February 28, 2020
The skilled trades are in need of strengthened apprenticeship programs
Provincial governments across the country have taken a renewed interest in promoting apprenticeships and the skilled trades. This newfound attention crosses partisan and regional lines and involves various policy...
February 28, 2020
How far should the assisted-death law go? Look to the Charter
Now that the federal government has tabled proposed amendments to the law governing medical assistance in dying (MAiD), it’s imperative that the law’s severe restrictions be lifted so that...
February 27, 2020
Pandémies, COVID-19 et facteurs sociétaux
Durant l’été de 1999, j’ai lu le livre The Hot Zone, un thriller de Richard Preston qui raconte les origines du virus Ebola. À l’époque, j’avais commencé à travailler...
February 27, 2020
Enhance Gulf of St. Lawrence’s environmental governance
Dying whales, municipal sewage dumping, invasive species, marine conservation, fisheries allocation and petroleum exploration — these are but a few examples of contested and interconnected environmental issues in the...
February 26, 2020
We need to understand that psychological suffering can be unbearable, too
I became a psychiatrist because I value life, deeply. I value the search for meaning in every kind of life, and I am in awe of the fact that...
February 26, 2020
Canadians should support the country’s bid for a UN Security Council seat
As Canada pursues its bid for a seat on the UN Security Council, we should all be rooting for its success. The Security Council’s primary purpose is to maintain...
February 25, 2020
Getting past the misinformation about the coronavirus
People are generally bad at understanding what’s a threat to them. We have lots of research and examples to back that up: people are scared of nuclear power even...
February 25, 2020
Facial recognition technology requires checks and balances
A few weeks ago, members of the Nexus traveller identification program were notified that Canadian Border Services is upgrading its automated system, from iris scanners to facial recognition technology....
February 24, 2020
Quelles leçons tirer du conflit sur le gazoduc Coastal GasLink?
Quels enseignements peut-on tirer du conflit actuel entourant la construction du gazoduc Coastal GasLink en Colombie-Britannique ? Alors que l’attention médiatique et politique est tournée vers les solutions à...
February 24, 2020
Give the Wet’suwet’en space to conduct their law-making, away from barricades
In 1986, in preparation for the Delgamuukw land rights trial that would be held in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, an all clans feast was held in in...
February 21, 2020
Indigenous DNA database should be managed by its people
Canada’s use of DNA collection and analysis was expanded in March 2018 through the creation of five new DNA databases. Three were created for humanitarian purposes, and the other...
February 21, 2020
Defence strategy is proof a carbon tax can spur energy sector innovation
Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson faces the tough task of finding a way to meet Canada’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. With few policy mechanisms at his disposal, he...
February 20, 2020
News has moved online, and media oversight in Canada must catch up
There were a few tense moments earlier this month and news organizations and journalists from across the country held their collective breath, after Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault...
February 20, 2020
Canada can lead on net-zero transition for heavy industry
Climate change is creating a new generation of green technologies on the one hand and on the other it is shrinking investment in fossil fuels due to fears that...
February 19, 2020
Racisme et discrimination systémiques à Montréal
En 2019, à la suite d’une importante mobilisation de la société civile, la Ville de Montréal a lancé une consultation publique sur le racisme et la discrimination systémiques. Les...
February 19, 2020
The fundamental risk of expanding Medical Assistance in Dying
The federal government plans to expand Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (“MAiD”) regime, less than four years after the practice was legalized. The move is in response to Truchon...
February 18, 2020
Canadian law schools must do their part to help combat climate change
The intensifying physical and socio-economic effects of climate change, mainstreamed by political debates and scientific evidence on anthropogenic disruptions to the global climate system, have motivated changing legislation, regulation,...
February 18, 2020
Trauma must be considered in cases of intimate partner violence
In December, the Ontario Court of Justice dismissed all charges against Joshua Boyle, the former Taliban prisoner accused of sexually assaulting and physically abusing his wife, Caitlan Coleman. Before...
February 17, 2020
The breathtaking hypocrisy of the howls for “rule of law”
Last October, an international celebration occurred in the verdant coastal community of Bella Bella, BC. Members of the Heiltsuk Nation finally opened their Gvakva’aus Hailzaqv, their Big House, a...
February 17, 2020
Independent national body would address violence against athletes
Our most prized Canadian athletes are too often experiencing violence in sport and suffering in silence. While national-level athletes perform spectacular athletic feats on the world stage as millions...
February 14, 2020
Why Canada needs a national policy for Black arts, culture and heritage
Like the ones before it, this Black History Month is blessed with a cascade of creative programming that will uncover and convey Black Canada’s complex and compelling stories through...
February 14, 2020
Sexual assault policy must better protect migrant women
Although Canada provides many resources to support women who have experienced sexual violence, migrant women with precarious immigration status are practically invisible and do not usually have access to...
February 13, 2020
The changing strains of federalism
For most foreign observers, Canada is a fascinating and gifted country. Its citizens enjoy a high standard of living. With rapid population increase since the war, there has been...
February 13, 2020
Le fédéralisme sous tension : un retour aux années 1980 ?
Options politiques a 40 ans
Pour son 40e anniversaire, Options politiques a demandé à des collaborateurs de différents horizons politiques de commenter des articles qui sont parus dans notre magazine en 1980, notre première...
February 13, 2020
The gaps in Canada’s efforts to stop sexual violence against children
There are different faces of sexual violence against children – some get a lot of attention and others remain hidden and under-reported. There’s been news coverage of how RCMP...
February 13, 2020
Development aid as foreign policy is a flawed idea
In a recent speech at a conference on liberal Internationalism in Toronto, Canada’s Minister for International Development Karina Gould discussed the usual topics, including the importance of her new...
February 12, 2020
Why creating an AI department is not a good idea
When I give public talks and training on AI in government, I am often asked why Canada has no “Department of Artificial Intelligence” to govern AI. Some jurisdictions, like...
February 12, 2020
Quebec City murder underscores need to abolish prostitution
Can prostitution be made safe? The question has landed again in our national conversation following the murder of a woman in Quebec City. The short answer is no. Those...
February 11, 2020
Bringing fairness to campus sexual violence complaint processes
About one in four female students will be sexually assaulted while studying at a Canadian post-secondary institution. Many complainants experience a drop in their grades, have difficulty concentrating and...
February 11, 2020
Canada needs an ambitious energy-retrofit plan for buildings
Canadians voted in October 2019 for strong action to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Energy efficiency is a tool in our climate action toolbox that was featured in...
February 10, 2020
Health care sector needs an ambitious skills agenda
(This article has been translated into French.) The rallying cry for more “beds and buildings” in Canada’s health care system is understandable. Hospitals are overcrowded. Wait times for priority procedures...
February 10, 2020
From Australia, a burning message for fossil fuel producers
Earlier this year, acclaimed Australian novelist Richard Flanagan blasted politicians in his country, saying unwavering political support for fossil fuel industries in Australia is leading the country to commit...
February 10, 2020
Les hommes victimes d’abus sexuels durant l’enfance
Un homme sur dix révèle avoir été victime d’abus sexuels durant l’enfance. Ce taux ne représente probablement que la pointe de l’iceberg, puisque les études qui tiennent compte des...
February 7, 2020
Decoupling from China
is hard to do
Eighteen months after US President Trump launched a bruising trade war against China, the two sides signed a truce in which Washington agreed to ease some tariffs on Chinese...
February 7, 2020
Sex-assault prosecutions often fail women with mental disabilities
Women who have a psychiatric or intellectual disability are four to five times more likely than other women to be sexually assaulted. Yet discussions of “rape culture” do not...
February 6, 2020
Justin Trudeau and the politics of federalism
Parliament has finally resumed sitting, but it’s hardly a fresh start for Justin Trudeau. The regional and ideological fault lines of the last election aren’t going anywhere. And now,...
February 6, 2020
External monitoring body would hold military accountable for sexual assaults
In 2018, the federal government controversially argued that it did not owe a “private law duty of care” to provide a safe, harassment-free work environment, or policies against sexual...
February 6, 2020
Feds faced with two visions for future of communications
With the release of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review’s (BTLR) final report last week, Canada now has two regulatory visions for the future of its communication systems. Before...
February 5, 2020
Canada has a moral obligation to accept climate migrants
Ioane Teitiota fled from Kiribati, an island country in the central Pacific, to New Zealand in 2010. He was the first human face of what have now been called...
February 5, 2020
Médias et agressions sexuelles : prévenir ou nuire
De quelle façon la population canadienne s’informe-t-elle de la criminalité ? Selon une étude réalisée par Éric Bélisle, 95 % des Canadiens passent par les médias traditionnels pour s’informer...
February 4, 2020
Nova Scotia restorative inquiry offers new vision of justice
The Restorative Inquiry for the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children released its final report at a public ceremony in Halifax in November 2019. The 556-page report details the...
February 4, 2020
Les inégalités sociales de santé
Chronique d’Alain Noël
En 2006-2008, l’espérance de vie sur le territoire du CLSC Hochelaga-Maisonneuve à Montréal était de 74,2 ans, comparativement à 85 ans pour le territoire plus favorisé du CLSC Saint-Laurent....
February 4, 2020
Support services still lacking for survivors of sexual assault
Changes in the wake of the #MeToo movement have been monumental. Perhaps the most promising outcome is recent research suggesting that survivors themselves are feeling less self-doubt, more supported...
February 3, 2020
Do you need to punch to be prime minister?
One of the most poignant moments in political leadership occurred nearly a year ago, in the aftermath of the devastating hate murders of 50 people. New Zealand’s Prime Minister...
February 3, 2020
Rape myths and sexism still cloud police responses to sexualized violence
Confidence in Canada’s criminal justice system among victims of sexual assault is demonstrably at an all-time low. Just five percent of sexual assaults are reported to the police and,...