Foreign
Affairs
Iraq's
New Reality
Iraq’s
security situation has improved since the peak of sectarian violence in 2006 and
2007, but some level of insecurity persists, asserts a new joint report from
Canada’s Centre for International Governance Innovation and the
Stimson Center in Washington, DC. The report examines how Iraqi
security forces can better prevent against outbreaks of violence and ensure a
stable national security agenda. Publication 1 I Publication 2
Economy
BC’s Pre and Post-Olympic
Economy
The Canada West
Foundation’s recent issue of Currents considers BC’s pre and
post-Olympic economy. It also examines the natural gas industry and tourism in
Alberta, and provides an economic snapshot
of western Canada. Read
Déjà Vu:
Ontario’s Recession and The
1930s
One year after the
Crash of October 2008, Ontario’s recession is
looking eerily like the Great Depression and governments need act, says the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Read
Stop the Stimulus
While many contend that
more stimulus is "urgently needed" to help promote and sustain the recovery, a
recent article by the Fraser Institute argues that with
the Canadian economic recovery likely already underway, more stimulus could
actually hurt the economy. Read
Public
Policy
Pension System Needs Urgent
Attention
Canada’s pension system
needs urgent attention, says a new report released by the Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The report, by CCPA Research
Associate and pension expert Monica Townson, outlines some of the problems with
Canada’s pension system and
examines several solutions. Read
The Challenges Facing
Montreal as a
Metropolis
According to an
article from the Montreal Economic Institute, the city of
Montreal faces enormous
difficulties in playing its role as a metropolis. Author Marcel Boyer explains
that Montreal has many assets and
there remains much to be done in order to vault the city back into its rightful
place as a great city. Read I Lire
Why
We Need a First Nations Education Act
This paper by Michael
Mendelson from the Caledon Institute of Social Policy discusses
the need for a First Nations Education
Act. The first step in achieving ‘Indian Control of Indian Education’ was
for the federal government to cede control over First Nations education, and
this has largely been done, writes Mendelson. But the second and more crucial
step is for First Nations to step into the vacuum and create the necessary
organizational and financial infrastructure for a high-quality, he says. Read
Canada Is Falling Behind Other Countries
on Social Innovation
Canada is falling behind other countries,
such as Australia, the
UK and the
US in recognizing the value of social
innovation (SI) for addressing complex public policy issues, says a new report
from Canadian Policy Research Networks. The
report’s authors
highlight the urgency of the social challenges, such as climate change,
sustainability, poverty and globalization, particularly in the midst of a global
economic downturn, and points to the importance of fostering SI as a solution.
Read
Canada to Spend over $10 Billion on Science and
Technology
According to a recent
Statistics Canada report, the Canadian federal government plans
to spend $10.7 billion on science and technology this fiscal year. Intended
spending on research and development will total $6.9 billion, while related
scientific activities, including the gathering, processing, and analyzing of
data; information services; museum services; feasibility and policy studies; and
education support will receive $3.7 billion. Read I Lire
Energy /
Environment
How to Make
Quebec’s Green Goals a
Reality
Quebec’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions must face some key
Facts avow the C.D. Howe
Institute’s Jean Thomas Bernard and Jean-Yves Duclos. First, the
possibilities of an effective reduction of GHG emissions through the substitution of one energy
source for another are limited in Quebec. Second,
Quebec’s era of low-cost hydroelectric
production is finished. And third, low domestic electricity prices favour heavy
usage and limit Quebec’s capacity to export clean
hydroelectricity. Read I Lire
Oil Demand from Developed
Countries Has Peaked
Oil demand in
developed countries—currently 54 percent of all oil demand—likely reached its
all-time peak in 2005, according to a new research report by IHS
Cambridge Energy Research Associates. While world oil demand is now set
to grow as the world economy moves from recession to recovery, the demand lost
in 30 developed countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) is not likely to ever be regained, the report finds. Read
News from
Canadian Universities
University of Saskatchewan Innovation Could
Decrease Building Energy Use
For close to a decade, engineers at
the University of Saskatchewan have been working on an energy
exchange system for improved building ventilation that could recover up to 60
per cent of the energy required to condition air. The exchanger could
drastically reduce energy bills of Canada’s schools, hospitals and office
buildings. Read
UBC
Engineering Students Unveil Moon Dust-Shoveling Robot before NASA
Competition
A robot
designed by University of
British
Columbia students
will be shoveling moon dust at an international robotics competition next week,
vying for a $500,000 prize and the opportunity to contribute to NASA’s future
space exploration projects. Read
Research Discovers
Underground Pockets of Water, Natural Gas
Look out below! That's the warning a
University of Alberta geophysics researcher has for hydrocarbon
and water drillers after discovering uncharted land forms beneath the surface of
the province. Deep valleys, cut out by glaciers and then filled with loose
aggregate rock, silt and sand, are hiding fresh water reservoirs and natural gas
deposits. Read
