February 1, 2011
Editor’s Note
Somewhere in the last year, the global conversation on climate change has shifted to one on clean energy. The precise moment this occured may have been Barack Obama’s State...
February 1, 2011
The oil sands: Sorting out fact from fiction
Oh, the oil sands! The biggest economic project and generator of employment in Canada in the past decade just can’t seem to catch a break. National Geographic, the New...
February 1, 2011
After Cancún: Time to shift strategy
What a difference a year makes. The contrasts between the climate change conferences last year in Copenhagen and this year in Cancún are stark: while Copenhagen opened with bloated...
February 1, 2011
Sustainable solutions in the oil sands
Global energy demand will grow significantly in the period to 2050, driven by population increases as well as the desire of those in the developing world to improve their...
February 1, 2011
US energy security: A Canadian perspective
The words “energy” and “security” resonate a strongly with the average American. Inexhaustible and inexpensive energy have long been core to popular American beliefs about what drives economic growth and...
February 1, 2011
Why Canada needs an energy strategy
The global economy is being transformed as never before. Technology has liberated poor and developing economies, unleashing growth and opportunity, not just in China, India and Brazil, but across...
February 1, 2011
Portrait of an energy powerhouse: Canada
As the worst of the global financial crisis recedes, attention is turning to Canada’s triple challenge of shaping a more sustainable way of life, building a more competitive economy...
February 1, 2011
Obama and climate policy reform: A continuing education in American politicking
In the sunny, uplit days following Barack Obama’s election, reform of climate policy was perhaps the most anticipated promise in the agenda of hope that would change not just...
February 1, 2011
How to meet the oil sands protest challenge
Thinking of visiting Alberta, Canada? Think again. — Corporate Ethics International A billboard campaign in US and UK cities that compares oil-soaked birds in the Gulf of Mexico to...
February 1, 2011
Truth and consequence: The Wikileaks saga
The WikiLeaks release of 250,000 US diplomatic “cables” is an act essentially without precedent. Some commentators have argued that its revelations are resetting the geopolitical landscape. Others scoff that there...
February 1, 2011
Danny Williams goes out on top
On November 25, 2010, Danny Williams stunned Canada. He announced his resignation as premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and as a member...
February 1, 2011
On the shoulders of giants
As successive prime ministers have relentlessly drawn more power to their office, draining independence, vitality and creative energy from Parliament, cabinet and the civil service, one set of political...
February 1, 2011
Canada’s failed campaign for the UN Security Council: 10 unanswered questions
Canada’s failure to obtain a seat on the 2011-12 UN Security Council has generated an emotional response among the general public that is highly unusual in matters of foreign policy....
February 1, 2011
Learning from history: Program reviews and public safety
Ministers and their senior bureaucrats should not set out to endanger the lives of their citizens. Nevertheless, across Canada in provincial capitals and in Ottawa, our top public servants and...
February 1, 2011
Missing the bigger picture: A response to McClure’s view of the carbon-added tax
We welcome the opportunity to reply to “The Carbon-Added Tax: A CAT That Won’t Hunt,” Charles E. McLure Jr.’s Policy Options October 2010 critique of our March 2008 Policy...
February 1, 2011
Reimbursing a drug “off-label”: It’s what you don’t know
Patient 1: Did you hear the latest? There’s a cure for MS! Patient 2: What? Really? Patient 1: Yes, a doctor in Italy opened the blood vessels in the...
February 1, 2011
(A.W.) Al Johnson: An appreciation
On November 8, 2010, one of Canada’s most notable public servants died. Since A.W. (Al) Johnson devoted most of his life to understanding public policy, it seems only appropriate...
February 1, 2011
Ententes administratives
En avril 1997, Québec et Ottawa signaient une entente de principe prévoyant le transfert au gouvernement du Québec de la conception, de la mise en œuvre et de l’évaluation...