JSGS Policy Brief Archive
View archived Policy Briefs.
We can’t seem to get things done in Canada anymore: how can we fix it?
By: Kevin Lynch, former Clerk of the Privy Council, federal Deputy Minister, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, and Jim Mitchell, Adjunct Professor, Carleton University and former Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet
Canada faces significant challenges including weak per capita income growth, soaring government spending, and strained international relations, leading to diminishing public trust....
Barriers to healthy urban design policies: Perspectives from the City of Regina in Saskatchewan
By: Akram Mahani, Assistant Professor, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS) with Joonsoo Sean Lyeo, Agnes Fung, Shanzey Ali, Kelly Husack, Nazeem Muhajarine, Tania Diener, Chelsea Brown
The intricate interplay between urban design, health, and equity has emerged as a critical focal point in pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11, which seeks...
The global resurgence of economic nationalism: A looming threat for Canada
By: Kevin Lynch, former Clerk of the Privy Council, federal Deputy Minister, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, and Vice-Chair BMO Financial
A new strain of economic nationalism is reshaping policies in the world’s two largest economies – the U.S. and China – and risks infecting the rest of us. This bout of nationalism ...
Canada’s Critical Mineral Strategy: Opportunities and Challenges for the Development of Critical Mineral Supply Chain in Saskatchewan
By: Albert I. Ugochukwu, Senior Policy Fellow, Centre for the Study of Science and Innovation Policy, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS)
Saskatchewan has a significant endowment of critical minerals and Rare Earth Elements. With the right policies the province can become a major player in the supply chain for develo...
Saskatchewan’s Forgone Potash Windfall: Collecting a Fair Public Return
By: Erin Weir, Former MP & Consulting Economist, Silo Strategy
The price of potash doubled in 2022, adding $10 billion to the value of Saskatchewan's pink gold. But the provincial government collected only a quarter of this windfall. This poli...
Quebec as a Model for Provincial Autonomy in Alberta and Beyond
By: Daniel Béland, Director, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, McGill University and André Lecours, Professor of Political Science, University of Ottawa
Nationalism is a powerful political force in countries as different as Canada, Belgium, Spain and the UK. In federal states, nationalist movements typically work to augment the aut...
Economic Development in Saskatchewan: Where to from here?
By: Ron Styles, Executive-in-Residence, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy
The health of the Saskatchewan economy is an issue of active debate, usually leading to a discussion on how to improve the province’s economic growth and employment performance. Th...
Empowering Communities, Energizing the Nation: Scaling Up Renewable Energy Cooperatives in Canada
By: Marc-Andre Pigeon, JSGS; Martin Boucher, JSGS; Julie MacArthur, Royal Roads University; Derya Tarhan, University of Toronto; and Karen Miner, Saint Mary’s University
As the spectre of a climate crisis casts an increasingly worrisome global shadow, Canada has started to take action, setting a goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 20...
Bound by the laws of growth: A Long-Term Global Perspective on Canada's Economic Performance
By: By Peter Nicholson, Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Office of the Prime Minister of Canada; Former Inaugural President, Council of Canadian Academies
We might wonder if the economic trajectories of nations are determined by “laws of growth”, much as the law of gravity determines the trajectories of stars and planets. Clearly the...
Coordinating Human Service Systems for the Vulnerable: Lessons from The Regina intersectoral Partnership (TRiP)
By: Akram Mahani, Assistant Professor, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS); Matthieu Petit, JSGS Master of Public Policy student; Wendy Stone, Crime Prevention Strategist, Regina Police Service; Lance Dudar, Retired Police Executive
Public administration organizes policy areas into separate departments or silos for the sake of order and efficiency, resulting in ‘departmentalism’, ‘tunnel vision’, and ‘single p...
Looking Forward to the Past: Lessons for the Future of Medicare
By: Marc-Andre Pigeon, Assistant Professor, JSGS, and Director and Strategic Research Fellow, CCSC; Haizhen Mou, JSGS Professor; Natalie Kallio, CCSC Professional Research Associate
The sixtieth anniversary of Medicare (Boan 2006) came and went last year with almost no fanfare. The lack of celebration is not difficult to understand. While surveys indicate Cana...
Access to Quality Healthcare for People who are Trans and Gender Diverse in Saskatchewan
By: Alana Cattapan (1), PhD, University of Waterloo; Gwen Rose (1), M.A., University of Saskatchewan; and Mel Reid, B.A., University of Saskatchewan, on behalf of the TRANS project team (2)
People who are trans and gender diverse (PTGD) are a medically underserved population in Saskatchewan. An overburdened healthcare system has struggled to provide access to care of...
Low Indigenous Employment and “Deaths of Despair” in the Canadian Prairies
By: John Richards, Professor of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University
In all communities, whether defined by race, ethnicity, or class, an important dimension in explaining social pathologies, such as homicide and suicide, is low employment.
Saskatchewan and the Nuclear Option: Addressing Climate Change through Nuclear Electricity Innovation
By: Margot Hurlbert, Canada Research Chair in Climate Change, Energy and Sustainability Policy and JSGS Professor; Abimbola Ojo, JSGS PhD Candidate; Francisco Sahagun, JSGS MPP Student; Tanushree Das, JSGS MPP Student; Charisse Vitto, U of R MA Student
The global impacts of climate change have become increasingly evident. Whether it's massive flooding in Pakistan, drought and rapidly declining river flows across Europe and the U....
Reforming the RCMP: The Path Forward
By: Kevin Lynch, former Vice-Chair of BMO Financial Group and former Clerk of the Privy Council; and Jim Mitchell, Adjunct Professor, Carleton University and former Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Machinery of Government
Few Canadians would disagree with the statement that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, probably Canada’s most iconic institution, is in trouble. But beyond a cacophony of public c...
Repairing Health Care in Canada: Time to Take the First Step
By: Peter Nicholson, Chair of the Board, Canadian Climate Institute; Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Office of the Prime Minister of Canada; Former Inaugural President, Council of Canadian Academies
The commitment of Canadians to a publicly funded, universally accessible health care system is beyond question. But the failure of the system to meet the needs and expectations of ...
The Truckers Convoy: Examining the Consequences for Canada
By: Dale Eisler, Policy Fellow, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy; Kevin Lynch, former Clerk of the Privy Council, and former Vice-Chair BMO Financial
Take your pick how you want to describe the so-called Truckers Convoy, whether you feel sympathetic or repelled, one thing is certain—in the eyes of the world Canada’s stature has ...
Reconciliation isn’t just about treaty rights
By: John Richards, Professor of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University
To grasp fully the context of reconciliation with Indigenous people in Canada, it’s important to understand that the choices of Indigenous people as where to live have changed over...
Getting “Serious” About Climate Change: The Case for Nuclear
By: John Richards, Professor of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University
The fundamental reason democracies avoid “serious” climate change policy is that the majority of the electorate rarely give a high priority to events that occur beyond one or two d...
Citizen Science and COVID: Identifying the Needs of Rural and Remote Education
By: Tarun Katapally, Associate Professor, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS), and Director, Digital Epidemiology and Population Health Laboratory; Prasanna Kannan, PhD Candidate, JSGS; and Eric Kwabia, PhD Candidate, JSGS
The effect of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on educational institutions has been well documented, with activities of educational institutions across the globe being significantly ...
Addressing Climate Change and Economic Growth: Are they compatible?
By: Dale Eisler, Senior Policy Fellow, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy and former federal Assistant Deputy Minister
Late this month, approximately 25,000 people representing more than 200 nations will gather in Glasgow, Scotland to tackle yet again the climate challenge facing the world. The Con...
Innovation in Northern Sweden: Are there Lessons for Canada?
By: Ken Coates, Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan; Carin Holroyd, Associate Professor of Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan
This policy brief considers efforts made by a series of northern Swedish communities to build sustainable jobs and businesses beyond traditional northern economic activities in the...
Balance: The Key to Good Governance and Policy Making
By: Kevin Lynch, former Clerk of the Privy Council and federal Deputy Minister; and Dale Eisler, Senior Policy Fellow, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy and former federal Assistant Deputy Minister
The argument that power has steadily become more centralized is nothing new. However, the potential harm that today’s scope and scale of centralization poses for our Westminster sy...
The Politics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence
By: Dr. Justin Longo (PhD) and Amy Zarzeczny (LLM), Associate Professors, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies offer important opportunities for society, from medical care to driverless cars. But these technologies also raise...