In stark contrast to the level of respect shown to the third order of government in general and the City of Toronto in particular by the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada has renewed its commitment to funding local infrastructure. In response to continuing concerns regarding the local infrastructure deficit in many municipalities and […]

Back in the day, nothing about David Bercuson suggested that he would someday become one of Canada’s pre-eminent academic experts on defence and the military. Quite the contrary, in fact. “I’m a child of the ‘60s! I marched against the Vietnam war and all that stuff,” says Bercuson, who is finishing up his term as […]

Lately there have been calls by political leaders and others for a “total reset” (or a “careful reboot”) of Canada’s relations with China as a result of China’s reaction to the arrest of Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in early December. She was arrested pursuant to a U.S. warrant seeking her extradition to […]

On May 15, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage tabled its report, “Shifting Paradigms”, in fulfilment of its mandate to study remuneration models for artists and creative industries. This study forms part of the legislative review of Canada’s Copyright Act being led by another Parliamentary Committee, the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (AKA […]

Philip Bazel looks on a sales tax as an acquired taste for Albertans, who so far have shown little interest in acquiring such a taste. Nonetheless, he says a sales tax is a “pretty clean revenue source,” that has fewer negative impacts than other types of taxes. And while Alberta “falls flat” on the sales […]

When the world wants expertise on the mining and oil and gas industries, it comes calling at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. Deborah Archibald, a geologist and former assistant deputy minister for resources in the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) , is the director of the SPP’s Extractive Resource Governance program […]

Canada’s arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou on a provisional US Department of Justice warrant on December 1, and the subsequent retaliatory detention in China of two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor (and now reports of a third Canadian detainee), raise the obvious question as to what damage has been done to Canada-China relations […]

The results of the 2018 midterm election reflect a country divided and a bicameral system that is doing exactly what the founders intended. The popular vote (served by the House of Representatives) went to the Democrats by what appears to be at least 8 points.  Regional concerns have been reflected in the Senate – where […]

On August 21, 2018 the federal government introduced what it labelled as Opportunity For All: Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy, a product of lengthy public consultations over two years.  The document repeats the Liberal mantra of “strengthening the middle class and helping those working hard to join it” from the federal election campaign and the […]