Canada-U.S. Relations

U.S. Elections: NAFTA and the Next President

Three prominent voices from the NAFTA countries have mapped out their ideas on a regional agenda for the next U.S. administration in three new papers from the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, ON. Christopher Sands of the Hudson Institute, Debra VanNijnatten of Wilfrid Laurier University, and Gustavo Vega at Center for International Studies, El Colegio in Mexico present their views on the future of North American integration in these policy briefs from CIGI’s Portal for North America.

http://www.igloo.org/community.igloo?r0=community&r0_script=/scripts/folder/view.script&r0_pathinfo=%2F%7bd4569d73-0d1c-4195-9faf-b77a2d328e0a%7d%2Fusa2008%2Fnorthameri&r0_output=xml

 

 

Economy

Working Together to Respond to the Global Crisis

In a new paper, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives explains that no matter how well prepared Canada may be, the Canadian financial sector must cope both with the wild swings in global markets and with the fact that other countries have brought forward rescue packages, which have given their own less prudent institutions a competitive advantage. The Council notes that as Canada faces today’s global crisis, business and governments must work together to ensure that sound public policy and careful choices about spending priorities continue to reinforce entrepreneurial spirit in building a better future for all Canadians. 

http://www.ceocouncil.ca/publications/

 

Let the Loonie Be

Robin Banerjee of the C.D. Howe Institute writes that Canadians are right to worry over the recent andsudden fall of Loonie amid global financial market turmoil. As a small economy that is heavily reliant on trade, sharp movements in the exchange rate can affect our prosperity, he says. However, when those movements are driven by real factors, the only sustainable strategy is adaptation. To that end, writes Banerjee, government’s best policy choices involve ensuring that markets for financial capital and labour in Canada work as well as possible. When responding to the current market crisis, policymakers should retain their long-run focus on the productivity agenda, which remains the determinant of future Canadian prosperity.

http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/Banerjee_2008.pdf

 

Deficits are Inevitable, But What to Do about Them?

In a new article for the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, Michael Mendelson argues that Canada will be caught in a prolonged U.S. recession. This, he says, will leave most governments in Canada running deficits in the next few years. Mendelson asserts that it is imperative to plan for this eventuality and explains that the real challenge will be to maintain fiscal discipline even when deficits are permitted. http://www.caledoninst.org/Publications/PDF/719ENG%2Epdf

 

 

Energy / Environment

California, Canada Campuses Combat Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Green IT

In one of the first efforts of its kind, the University of British Columbia and the University of California, San Diego are pledging to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses while developing so-called “green cyberinfrastructure” -- information technology that improves energy efficiency and reduces the impact of emissions on climate change.

http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2008/mr-08-141.html

 

Is BC's Carbon Tax Fair: An Impact Analysis for Different Income Levels

A new study by Marc Lee and Toby Sanger of the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives focuses on the issue of fairness of the BC’S carbon tax by analyzing its impact across different income groups. The study’s findings suggest that as with sales or consumption taxes, lower-income households will feel the impact of carbon taxes more intensely, but distribution is also affected by how the proceeds of the tax are used. http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/BC_Office_Pubs/bc_2008/ccpa_bc_carbontaxfairness.pdf

 

 

International Development

The Currency Transaction Tax: A bold idea for financing for development

The North-South Institute has published a policy brief on the possibility of implementing a Currency Transaction Tax (CTT) that would be used to finance development projects for the global public good. According to the paper, recent research shows that a CTT is feasible and that it could raise billions without affecting foreign exchange markets. The brief looks at why a CTT is needed, how it would work, critics and supporters of the CTT, as well as the road ahead. http://www.nsi-ins.ca/english/pdf/CTT.pdf

 

 

Social Issues

Citizen Participation in Public Policy Issues

Memorial University's Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development hosted an international conference, Knowledge in Motion, October 16-18, 2008, that explored strategies to exploit the opportunities and challenges of knowledge mobilization. It was deemed that an increasingly critical focus of knowledge transfer is informing and engaging citizens in public policy development and implementation. At the conference, Canadian Policy Research Networks’ President Sharon Manson Singer spoke to this need in her presentation Citizen Participation in Public Policy Issues. http://www.cprn.org/documents/50682_EN.pdf

 

From the Ground Up: Community’s Role in Addressing Street Level Social Issues

Jim Diers of the Canada West Foundation writes that street level social issues are best dealt with by communities, which help to remove the visible problems from a particular neighbourhood or assist in the reintegration of those who have been marginalized. Accordingly, the only long-term solution to such social issues seems to be the prevention made possible by building strong and inclusive communities, which Diers argues can best be accomplished with the government and other agencies playing a central role.

http://www.cwf.ca/V2/cnt/publication_200810271452.php

 

 

Infrastructure

Ontario Has Best Transportation System in Canada

Transportation systems provide the accessibility by which people get to jobs and recreation, trade in goods and services, interact with other regions, and develop land. As such, a region’s transportation system is a critical factor in its economic viability. A new study by David Hartgen, of the University of North Carolina, and Claire Chadwick and Gregory Fields of the Fraser Institute suggests that Ontario has the best transportation system in Canada, while British Columbia and Newfoundland have the worst. Comparing the transportation infrastructure of the 10 Canadian provinces, the results of the study indicate that Ontario is followed closely by Nova Scotia in second spot and Quebec in third. http://www.fraserinstitute.org/newsandevents/news/6267.aspx

 

 

Science and Technology

McGill Physicists Find a New State of Matter in a "Transistor"

McGill University researchers have discovered a new state of matter, a quasi-three-dimensional electron crystal, in a material very much alike those used in the fabrication of modern transistors. Dr. Guillaume Gervais, Director of McGill’s Ultra-Low Temperature Condensed Matter Experiment, believes that this discovery could have momentous implications for the development of new electronic devices. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/news/item/?item_id=102307

 

Canada Gets World's Most Powerful Electron Microscope

Canada's McMaster University has received a stunning new piece of equipment - the world's most powerful electron microscope. The resolution of the Titan 80-300 Cubed microscope is remarkable, the equivalent of the Hubble Telescope looking at the atomic level instead of at stars and galaxies, says John Preston, the Director of McMaster's Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research. http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/39800/113/

 

 

Education

Tuition Fees and the Long-Term Financing of Universities

The Quebec government plans to raise university tuition fees by $50 per term until 2011-2012;yet no announcement has hinted at the tuition policy for university studies to be applied after 2012. In a new paper, Mathieu Laberge of the Montreal Economic Institute, reflects on how this “unfreezing” policy will affect university financing and student enrolment. As well, he explores what types of policy could be adopted to ensure long-term financing for universities. http://www.iedm.org/uploaded/pdf/octobre08_en.pdf

au français: http://www.iedm.org/uploaded/pdf/octobre08_fr.pdf

 

Les Gras en Cause Dans la Progression de L’Alzheimer

Le régime alimentaire typique de la plupart des pays industrialisés favoriserait le développement de la maladie d’Alzheimer. Carl Julien, Cyntia Tremblay, Alix Phivilay, Line Berthiaume, Vincent Émond, Pierre Julien et Frédéric Calon de la Faculté de pharmacie et de la Faculté de médecine de l’Université Laval ont démontré que les principaux marqueurs neurologiques de l’alzheimer sont exacerbés dans le cerveau de souris génétiquement prédisposées à cette maladie lorsque leur alimentation est riche en gras animal et pauvre en acides gras oméga-3.

http://www.aufil.ulaval.ca/articles/les-gras-cause-dans-progression-alzheimer-11492.html