Canada-U.S.

Stakeholder Views on Improving Border Management

In a new report for the Border Policy Research Institute, Don Alper and Bryant Hammond conducted long interviews of border stakeholders in the Cascade Gateway region, seeking constructive feedback regarding the border and its management. Read

 

Changing Climates in North American Politics

Professors Stacy Van Deveer (University of New Hampshire) and Henrik Selin (Boston University) recently led a discussion at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Canada Institute comparing political action for climate change from municipal to continental levels across North America. Read

 

 

Foreign Affairs

Regulating Canadian Mining Companies Abroad

As home to an estimated 75% of the world’s mining and exploration companies and an important centre of mining finance, Canada should become a leader in the debate over how home governments can ensure that their mining companies operate responsibly abroad, contends the Centre for International Policy Studies’ Madelaine Drohan. Read

 

 

Economy

Canada’s Unemployment Rate Steady

Following a large increase in November, employment was unchanged in December and the unemployment rate remained at 8.5%, according to Statistics Canada. In the last nine months, employment has stabilized but remains 323,000 (-1.9%) below the October 2008 peak. Read

 

 

Public Policy

Public Policy Implications of the 2010 Olympics

In the latest edition of the Institute for Research on Public Policy’s Policy Options the focus is on the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Articles touch on issues such as Olympic security, the political effect of the games, performance enhancing drugs and more. Read

 

Fraser Forum on Education

This month’s Fraser Forum concentrates on Canada’s education policy and offers advice on how to improve both public and private schooling in Canada. Other articles from this Fraser Institute publication highlight salient issues in health care, immigration and natural resource development. Read

 

Employers of Military Reservists Deserve Taxpayer Support

Employers of military reservists who choose to deploy for active duty face financial costs that should be shared by Canadian taxpayers, according to a newly released study by the C.D. Howe Institute. The paper urges financial assistance for employers who incur costs – such as overtime costs for remaining employees and the search for temporary replacement workers – to protect the jobs of returning reservists. Read

 

 

Energy / Environment

Sharing the Load on Climate Change?

A recently released report by the Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation maintains that Canada can meet Government-mandated green house gas reduction target without major damage to the Canadian economy. This study understates the very substantial negative economic consequences for western Canada, claims Roger Gibbins, President and CEO of the Canada West Foundation (CWF). He lays out his case in a new report that critiques that of the Pembina Institute. CWF Retort I Pembina Report

 

The Power of Hydro

A recent MOU between New Brunswick (NB) and Hydro Quebec for the sale of NB Power has been applauded by some and derided by others. The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies offers an impartial look at the MOU and questions whether it will deliver the savings or benefits promised. Read

 

Workers and Environmentalists Propose Bold New Plan to Protect Forests, Jobs

Forest industry unions and leading environmental groups have united behind a plan that calls on British Columbia’s government to conserve more forest, halt waste and promote wise use of forest products — all as part of a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The plan is outlined in a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and other groups. Read

 

Carbon-storage Research Upsized
A University of Alberta engineering professor researching carbon storage has been awarded funding to set up a one-of-a-kind lab that will simulate the harsh conditions that exist two kilometres beneath the Earth's surface. Rick Chalaturnyk has been awarded funding for a $4-million research lab that will be the only one of its kind in Canada. Read

 

 

Science and Technology

Predicting Future Climate Trends

When hurricane season officially blew to a close in the Atlantic basin at the end of November, two Quebec researchers did not exhale in relief. That’s because l’Université du Québec à Montréal’s René Laprise and Louis-philippe Caron are looking at hurricane data from the past to help create a tool to predict future storm patterns. Read

 

Improving Treatment for Crohn’s Disease

Robarts Clinical Trials at The University of Western Ontario has been awarded a $4.7 million grant to conduct a randomized controlled trial evaluating treatment options for Crohn’s disease. The outcome is expected to lead to a more streamlined treatment path and better disease management for patients. Read

 

Sharing Hospital Room Raises Serious Risk of “Superbugs”

Staying in a multi-bed hospital room dramatically increases the risk of acquiring a serious infectious disease, Queen’s University researchers have discovered. A new study led by infectious diseases expert Dick Zoutman says the chance of acquiring serious infections like C. difficile (Clostridium difficile) rises with the addition of every hospital roommate. Read