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

Environment

Growing stockpiles of radioactive waste beside Ottawa River upstream of Parliament Hill causing widespread concerns

OpinionBY LYNN JONES

• It would be hard to choose a less suitable place to consolidate all federal radioactive waste than in a seismically-active zone beside the Ottawa River that provides drinking water for millions of Canadians in communities downstream including Ottawa, Gatineau, and Montreal.

Growing stockpiles of radioactive waste beside Ottawa River upstream of Parliament Hill causing widespread concerns

OpinionBY LYNN JONES

• It would be hard to choose a less suitable place to consolidate all federal radioactive waste than in a seismically-active zone beside the Ottawa River that provides drinking water for millions of Canadians in communities downstream including Ottawa, Gatineau, and Montreal.

Revive the Jane Goodall Act and end elephant captivity in Canada

OpinionBY RICK QUINN

Farmers must be protected from climate chaos

OpinionBY ELIZABETH MAY

Feds mum on wilting conservation program funding as nature spending dips 62 per cent

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

The bathtub is overflowing: why Canada’s climate strategy needs to pull the plug

OpinionBY NA’IM MERCHANT

‘Once you get a carveout from one province, it’s game over’: Ottawa-Alberta MOU draws advocates with economic and environment concerns

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Pipelines or a national power grid: what should Canada build now?

OpinionBY ISG SENATOR ROSA GALVEZ, GEOFF STRONG, RICHARD VAN DER JAGT

The EV revolution: baby steps and tinkering won’t get us to the podium

OpinionBY SUSAN RILEY

Climate change should be the big story of 2026

OpinionBY BILL HENDERSON

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Environment

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EVs and EV Infrastructure

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The real rupture we face: what Carney’s next speech needs to say

OpinionBY TREVOR HANCOCK

• A recent report from the United Kingdom warns that ‘critical ecosystems are at risk of collapsing,’ and if ‘current rates of biodiversity loss continue, every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse.’

The real rupture we face: what Carney’s next speech needs to say

OpinionBY TREVOR HANCOCK

• A recent report from the United Kingdom warns that ‘critical ecosystems are at risk of collapsing,’ and if ‘current rates of biodiversity loss continue, every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse.’

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

OpinionBY MARENA WINSTANLEY

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

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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

OpinionBY KATE KOPLOVICH

Priorities for Canada as 2026 gets underway

OpinionBY ELIZABETH MAY

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

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

Canada’s green jobs strategy needs more than good intentions

OpinionBY LIN AL-AKKAD

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

OpinionBY ISG SENATOR ROSA GALVEZ, TREVOR HANCOCK, COURTNEY HOWARD

Federal environmental impact assessments are in even more jeopardy   

OpinionBY KEN RUBIN

AGRICULTURE

From pulses to power: why plant-based agriculture is smart trade policy

OpinionBY COLIN SARAVANAMUTTOO

With global volatility the new normal, Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector must be resilient, innovative, and competitive

OpinionBY SOPHIE CHATEL

Canada’s family farms are strategic assets, and our tax laws are putting them at risk

OpinionBY DERRYN SHROSBREE

Unleashing Canada’s agricultural potential

OpinionBY CONSERVATIVE MP JOHN BARLOW

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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

We need a strong, unapologetically Canadian defence industry voice—for the first time in a generation, we have one

OpinionBY ELIOT PENCE, PAUL ZIADé

Trump’s in a trap

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

The alarming contrast between Spanish and Canadian leaders to illegal U.S.-led attacks on Iran

OpinionBY ERROL MENDES

Calls to fold chatbots into online harms legislation requires different framework: treating AI-mediated emotional support as a relationship

OpinionBY SOPHIE NUNNELLEY

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FINANCE

Unlocking women’s potential is Canada’s economic advantage

OpinionBY WOMEN AND GENDER EQUALITY MINISTER RECHIE VALDEZ

Feeding the world is an economic opportunity

OpinionBY LIAM MACDONALD

Next parliamentary budget officer needs to be top-notch, unfettered, fearless, without bluster

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

How to fix Canada’s sputtering productivity

OpinionBY ANN MARIE VAUGHAN

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Fisheries and oceans

‘It’s reconciliation’: Green Leader May endorses feds’ agreement with Musqueam Nation as minister clarifies private property concerns

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Defending Canada, where ocean capability runs deep 

OpinionBY KENDRA MACDONALD

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

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

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

OpinionBY JOSH LAUGHREN

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FOREIGN POLICY

The Carney Doctrine aligns with responsible business conduct

OpinionBY JOHN MCKAY, SHERI MEYERHOFFER

Iran war underscores Canada’s vulnerability when it comes to the U.S.

OpinionBY LES WHITTINGTON

Carney contends with the politics of war

OpinionBY TIM POWERS

‘Talking is also action’: feds face pressure to clarify stance on Iran conflict amid shifting posture

NewsBY NEIL MOSS

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health

Canada’s brain drain is wearing a stethoscope

OpinionBY VIREN NAIK

Think of the children when reforming Canada’s drug approval system

OpinionBY CHARLOTTE MOORE HEPBURN, CATHERINE LITALIEN

LeBlanc, Michel meet with pharma sector as U.S. buckles down on cutting drug prices

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Ottawa discourages health-care innovation, and patients pay the price 

OpinionBY NADEEM ESMAIL, MACKENZIE MOIR

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Industry and Manufacturing

Canadians can’t afford to wait for Right to Repair legislation 

OpinionBY EMILY CHUNG

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

NewsBY IREM KOCA

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

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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

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infrastructure and transport

More affordable air travel in Canada is possible

OpinionBY JEFF MORRISON

Projects of national interest should include modernizing Highways 17 and 11

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

The water emergency in Kashechewan must spur action on federal legislation

OpinionBY ALVIN FIDDLER

Trade diversification always failed, this time could be different

OpinionBY DANIELLE GOLDFARB

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innovation

A court challenge has put the Streaming Act on hold—but some U.S. companies are still sending money to Canadian funds, and no one knows why

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

The science behind solving food insecurity in Canada

OpinionBY GABRIEL MILLER

Agricultural research, innovation, and commercialization: drivers of a resilient future

OpinionBY CSG SENATOR ROB BLACK

Ottawa unsure how to regulate AI chatbots after Tumbler Ridge report, as Solomon says ‘all options are on the table’

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

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intergovernmental

Oil optimism isn’t an investment strategy for Canada

OpinionBY KEVIN THOMAS

A thriving francophonie in Yukon

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Most Albertans don’t support separation, but referendum poses unintended, temporary consequences for Poilievre’s federal Conservatives in the province, says pollster

NewsBY AIDAN RAYNOR

‘Playing with fire’: Tony Manera recalls pushback during sovereignty debate

OpinionBY TONY MANERA

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justice

‘We’re getting closer’: religious groups lobbying feds say they’re hopeful of progress on stalled Liberal anti-hate bill

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Reconciliation is not dead, but Indigenous Peoples are still dying in Canada’s hospitals

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

Republican Party can rein in U.S. President Trump—if it’s brave enough

OpinionBY MICHAEL HARRIS

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

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

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Labour & employment

‘This is our home, so we need to be part of the solution’: Inuit-led university to strengthen Canada’s Arctic, say Senators

NewsBY JUSTIN S. CAMPBELL

When it comes to affordable childcare, both public and private operators need federal support

OpinionBY CHLOE DUSSER

Ottawa has a housing initiative, but not a homeownership plan

OpinionBY KEVIN LEE

Investing in Indigenous housing strengthens Canada, and the solutions are ready

OpinionBY JOHN GORDON

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Lobbying

‘A fundamental shift’: new strategy an opportunity to grow domestic industrial base, say lobbyists

NewsBY SERGIY SLIPCHENKO

Questions loom over NDP’s voter verification process as leadership contest enters final stretch

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Liberals see path forward for budget bill, but Conservatives still have ‘huge concerns’ with cabinet’s ‘regulatory sandbox’

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Ottawa’s lowered lobbying registration thresholds will reshape government relations

OpinionBY SUZANNE SABOURIN, MICHAEL WALSH

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natural resources and energy

Why Canada should peacefully enrich its uranium

OpinionBY ALEXANDER MACDONALD, JEREMY WHITLOCK

Four crucial outcomes Canadians need from the Alberta-Ottawa MOU talks

OpinionBY CHRIS SEVERSON-BAKER

Leveraging the nuclear renaissance to advance small and micro modular reactors

OpinionBY VINNY GUNDA, SAGAR SANGHERA, JOSEF FREUNDORFER, ELEODOR NICHITA

Critical minerals: an opportunity for Canada and the Red River Métis

OpinionBY PETER FLEMING

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Women, Gender and Diversity

In a fractured world, women peacebuilders are essential 

OpinionBY RACHEL WARDEN

‘It’s not my bill, it’s our bill’: Senator Henkel and 50 advocacy groups push for law calling for women’s health framework

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Liberals hope ‘national unity’ council quells divisions after scrapping Islamophobia and antisemitism envoys

NewsBY STUART BENSON

The politicking of identity has always been a nation-building project

OpinionBY ERICA IFILL

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Indigenous Relations

First Nations leaders unveil artifacts returned to Canada from Vatican City

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Urban Indigenous funding cutbacks threaten ‘backbone’ of Friendship Centre services, says Ontario federation head

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Canada’s critical minerals opportunity runs through First Nation lands

OpinionBY MARK PODLASLY

Diversifying Canada’s trade and ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ share in the opportunity

OpinionBY LIBERAL MP JUDY SGRO

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Upcoming Policy briefings

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