Inadequate safeguards for property rights affecting housing affordability
Joseph Quesnel
Energy Divestment is Anti-Indigenous
Public bodies and private organizations in Canada choosing to divest in the energy sector cannot say that they also support Indigenous communities. Attacking the energy industry means you are attacking the main livelihood of many communities. As we speak, activists...
Manitoba Performs Well On Property Rights Index But Could Do Better
Our province’s prosperity depends, to a considerable degree, on how much we respect property rights. Good fiscal policies – including competitive taxation – are key to improving the economy, but a commitment to strong individual property rights is foundational for a...
The Public Has To Uphold Property Rights. Nobody Else Will
Rights that are subject to a politician’s whims might as well not be rights at all
Featured News
The Man who Saved the Plains Indians
At the time of Confederation, Canada’s Plains Indians were in a desperate situation. The same European-introduced guns and horses that resulted in a briefly glorious golden age for them had also resulted in constant inter-tribal warfare and the rapid disappearance of...
Renewed Talk of Abolishing the Indian Act
Political attacks on the Indian Act are back in the news, and that is a good thing. However, Canadian politicians, including First Nation politicians, need a credible plan about what to do before we pull out the champagne. Attacking the Indian Act is not a big deal...
New Directions for Assembly of First Nations (AFN)
In December of last year, the Assembly of First Nations’ (AFN) national chief announced he would not be seeking re-election. Coming up on the next leadership race, it may be important to have a conversation about what the AFN wants to be and where it wants to go. Here...
Nee Sta Nan Energy Corridor is Win Win Win
Canada’s energy security is top of the news this week with the threatened closure of Line 5, a cross-border Canadian oil pipeline that has been operating since the 1950s. It supplies nearly half of the Ontario and Quebec market for light crude oil, light synthetic...
Indigenous Vaccination Priority Policy Deeply Flawed
Most Canadians – even those with serious health problems – are still waiting for the vaccination that might save their life. Meanwhile, vaccinations for indigenous people are proceeding at a rate eight times faster than elsewhere. In some cases, all adults in...
Providing Reserve Residents with Access to Market Housing Options
Indigenous housing—especially in remote and northern locations—represents one of the intractable problems facing First Nation communities. The high cost of housing in these locations and the never-ending cycle of backlogs plague reserve communities across Canada....
Profile Series: James Gladstone
In this age of Indigenous reconciliation, it is important to remember the Indigenous movers and shakers who have gone before and cleared the path for others. James Gladstone (1887-1971) was such an Indigenous person. In the Blackfoot language, he was known as...
Mr. Premier, Think Beyond the Pandemic to the Province’s Future Prosperity
The Nova Scotia Liberal Party has chosen a new leader and it is important to think about the policy priorities of the province’s incoming premier. Although an election does not need to be held until spring of 2022 (Nova Scotia is the only province without a fixed...
The Lobster Wars
A dispute and court case from northern Ontario may help us understand ongoing tensions over the lobster fisheries on the East Coast. The war over Indigenous fishing rights has played out before in Canadian history. As we reflect on recent violence in Nova Scotia over...
Ottawa Must Speak for All Sectors in All Regions
If only Ottawa would put its full force and support behind the energy sector as it does other critical sectors in the economy. In early October, the prime minister announced that he would not back down from the latest American round of attacks on our softwood lumber...
Lobster wars Chance to Conserve and Consolidate Gains, not Target Each Other
The new year is an excellent opportunity to resolve ongoing problems surrounding Indigenous access to the lobster fisheries in Atlantic Canada. Near the latter part of last year, rising tensions between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous commercial lobster...