Canada can be a climate leader in promoting nuclear power as the necessary linkage for the transition to a clean energy grid. Capitalizing on the research and development of the last fifty years, Canada has the ability to demonstrate that clean growth is possible, disconnecting itself from the narrative that actions to address climate change will result in economic losses.
Student debt has been pushed by Canadian governments as a way to ensure that all students have the opportunity to access higher education. But, students have been taking on too much debt with no way to feasibly pay it off. The result has been a lack of student participation in societal innovation. Policy makers should thus look to other models, such as the Nordic countries for inspiration.
Canada stands to lose more than it gains by refusing to reopen diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran has shown some movement in a positive direction in terms of willingness to engage with the outside world and moderate its actions on the global stage, which most other Western nations have recognized by reopening communication lines. Continuing a relations freeze in light of this makes Canada appear not only quixotic but ignorant of the consequences.
There has been a growing push in Canada to make electric cars more affordable for the average Canadian in the hopes that this will help Canada meet its climate goals. However, a comparison with our European counterparts has shown that this has not been the case. Instead, Canada should focus on building cities around the concept of transit oriented development.
Though China is sometimes invoked in quasi-admirable terms, the real goal for the anti-populist would be, in a sense, “getting to Singapore”, where there are (notionally) competitive elections, but much of the state functions on a perception of “clean”, meritocratic technocracy. However, Singapore is not “Singapore” and the reasons for this point to both the impossibility of closed systems of government being benevolent and the need for the anti-populists to stop dreaming and start addressing real concerns.
Given the failure of the United States in Afghanistan to produce measurable results it only makes sense for President Biden to withdraw US troops from the region. However, withdrawing from the region will have some consequences both politically and socially.
For the last forty years pundits have wondered if labor unions are still relevant. Pointing to history and the current state of the workforce, most millennials will likely answer yes.
The federal government has pledged to introduce a modest, targeted vacancy tax in its recent budget in order to tamp down on the speculative housing activity that has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is difficult to imagine that such a small measure will make much of a difference on the overall costs and a responsible government would, before introducing new initiatives, examine and eliminate perverse incentives in this realm which previous have put in place and which continue to contribute to an overheating market.
Despite the disarray of the Republican Party currently, the Democratic Party has not been able to capitalize on the confusion due to internal conflict of their own as various factions within the Party battle it out for hearts and minds and control. The “ruling” faction is assumed to reflect the priorities of the Party’s majority and will determine everything from new planks in the Party’s platform, plum committee assignments, and most importantly how the Party operates.
One year after the 2020 mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia by Gabriel Wortman politicians recognized the tragic day with moments of silence, tweets of remembrance and kind words, and speeches honouring the victims. Yet, none of these acts have significantly shifted either public policy or the societal normalization of intimate partner violence. This lack of action stems from the masculine nature of the state, which has a tendency to subvert feminist issues and voices.