by Melissa Slauenwhite The introduction of e-cigarettes and vapes, as a tool for adult smokers to deal with nicotine addiction, is affecting the health of young Canadians and has created an unanticipated and serious policy issue. There have been more than 2200 reports of severe lung disease linked to vaping in the United States, with similar rates […]
Unpacking Equity is a collaboration between the Public Policy and Governance Review and the Equity, Diversity and Public Policy Initiative (EDPP) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. This series aims to explain equity-related policy issues and break down complicated topics involving equity, diversity and inclusion. Policy professionals can gain a better […]
By Clare MacDonald Introduction This explainer will delve into the international organizations involved in measuring and reporting worldwide commitments to slowing climate change. It will also examine the Government of Canada’s biggest climate-related commitments over the years and explain how Canada tracks and articulates its climate emissions and commitments on the global scale. Environment and […]
Unpacking Equity is a collaboration between the Public Policy and Governance Review and the Equity, Diversity and Public Policy Initiative (EDPP) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. This series aims to explain equity-related policy issues and break down complicated topics involving equity, diversity and inclusion. Policy professionals can gain a better […]
By Kristi Kodama The universal healthcare system that we have today has continuously been a source of national pride for Canadians, especially when compared to our southern neighbours. Yet for a healthcare system that is commonly believed to represent equality and equity, Canada’s is found wanting. A report by The Commonwealth Fund found that Canada […]
By Declan Ingham and Ryan Phillips The images of asylum-seekers being apprehended along our snowy southern border brought the issue of irregular immigration to the forefront of the Canadian political consciousness and has spurred a broader anti-immigrant backlash. Yet the headlines obscure the deeper story of both policy-makers and asylum-seekers managing and navigating complex Canadian […]
By Hiba Siddiqui The Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) has been offered by the Government of Canada since 1992 and has been popular among Canadian families. The program provided relatively affordable and flexible child care for working parents as well as elder care for an aging population. Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), a component […]
By Kelly Husack “We were talking two different languages.” These were the words that Tanya Talaga, the award-winning author and journalist, used to describe her interview with the former grand chief, Stan Beardy of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation as she spoke at the second event hosted by the Indigenous Affairs Student Initiative at the Munk School of […]
By Jolene Funk As technology advances, the opportunity for innovation across different sectors grows. For the health care industry, the present moment offers a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of the possible, but also presents challenges as the sector struggles to adapt while maintaining patient safety, allocating scarce resources, and adhering to standards of […]
By Mackenzie Rice The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve public sector efficiency is both exciting and controversial. While these technologies have the power to present new solutions to some of the toughest global challenges, their use has also called attention to serious concerns relating to data privacy, human rights, […]
By Sandy Tat The legalization of recreational cannabis use on October 17th 2018 marked a turning point in Canada’s national public policies. With the passing of the Cannabis Act, Canadians aged 19 and up gained the freedom to sell, grow, and smoke pot legally. On the same morning of October 17th Public Safety Minister Ralph […]
By: Caroline Xhaferri Ford’s Conservative government introduced its first long-term strategy termed the 2018 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review, designed to reduce the Province’s deficit and to “help people make ends meet”. Rent control policies in Ontario plays a vital role in mitigating the effects of changing demographics as a result of global attractiveness […]
By: Hiba Siddiqui We live in a society where individuals use powerful digital services on a regular basis for a variety of purposes. With the speed and sophistication of social networking services, enterprise systems and streaming services, it is imperative that public service delivery is also modernized and transformed to mirror the private sector’s fast […]
By Breanne Bateman The Urban Policy Lab Case Competition is an annual student-led initiative, organized by the Lab’s Graduate Fellows, that focuses on tackling municipal and urban policy problems. This year marks the fifth edition of the event formerly known as the Municipal Policy Action Case Competition, which offers students at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy the […]
By Declan Ingham We live in a patriarchal society, what’s wrong with saying that?” These are not the words of a typical cabinet minister, but Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, may not be a “typical” cabinet minister. She offered this premise to an assembly of University of Toronto students in October […]
By: Sarah Baker On Monday January 7th 2019, video footage of RCMP officers arresting 14 protesters at the Gidimt’en checkpoint in northern British Colombia dominated national news reports and social media. The situation escalated following the decision of the BC Supreme Court to issue an injunction on December 14th , granting access to Coastal GasLink […]
By: Lawrence Zhang How do we measure the economic well-being of a country? Despite the popularity of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the end-all-be-all measure of economic activity, many would argue that GDP is far from the best way to measure economic well-being. From news reports, to speeches by politicians, to international publications, GDP […]
By: Sarah Baker On December 1st 2018, the Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Meng Wanzhou, landed in Vancouver’s International airport. The 46-year-old Chinese business executive had been on her way to catch a connecting flight to Mexico when she was detained by RCMP due to an extradition request filed by the American […]
Unpacking Equity is a collaboration between the Public Policy and Governance Review and the Gender, Diversity and Public Policy Initiative (GDPP) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. This series aims to explain equity-related policy issues and break down complicated topics involving equity, diversity and inclusion. Policy professionals can gain a better […]
by Daniel Blazekovic On November 7, 1953, production began at the Oshawa General Motors (GM) assembly plant. A century later, the Oshawa plant has become “the most decorated plant with 29 J.D. Power awards, [with] a proven track record of great quality and customer satisfaction.” On November 26, more than 65 years after GM began […]
by Myra Lisselle Wein On Thursday, November 22, 2018 the Gender, Diversity, and Public Policy Initiative (GDPP) and the Intersectional Feminist Collective (IFC) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy hosted a Human Library for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Both the GDPP and IFC are student-led initiatives out of the Munk School […]
By Bryan Roh Update 1: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Bill C-59 was currently undergoing second reading in the Senate. That error has now been corrected. Update 2: Some text has been changed to better reflect the authorities of the CSE under Bill C-59. On June 20th, 2017, the Canadian government introduced Bill C-59, an ambitious piece of national security legislation that proposes to dramatically overhaul the […]
By Megan Mattes On November 29th, 2018, Environment Minister Rod Phillips announced the Ontario government’s long-awaited Environment Plan. Not a climate plan, mind you – an Environment Plan. A weak substitute for the now-cancelled Cap and Trade Act, the new plan contains four sections: protecting air, lakes and rivers; addressing climate change; reducing litter and […]
By Lawrence Zhang Since World War II, humanity has been afflicted with intractable policy problems that extend far beyond the traditional scope of public policy. These are problems that stretch beyond the jurisdiction of one single country, that are too grave in consequence to take a trial-and-error approach to, and have too many competing perspectives […]
By Sarah Baker For female attorneys in Canada, the glass ceiling seems to have hardened into a concrete wall. According to findings by the Catalyst, a global non-profit that assists organizations in advancing women into positions of leadership, female attorneys remain significantly underrepresented in positions of seniority, despite constituting nearly half of all practicing lawyers […]
Unpacking Equity is a collaboration between the Public Policy and Governance Review and the Gender, Diversity and Public Policy Initiative (GDPP) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. This series aims to explain equity-related policy issues and break down complicated topics involving equity, diversity and inclusion. Policy professionals can gain a better […]
by Bryan Roh Innovation. It is a word that has been consistently appearing in almost every federal science policy document in Canada since the 1980s. Today, the Trudeau government continues the tradition of championing innovation by interweaving this term with its climate action goals as it attempts to sell the idea of a new federal […]
by Daniel Blazekovic Fernando Haddad hopelessly watched as 57 million Brazilians marked their support for Jair Bolsonaro, who will lead the world’s fourth largest democracy for the next four years. On October 28, 2018, Jair Bolsonaro – a right-wing populist – was elected President of Brazil after receiving 55.1% of the popular vote. It is […]
by Hiba Siddiqui Every year, the Women In House Program at the University of Toronto provides a platform for female students across a range of undergraduate and graduate programs to share the daily lives of parliamentarians. It is an innovative way to promote greater female representation in government and to encourage young females to pursue positions […]
by Myra Lisselle Wein From sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night, Jews commemorate the Sabbath, a day of rest. Yet on the morning of Saturday October 27th, that day of rest was shattered by a massacre in a Pittsburgh congregation; a devastating reminder of the hard truth that anti-Semitism is alive and well. Among […]
Unpacking Equity is a collaboration between the Public Policy and Governance Review and the Gender, Diversity and Public Policy Initiative (GDPP) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. This series aims to explain equity-related policy issues and break down complicated topics involving equity, diversity and inclusion. Policy professionals can gain a better […]
by Megan Mattes In the past few years, backlash against globalization has grown powerful enough to shift political and economic outcomes in the United Kingdom and the United States. While there are certainly some serious concerns to be had regarding globalization, such as its tendency to accentuate income inequality, there are other concerns that are […]
by Daniel Blazekovic Brazil’s far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro maintains a substantial lead over his leftist rival Fernando Haddad in the lead-up to an October 28th run-off vote. Bolsonaro’s rise in popularity brings with it the end of a political phenomenon that arrived in Brazil fifteen years earlier with the election of socialist Lula Da […]
by Megan Mattes During every election cycle, lawn signs spring up like weeds all over our neighbourhoods. Particularly in municipal elections, where candidates receive little media attention, lawn signs are a major component of political visibility and a tool for building name recognition and mobilizing voters. Though one 2016 study found that lawn signs increase […]
by Breanne Bateman The plight of the honey bee has garnered significant media attention in recent years. Declining bee health, economic losses experienced by bee keepers, and the recent discovery of the impact of insecticides on honey bee populations have alarmed scientists and citizens worldwide. However, the focus on honey bees has obscured the decline […]
By Michael Smolinski and Harrish Thirukumaran “We increase every year. Last year, we [gave out] over 1.6 million pounds of food, so it shows you there’s a lot of need in the community and surrounding areas.” This striking statistic, provided by Pauline Cripps of the Guelph Food Bank when commenting on the organization’s food needs doubling […]
by Kyle Muir The Government of Canada’s recent decision to block the purchase of Aecon Group Inc. by Chinese state owned enterprise (SOE) CCCC International Holdings Ltd. for $1.5 billion in the interest of ‘national security’ is the just latest example of the country’s habit of placing politics ahead of economic prosperity when faced with […]
by Mirusha Yogarajah A few months ago, Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony sparked widespread conversation around Facebook, technology, and privacy. It is now clear that Facebook was the enabler of significant privacy breaches aimed at swaying voters in the 2016 American election. Cambridge Analytica could arguably be responsible for the election of Donald Trump. In light […]
