Canada-U.S. Relations

Getting It Done in Foreign Policy

In his address to the Canadian Airports Council, Derek Burney, Canada’s former Ambassador to the U.S. and Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute Senior Research Fellow, argued that in the midst of this global recession and time of uncertainty for geopolitical institutions such as NATO and the G8, Canada must reinvigorate its relationship with the United States if it is to have meaningful global influence.  Read

 

 

Summit of the Americas

Summit Must Be Relevant, Open, Responsive

This month’s issue of the Canadian Foundation for the Americas’ FOCALPoint asks whether the Fifth Summit of the Americas proved successful, measuring success by relevance, openness, and responsiveness to civil society. Editor Peter Moore opines that while the Fifth Summit is not likely to be remembered as an important turning point in improving democratic governance or preserving the environment, Canada ought to take seriously the recommendations that emerged from the private sector forum.  Read  

 

Blueprint for a Sustainable Energy Partnership for the Americas

The theme chosen for the Fifth Summit of the Americas, “Securing our Citizens’ Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability,” offers an auspicious opportunity to rekindle cooperation among the 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere. A new report from lead author Annette Hester of the Centre for International Governance Innovation identifies three strategic needs of the Western Hemisphere for a sustainable energy future.  Read

 

 

International Affairs

Les tourments de l’Afrique du Sud / L’internationaliste de l’année /Pourquoi l’Amérique latine est pauvre ?

Cette semaine à l’émission Planète Terre, trois professeurs de l’Université de Montréal sont entrevués.  L’africaniste Mamoudou Gazibo parle du nouveau président d’Afrique du sud et de la situation du pays, 15 ans après la fin de l’apartheid. L’astrophysicien Claude Carignan, sacré Internationaliste de l’année par le Centre d’études et de recherches internationales, nous parle de ses passions scientifiques et caritatives. Finalement le politologue Philippe Faucher nous explique pourquoi l’Amérique latine est pauvre.  Pour visionner ou pour écouter   

 

 

Economy

Using a Wrench as a Hammer

The Employment Insurance program currently creates more problems than it solves, argues University of Prince Edward Island economist Robin Neill in a commentary released by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. The economic downturn is not only the perfect opportunity to take the program from a dysfunctional tax to functional insurance, he suggests, but also a crucial lens to allow us to refocus on our original intent: helping Canada and Canadians weather economic crises.  Read 

Employment Growth in Canada
Employment grew by 36,000 in April, the result of an increase in self-employment, according to Statistics Canada. Despite this increase, overall employment has fallen by 321,000 since the peak in October 2008. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.0% in April, remaining at its highest level in seven years, with the growth in employment coinciding with an increase in the labour force. Read

Economic Development Issues for Rural Communities in the Western Provinces

The four Western provinces are likely to be the strongest economic performers in Canada over the short-term, with strong projections for 2010 - 2015 – 2020, predicts Roslyn Kunin of the Canada West Foundation. The rural West is dominated by agriculture, oil and gas, mining, and energy, all with strong national and international growth projections. Kunin demonstrates how increased investments in infrastructure and transportation should result in an increase in extraction, processing, and transportation of goods to regional, national and international markets.  Read

 

 

Energy and Environment

Saving the Arctic

Last week, leaders from the world's Arctic nations took a bold step forward in recognizing the urgency of reducing global carbon emissions to address melting sea ice in the Arctic, and its overall impact on climate change, say Lloyd Axworthy and Madeleine Albright. Axworthy, Canada's former foreign minister and current president of the University of Winnipeg and Albright, former U.S. secretary of state, argue that world leaders must take bold, courageous action in Copenhagen and agree to halt the spiral of damage from climate change if the planet is to be preserved and protected.  Read   

 

Sauder Business School Opens Centre for Sustainability and Social Innovation

The Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia has launched the Centre for Sustainability and Social Innovation, designed to assist the business community in addressing global issues and educate the next generation of green entrepreneurs. The centre will advance sustainable business practices in areas such as carbon markets and aquaculture. It will also develop new approaches to social enterprise, including social marketing and micro-credit initiatives.  Read

 

 

Domestic Politics

Policy Options May 2009 / Options politiques mai 2009

Featuring an interview with Michael Ignatieff, the Institute for Research on Public Policy’s Policy Options examines the effect the Liberal leader has on domestic politics. In this month’s issue, Privy Council Clerk Kevin Lynch writes on managing the economic crisis; Jeremy Kinsman looks at President Obama's European tour, and Carin Holroyd examines Canadian politics in an age of economic globalization.   Read I Lire 

 

 

Public Policy

Official Language Policies in Canada: Costs and Benefits

Canada’s federal government and other bodies subject to the Official Languages Act spend up to $1.8 billion annually providing French-language services, according to a new study released by the Fraser Institute. Author François Vaillancourt measures government spending on implementing bilingualism policies in 2006 and estimates how much it would have cost the private sector to offer French translation of federal services instead.  Read

 

Makin’ It Work

Newfoundland/Labrador’s poverty-reduction strategy is making a difference, concludes Anne Makhoul of the Caledon Institute for Social Policy. Having proven its effectiveness during two pilot projects, “Makin’ it Work,” a community-based initiative in St. John’s, continues to provide job seekers with hands-on experience, new skills and mentoring from local employers, says Makhoul.  Read   

 

Taming of the Queue

The annual Taming of the Queue conference brings together health care providers, system managers, policy-makers and researchers to examine the progress and exchange better practices that Canadian and international jurisdictions are making to reduce wait times for medically necessary services, a key goal of current health care reform activity in Canada. This year’s conference focused on the flow of patients through the health system. The Canadian Policy Research Network has made available on its website all publications presented at the event.  Read 

 

Good Health to All

Improving the health of children in low-income families requires well-targeted policy reforms, according to a study recently released by the C.D. Howe Institute. Research Fellow Claire de Oliveira identifies the policies that would, for families across different income groups, best address inequality in the health of children.  Read

 

 

Public Opinion

Canada and the US: Public Opinion Poll 
New polling from the Association of Canadian Studies finds that Canadians feel the country is more influential internationally and have grown feistier when it comes to defending their interests on the international front. The survey suggests that two-thirds of Canadians (67%) agree that Canada should follow its own interests even if it leads to conflict with other nations. This number has risen significantly from 2003 when only 49% of Canadians felt this way.  Read