Policy Topics | Policy Briefings

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• Agriculture
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• 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

Intergovernmental

An autumn of contrasts in Parliament, and the Bloc Québécois will make its mark

OpinionBY BLOC MP CHRISTINE NORMANDIN

• The last parliamentary session right after the election was short and intense, but committees were not yet meeting. This fall, with the committees back in operation, the Bloc will be able to engage in targeted discussions with both the Conservatives and the Liberals.

An autumn of contrasts in Parliament, and the Bloc Québécois will make its mark

OpinionBY BLOC MP CHRISTINE NORMANDIN

• The last parliamentary session right after the election was short and intense, but committees were not yet meeting. This fall, with the committees back in operation, the Bloc will be able to engage in targeted discussions with both the Conservatives and the Liberals.

Define ‘Canadian’: questions loom over Carney’s ‘protectionist’ procurement policy push 

NewsBY IREM KOCA

Uncertainty surrounds assessments plans for national interest projects 

OpinionBY ROBERT B. GIBSON

School food advocates hopeful program will survive fall budget cuts, but say Ontario falling short of ‘all in’

NewsBY STUART BENSON

A dose of realism about Canada’s LNG plans

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Feds risk missing deadline for reducing tuberculosis rates in Inuit communities

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

We need a ‘Carney moment’ in health care

OpinionBY IVY OANDASAN

As the CAQ flounders, the Parti Québécois appears to be unstoppable

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Doug Ford’s political nihilism

OpinionBY GERRY NICHOLLS

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Summer’s over, and a possibly raucous House awaits

OpinionBY SHEILA COPPS

• Experienced MP and current Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia will have to use all his wiles to ensure the fall session does not descend into chaos.

Summer’s over, and a possibly raucous House awaits

OpinionBY SHEILA COPPS

• Experienced MP and current Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia will have to use all his wiles to ensure the fall session does not descend into chaos.

A broken promise, yet again: Why Canada needs national pharmacare now

OpinionBY BERNARD HO

De Gaulle’s ‘Vive le Quebec libre!’ haunts Canada

OpinionBY GERRY NICHOLLS

Arctic deserves more than promises for improved security

OpinionBY DANIEL DAGENAIS

Ottawa needs to do more to recognize Newfoundland and Labrador’s ‘positive impact’ on national agenda, says former premier Ball

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Political commentary on convoy protest organizers Lich and Barber’s sentencing ‘corrosive’ and ‘dangerous,’ say observers

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

New Leaf Liberals want to root out Ontario Liberal shortcomings, not back a particular leader, says co-founder

NewsBY STUART BENSON

The One Canadian Economy Act: a new governance framework

OpinionBY LORI TURNBULL

Feds dropped internal trade barriers, but provincial deals risk ‘solving a patchwork with another patchwork’

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

AGRICULTURE

AI can’t save farming if our soils keep dying

OpinionBY ASIM BISWAS

Treat agriculture as national defence with a strong water strategy

OpinionBY JOHN SIMPSON

Supply management works well for Canadians

OpinionBY BRUCE MUIRHEAD, JODEY NURSE

Pea and canola sector stress urgent action needed to resolve China trade dispute as harvest approaches

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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Biotechnology

‘Cutting red tape,’ mental health and primary care on the health docket this fall

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Canada at risk of collateral damage in U.S. drug pricing war

OpinionBY ANNETTE ROBINSON

U.S. tariffs on pharmaceuticals could complicate an already complex supply chain

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

A different ‘philosophy’ steers new drug pricing guidelines, says top PMPRB bureaucrat after contentious path to rule changes  

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

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DEFENCE & SECURITY

Future planning needed amid Canada’s defence budget boost

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

Royal Canadian Air Force unveils two planes for training program

FeatureBY ANDREW MEADE

A thin façade of combat capability

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

‘Sunshine is what is needed’: 2025 election, foreign interference issues on deck for PROC this fall

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

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Environment

Will Inuit voices be heard when it comes to nation-building projects?

OpinionBY NDP MP LORI IDLOUT

Canada can’t cop out on the climate

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

Strengthening climate policy to build long-term prosperity

OpinionBY SIMON DONNER, LOUISE COMEAU, ROBERT HORNUNG

Environmental groups, LNG advocates conflict over natural gas demand as Major Projects Office launches

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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FINANCE

Local progress on energy, arctic security must survive federal cuts

OpinionBY LYNNE COUVES

Carney ‘did the right thing’: feds’ new support for national pharmacare ‘positive,’ but evolving stance surprises advocates

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Upcoming budget critically important to meet challenges, cost of living, and unemployment, head on

OpinionBY NDP MP DON DAVIES

Government procurement should reflect Canada’s real wealth: its SMEs

OpinionBY SENATOR DANIèLE HENKEL

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Fisheries and oceans

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

Oceans must take centre stage in nation-building projects

OpinionBY DEREK ARMITAGE, TREVOR SWERDFAGER

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FOREIGN POLICY

Same crime, different fate for Bolsonaro and Trump

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

Gaza is testing Canada’s moral compass, and Carney’s credibility

OpinionBY BHAGWANT SANDHU

Carney’s Trump problem

OpinionBY GERRY NICHOLLS

Revive CBC’s Cold War mission, but train it on Trump’s America

OpinionBY GEORGE HAYNAL

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health

Liberals need to get it together on pharmacare

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

Canada can’t afford to stop moving

OpinionBY ELIO ANTUNES

The NDP race is on

OpinionBY SHEILA COPPS

Union raises alarm over pending Public Health Agency job cuts

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

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Industry and Manufacturing

Any new industrial strategy must be an innovation strategy

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Look to C.D. Howe for lessons on defence procurement

OpinionBY JAMIE CARROLL

Canada, Europe, and NATO: a renewed commitment to shared security

OpinionBY LIBERAL MP STEPHEN FUHR

The return of the wildcat strike?

OpinionBY CARLO FANELLI

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infrastructure and transport

Second Hudson Bay port can link Western Canada’s resources to markets abroad

OpinionBY MORRIS BEARDY

First Nations chiefs criticize feds for failing to consult on Indigenous body tied to Major Projects Office

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Let’s fix our EV problem and break the Canada-China trade logjam

OpinionBY HUGH STEPHENS

Railways: Canada’s next great nation-building project

OpinionBY LAURENCE NGUYEN

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innovation

Not investing in social innovation is holding back our economy

OpinionBY MARIE-CHRISTINE LADOUCEUR-GIRARD, ANDREA NEMTIN

Why Canada must lead on AI in higher education now

OpinionBY ANN FITZ-GERALD, DMYTRO CHUMACHENKO

From aid to advantage: re-imagining Canada–Africa relations

OpinionBY SELAH GETAHUN

Innovation put Canada ahead in AI; adoption will decide who benefits

OpinionBY SARAH STOCKDALE, AVERY SWARTZ, KIRSTEN KOPPANG TELFORD

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justice

Canada’s deafening silence defending the International Criminal Court 

OpinionBY MARK KERSTEN

Military police chief is ignoring the law, shutting down probes into complaints: watchdog report

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW, SAMANTHA WRIGHT ALLEN

Senate throws a lifeline to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

OpinionBY ERROL MENDES

Kelly looks at how governments react to judicial invalidation in Constraining the Court

FeatureBY JAMES B. KELLY

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Labour & employment

On affordable housing, Ottawa should support bottom-up initiatives, not impose top-down solutions

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Back to Parliament: Time to build Canada together

OpinionBY REBECCA BLIGH

Post-pandemic uptick in public servant sick days making the case for remote work, say unions

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

‘Course correction’ needed to ensure new childcare spaces meet federal accessibility targets, says economist

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

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Lobbying

Build Canada Homes must prioritize ‘right’ kind of housing, affordability and green energy, say advocates

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Calls mount for the Arctic to make national-interest list with launch of Major Projects Office: there’s an ‘Achilles heel in the North’ 

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Economic lobbying in July rises to meet demand for nation-building projects, interprovincial trade

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Steel, auto sectors seek relief after latest ‘crushing’ tariff hike 

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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natural resources and energy

Canada should fast-track the idea that Indigenous rights and critical minerals go hand in hand

OpinionBY SAGA WILLIAMS, MARISA BECK, TAMARA KRAWCHENKO

Safeguarding Canada’s freshwater heritage

OpinionBY CAMERON FIORET, MAUDE BARLOW

How the Indigenous workforce can STEM the tide for the coming energy tsunami

OpinionBY JOHN DESJARLAIS

Feds must consider oil and gas conflicts for Canada Pension Plan appointees 

OpinionBY CHERYL RANDALL, LAURA MCGRATH

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Women, Gender and Diversity

Canada’s public service needs updated visible minority hiring targets

OpinionBY WAHEED KHAN

Carney becomes second sitting prime minister in Canadian history to march at Pride

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

WAGE isn’t in a funding crisis—it has a design flaw

OpinionBY REBECCA BAILEY, SARAH HASHEM

Plan tackling gender-based violence needs funding renewed, say advocates amid concerns over budget cuts

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

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Indigenous Relations

Don’t pray in Quebec, but pray for Quebec

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

Indigenous consent isn’t a veto: it’s how durable, co-governed projects get built

OpinionBY TIM GRAY, EMILY MCMILLAN, RACHEL PLOTKIN, JESSICA CLOGG

Air Canada mess is a lesson for government

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

Cuts to Indigenous Services Canada sparking concerns of return to ‘Band-Aid solutions,’ and ‘mistakes of the past’

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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Exclusive lists

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

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Ranking the best and worst federal departments, by public service survey results

Ranking the best and worst federal departments, by public service survey results

The PBO’s take on public service bloat and staffing cuts

The PBO’s take on public service bloat and staffing cuts

House and Senate steering committee members named

House and Senate steering committee members named

All eyes on Trump: meet the top 50 foreign policy influencers navigating Canada’s role in a rocky world

All eyes on Trump: meet the top 50 foreign policy influencers navigating Canada’s role in a rocky world