Canada-U.S. Relations

Le bulletin des cent jours (ou un peu moins) d’Obama

L’élection d’Obama a suscité un immense espoir de renouveau aux États-Unis et dans le monde et les attentes qu’il a générées ne peuvent pas être satisfaites à très court terme, conclut Pierre Martin du Centre d’études et de recherches internationales à l’Université de Montréal. Les Américains continuent toutefois de lui faire confiance et sa stature est amplifiée par l’apparente déroute totale de l’opposition républicaine. Dans l’ensemble, Obama obtient un A au bulletin des premiers 100 jours, mais le parcours n’a pas été sans faute et le A+ lui échappe. Lire

 

 

Economy

Against the Grain: Saskatchewan’s Economic Profile and Forecast

Canada West Foundation Senior Economist Jacques Marcil, forecasts that, while not immune to the global recession that has the rest of the country in decline, Saskatchewan will still see real GDP growth of 0.7% in 2009. Key to Saskatchewan’s fortunes is potash, he says. While other commodity prices are falling, the price of potash is likely to remain high, not only bringing money to the provincial government but also driving job creation and investment in the province. Read

 

In Search of a Global Solution

Both G20 summits, the first ever in Washington, D.C. last November, followed by the more recent event in London, England, earlier this month, were triggered by the same international crisis, writes Andrew Cooper of the Centre for International Governance Innovation. Cooper characterizes both summits as global economic crisis committees, but notes the striking differences between the two, owing mostly to the changeover of the U.S. presidency.  Read

 

Les premières leçons de la crise

À l’occasion du 5e anniversaire du Centre d’études et de recherches internationales à l’Université de Montréal, M. Lionel Jospin, ancien premier ministre français, a prononcé une allocution sur les premières leçons de la crise financière et économique. D’après lui, les pas en avant accomplis par la réunion de Londres en matière de régulation sont très insuffisants et le G20 a malheureusement fait en outre des impasses qui peuvent se révéler à terme dramatiques. Lire

 

 

Canadian Arctic

Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Arctic

The University of Calgary’s Centre for Strategic and Military Studies has published the Spring edition of its Journal of Military and Strategic Studies. Edited University of Waterloo professor by P. Whitney Lackenbauer, the journal offers four perspectives on historical and contemporary developments in the Arctic, spanning the Second World War to the twenty-first century. Read

 

 

International Affairs

FOCAL and the Fifth Summit of the Americas

After the recent Fifth Summit of the Americas, the Canadian Foundation of the Americas reviews the history and goals of the Summit, introduced 14 years ago by Bill Clinton. The summary also clarifies why the Summit is an important tool for Canada, and how it can be used to enhance inter-American civil society networks. Read

 

An Opportunity for Legal and Political Reform in China?

Some 300 prominent Chinese intellectuals, officials and community leaders issued a document entitled “Charter 08” on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 2008. The fundamental challenge posed by Charter 08 rests on the implication that China’s development cannot be fully and equitably realized without far-reaching political and legal reforms, says Pitman Potter of the Asia Pacific Foundation. Potter examines the implications of the manifesto for China’s governance and development. Read

 

Un objectif trop ambitieux pour la justice internationale?

Après de longues semaines d’attente, c’est finalement le 4 mars 2009 que la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) a émis un mandat d’arrêt contre le président soudanais, Omar el-Béchir. Près d’un mois plus tard, le gouvernement soudanais a expulsé du Darfour 16 organisations non-gouvernementales, dont 13 internationales, pour avoir collaboré avec la CPI et qui, selon le Secrétaire général de l’ONU, Ban Ki-moon, « fournissent des services essentiels à la vie de plus d’un million de personnes ». D’après Étienne Tremblay-Champagne, qui écrit pour le Centre d’Études des politiques étrangères et de sécurité à l’Université du Québec à Montréal,  la CPI se doit de rétablir une perception d’impartialité auprès des populations africaines et arabes si elle veut demeurer efficace. Lire

 

 

Public Policy

Pathways for First Nation and Métis Youth in the Oil Sands

The authors of a new study released by the Canadian Policy Research Network examine the various influences on First Nation and Métis youths' attitudes toward higher levels of education. Institutional and policy structures can support or hinder their ability to find sustained employment with decent pay, good working conditions, and career potential, claim the authors. The municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta (the site of the oil sands), is used as a case study to explore the historical roots of this issue and ongoing inequities that still need to be addressed. Read

 

Drug Safety and Health in Canada

In Canada 3–4% of drugs approved will eventually be withdrawn from the market because of safety issues, according to a new study released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, but the number of people exposed to these drugs is increasing because of aggressive marketing tactics by the pharmaceutical industry. In order to improve health safety, author Dr. Joel Lexchin makes several recommendations, including progressive licensing and the independence of post-market studies. Read

 

Seventh Annual Report Card on Atlantic Canadian High Schools

The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) reports mixed, but promising, results, for high schools in Atlantic Canada. The AIMS Report Card evaluates schools based on their educational outcomes in two categories – achievement and engagement. Academic achievement refers to school marks, provincial exams, and achievement in post-secondary studies or training. The level of student engagement in school is determined by attendance rates, moving-on rates and enrolment in post-secondary preparatory courses. Read

 

 

Energy and Environment

Speaking Truth to Wind Power

The Green Energy Act, now before the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, is designed to expedite the process of promoting subsidized industrial wind power in the province by taking planning responsibilities away from local municipalities, while remitting most key decisions to subsequent Ministerial regulations. Michael Trebilcock, Professor of Law and Economics at the University of Toronto and fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, shares five major objections he has to the pending legislation. Read

 

Critical Topics in Global Warming

The science on climate change is far from settled, concludes the Fraser Institute. A 110-page report by an international team of climate experts discusses climate modeling, temperature measurement, statistical analysis, and meteorology. Read

 

 

Science and Technology

Tracking a Behemoth

Changing ice conditions caused by climate change in the area of Baffin Island is increasing the competition between Inuit hunters and polar bears for ringed seals, a traditional source of food for both. An animal that is not being considered in this struggle for survival and that may be playing a significant role in Arctic ecosystems is the enigmatic Greenland shark, says a University of Windsor researcher  Aaron Fisk, whose team us examining how this shark fits into the polar ecosystem. Read

 

Ancient Remedy Offers Hope for Diabetics

As a child in Sri Lanka, Mario Pinto would see his grandfather drink a tea brewed overnight with parts of an indigenous shrub. It was taken to control high blood sugar levels. Decades later, Pinto, who is vice-president of research at Simon Fraser University, has a new scientific appreciation for that particular slice of India's traditional Ayurvedic medicine. He and his colleagues have discovered exactly how extracts from the Salacia reticulata plant work to lower blood glucose levels in type-2 diabetics. Read

 

 

Education

Government of Canada Invests $136 million in University-Based Research

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council has announced it will put $136 million in funding to support research conducted by over 2,500 of Canada's top researchers. Funded projects include the examination of children's use and perception of social networks at McGill University, the analysis of the political engagement and culture of Aboriginals living in Saskatchewan's northern administrative district at the University of Saskatchewan, Western Canada’s resource economy at the University of Regina and the exploration of macroeconomic impacts on Canadian immigration at York University. Read