canada’s fiscal issues including our high debt levels. Minister Freeland is correct that higher rates of economic growth would solve many of the country’s issues. Unfortunately, her policy prescription for higher growth is […]

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 […]

Jun 19 2021 — Policy Magazine — Thomas Jefferson once said, “The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness”. As we try to fully digest the 700-page April 19 budget one might ask: Is the government succeeding in its mandate of making us happier? It is often said that if you cannot […]

Jun 17 2021 — Mikayla Zolis — Policy Magazine — Canada is facing an unprecedented moment in housing market history. The Canadian Real Estate Association’s latest data cites a 23.1 percent increase in April’s home price index from the previous year. Set against the highest real house price growth rates among rich countries globally, and Vancouver, Toronto, and Hamilton topping the list of North America’s […]

Jun 17 2021 — Anil Wasif — Policy Magazine — We have a problem. Some 50 years, a couple of task forces, and a pandemic later, we are still figuring out what kind of childcare we want. We use words like “equalizer” and say things like “she-covery” — yet, how easily we forget that when push comes to shove, we just like to shuffle like […]

Jun 16 2021 — Policy Magazine — In the wake of the high-profile incidents of police violence against African Americans, the world has been confronted by a reality long known by Black people and reluctantly accepted by others–the presence of racism within policing. As protests against police brutality have broken out in many major cities worldwide, a global outcry has arisen for […]

Jun 15 2021 — Rudayna Bahubeshi — Policy Magazine — The first wave of COVID-19 coincided with the massive protests around the world provoked by the murder of George Floyd. Anti-Blackness, and systemic racism broadly, were in the public eye to a degree unprecedented in recent decades. In the city of Toronto in August 2020, Black people made up 34 percent of COVID-19 cases, despite […]

Jun 15 2021 — Asif Imran Khan — Policy Magazine — More than a year after the emergence of COVID-19, the much-anticipated World Health Organization (WHO) investigative report on the zoonotic source of the virus was finally published last March. The findings of the report have been underwhelming, to say the least. A US led multi-country joint statement stated that report “lacked access to complete, original […]

Jun 13 2021 — Colin Robertson — Canadian Global Affairs Institute — Presidents and prime ministers of the thirty NATO nations will meet in Brussels on Monday, June 14. The agenda, for this their 29th summit since the Alliance was formed in 1949, will discuss safeguarding the rules-based order in the face of the rising challenge from China and Russia. NATO operations in Afghanistan and Iraq will […]

Jun 11 2021 — Public Policy Forum — Vass Bednar takes over as host of Policy Speaking, for a special Brave New Work discussion on algorithms that pit workers – especially precarious workers – against the clock. Joining the podcast is Emily Guendelsberger, author of ‘On the Clock’, who wonders: how do you measure misery at work and what do political solutions for […]

Jun 9 2021 — Colin Robertson — Canadian Global Affairs Institute — The leaders of the advanced economies and leading democracies will meet this coming weekend at the Carbis Bay Hotel in Carbis Bay, a tiny Cornish seaside village in Britain’s most southerly county. While the issues change, since its creation in 1975 in the wake of the oil shock crisis, the G7 leaders have had two […]

Jun 3 2021 — Public Policy Forum — Vass Bednar takes over as host of Policy Speaking, for a special Brave New Work discussion on how to think more fully about technological change. This week’s focus is on skills and surveillance, with special guests: Unifor economist and policy analyst Kaylie Tiessen who talks trends in workplace training and how truck driving has been […]

May 31 2021 — Dan Kraus — National Newswatch — For many of us, wildlife is the symbol of nature conservation. This isn’t surprising; humans have lived closely with other living things for most of our history. We knew the names and habits of animals, and we held knowledge of the plants that would heal or harm. Despite our ancient connection to wildlife, we have […]

May 27 2021 — Robert Asselin — The Hub — It’s about time we substitute our incremental approach to innovation mostly made of ill-targeted programs that have yielded sub-par outcomes in the past for a higher risk, higher reward approach . . . You must become a member or subscriber to view this content.

May 20 2021 — Public Policy Forum — Canada’s track record with infrastructure is world renowned, yet as Ehren Cory, CEO of Canada’s Infrastructure Bank says, nationwide the country is in a persistent infrastructure gap – especially in Northern or remote communities. Cory joins Policy Speaking host Edward Greenspon to talk about the infrastructure bank system, how to leverage investment in Canada’s infrastructure […]