Futureproofing Canada

Today, many of the most crucial policy questions are also digital questions, and how we choose to address them has the potential to transform policy-making at the highest levels. Agencies like the Canadian Digital Service are working to innovate within the bureaucracy, but governments are slow to change. Meanwhile, opposition to Sidewalk Toronto's planned smart neighbourhood shows that concerns ab...

As more aspects of the economy go digital, Canadian businesses face new challenges along with new opportunities. It’s clear that Canada’s economic growth depends on how we seize these opportunities. Our past few federal budgets have addressed this: they have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to grow innovation networks and streamline innovation programs. But as the pace of innovation increas...

The Wet’suwet’en Nation made headlines across the country with its resistance to the Coastal GasLink LNG pipeline. TransCanada has said it gained consent of every First Nation along the pipeline route. But out on Wet’suwet’en territory, the nation’s hereditary chiefs tell another story. They say the responsibility for matters of land and title rests with them, and they were never consulted. Dr. Br...

Welcome to Uberland, a Policy Options podcast. For passengers and drivers, Uber is either a convenient option for hailing an affordable ride or making a quick buck. But the influential technology company is also transforming labour and legal landscapes across North America. As the ride service arrives in more Canadian cities, how should policy-makers regulate its impact on workers and consumers? A...

Le nouvel échiquier politique québécois, un balado d'Options politiques. Que signifie le nouvel échiquier politique québécois pour les grands enjeux de société ? Pour la première fois depuis 1966, un parti autre que le Parti libéral ou le Parti québécois a pris le pouvoir, et le projet d’indépendance semble être mis en veilleuse. Le débat s’est centré sur des questions telles que l’immigration, l’...

Upskilling workers for the new economy, a Policy Options podcast. Disruption as a result of automation is fast changing the nature of work. As machine labour increasingly replaces human labour, old jobs are disappearing or changing and new ones are being created. So how do we ensure workers are receiving the skills training they need to navigate the future of work? Ethan Pollack joins the podcast...

Polling and the Quebec election, a Policy Options podcast. The outcome of the 2018 Quebec election was a surprise: Coalition Avenir Québec beat the Quebec Liberal Party by 12.6 percentage points, for a majority government. Not only did pollsters fail to predict this result, but the gap between the polls and the actual vote for the leading parties was the largest recorded in Quebec political pollin...

New approaches to development assistance, a Policy Options podcast. Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy aims to contribute to global efforts to eradicate poverty by prioritizing investments in gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. The government’s commitments include an investment of about $800 million in the Global Financing Facility (GFF). Housed at the World Bank...

A path forward for innovation policy, a Policy Options podcast. Innovation has become an essential element of policy conversations about economic growth. But given trends like globalization, technological change and population aging, how exactly will it help boost the economy? Peter Nicholson joins the podcast to talk about why innovation policy matters, evaluate Canada’s innovation record in an i...

A universal pharmacare plan for Canadians, a Policy Options podcast. As the federally appointed Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare prepares the blueprint for a national pharmacare plan, what can Canadians expect it to look like? Colleen M. Flood joins the podcast to talk about the need for universal pharmacare and how it could work within our federal system. Colleen is p...

Canada’s cannabis economy, a Policy Options podcast. What kind of economic impact can we expect from recreational cannabis legalization? Contributors to our Policy Options feature series The Economics of Canadian Cannabis join the "potcast" to discuss. Colin Busby, IRPP research director and co-editor of the series, gives an overview of some of the key economic questions being raised as the Oct.17...

Why isn’t social assistance improving health outcomes?, a Policy Options podcast. Income levels and health are closely linked, and people living in poverty are far more likely to have poor health than people with higher incomes. Social assistance programs should be helping to close this gap, but a study recently submitted to the Ontario government shows that support programs in Canada, the US and...

Revitalizing the Inuktut language, a Policy Options podcast. Inuktut, the collective name for the languages Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, is the mother tongue of 65 percent of the Nunavut population. The language is central to Inuit culture and identity, but its use is declining by 1 percent a year. Aluki Kotierk joined the podcast to discuss the protection of Inuktut, how the federal government can...

The future of the Safe Third Country Agreement, a Policy Options podcast. As the Trump administration persists with its harsh immigration policy south of the border, calls are mounting for Canada to suspend or rescind the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA). Implemented in 2004, the STCA requires those seeking asylum in Canada or the US to make a refugee claim in whichever country they a...

Why does encryption policy matter?, a Policy Options podcast. How does encryption impact our daily lives? What’s at stake in the policy debate over the challenges raised by encryption? Lex Gill joined the podcast to discuss how effective encryption technology protects human rights, public safety, national security and consumer interests. Lex Gill is a research fellow at the Citizen Lab. She has wr...

What are the policy moves and events that have defined Justin Trudeau’s Liberals first mandate? What should we expect from the upcoming federal election? These were the topics discussed at a recent Policy Options working lunch in St. John’s, Newfoundland. A panel consisting of IRPP President Graham Fox, Amanda Bittner (Memorial University) and Alex Marland (Memorial University) took stock of the l...

What can Canada expect from the G7 summit?, a Policy Options podcast. Despite anticipated trade tensions at the G7 summit in Charlevoix on June 8-9, the Trudeau government will promote its agenda focusing on inclusive economic growth, peace and security, climate change and oceans, gender equality and jobs of the future. John Kirton joined the podcast to discuss Canada’s priorities at the meeting,...

Canada’s surveillance of Indigenous movements, a Policy Options podcast. From the fight against the Northern Gateway pipeline to the anti-fracking protests involving Elsipogtog First Nation and the Idle No More movement, Canadian surveillance organizations have kept close watch of Indigenous resistance movements over the past decade. Andrew Crosby and Jeffrey Monaghan, authors of Policing Indigeno...

Black Canadians and the justice system, a Policy Options podcast. Black people are dramatically over-represented in Canada’s prison system, making up 8.6 of the federal prison population, despite the fact they make up only 3 percent of the population. What is more, between 2003 and 2013, the incarceration rate among Black people increased by nearly 90 percent. Anthony Morgan says the targeted poli...

Immigration detention and newcomer communities, a Policy Options podcast. According to the Canada Border Services Agency, about 7,000 men, women and children are detained through Canada’s immigration detention system every year. Stephanie J. Silverman joined the podcast to discuss how the system traumatizes newcomer and mostly racialized communities, criminalizes migration and requires extensive r...

Mitigating harm for sexual assault complainants, a Policy Options podcast. Over 90 percent of sexual assaults in Canada go unreported. According to law professor Elaine Craig, when sexual assault survivors do end up in court, the trials cause them further harm. Craig joined the podcast to discuss how sexual assault trials could be reformed to make the process less traumatic for those testifying. E...

Do female ministers affect women's civic engagement?, a Policy Options podcast. In governments around the world, women’s presence in cabinet is having a substantial impact on political office and policy-making, but what does it mean for women’s political involvement? Sarah Liu joined the podcast to discuss her study Do Government Positions Held by Women Matter? A Cross-National Examination of Fema...

Will AI just wind up automating inequality?, a Policy Options podcast. Proponents of automation say the developments will create a more efficient and advanced society, but there are concerns that the changes will not affect all citizens equally. According to Virginia Eubanks, the automation of social and welfare services in the United States is creating a "digital poorhouse,” deepening class divid...

Budget 2018 analysis live from the lockup, a Policy Options podcast. What were the highlights of the 2018 federal budget? Policy Options Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Ditchburn, IRPP Research Director Colin Busby and Jennifer Robson, assistant professor of political management at Carleton University's Kroeger College weigh in. Download for free. New episodes every second Tuesday

Gerald Stanley and the castle narrative, a Policy Options podcast. A complex narrative has emerged in defence of Gerald Stanley, who was recently acquitted of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Colten Boushie, a 22 year-old Cree man, in Saskatchewan. According to this narrative, the incident had nothing to do with race, but was rather a matter of a farmer protecting his land and family...