Inside Policy
October 3, 2023
From the editors
Parliamentarians returned to Ottawa in September for the fall session of the House of Commons. They’ll have their work cut out for them with a restless Canadian public expecting action on the cost-of-living crisis. The government is also expected to introduce new legislation regulating online expression.
We’re fortunate to have, as this issue’s cover story, a piece from Peter Menzies. Menzies, a former vice chair of the CRTC where he served for 10 years, gives an insider’s view of the regulatory “mayhem” the Trudeau government has unleashed on the communications sector via badly designed legislation targeting digital streaming services and the sharing of online news. Menzies warns that things are likely to go from bad to worse with the overreaching Online Harms Act around the corner.
Continuing the theme of regulatory failure, Nigel Rawson and John Adams contribute a piece on the disadvantages faced by Canadians living with rare disorders in obtaining the cutting-edge drugs they need. The article, the first in an eight-part series, contends that Health Canada is inefficient in vetting such drugs when compared to regulators in the United States and Europe.
With ballooning grocery bills a cause for national concern, Vincent Geloso offers a timely analysis of the Competition Bureau’s recent report on competition among national grocery chains, urging Canadians to view the report with a healthy dose of skepticism. Staying on affordability, Milton Friesen pitches cohousing as an “integrated and scalable strategy” to tackle our housing crisis, with the added benefits of sustainability and social connectedness.
Ken Coates sets the record straight amidst the disinformation being circulated by the opponents of Indigenous reparations, clarifying that there is nothing “alleged” about the historical wrongs committed against Indigenous Canadians.
Two pieces shed light on the ‘culture war’ highlighted in September by the 1 Million March 4 Children and counter-protests. Stuart Parker explains how “trans extremism” led to his excommunication from the Marxist left. Daniel Dorman further unpacks the flawed thinking behind the postcolonial ideology driving today’s Woke activism.
Turning to defence policy, Paweł Markiewicz takes a hard look at whether a growing NATO can continue to defend alliance territory from Russian aggression.
Lastly, Patrice Dutil contributes two excellent articles to the issue. The first chronicles Canada’s diplomatic fall from grace as a once respected middle power. ( Justin Trudeau’s disastrous showing at August’s G20 Summit in Delhi is a reminder of just how far we’ve fallen). The second harkens back to a better time, focusing on the dignified statecraft of widely respected Canadian prime minister Louis St-Laurent.
