The quest for digital literacy in Canada
Across the country, libraries, community organizations and social programs are helping people apply for jobs online, open social media accounts and learn basic office software. Kids are playing with...
University-community exchange a must in age of disruption
Resilient communities are the bedrock of prosperous, stable societies. So what makes for resilient communities? First and foremost, it’s knowledge: the insight to recognize disruptive change, face challenges and...
Parents en prison : un angle mort des politiques publiques
Cet article a été traduit en anglais. Le projet de loi C-75 concernant la réforme du système de justice pénale vise notamment à mieux protéger les personnes vulnérables. La...
Let’s stop talking about “empowering” African women
The “empowerment of women” is mentioned 32 times in Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, and $150 million has been allocated to related activities in developing countries over the next...
The debate in Canada over paying plasma donors
Plasma-protein therapies save lives. Various types of plasma are used to treat bleeding from trauma and genetic bleeding disorders such as hemophilia; to treat several immunodeficiencies and neurological disorders;...
Child care in the Ontario election
For the first time ever, child care is a central policy plank in the programs of all three major parties in the Ontario election on June 7. But which...
Why benefits of citizenship aren’t always equal
The phrase “a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian” was first used during the 2015 election, in the context of ensuring Canadian citizens convicted of crimes of treason...
Rediscovering Canada’s undervalued statecraft tools
For too long, culture, science and diplomacy have suffered from neglect in Canada. Yes, they share a high-toned reputation, but they have been widely misunderstood — disdained even —...
Les sondages influencent-ils le comportement des électeurs ?
Dans un précédent article d’Options politiques, nous avons présenté notre analyse des résultats de sondages menés au cours de cinq campagnes électorales, et établi le profil sociodémographique et sociopolitique...
Canada’s surveillance of Indigenous movements
From the fight against the Northern Gateway pipeline to the anti-fracking protests involving Elsipogtog First Nation and the Idle No More movement, Canadian surveillance organizations have kept close watch...
A global uprising against rape case injustices
Tens of thousands of people marched in Spain in April, protesting for three days over a court’s failure to convict five men of the gang rape of an 18-year-old...
Ontario’s hydro: some unwelcome truths
With the announcement in late April by Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford of his plan to reduce hydro rates, electricity costs have emerged as a central question in...
Safeguarding the independence of the Senate
In April, Senator Peter Harder, the Trudeau government’s representative in the Senate, shared the government’s agenda for the upper chamber. His paper aims to advise senators from all parties...
Feds must allow First Nations to tax, regulate cannabis
There was little surprise when the Assembly of First Nations, at its Special Chiefs Assembly in early May, called on the government of Canada to amend Bill C-45, the...
Use the Charter to guide AI governance
In a short time, the Canadian government has taken important steps toward better AI governance. This progress was evident at the Student Symposium on AI and Human Rights, held...
In favour of a Senate business committee
Unlike the partisan and relatively docile “old” Senate of the past, the “new” Senate is becoming a political force to be reckoned with in the national policy process. The...
Le soutien aux proches aidants des personnes ayant une déficience
(Cet article a été traduit de l’anglais.) L’espérance de vie des personnes ayant une déficience développementale a augmenté grâce à de meilleurs soins médicaux et à une vie plus...
Minimize harmfulness of bots but don’t ban them
As automated tools become increasingly common in the digital landscape, we need more transparent systems to identify bot accounts and ensure they are not causing harm to society. But...
A federal equalization program that includes First Nations
The challenge of reconciliation hinges on a series of fundamental questions: How will Indigenous and settler Canadians live side by side? How are we to understand one another’s cultures...
Crafting Internet policy with nuance, not kneejerks
In early April, members of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of John Perry Barlow, famed Internet libertarian and author of A...
Eight years of attacks and Obamacare still stands
Signed by President Barack Obama in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, has divided Democrats and Republicans since the very beginning....
Should the MMIWG Inquiry be given more time?
Commissioner Marion Buller of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls recently published an essay in the Globe and Mail making the case for a two-year extension to her...
L’itinérance : entre pénalisation et insertion sociale
(Cet article a été traduit en anglais.) Dans nos sociétés, l’itinérance est révélatrice des formes de fragilités sociales que produisent nos milieux ; en ce sens, elle représente un phénomène...
Stronger energy-saving measures just makes sense
A win for our economy, consumers and the climate? It may sound like an elusive unicorn, but energy efficiency checks all of the above boxes. Although they are under-reported,...
Intégrer la justice réparatrice au système de justice conventionnel
(Cet article a été traduit de l’anglais.) La justice réparatrice est une philosophie assortie d’un ensemble de pratiques. S’écartant à la fois des sanctions et de la réinsertion sociale,...
Solving Canada’s food waste problem
When I was a child in Indonesia, I would always get the same advice from my mother and elders, “Tammara, finish every single grain of rice, if you don’t...
La baisse du taux d’incarcération des jeunes : leçons d’une réussite
(Cet article a été traduit de l’anglais.) Vouloir, c’est pouvoir. — Vieux proverbe anglais Par une journée type de 1997, 3 825 jeunes de 12 à 17 ans purgeaient une...
Is the TFSA program serving all Canadians equally?
In the federal budget speech of February 26, 2008, Finance Minister James Flaherty introduced a new savings plan, the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA), stating, “Mr. Speaker: The budget...
How we stopped worrying and learned to love robots
As Bob Magee, chairman of the Woodbridge Group, walked us through his foam-manufacturing facility just north of Toronto, a familiar story emerged. Automation for this company isn’t a simple...
Bangladesh has come a long way, but it still needs Canada
Bangladesh is still a poor country, but no longer the poorest, and it’s definitely not a “basket case,” the offensive term Henry Kissinger used for it in the 1970s....
Using culture to strengthen Mercosur ties
Now is the time to put Céline Dion and the Cirque du Soleil on a plane to South America. While we are at it, let’s not forget to book...
Black Canadians and the justice system
Black people are dramatically over-represented in Canada’s prison system, making up 8.6 of the federal prison population, despite the fact they make up only 3 percent of the population....
Cleaning up the mandatory minimums mess
On April 10, Independent Senator Kim Pate announced her intention to introduce a bill, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Independence of the Judiciary), that would grant Canadian...
Bill C-68 enshrines human dimensions in Canadian fisheries law
Canada’s GDP and the well-being of many rural communities in this country are tightly tied to our natural resources. Therefore, real sustainability in the primary resource sectors demands equal...
The case against transparency in government AI
Governments are becoming increasingly aware of the potential for incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-assisted decision-making into their operations. The business case is compelling; AI has the ability to...
Our planning for the future of work must include education
It’s hard to find anyone these days who’s not talking about artificial intelligence (AI), robots, automation, the gig economy and what it all means for the future of work....
Trouver un terrain d’entente sur la prostitution
(Cet article a été traduit de l’anglais.) La prostitution figure parmi les enjeux les plus âprement discutés en justice pénale, sans doute parce que le commerce du sexe est...
Focus on trade infrastructure to meet agri-food goals
Last year, the federal government set a lofty goal of boosting agri-food exports to $75 billion annually by 2025 — a whopping increase of $20 billion in seven years....
Lone attackers and violence against women
Lone attackers who use guns, knives or vehicles to inflict mass casualties are of increasing concern to governments, police and security forces. In Canada’s deadliest mass killing in decades,...
Hard work ahead on new emergency alert system
Shortly before 10 a.m. on October 22, 2014, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, standing guard at the steps of the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa, tragically lost his life when...
Exploiter le plein potentiel de la justice réparatrice
(Cet article a été traduit de l’anglais.) Notre système de justice pénale a besoin d’être réformé : il existe un large consensus à ce sujet. Le système est lent, inaccessible,...
Le pouvoir de guérison des rapports Gladue
(Cet article a été traduit de l’anglais.) J’ai demandé à un client de se remémorer un épisode de son enfance marquée par l’alcoolisme de ses parents. Il a répondu...
Lessons from Germany on youth employment policy
One of the most important things that a government can do to promote inclusive prosperity is to ensure that young people have access to the opportunities they need to...