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Project

Rebuild Canada: Utilizing the COVID-19 pandemic catalyst to develop policies that create a productive, resilient, and fair economy and society

Before the COVID-19 crisis hit, there was already a need for public policy in Canada to adjust. Now, with the economy wounded and international cooperation frayed, we must consider the merits of a more fundamental rebuilding job. Through a series of reports and conferences, this project will tap into the best established and ascending policy brains in an effort to help policymakers weigh priorities and trade-offs and forge a far-reaching rebuild plan.

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Publication

A New North Star II Revisited

Six months after the release of New North Star II, the case for a mission-driven economic strategy is even more relevant. The pandemic has highlighted the need for a new industrial strategy to cultivate domestic innovations and technologies in Canada's national interests and authors Robert Asselin and Sean Speer revisit their analysis and recommendations and find a compelling model in the US’s DARPA model.

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Publication

Two Mountains To Climb: Canada’s Twin Deficits and How to Scale Them

Canada must come to grips not just with a massive fiscal shortfall but also consecutive deficits in our current account, a broad measure of our trading and investment relationship with the rest of the world. A government plan must be growth oriented if we are to get the twin deficits under control without resorting to the drastic measures of 25 years ago.

A must read now
Publication

Averting a Double-whammy

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a fiscal conundrum for governments: How can they dig themselves out of debt in a manner that protects the financial futures of younger generations? Governments should opt for a mix of fiscal strategies that favour smart tax increases.

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Publication

The Opportunity for Indigenous Infrastructure

Well-planned, reliable infrastructure is essential to the well-being of all communities. Despite major policy challenges, Indigenous people, companies and governments are closing the infrastructure gap by advancing successful equity infrastructure projects across the country. Canada should follow these examples.

Learn more about essential indigenous community and investment infrastructure
Policy Speaking

Podcast: The Next Move on Vaccines and the Canadian Arsenal Against COVID-19

Optimistic that we will have a COVID-19 vaccine soon, Dr. Alan Bernstein joins former health minister Anne McLellan and host Edward Greenspon for a cautious discussion about the four-way deal Canada just signed to manufacture a vaccine, public trust in a vaccine, and the political tensions that might affect getting a vaccine to those most in need. Join us for the season two opener of Policy Speaking!

Hear about the road to a vaccine
Publication

Improving Public Services: A Strategic Approach to Digital Infrastructure

By shifting its policies on technology procurement and embracing a more collaborative development approach with Canadian innovators; government could also enable Canada’s technology sector to compete more successfully in global markets.

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Publication

Reforming Canada’s Income Support Framework

The economic crisis caused by COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on the need to reform Canada’s income-support framework. Combine this with the looming risks of automation and age-related labour shortages, and we have a strong case for creating a modern framework that promotes work and minimizes earning losses for dislocated workers. As we rebuild our economy following the crisis, Canadian policy-makers will need to grapple with this complex and critical task.

Reforming Canada’s income-support framework.
Publication

EI Failed So We Made CERB: Now What Should We Learn?

When COVID-19 lockdowns came, Canada’s EI system failed to cover enough of the Canadian workforce that was affected and failed administratively to keep up with the surge in applications for benefits. This new report proposes ideas for policy reform and shows why Canadians need wage insurance in the first place.

Read to learn more about a policy proposal for wage insurance for more Canadians
Project

A Summer of Skills Next

NEW RELEASE | As the future of work continues to evolve, so too do the skills that Canadians will need to succeed. Over the summer, the Public Policy Forum, the Diversity Institute at Ryerson University and the Future Skills Centre will release six new reports to identify the most important issues currently impacting skills policymaking.

See the new report on gig work and workers
Article

The Time is Now.

This paper reflects a strong consensus within the Energy Future Forum that any achievable pathway to national climate and economic objectives must include a significant contribution from carbon capture technologies and from utilization and storage. In any post-COVID, “green stimulus” planning, support for CCUS expansion is even more pivotal than before.

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Publication

How Did a New Email Notification System Get Started in Weeks, not Months?

PPF's new series chronicles how public servants throughout Canada responded in real-time to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). First up: A new email notification service, Get Updates on COVID-19, turns traditional methods of government communications on its ear. How did it come to be in weeks, not months?

Read the first piece in the new series
Policy Speaking

Podcast: Ep.20 Systemic racism in Canada and how we can #DoBetter

A series of three major concurrent and overlapping crises, one about health, about the economy and about race, diversity and inclusion has brought society to a troubled place. Many of us have been forced to challenge our own roles. Edward Greenspon is joined by The Honourable Ahmed Hussen to examine the fight against anti-black racism in all its forms, to ensure a future of justice and equality.

What can you do today to engage more? Listen now
Publication

Science Disinformation in a Time of Pandemic

By drawing parallels to elections, climate change and the anti-vaccination movement, in our first Science Disinformation report author Christopher Dornan illustrates how disinformation about COVID-19 can pose significant risks for public health, social cohesion and collective trust. Dornan identifies several useful recommendations for citizens, governments and social media platforms to consider to effectively combat disinformation and engage in evidence-based discussion about scientific findings.

Discover how we can better engage with science news, information and disinformation

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