A more inclusive, multilateral approach to trade
Canada stands at a critical crossroads. Our economic prosperity depends on international trade and investment, but new global realities are calling into question long-standing policy goals and approaches in...
Bringing innovation to pest management policy
Canadian agricultural lands are diverse: expansive prairie flats of grains, canola and pulses; rolling coastal berry bushes and potato fields; central acres of corn and soy; southern greenhouse vegetables...
Andrew Scheer and Conservative policy
The Conservative leadership race is over, and the contestants who pushed the envelope with more provocative policy ideas didn’t make the cut. They included Michael Chong, with his support...
A plan that promotes environmental sustainability
The report of the expert panel on environmental assessment processes, Building Common Ground: A New Vision for Environmental Assessment in Canada, has been met with both scepticism and strident...
A fresh, or re-heated, Conservative menu?
That Andrew Scheer would like to emulate the success of his predecessor at the helm of the Conservative Party makes perfect sense. Whatever you thought of Stephen Harper, he...
Recognizing the worth of natural caregivers
The planet has a temperature, and it’s not just because of climate change. The unpredictability of the future is making us sick with worry. But in the meantime, we...
Why Canada needs a national food strategy
When the idea of a national food strategy or policy is raised in Ottawa circles, it usually leads to more questions than answers. What is a national food strategy...
A Bernier Conservative party: “Reasonable” and “Mad”?
The Conservative Party of Canada is poised to elect a new leader. This decision will change Canada’s public policy landscape and affect Canadians across the political spectrum. There is...
Que cache le refus de Québec solidaire ?
Le verdict est tombé comme un couperet au congrès de Québec solidaire dimanche dernier : non à toute alliance électorale avec le Parti québécois ! Surprenant ou pas, c’est une...
The direct-to-consumer genetic testing fog
Column by Timothy Caulfield
There is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing company that gives parents the opportunity to uncover their kids’ “hidden” talents. You can (allegedly) find out if your child has the...
In defence of policy
Human beings are emotional creatures. We see it all over the place, nowhere more than in our political choices. Motivated by fear, hope, angst, sometimes anger, we collectively vote...
Greater electoral access for the homeless
Do homeless people vote? Although they are citizens of Canada, the political participation of homeless people has rarely been considered. The health of our democracy should be measured by...
Policy-making and the Conservative Party
As we approach the election of a new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada this weekend, this is an opportune moment to examine the health of the policy-making...
La réforme fiscale de Donald Trump
En publiant un document d’à peine 200 mots le 26 avril dernier, la Maison-Blanche a donné le coup d’envoi à ce qui pourrait devenir l’une des plus importantes réformes...
Judicial education doesn’t breach independence, but Bill C-337 might
Should federal judges be required to go back to school? That’s what is being considered in a draft law currently before Parliament. Although it seems like a good idea,...
Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall and the rehabilitation of the Charter
Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, known as the “notwithstanding clause,” has just about acquired the status of a zombie law in recent decades, left...
Uncaging adolescent creativity
Human creativity is the fuel of an innovative society. It is a natural, expandable, and infinitely renewable resource. However, rather than fully developing this resource in our young people,...
Sustainable agriculture and innovation
Canadian agricultural producers are innovators. Between 2011 and 2013, almost half of agricultural producers adopted at least one new or significantly improved product, process or practice. From environmental farm...
Canadian trade policy at a risky crossroads
Canadian trade is at a crossroads. Rising economic anxieties combined with challenges to the global multilateral trade framework have necessitated a re-evaluation of Canadian trade policies and priorities. What should...
The pendulum swing on government service fees
Budget 2017 proposes to replace the User Fees Act of 2004 with a streamlined new “Service Fees Act.” Both acts cover government fees charged for products, regulatory processes, authorizations,...
La transformation alimentaire :
un maillon essentiel
Avec des ventes de plus de 26 milliards de dollars en 2015, l’industrie de la transformation alimentaire est le secteur manufacturier le plus important au Québec. Elle est aussi...
Returning our voices to us
Cultural appropriation has always been a divisive subject, one on which artists and academics have opined for years. Last week in Canada the topic exploded around the spring 2017...
The three stages of innovation in agriculture
Historically, agriculture has experienced three major innovations: mechanization, the introduction of chemicals and the application of modern genetics. All have significantly changed how food is produced. And now the...
Ontario Needs an NDP of the Right
You’ll often hear Ontario voters say it doesn’t matter who they vote for — all politicians are the same. There’s good reason for this attitude. It’s because the scope...
The case for a “mutual recognition” deal with the US
Maryscott Greenwood makes a characteristically strong and persuasive case that the United States and Canada should be bolder in reconciling the differences in our regulatory standards. Doing so would...
Understanding the Indian Act
The Indian Act has structured the government’s and the Crown’s legal relationship with First Nations people for the past 146 years. It’s an outdated law that has its roots...
The notwithstanding clause’s toxic legacy
It was Saskatchewan’s NDP Premier Alan Blakeney who insisted that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms contain a provision that would allow elected officials to set aside judicial...
The global challenge of antimicrobial resistance
In our rapidly changing world, many potentially disease-causing micro-organisms are able to evolve and adapt at a rate that far exceeds our ability to develop new and effective drugs...
Can biocleantech benefit both agriculture and the environment?
Canada’s commitment to fighting climate change is strong. It took an active role in negotiation of the Paris Accord, made significant investments through the 2016 and 2017 federal budgets...
Are leaks in the public interest?
Leaks have been around since governments and secrets were first invented. Recently they have occurred with more regularity and with more outrage from government officials, south and north of...
The awkward case of Canada’s British prince
The British and Canadian monarchies are undergoing a transition. Now 91 years old, Queen Elizabeth II is cutting back on public engagements, and it’s unlikely that she’ll undertake any...
Fake food is everyone’s problem
Food fraud is everywhere, and it seems that many consumers are aware of it. Dalhousie University recently released a study on the topic produced by a team I led,...
Climate change adaptation on the farm and ranch
In Canada’s western interior, commercial agriculture has succeeded in one of the least favourable agro-climates on earth, with its short frost-free season and permanent water deficit. Once called “the...
Tous dans la classe moyenne !
Dans les médias, chez les acteurs publics comme chez les simples citoyens, la notion de classe sociale est récurrente. Le premier ministre Justin Trudeau utilise régulièrement l’expression « classe...
Farm size and agricultural policy
The farming business has gone through some rapid structural changes in the last few decades. Commercial farm businesses have been growing in size, so the industry is becoming more...
The trouble with prioritizing dads’ leave
In her April 28 article for Policy Options, Jennifer Mathers McHenry argues that the Trudeau government should have introduced dedicated paternity leave, instead of offering parents the choice of...
How we can start harmonizing US-Canada regulations
We’ve all been reading the negative and troubling headlines about a potential trade war between the United States and Canada on softwood lumber and dairy. But despite all the...
Physicians, conscience, and assisted dying
Of all the jurisdictions worldwide that permit some form of assisted suicide, Ontario stands alone in mandating that physicians participate in it. Assisted suicide, or “medical assistance in dying”...
Beware the glitz of neo-industrial agriculture
Till the land. Seed annual crop. Fertilize and irrigate. Spray for weeds and pests. Harvest. Repeat. This simple process, give or take a few steps, describes a considerable (and...
Is Canada’s agricultural regulatory system competitive?
We often hear the claim “More regulation is better.” But is it? Like everything else in society, regulations have a cost. Excessive regulations that delay the approval of an...
La démocratie pour les réalistes
Chronique d’Alain Noël
Quand les républicains ont présenté leur projet de loi sur la santé, en mars, tous les experts ont convenu que de nombreux Américains allaient perdre la couverture médicale que...
Policy Options nominated for digital publishing award
Policy Options’ Editor- in-Chief Jennifer Ditchburn and one of the magazine’s regular columnists, Timothy Caulfield, have received nominations for the 2017 Digital Publishing Awards. Ditchburn and Caulfield were both...
Breaking down the French election
The runoff vote in France’s presidential election is less than a week away, in a campaign that has seen major political upheaval in the republic. The two parties that...
Turning the climate corner with nuclear energy
At a conference held last month on what it will take to decarbonize Canada’s economy, one of this country’s top economists asked me whether the nuclear industry would be...
Geopolitical policy challenges on a new Canadian path
The future is always hard to predict, but we already know that there is a new human disrupter at work on Planet Earth. Unfortunately for Canada, he lives just...
Canada as an agri-food superpower
When the Finance Minister’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth put an emphasis on Canada’s agri-food sector in its second report, Canada’s food-system leaders viewed it as a gift. Those...