Canada-U.S.
Obama’s Year One and the Making of Presidential Character
Gil Troy, professor of history at McGill University, assesses President Obama’s first year in the February issue of the Institute for Research on Public Policy’s Policy Options. Professor Troy praises President Obama’s talent in politicking and believes that with the support of people around the world, his tenure as President will prove successful. Read

Foreign Affairs
Establishing the Future State of the Peacebuilding Commission: Perspective on Africa
The University of Ottawa’s Centre for International Policy Studies has released a series of policy papers examining the role of UN peacebuilding missions. This paper focuses on the strategic role of the Peacebuilding Commission as a vital component of the new peacebuilding vision and examines its potential implications for sustainable peace in Africa. Read I All Papers

China and its New Place in the World
The International Development Research Centre and the Canadian Intelligence Service hosted a conference on China’s role in future Canadian foreign affairs. A new paper emanating from the symposium, examines what is known about China, but also what remains unknown about its emergence. Read I Lire

We Must Decide How We Will Engage the World
The Canadian International Council asserts that international pressures and attractions rather than domestic ones will primarily affect Canada's future prosperity and progress. This means that huge foreign policy questions are up ahead for Canadians. Read

Economy
Oil and Gas, the Western Canadian Economy and National Prosperity
The Canada West Foundation has released a new study focusing on the impact of the western oil and gas industry on the Canadian economy. Many assert the economic consequences will be minimal and contained only in Western Canada, this paper refutes those claims. Roger Gibbons and Robert Roach argue that if the oil and gas industry were to be shut down, the Canadian economy as a whole would be negatively affected. Read

Benchmarking Canada-China Economic Relations
The Canadian International Council’s Victor Chen examines the economic relationship between China and Canada in a new paper. Chen contends that China should be Canada’s second most important partner in terms of all bilateral economic flows, except for those with the U.S. Read

Is EI Working for Canada’s Unemployed?
The current economic crisis has proved to be an extreme ‘stress test’ for Canada’s Employment Insurance program. Two Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives scholars scrutinize the program’s response to the crisis and offers suggestions for change. Read

Energy/Environment
Research on “Global Sun Block” Needed
Research and field-testing on the “geoengineering” of the planet’s atmosphere to limit the risk of climate change should begin soon, say scientists from the University of Calgary and the United States. Calgary Professor David Keith argues for more government-supported studies on solar-radiation management, in the newest issue of Nature. Read

Science and Technology
McGill Scientists Discover ‘Double Agent’ Cell in the Eye
Scientists at McGill University have identified a double agent in the eye that, once triggered, can morph from neuron protector to neuron killer. The discovery has significant health implications since the neurons killed through this process results in vision loss and blindness. Read

Another Mechanism Contributing to Heart Failure Found
Scientists at the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario, working in collaboration with researchers in Brazil, have used a unique genetically-modified mouse line to reveal a previously unidentified mechanism contributing to heart failure. Read

News from Canadian Universities
Attempts to Improve Life of Haitians Via Agriculture
As Haiti grapples with the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake, University of Guelph Professor Manish Raizada is investigating how indigenous and innovative agricultural techniques can better the livelihoods of Haitian farmers, as well as prevent devastating mudslides following natural disasters. Read

University of Toronto Maintains EU Centre of Excellence Designation
The University of Toronto’s European Union Centre for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies has been designated a European Union centre of excellence for another three years. This will enable the centre to continue to provide faculty members as well as graduate and under-graduate students with a variety of research opportunities across Europe and elsewhere. Read