Policy Options

Ask any Canadian what “care” means and you will get rapid-fire answers that include words like kindness, love, concern, compassion and attentiveness. We know with inner certainty what it...

Can you imagine being required to show proof of income of $39,000 a year for three years just to be able to have your parents close by? That’s about...

In September 2017, the Policy Community was launched for the Canadian public service. The momentum to launch stemmed from a 2016 Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council...

The Speech from the Throne on March 19 and the provincial budget on March 28 mark the unofficial start of Ontario’s election campaign. Ontarians are bound to witness recriminations,...

Various criticisms of the recently formed Federation of Black Canadians aren’t a surprise to those of us who have worked on the front lines of advocacy.  A 2013 report...

Depuis les tout premiers sondages politiques, tant les chercheurs que les médias, les politiciens que les électeurs, posent la question : « Les sondages influencent-ils le vote ? » Deux...

While some may see Canada’s efforts to reconcile human rights policy, trade policy and foreign policy as futile and akin to “mixing oil with water” (as Melchizedek Maquiso wrote...

In governments around the world, women’s presence in cabinet is having a substantial impact on political office and policy-making, but what does it mean for women’s political involvement? Sarah...

America is deeply divided on issues related to immigrants and refugees, while in Canada, which accepts larger proportions of newcomers, there is a general consensus in the country over...

Women entrepreneurs contribute billions of dollars to the Canadian economy and to the communities where they live. Our recent study Everywhere, Everyday Innovating: Women Entrepreneurs and Innovation (sponsored by...

As Bill C-45, the marijuana legalization legislation, works its way through the Senate, a number of senators are faced with an perennial problem: how do they exercise their role...

Under the federal government’s proposed impact assessment legislation, Bill C-69, assessing the environmental, economic, social and health impacts of major projects will come under the sole authority of the...

Ms. S. was a 56-year-old woman with advanced multiple sclerosis. In June 2016, when her suffering became intolerable and her state of decline was advanced as a result of...

After what feels like a decade of hype and underwhelming sales, direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing seems to be taking off, for better or worse. In the hope of discovering...

When you come to speak to us about Canada, remember that we have been thinking about Canada for a very long time. – Natan Obed, President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami,...

Representatives from more than 70 countries, are meeting this week at the eighth annual World Water Forum in Brazil, and overlapping with World Water Day. The forum identifies global...

In the past few years, Canadian universities have taken up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action, aiming to be leaders in reconciliation through changes to the...

I consider myself lucky to have been born when death was still pretty much a mystery, more the prerogative of poets and other artists, philosophers and religious teachers than...

The path that leads newcomers to ultimately attain Canadian citizenship is eroding, a trend that the government has yet to acknowledge and address. An analysis of recent operational data...

It must be irritating for men to hear again that women say that not enough has been done for them. There is an International Women’s Day, and the parallel...

Islamophobia, defined as prejudice and hostility toward Muslims, exists in Canada. In a recent study I estimate that 37 percent of Canadians in 2015 had significantly more negative feelings...

Diplomacy has traditionally had two distinct faces, public and private, each with its own intended purpose. But those lines have been blurred. Changes in the nature of world politics,...

Dans le dernier droit avant les élections québécoises d’octobre, Jean-François Lisée a clairement positionné le Parti québécois au centre gauche de l’échiquier politique, comme parti avant tout social-démocrate, qui...

It feels like not a week goes by without a news report about a major corporation being hacked. Target, JP Morgan, Home Depot, Sony, Hilton Hotels, Equifax and Uber...

Under the guise of making Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte account for his administration’s human rights abuses, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month said his government would review a $300...

Proponents of automation say the developments will create a more efficient and advanced society, but there are concerns that the changes will not affect all citizens equally. According to...

Measures in Budget 2018 meant to address racism and promote social inclusion appear to have inspired moral panic in the Twittersphere. Commentators, including Conservative MP Maxime Bernier, express anguish...

In early January, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoked an Obama-era policy that kept federal prosecutors from intervening in states where the sale and distribution of marijuana is legal....

Canadians value their access to an open Internet – that view is on full display at a proceeding currently underway at the federal telecom and broadcasting regulator, the Canadian...

The recent mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, is the latest grim reminder of the costs of gun violence. Student marches and protests are being conducted in the United States...

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to problem solving that applies design methods developed by architects and industrial designers to modern problems faced by businesses, not-for-profits and governments. Design...

There were a lot of old ghosts haunting the Liberal government when it tabled its budget on February 27. But have these spectres brought change to women’s lives this...

Since International Women’s Day was first observed in the early 20th century, feminists have celebrated their accomplishments and noted their challenges: the what’s-missings and what-could-have-beens as women struggle for...

The genie is now out of the bottle, the bottle itself is broken, and the forces unleashed by the extraordinary events of the past 18 months will not be...

The news media can play a critical role in reflecting and also shaping public attitudes toward conflicts and those seeking asylum from them. Since the outbreak of war in...

If you are struggling to hear the applause that greeted the federal government’s soupçon of support for Canadian journalism in last week’s federal budget — well, that’s what one...

There’s more to the recent split between the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and Unifor than meets the eye. On the surface, the dispute that led Canada’s largest private sector...

The long-awaited Canadian Smart Cities Challenge is in full swing. Infrastructure Canada has made millions of dollars available to cities that create the best pitch to improve the lives...

Ottawa’s lofty ambitions for solving some of Canada’s more thorny policy issues, including plans to redesign the social safety net, are on full display in Budget 2018. But good...

Following Oprah’s remarkable speech at this year’s Golden Globe Awards ceremony, there was a frenzy of speculation that she would run for president. A few days later, when she...

Le 25 octobre 2017, le projet de loi C-203, dont l’objectif était de rendre obligatoire que les candidats aux postes de juges à la Cour suprême comprennent les deux...

As the second federal budget to employ a gender-based analysis, the 2018 federal budget does a lot for women. But it misses on two critical fronts: it does not...

Algorithms, machine learning and, more broadly, artificial intelligence (AI) promise to introduce astounding levels of efficiencies to cities’ monitoring of citizens and infrastructure, their planning and governance, and their...