Policy Options

This article has been translated from French. Bill C-75, the criminal justice reform bill, aims to provide better protection for vulnerable individuals. Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould also believes the...

Across the country, libraries, community organizations and social programs are helping people apply for jobs online, open social media accounts and learn basic office software. Kids are playing with...

Resilient communities are the bedrock of prosperous, stable societies. So what makes for resilient communities? First and foremost, it’s knowledge: the insight to recognize disruptive change, face challenges and...

The “empowerment of women” is mentioned 32 times in Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, and $150 million has been allocated to related activities in developing countries over the next...

Plasma-protein therapies save lives. Various types of plasma are used to treat bleeding from trauma and genetic bleeding disorders such as hemophilia; to treat several immunodeficiencies and neurological disorders;...

For the first time ever, child care is a central policy plank in the programs of all three major parties in the Ontario election on June 7. But which...

The phrase “a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian” was first used during the 2015 election, in the context of ensuring Canadian citizens convicted of crimes of treason...

For too long, culture, science and diplomacy have suffered from neglect in Canada. Yes, they share a high-toned reputation, but they have been widely misunderstood — disdained even —...

Dans un précédent article d’Options politiques, nous avons présenté notre analyse des résultats de sondages menés au cours de cinq campagnes électorales, et établi le profil sociodémographique et sociopolitique...

From the fight against the Northern Gateway pipeline to the anti-fracking protests involving Elsipogtog First Nation and the Idle No More movement, Canadian surveillance organizations have kept close watch...

Tens of thousands of people marched in Spain in April, protesting for three days over a court’s failure to convict five men of the gang rape of an 18-year-old...

With the announcement in late April by Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford of his plan to reduce hydro rates, electricity costs have emerged as a central question in...

In April, Senator Peter Harder, the Trudeau government’s representative in the Senate, shared the government’s agenda for the upper chamber. His paper aims to advise senators from all parties...

There was little surprise when the Assembly of First Nations, at its Special Chiefs Assembly in early May, called on the government of Canada to amend Bill C-45, the...

In a short time, the Canadian government has taken important steps toward better AI governance. This progress was evident at the Student Symposium on AI and Human Rights, held...

Unlike the partisan and relatively docile “old” Senate of the past, the “new” Senate is becoming a political force to be reckoned with in the national policy process. The...

(This article has been translated into French.) A combination of better medical care and good lives in the community has led to longer life expectancies for people with developmental disabilities...

As automated tools become increasingly common in the digital landscape, we need more transparent systems to identify bot accounts and ensure they are not causing harm to society. But...

The challenge of reconciliation hinges on a series of fundamental questions: How will Indigenous and settler Canadians live side by side? How are we to understand one another’s cultures...

In early April, members of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of John Perry Barlow, famed Internet libertarian and author of A...

Signed by President Barack Obama in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, has divided Democrats and Republicans since the very beginning....

Commissioner Marion Buller of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls recently published an essay in the Globe and Mail making the case for a two-year extension to her...

(This article was translated from the French.) In Western societies, homelessness uncovers the social fragilities that are produced by those societies. In this sense, how homelessness is managed is indicative...

A win for our economy, consumers and the climate? It may sound like an elusive unicorn, but energy efficiency checks all of the above boxes. Although they are under-reported,...

(This article has been translated into French.) Restorative justice is a philosophy and an associated set of practices. A departure from both punishment and rehabilitation, restorative justice is a new...

When I was a child in Indonesia, I would always get the same advice from my mother and elders, “Tammara, finish every single grain of rice, if you don’t...

(This article has been translated into French.) Where there is a will, there is a way. — Old English proverb On an average day in 1997, 3,825 young people (ages...

In the federal budget speech of February 26, 2008, Finance Minister James Flaherty introduced a new savings plan, the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA), stating, “Mr. Speaker: The budget...

As Bob Magee, chairman of the Woodbridge Group, walked us through his foam-manufacturing facility just north of Toronto, a familiar story emerged. Automation for this company isn’t a simple...

Bangladesh is still a poor country, but no longer the poorest, and it’s definitely not a “basket case,” the offensive term Henry Kissinger used for it in the 1970s....

Now is the time to put Céline Dion and the Cirque du Soleil on a plane to South America. While we are at it, let’s not forget to book...

Black people are dramatically over-represented in Canada’s prison system, making up 8.6 of the federal prison population, despite the fact they make up only 3 percent of the population....

On April 10, Independent Senator Kim Pate announced her intention to introduce a bill, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Independence of the Judiciary), that would grant Canadian...

Canada’s GDP and the well-being of many rural communities in this country are tightly tied to our natural resources. Therefore, real sustainability in the primary resource sectors demands equal...

Governments are becoming increasingly aware of the potential for incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-assisted decision-making into their operations. The business case is compelling; AI has the ability to...

It’s hard to find anyone these days who’s not talking about artificial intelligence (AI), robots, automation, the gig economy and what it all means for the future of work....

(This article has been translated into French.) If there was ever a topic within criminal justice that’s been hotly debated, it is prostitution. People may become entrenched in their views...

Last year, the federal government set a lofty goal of boosting agri-food exports to $75 billion annually by 2025 — a whopping increase of $20 billion in seven years....

Lone attackers who use guns, knives or vehicles to inflict mass casualties are of increasing concern to governments, police and security forces. In Canada’s deadliest mass killing in decades,...

Shortly before 10 a.m. on October 22, 2014, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, standing guard at the steps of the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa, tragically lost his life when...

(This article has been translated into French.) There is a wide consensus on the need for criminal justice system reform – a recognition that the system is slow, inaccessible, re-traumatizing,...

(This article has been translated into French.) I asked a client to tell me a childhood story about his parents’ drinking patterns, and he answered with a deep sigh and...

One of the most important things that a government can do to promote inclusive prosperity is to ensure that young people have access to the opportunities they need to...