Think Tanks

Reassessment of Need for the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project

This report concludes that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project (TMX) is not needed to meet forecasted Canadian capacity needs. The author, J. David Hughes, also demonstrates that contrary to claims that bringing heavy oil to tidewater for export to Asia will fetch a higher price, it will likely instead sell at a loss of $4-$6 per barrel. 

Arguments for TMX look even worse in the context of Canada’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 as TMX will exacerbate Canada’s emissions reduction problem by incentivizing additional oil production growth Hughes says, adding that as it stands Canada has no viable plan to even meet the Paris Agreement, let alone the federal government’s promise of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Deficit hawks’ blind spot on fair taxation and inequality

The global pandemic still very much with us, yet conservative pundits and think tanks are already setting the stage for fiscal austerity once the economy recovers to something like normal.

On October 20, the C D Howe Institute published a study by prominent academic economist and former senior finance official Don Drummond. It echoed a recent call for fiscal restraint after the pandemic by former deputy minister of finance and governor of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge.

Drummond presents four scenarios for the growth of federal public debt based on different levels of government spending in the future, and draws some fairly dismal policy conclusions.

Basic Income Guarantee--A social democratic framework

Our report seeks to clarify the problem that a basic income might solve, and outline principles to guide policy development from a social-democratic perspective.

The speed and scale of job loss in the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown were unprecedented and disproportionately impacted low-wage workers. This highlighted the fragility of our social safety net, especially for women and racialized low-waged workers, reigniting popular interest in a basic income.

However, thoughtful consideration of basic income requires a review of the policies and programs currently in place and an evaluation of what’s working, what could be fixed, and what should be replaced. It's important we make sure we're asking the right questions before we try answering them.

Trapped In Conflict: How The Corporate Megafishery Clearwater, Headed By Nova Scotia's Richest Billionaire, Has Set The Stage For Violent Conflict in Mi'kma'ki

Today across the country, people awoke to reeling images of violence and racism carried out against Mi’kmaq fishers. Many people are asking key questions such as why the RCMP has not pro-actively intervened and defended Mi’kmaq leadership and fishers, what are the economic realities of the fisheries in Mi’kma’ki, and what conservation considerations are at play.

There are a lot of moving parts to the conflict that is ongoing in St Mary’s Bay, Nova Scotia: It is a highly-charged situation, borne out of generations of colonialism, decades of government mishandling and neglect, and months of growing racially-motivated tensions.

Transition Time? Energy Attitudes in Southern Saskatchewan

As energy and climate issues dominate political debate in Saskatchewan, we often lose sight of where the public actually stands on many of these issues. Transition Time? Energy Attitudes in Southern Saskatchewan by Andrea Oilve, Emily Eaton, Randy Besco, Nathan Olmstead, and Catherine Moez surveys 502 Saskatchewan residents, from Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Kindersely, Shaunavon, Weyburn, Estevan, and Lloydminster on questions about climate change, energy transition, SaskPower and Indigenous revenue-sharing. 

Rebuild Canada

The Public Policy Forum is tapping into the best established and ascending policy brains in an effort to help policymakers weigh priorities and trade-offs and forge a rebuild plan. Regardless of what processes governments ultimately employ, we believe this PPF process will prove of assistance to decision-makers understandably occupied with myriad, complex issues in engineering the transition out of lock-down and the country’s economic recovery.

PPF’s Rebuild Canada initiative lays down a foundation of insights, ideas, options, and strategies for turning the COVID-19 pandemic into a catalyst for something greater than a return to the pre-cataclysm status quo.

Pharmacare: essential to our health and economy

In Canada, we currently rely on employer-based benefits to provide medication coverage. Wellesley Institute research has found that as a result of this, over 1 in 5 Ontario workers did not have pharma benefits pre-COVID-19, and that the benefit gap hits some of Ontarians harder than others. Part-time, younger, racialized and immigrant workers were all less likely to have benefits.

Re-Imagining Policing

Though systemic racism in Canada manifests itself in several institutions, this report focuses particularly on systemic racism within the institution of policing. The racialized nature of policing in Canada, whether it be by city police forces, provincial police forces or the RCMP, has disproportionately targeted Black Canadians and Indigenous peoples.

Medicare 2.0

As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, the flaws in our healthcare system have become glaringly obvious. Each wave of the pandemic reignites concerns about the state of long-term care homes and renews existing calls to improve our healthcare system.

FES in Canada

Every year, FES Canada co-organizes a number of events with Canadian partners, some as expert meetings, some as public discussions. Topics have ranged from the Canada-EU trade agreement CETA, to multilateralism in international affairs, to the three Es (energy, economy and environment), to the Arctic as a national versus international space.