Policy Topics | Policy Briefings

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• Agriculture
• Biotechnology
• Defence & Security
• Environment
• Finance
• Fisheries and Oceans

• Foreign Policy​
• Health
• Industry and Manufacturing
• Infrastructure and Transport
• Innovation
• Intergovernmental

• Indigenous Relations
• Justice
• Labour & Employment
• Lobbying
• Natural Resources and Energy
• Women, Gender and Diversity

Finance

Ministers could exempt businesses from laws within ‘regulatory sandbox’ outlined in budget bill

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

• Treasury Board Secretariat official Jenelle Power said the bill would not allow ministers to exempt people or businesses from law for 'broad policy purposes,' and there are 'strict limitations' to such legal exceptions, including time limits.

Ministers could exempt businesses from laws within ‘regulatory sandbox’ outlined in budget bill

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

• Treasury Board Secretariat official Jenelle Power said the bill would not allow ministers to exempt people or businesses from law for 'broad policy purposes,' and there are 'strict limitations' to such legal exceptions, including time limits.

Bringing investment banking rigor to Ottawa

OpinionBY RAM MATHILAKATH

Canada’s largest pension manager ‘backsliding’ on climate, risks being unable to pay out pensions: report

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Three measures to tackle ‘wicked’ health policy problems

OpinionBY AZIN PEYROW

‘Not a chance’: Green Leader May says she can’t support budget omnibus bill without major changes, but NDP skeptical

NewsBY STUART BENSON

MPs face a choice this Parliament: play partisan games or meet the moment

OpinionBY BHAGWANT SANDHU

‘Unprecedented’ 2025 for canola industry, with record-breaking economic lobbying

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

House winter session expected to be ‘very consequential’ with affordability issues, global trade, and possible referendums, say politicos

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

IMF report says Canada’s elevated trade uncertainty reinforces long-standing weaknesses in productivity and competitiveness

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

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Liberals ‘taking a sledgehammer’ to the public service, says interim NDP leader Davies

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

• Approximately 8,500 public servants were notified this week that they may be impacted by potential job cuts, and more than 17,000 such notifications have gone out since December, public sector unions have confirmed.

Liberals ‘taking a sledgehammer’ to the public service, says interim NDP leader Davies

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

• Approximately 8,500 public servants were notified this week that they may be impacted by potential job cuts, and more than 17,000 such notifications have gone out since December, public sector unions have confirmed.

Canada’s green jobs strategy needs more than good intentions

OpinionBY LIN AL-AKKAD

Senators renew push to see their pensions become funded

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

Canada now needs a backup plan for our auto industry

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Health organizations have questions, but few answers about feds’ new $5-billion Health Infrastructure Fund

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Women entrepreneurs are a crucial asset for Canada’s economy, they deserve a voice in shaping it

OpinionBY ROSALIND LOCKYER

Trump wants to squeeze us hard enough so we come begging

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Holding two elected positions, B.C. Conservative MP Au is the highest paid backbencher in the House

NewsBY ABBAS RANA

Nearly 2,000 jobs and $1.5-billion to be cut across five departments by 2030, PBO analysis shows

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

AGRICULTURE

Bloc MP Perron condemns ‘ridiculous’ spending cuts that will shutter research farms across Canada

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

MPs celebrate canola tariff relief, but national security, pork, remain opposition concerns with China

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Do Conservatives want the best for the West, or not?

OpinionBY ERICA IFILL

Scrap the Indo-Pacific Strategy: a pragmatic path for Canadian sovereignty

OpinionBY WENRAN JIANG

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Biotechnology

Canada’s missing life sciences industrial strategy is leaving economic growth on the table

OpinionBY MICHELLE MCLEAN

PMPRB closes all open drug-pricing investigations before implementing new guidelines on Jan. 1

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Bloc joins push for mandatory labelling of genetically engineered foods

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Canada’s research strength is world-class—now we need to all pull in the same direction

OpinionBY BENOIT-ANTOINE BACON

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DEFENCE & SECURITY

Massive military spending needs protection from abuse and fraud

OpinionBY DAVID HUTTON

NDP calls for feds to pull the plug on American F-35 order, and buy Swedish Gripen planes instead

NewsBY IREM KOCA

DND spurns House committee request for roadmap to comply with info czar’s orders

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

Job cuts could hit CBSA and DND amid hiring blitz, union says

NewsBY MARLO GLASS | UPDATED February 4, 2026

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Environment

How the pursuit of innovation and sustainability can supercharge the Canadian economy

OpinionBY MARENA WINSTANLEY

Build more homes—but don’t lock Canada into higher emissions

OpinionBY KATE KOPLOVICH

Priorities for Canada as 2026 gets underway

OpinionBY ELIZABETH MAY

Planetary limits: why Canada’s next nation-building project must be grounded in reality

OpinionBY INDEPENDENT SENATOR ROSA GALVEZ, TREVOR HANCOCK, COURTNEY HOWARD

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Fisheries and oceans

Canada’s plan to boost its economy must include rebuilding wild fisheries

OpinionBY JOSH LAUGHREN

Coastal communities ‘running out of time’ without fisheries fund renewal, say opposition critics as DFO faces $544M in cuts

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Q&A | Cod quota ‘pressure is enormous’ on fisheries minister

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW

Federal fish science analyses continue to muddy the waters in salmon farm fight

NewsBY STUART BENSON

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FOREIGN POLICY

The last arms control treaty expires

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

Indian envoy calls on Canada to revive Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group ahead of Carney’s visit

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

Jamil Jivani went to Washington

OpinionBY SHEILA COPPS

Is Iran pretending to have nukes?

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

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health

Push-ups for prevention

OpinionBY MARION COOPER

America’s drug-pricing reset will reverberate far beyond Washington

OpinionBY AKOLISA UFODIKE

‘Diseases do not recognize borders’: U.S. decision to leave WHO ignores reality of how diseases spread, says Liberal MP Powlowski

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Lack of flexibility, questions about long-term funding have been stumbling blocks in signing pharmacare deals, say some premiers

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

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Industry and Manufacturing

Industrial benefits policy needs a ‘relook,’ says ex-senior public servant, as Conservative MP pushes for contract records

NewsBY IREM KOCA

Canada’s auto sector ‘hangs in the balance’ as CUSMA review looms in 2026: ‘there’s no sugar-coating it, this is going to be a critical year for the industry’

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Renewable energy sector adds concerns about wind-tower costs to steel industry crisis talks: ‘there’s a ton of urgency’

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Steel tariff missteps threaten Canada’s energy future

OpinionBY VITTORIA BELLISSIMO, FERNANDO MELO

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infrastructure and transport

Feds looking for Canadian steel supplier to keep high-speed rail project on track

NewsBY IREM KOCA

Can Build Canada Homes make a dent in the housing crisis?

OpinionBY ALAN BROADBENT

The joys of winter biking aren’t without politics

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Time to strengthen Canada’s infrastructure planning 

OpinionBY JENNIFER ANGEL, PETER WELTMAN

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innovation

From promise to reality: scaling innovative housing in Canada

OpinionBY TASNIM FARIHA

Canadians concerned about AI’s impact on environment, children: federal consultation

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

Taking a stand for sovereignty

OpinionBY CATHERINE TAIT

Indigenous innovation: part of the tradition, not the trend

OpinionBY KATHY MANNERS

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intergovernmental

Poilievre lends credence to western separatists’ blame-it-all-on-Ottawa bias

OpinionBY LES WHITTINGTON

Referendum fever: it’s like Waiting for Godot

OpinionBY NELSON WISEMAN

Canada’s housing crisis isn’t just about building more—it’s about getting governments to talk to each other

OpinionBY ADRIAN SCHUT

Bravo to Carney for speaking the truth

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

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justice

Tory Senator Housakos proposes invoking notwithstanding clause to uphold certain mandatory minimums

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

Despite early ‘spirit of co-operation’ on some bills, Liberal agenda still failing to launch in Parliament, say politicos

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Emergencies Act architect says courts checked government overreach, advises against further appeal

NewsBY STUART BENSON

America lost justice when Renee Nicole Good was killed

OpinionBY MICHAEL HARRIS

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Labour & employment

Solving Canada’s housing crisis starts with a reality check

OpinionBY JANICE MYERS

Build Canada Homes is poised to make a generational investment in non-market and public housing—but will it?

OpinionBY MARC LEE

A home is a human right: why inclusion must be built in

OpinionBY JANET FORBES, BEN ROWLEY

Housing is reconciliation: why Canada must prioritize Indigenous housing

OpinionBY MARGARET PFOH

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Lobbying

Ottawa’s lowered lobbying registration thresholds will reshape government relations

OpinionBY SUZANNE SABOURIN, MICHAEL WALSH

Libya was a warning, Venezuela is the test

OpinionBY AKOLISA UFODIKE

‘It’s like molasses in January’: pharmacare implementation stalled, say health-care groups, but others argue time needed to get deals right

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Joly top-lobbied minister in November, universities push to attract research talent driven away from U.S.

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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natural resources and energy

The world has too much LNG—so why is Canada fast-tracking more?

OpinionBY MARK KALEGHA, OLAF WEBER

Federal environmental impact assessments are in even more jeopardy   

OpinionBY KEN RUBIN

Trump’s hit on Venezuela just gave Canada a bruise

OpinionBY ERICA IFILL

Buried in the MOU: a licence to lie

OpinionBY LEAH TEMPER, SAMANTHA GREEN

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Women, Gender and Diversity

The Conservatives’ other favourite boogeyman makes a comeback

OpinionBY ERICA IFILL

Governments can do more to fight against Islamophobia

OpinionBY WAHEED KHAN

Artificial action: feds offering tepid response to AI abuse

OpinionBY ERICA IFILL

When a parliamentary committee recently politicized EDI in research, they put Canadian science and patient care at risk

OpinionBY RACHEL REEVE

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Indigenous Relations

‘The ground on which we stand’: innovation and Indigenous sovereignty

OpinionBY JESSICA KOLOPENUK

‘I will always be an advocate,’ says retiring Indigenous senior civil servant Gina Wilson after decades working to ‘bridge worlds’

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

A shifting geopolitical environment leaves the Arctic central to Canada’s sovereignty and security

OpinionBY NDP MP LORI IDLOUT

Make federal funding permanent for Canada’s suicide crisis helpline, say Conservative and NDP critics

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Exclusive lists

Who’s backing the NDP leadership contenders?

Who’s backing the NDP leadership contenders?

Tracking job cuts in the federal public service

Tracking job cuts in the federal public service

Take The Hill Times year-end news quiz

Take The Hill Times year-end news quiz

First-quarter expenses: MPs spent nearly $28-million

First-quarter expenses: MPs spent nearly $28-million

This Parliament’s ethics roundup: blind trusts, recusals, gifts, and more

This Parliament’s ethics roundup: blind trusts, recusals, gifts, and more

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Carney government bills: tracking their progress into law

Carney government bills: tracking their progress into law

The number of sick days claimed by bureaucrats, broken down by department

The number of sick days claimed by bureaucrats, broken down by department