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

Justice

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

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

• Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, has faced delays since it was introduced in the House back in September.

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

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

• Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, has faced delays since it was introduced in the House back in September.

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

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

NewsBY STUART BENSON

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

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

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

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

MOST RECENT POLICY BRIEFINGS

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

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

• Justice Minister Sean Fraser had previously suggested the government wouldn’t ‘copy and paste’ Bill C-63, formerly known as the Online Harms Act, but child protection advocates remained hopeful the Liberals would bring forward a new online safety law.

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

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

• Justice Minister Sean Fraser had previously suggested the government wouldn’t ‘copy and paste’ Bill C-63, formerly known as the Online Harms Act, but child protection advocates remained hopeful the Liberals would bring forward a new online safety law.

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

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW

A deeper dive into Fraser’s crime bill

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW

Alberta’s intent to suspend the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for trans health care for youth sets a dangerous precedent

OpinionBY JENNIFER EVANS, ALISON LI, JACQUELINE MURRAY

How best to stop coverups: end government misuse of non-disclosure agreements

OpinionBY INDEPENDENT SENATOR MARILOU MCPHEDRAN, JULIE MACFARLANE

AGRICULTURE

The grass is greener where you water it

OpinionBY CSG SENATOR TODD LEWIS

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

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

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

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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

Mark Carney’s 50 shades of grey zones

OpinionBY DAVID CARMENT

Main estimates set out $502.8-billion for 2026-27 as National Defence tops voted spending

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Carney’s cold calculation

OpinionBY ERICA IFILL

Can Carney reconcile his Davos goals with complicity in the Iran war?

OpinionBY DOUGLAS ROCHE, ERNIE REGEHR

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Environment

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

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FINANCE

Liberals to cut CBC by $192-million in 2026-27

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

B.C.’s Eby may not be long for the job

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Feds are ‘silencing’ an agent of Parliament by leaving post vacant, says ex-budget watchdog Giroux

NewsBY IREM KOCA

With global hegemony attacking the world order, what are middle powers like Canada to do?

OpinionBY KEVIN LYNCH, PAUL DEEGAN

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Fisheries and oceans

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

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

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FOREIGN POLICY

Major public service shakeup taps David Morrison to ‘elevated’ key foreign policy role in the centre

NewsBY MARLO GLASS, NEIL MOSS

Japan is Canada’s anchor in the Indo-Pacific

OpinionBY JONATHAN BERKSHIRE MILLER

Carney’s contradictions: from Davos to New Delhi

OpinionBY BHAGWANT SANDHU

In a fractured world, women peacebuilders are essential 

OpinionBY RACHEL WARDEN

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health

Outspoken health advocate Joss Reimer talks about finding ‘common ground’ with government as she becomes Canada’s top doctor

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

‘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

New policy adding nurse practitioners to public health-care plans will go ahead April 1

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Ongoing grievance over public service health-plan switch an ‘interesting’ case, says labour lawyer

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

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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

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

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infrastructure and transport

The water emergency in Kashechewan must spur action on federal legislation

OpinionBY ALVIN FIDDLER

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

OpinionBY LIBERAL MP JUDY SGRO

Canada can’t trade on hope

OpinionBY RODRIGUE GILBERT

Infrastructure is the missing link in Canada’s diversification strategy 

OpinionBY PASCAL CHAN

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innovation

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

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

‘He comes from our side’: Writers’ Union CEO calls Solomon an AI ‘cheerleader,’ asks him to slow down strategy

NewsBY MARIA COLLINS

Building a more innovative Canadian economy won’t be easy, but it will be worth it

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

To ban or not to ban? Experts wary of restricting social media access for kids, as feds watch Australian approach

NewsBY DAVIS LEGREE

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intergovernmental

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

Sole Quebec NDP MP Boulerice says potential provincial run has ‘absolutely nothing to do with’ party’s status

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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

OpinionBY CHRIS SEVERSON-BAKER

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justice

A debt of gratitude for Ivan Zinger, correctional investigator

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

OGGO hearing confirms: our government continues to persecute whistleblowers rather than protect them

OpinionBY DAVID HUTTON

Prison watchdog leaves post early with ‘frustrations’ as final report keys in on ‘grossly inadequate’ mental health care behind bars

NewsBY MARLO GLASS

Meeting feds’ ‘ambitious’ RCMP hiring pledge will require ‘imaginative’ ideas, says advisory board chair

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

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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

Building industrial strength: a regional approach to Canada’s critical materials 

OpinionBY ALISON CRETNEY

Canada’s critical mineral moment is real, but delivery depends on people

OpinionBY MEGAN GORDON

Mineral exploration and mining: a Canadian signpost for the future

OpinionBY JEFF KILLEEN

Canada’s critical minerals opportunity runs through First Nation lands

OpinionBY MARK PODLASLY

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Women, Gender and Diversity

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

Celebrating Black Canadian trailblazers who’ve played a critical role in public life

OpinionBY WAHEED KHAN

Here’s how Parliament can tackle the rise in anti-feminist ideology

OpinionBY SHARI GRAYDON

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Indigenous Relations

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

NewsBY STUART BENSON

A partial table cannot deliver justice for Indigenous people

OpinionBY BRENDAN MOORE

Keeping the North strong and free also means ensuring a better way of life for northerners

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

Arctic security investments must also improve living conditions in the North, say territories

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

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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