Policy Topics | Policy Briefings

COLLAPSE

• 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

Federal environmental impact assessments are in even more jeopardy   

OpinionBY KEN RUBIN

• The federal environment assessment tool was always limited, with powerful enemies fighting back well before the Carney government wanted to curtail its usage.

Federal environmental impact assessments are in even more jeopardy   

OpinionBY KEN RUBIN

• The federal environment assessment tool was always limited, with powerful enemies fighting back well before the Carney government wanted to curtail its usage.

Climate advisers ask feds to put Net-Zero Advisory Body on ‘pause,’ say they can’t fulfill mandate in ‘skeleton state’

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Brazil: a catalyst of plurilateralism

OpinionBY EDWARD JACKSON

Buried in the MOU: a licence to lie

OpinionBY LEAH TEMPER, SAMANTHA GREEN

A Faustian climate bargain

OpinionBY DOREEN BARRIE

It’s time to double down on ocean protection

OpinionBY SHEENA KENNEDY

2026: Another year on the edge for Carney and Canada

OpinionBY LES WHITTINGTON

Geoengineering for grown-ups

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

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

OpinionBY JOSH LAUGHREN

MOST RECENT POLICY BRIEFINGS

Environment

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Environment

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EVs and EV Infrastructure

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Alberta’s new energy MOU could kick-start a race to the bottom on climate

OpinionBY RICK SMITH, DALE BEUGIN, DAVE SAWYER

• Canadian climate policy has now become the art of the deal, moving from rules-based policy to deal-based bargaining.

Alberta’s new energy MOU could kick-start a race to the bottom on climate

OpinionBY RICK SMITH, DALE BEUGIN, DAVE SAWYER

• Canadian climate policy has now become the art of the deal, moving from rules-based policy to deal-based bargaining.

Canada must find its climate path beyond fossil fuels

OpinionBY DAMON MATTHEWS

To protect Canadians from rising climate costs, restoring natural infrastructure is essential

OpinionBY ANABELA BONADA

Canada’s PFAS opportunity: why smart chemicals policy is smart trade policy

OpinionBY RéMY ALEXANDRE

Can Carney answer for his climate track record?

OpinionBY LAURA TOZER

We know how to fight climate change. So let’s actually do it

OpinionBY GREEN PARTY LEADER ELIZABETH MAY

Forging a stronger future: protecting Canada’s economy and environment in a changing climate

OpinionBY LIBERAL MP WADE GRANT

The Alberta energy deal is worse than you think

OpinionBY STEPHEN THOMAS

Nation-building starts in rural Canada

OpinionBY BRYAN GILVESY

AGRICULTURE

Bloc joins push for mandatory labelling of genetically engineered foods

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Dabrusin top-lobbied cabinet minister, Nature Canada pushes for nature strategy after absence of support in budget

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Scaling climate-resilient farming solutions for global impact

OpinionBY CAROL THIESSEN

The easiest policy win in Ottawa might just be hiding in plain sight

OpinionBY ORVILLE BOVENSCHEN

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Biotechnology

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

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

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

OpinionBY BENOIT-ANTOINE BACON

Canada could have access to more than 10,000 doctors if licensing were less complicated, House Health Committee hears

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Turning innovation into impact: Canada’s biotech advantage

OpinionBY WENDY ZATYLNY

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DEFENCE & SECURITY

‘If the inconceivable becomes reality, it’s very hard to see how NATO could survive’: politicos say Trump’s global shakeup spells trouble for Canada

NewsBY CHRISTOPHER GULY

Eurasia Group says Canada to be ‘profoundly affected’ by Trump’s ‘political revolution,’ so we need to stick together to fight the good fight

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

‘Disgraceful and indefensible’: feds’ failure to release new Defence Industrial Strategy by deadline sparks backlash

NewsBY IREM KOCA

Keep pace with great: NATO’s race for survival began in Ukraine long ago

OpinionBY MICHAEL CHOLOD, JOZEF HRABINA

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FINANCE

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

A 2026 financial sector wish list

OpinionBY JEREMY KRONICK, MARK ZELMER

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Fisheries and oceans

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

The markets are hungry for Canadian cod. Will we deliver?

OpinionBY SYLVIE LAPOINTE

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FOREIGN POLICY

As Carney engages China, beware the bogeyman tropes

OpinionBY ISG SENATOR YUEN PAU WOO

China trip a ‘test’ for Carney, with EV tariffs the ‘elephant in the room,’ say former envoys  

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

How NATO members can take on Trump’s Greenland—and Canadian—obsession

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

Trading values for access: Canada, China, and the cost of looking away

OpinionBY JOHN MCKAY, INDEPENDENT SENATOR JULIE MIVILLE-DECHêNE

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health

Canada’s reliance on U.S. health data under spotlight after federal health minister says she ‘cannot trust’ American vaccine policy

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Five affordable ways to improve access to health care in 2026 

OpinionBY MARGOT BURNELL | UPDATED January 7, 2026

CUSMA must do more than protect trade—it must secure Canada’s life sciences future

OpinionBY CAMERON GROOME

Alberta’s health-care reforms don’t go far enough  

OpinionBY NADEEM ESMAIL, TEGAN HILL

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Industry and Manufacturing

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

‘Quiet buzz’ on Bay Street about Carney’s ‘nation-building’ major projects, says Tobin

NewsBY CHRISTOPHER GULY

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infrastructure and transport

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

Chief says feds’ engagement with First Nations ‘needs to improve’ after ‘very limited’ contact on major projects

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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innovation

Bill 13 is Alberta’s law—but all Canadians must pay attention

OpinionBY BUKOLA SALAMI, NNAMDI NDUBUKA, SUME NDUMBE EYOH, MODUPE TUNDE-BYASS

Canada is building AI infrastructure. Now it must build AI companies

OpinionBY DANIEL WIGDOR

Feds ‘on track’ to connect every household to high-speed internet by 2030, as critics point to gaps in rural and Northern Canada

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

Canada’s EV experience shows why our strategy needs new tools in an age of uncertainty

OpinionBY DAVID ABONYI, GEORGE ABONYI

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intergovernmental

Next year ‘an important one for Quebec’ as possibility of referendum looms, say Bloc MP, politicos

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Nothing is sacred in Doug Ford’s Ontario

OpinionBY JENN JEFFERYS

Charting our course: four shores, one voice

OpinionBY GRO SENATOR IRIS PETTEN

Solution to substance abuse in Ottawa will come from collaboration, say area politicians

NewsBY SOPHIA LAPORTE

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justice

We need to go beyond criminal law reform to end gender-based violence

OpinionBY LANA WELLS

Bill C-16 ‘progress,’ but needs tougher language to codify femicide as a standalone crime, advocates say

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

Ottawa set to revive online harms legislation in 2026: government source

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

Bill to create modern treaty commissioner wins Bloc, NDP, and Green support

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW

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Labour & employment

Why all governments must follow Ontario in scrapping the ‘Canadian experience’ requirement

OpinionBY AKOLISA UFODIKE

Canada is falling behind in the global race for skilled workers

OpinionBY KUMARAN NADESAN

Work stoppages are crippling Canada’s economy—it’s time for Parliament to act

OpinionBY JASMIN GUéNETTE, CHRISTINA SANTINI

Government agencies are hardly trying when it comes to transparency

OpinionBY KEN RUBIN

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Lobbying

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

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Record-breaking November lobbying sees U.S. trade war and federal budget among top concerns

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

House Ethics Committee to review Lobbying Act in 2026 after AI study, says chair Brassard

NewsBY HUNTER CRESSWELL

Blanchard defends Carney’s ethics screen as a ‘rigorous process’

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

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natural resources and energy

Trump’s hit on Venezuela just gave Canada a bruise

OpinionBY ERICA IFILL

Canada’s rising disaster costs call for adaptive design

OpinionBY HOSSEIN BONAKDARI

Four key steps can help secure Canadian sovereignty

OpinionBY JON SHELL

Jump-starting a Canadian power grid

OpinionBY MADELEINE MCPHERSON, PETER FAIRLEY

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Women, Gender and Diversity

Where is the real threat to Canadian security coming from?

OpinionBY CHRISTOPHER INGRAM, ERROL MENDES, JOSEPH INGRAM

The Elsie effect: women are essential to security

OpinionBY NATHALIE CHUARD

Democracy, like a Christmas gift, is best unwrapped

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

How Mark Carney can win back friends and influence critical outcomes

OpinionBY SHARI GRAYDON

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Indigenous Relations

Poilievre praises a president who threatens democracies—including ours—on a daily basis

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

A decade of delays on Indigenous rights

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

No, Indigenous people are not coming for your privately owned land

OpinionBY COREY SHEFMAN

There’s no security without Indigenous sovereignty

OpinionBY ERICA IFILL

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Upcoming Policy briefings

Exclusive lists

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

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

MPs’ annual office budgets for 2025-26

MPs’ annual office budgets for 2025-26