Policy Options

POLICY OPTIONS: Mr. Prentice, thanks for doing this. In our new Nanos Research poll for Policy Options, 62 percent of Canadians identified fresh water as the country’s most important...

By an overwhelming margin, Canadians consider fresh water to be the most important natural resource to Canada’s future. By a margin of 3-1, they chose water over oil and gas...

The truth about Canada’s water might surprise you. According to Environment Canada, 25 percent of Canadian communities experienced water shortages during the latter half of the 1990s. Water quality...

Water is crucial for the economy. Virtually every industry from agriculture, electric power and industrial manufacturing to beverage, apparel, and tourism relies on it to grow and ultimately sustain...

Safe drinking water starts with good-quality source water, requires treatment to remove microbes and impurities, needs to be distributed through invisible infrastructure and, once used, has to be collected,...

Canada’s municipal water suppliers have numerous well-known operational shortcomings. These include incomplete cost accounting, underpricing, inadequate metering and a lack of emphasis on conservation. This ultimately promotes excessive consumption,...

Les approches de gestion de l’eau centrées sur le territoire de l’État sont, pour la majorité des experts, révolues. Il en est de même pour la gestion sectorielle. C’est...

If you were to ask Canadians what they believe is the most important public policy issue related to water today, many would no doubt say it is a fear...

In July 2008 the British Columbia government announced a new water initiative called Water Smart Living, which is an attempt to move water management and policy initiatives in BC...

En août 2008, l’Institut économique de Montréal organisé un séminaire destiné à relancer le débat sur la vente massive de l’eau du Québec à l’étranger. L’accueil très froid que...

Four years ago, American author Peter Anin wrote a book entitled Great Lakes Water Wars, speculating on probable future struggles between the Great Lakes Region and the US Southwest...

Whisky is fer drinkin, water is fer fightin, over… Mark Twain Aleppo is a glorious city in the north of Syria. The rich carvings on the honey-coloured stone buildings...

“Hewer of wood, drawer of water” has long been the dominant image of Canada’s economic historiography. We logged forests, mined valleys, tilled fields and drilled sediment — all to...

It’s the first lesson parents try to teach their children on the playground: play nicely with others! Last month in Montreal, at the Economic Forum of the Americas, the...

The controversies in Canada last December over a possible coalition government and the hasty prorogation of Parliament provide a vivid illustration of strengths and weaknesses of the role of...

On June 10, 1993, the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act received royal assent in Parliament. For the Inuit of Nunavut, these two initiatives were inextricably...

Dernier-né des territoires canadiens, le Nunavut a été créé le 1er avril 1999 de la division des Territoires du Nord-Ouest (T.N.-O.). Il est le résultat d’une entente territoriale, l’Accord...

On April 1, 2009, Nunavut Commissioner Ann Meekitjuk Hanson laid out the legislative priorities and vision of the government of Nunavut in Tamapta, an ambitious document whose title literally...

The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (the Nunavut Agreement or NLCA) signed in 1993 provided the Inuit of Nunavut with a comprehensive compensation package of cash, lands and powers and,...

What should Canada’s role be in protecting global security? When Canada’s mission in Afghanistan changed from peacekeeping to active combat many in this country were forced to re-examine this...

It’s been tough being a Conservative in Canada. For every three years Liberals have been in power, Conservatives have held office for two. But to their credit Conservatives have...

“So, who was the worst Conservative leader of all time?” a friend asked during a conversation a few months ago. “Was it Robert Manion, J.S.D. Thompson or maybe George...

Rudyard Griffiths’ Who We Are falls into two parts, plus suggested remedies for Canada’s ills, and a personal confession in the final chapter. Griffiths is one of the founders...

The main purpose of Michael Ignatieff’s new book, True Patriot Love: Four Generations in Search of Canada, is to show that he has roots in this country. After having...

Pour améliorer sa gouvernance, la Banque mondiale a créé en 1993 un Panel d’inspection, une institution indépendante dotée du pouvoir de recevoir et d’étudier les plaintes de personnes ou...