We must prioritize caring in health care
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...
Parental sponsorship rules are antifeminist
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...
A policy community for the federal public service and beyond
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...
Toward big thinking in the Ontario election
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,...
Bringing transparency and accountability to community groups
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...
Qui prête attention aux sondages ?
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...
No good reason for military deal with Philippines
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...
Do female ministers affect women’s civic engagement?
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...
What can Canada teach the US about immigration?
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...
Government needs to better support women entrepreneurs
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...
Senators should be careful about how they dissent
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...
Panels compromised under environmental assessment bill
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...
Has stopping eating and drinking become a path to assisted dying?
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...
Is direct-to-consumer genetic testing reifying race?
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...
Taking the next step towards a post-colonial Canada
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,...
Why Canada needs to take World Water Day more seriously
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...
Reaching true reconciliation at our universities
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...
A meditation on medical assistance in dying
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...
What the census tells us about citizenship
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...
All child care should be valued and funded
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...
Toward the elimination of Islamophobia in Canada
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...
Digital technology and the changing face of diplomacy
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,...
Le pari social-démocrate
Chronique d’Alain Noël
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...
Embedding Canadian values in cybersecurity policy
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...
Cancelling chopper deal with Duterte unwise
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...
Will AI just wind up automating inequality?
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...
Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t push “colour-blind” politics
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...
A thicker border after cannabis legalization
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....
Why Canadians oppose blacklisting “pirate” websites
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...
Gun control still a key issue for centre-left voters
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...
Embracing design thinking in government
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...
Pay equity laws alone won’t close the gap
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...
No equality without universal child care
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...
Valuing women as expert sources in the news
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...
How the news media framed the Syrian refugee crisis
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...
How can the feds spend wisely on local journalism?
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...
The labour movement at a crossroads
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...
Winning the smart cities challenge with equity, inclusion
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...
The budget’s ambitions must navigate the federation
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...
The case for the state as life coach
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...
La promotion du français au Canada doit passer par les non-francophones
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...
Budget misses on diversity of women’s experience
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...
AI in government: for whom, by whom?
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...