Trade Tension Awaits Elected Government: Will Canada Step Up or Step Out?

With China and U.S. at each other's throats, Britain leaving the European Union, and Iran and the U.S. nearly going to war, perhaps it’s time for Canada’s leading party to leave the hope of maintaining and strengthening international order behind as the stable world economy is no longer in sight. The ultimate question then comes down to how the upcoming Canadian government chooses to respond to both the shift in global power and the protectionist measures of its neighbor, keeping in mind the congruence of Canada’s foreign policy to its domestic interest.

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Jade Luu Comment
Green Fuel for the Election

The climate strike, and the buildup of activism and anger behind it, finds its place in election campaigning by signaling to politicians what Canadians care about, and what kind of policy choices they’re looking for from the next leader of Canada.

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Megha ShanbhagComment
What Makes a Leader Fit to Lead?

Despite the magnitude and significance of duties assigned to the national leader, sometimes we misjudge their ability to get the job done in the right way. So, as a major Canadian election is about to conclude, it’s worth asking: what makes a leader fit, or unfit, to lead?

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Isha Trivedi Comment
The Trillion-Dollar Race to 5G

Unprecedented amounts are being spent in the deployment of 5G, the next generation of wireless technology that promises unheard of innovation and economic potential. The rollout of 5G will serve as the foundation for decades of future progress, and countries around the world are on a race to lead the trillion-dollar 5G revolution.

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Carl CaiComment
Too Big To Jail

The SNC-Lavalin affair has embroiled the Trudeau administration in an ever rising tide of apparent scandal. Former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould has testified under oath that key members of the Trudeau cabinet pressured her to pursue financial penalties instead of criminal charges for SNC-Lavalin’s briberies. The suspected bribery of the Libyan government by SNC-Lavalin is no doubt worthy of criminal conviction, and likely would have been pursued as such without question if the act had been committed by an individual, not a large company. But is this recent scandal really as explosive as it seems to be?

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Jacek KnudsonComment
Problems Within the Gig Economy

These days our lives are constantly entwined with service applications. We take Ubers and Lyfts to get to work, to visit restaurants or friends, and to get to the airport. People rent Airbnbs while on vacation instead of hotels. Food delivery services make it easier to eat in at home, and Amazon Prime is becoming the most convenient way to get groceries and common household objects instead of going to the store. The people that work for these companies are part of the gig economy - an expanding portion of all employed workers within the global workforce.

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Hena Matthias Comment
Happiness and Policymaking in the 21st Century

Happiness is a twenty-first century buzzword. Chances are, you’ve seen headlines declaring a Scandinavian nation as the happiest country in the world. Cultural and media focus on happiness has elevated the term from the stuff of self help books to the stuff of international development policy. The Kingdom of Bhutan was an early proponent of using happiness to measure national welfare, and the nation’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck first alluded to a concept he called ‘Gross National Happiness’ (GNH) in interviews in the 1970s. Thereafter, Bhutanese leaders played a key role in the United Nations’ adoption of a happiness policy.

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Hana GolightlyComment
Reconsidering Trudeau’s Carbon Tax Plan from a Public Standpoint

Trudeau’s carbon tax, or price on pollution as he likes to call it, certainly seems like a valiant effort to counter the impending global environmental calamity. […] The apparent plan is consistent with what climate scientists and economists have argued for decades: putting a price on carbon is the most efficient way to incentivize reducing emissions. […] Why then, is Trudeau facing so much criticism for a seemingly efficient and favorable policy?

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Yuki KinoshitaComment