As cities across both Canada and the U.S. continue to stumble their way through issues surrounding the introduction of ride-sharing services such as Uber, it’s clear the ongoing reluctance by municipalities to allow these services is less about ride sharing...
Robert Murray
The West Needs a Strategic Pause before Working with Russia
What a difference a year makes. Recall that not so long ago, Canada and other Western states were united in their condemnation of Russia’s Vladimir Putin after Russia not-so-secretly invaded Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, shot down a commercial airliner full of...
Putting Students Last in Ontario
There are some things money can buy, but when there’s no money to go around, something has to give. In Ontario’s education sector, there isn’t enough money to go around anymore, and unions clearly aren’t happy. How did we get here? After years...
Russia’s Next Move: Domination of the Arctic?
Vladimir Putin, after a mysterious absence, has finally reappeared. And just in time, too: the Russian president apparently decided to respond to NATO exercises in Europe – in part generated by Putin’s own wars against his neighbors – by putting his...
Featured News
There’s Nothing Fair About Canadian Health Care
For the past 14 years, Vancouver surgeon Dr. Brian Day has led the charge for health-care reform, pushing for the right of patients to pay for private care if their health and well-being are threatened as a result of waiting in a stagnant and overburdened public...
Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
The path to net zero, based on the much disputed belief that carbon dioxide is a pollution, is more steep and impractical than most people realize. Replacing fossil fuels with clean electricity will require much more power generation and a greatly upgraded grid to...
The Sooner CETA is Ratified, the Better
Last week the Harper Government announced that the highly anticipated Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union had been finalized. The ratification process could take up to two years due to the complexities involved in...
It’s Time for Internal Canadian Free Trade
Since taking office in 2006, the Harper government has negotiated over 40 separate international trade agreements and has championed the idea of free trade around the world as a means of economic and political liberalization and progress. While Canada’s approach...
Keystone XL, Obama, and the Politics of Indecision
Days before a self-imposed deadline, the Obama Administration again delayed its decision on the future of the Keystone XL pipeline last week. It was a delay like previous delays, with the now-routine explanations that more study was needed and that others (a Nebraska...
Why Neo-Containment Should Not Extend to Arctic
As the situation in Ukraine continues to worsen, Canada is under increasing pressure to include the Arctic as part of NATO’s strategy to counteract Russian aggression. In the following, we content that it should continue to resist this pressure—even in the wake of...
Parka and dagger
There has been no shortage of messages sent between Moscow and Ottawa since the outbreak of tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine. In the most recent development, Moscow announced on Tuesday that it had expelled a Canadian diplomat. No reason was indicated...
The Poverty of Western Strategy in Ukraine
The West has very few options left to curb further Russian aggression in the Ukraine. After seizing Crimea many naively hoped that Russia would be content with having secured its access to the Black Sea and the future for its Black Sea Fleet base, and would not...
Robert Murray discusses Alison Redford’s resignation (CFRA Ottawa)
Alison Redford is stepping down, an interview with Robert Murray, Frontier Centre for Public Policy, on how she has been losing the support of her caucus and was unable to maintain support.
West unprepared to deal with modern conflict
Of all the harsh lessons being learned by overly idealistic observers of international politics in recent weeks, perhaps none is so poignant as the one taught by the vote at the UN Security Council on March 15 over a resolution aimed at deeming the Crimean referendum...
Be prepared for realpolitik over arktik politik
In a March 6 article, Kevin McGwin rightly noted that “Arctic leaders have expressed their outrage over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but when it comes to the region’s issues it is still co-operation as usual”. Russia’s behaviour in Ukraine has been met with...