The latest issue of Inside Policy (IP) is now available. In this issue, IP reviews policy and politics in 2012 and names Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney as Canada's Policy Maker of the Year.

According to IP, Carney has emerged not only as the architect of Canada's monetary policy, but as a leading figure among central bankers on the international stage, as Chairman of the Financial Stability Board and as the newly named Governor of the Bank of England. Robin Sears profiles Carney in a timely cover story, which was featured in iPolitics.

Other highlights include former Prime Ministers Brian Mulroney on free trade and Paul Martin on fiscal lessons for the US. NDP 2011 campaign director Brad Lavigne writes about Tom Mulcair and the orange crush while Kevin Lynch and Karen Miske of BMO Financial Group write that Canada is in very good economic shape "relatively speaking."

Contributing writers also include Geoff Norquay, Celine Cooper, Gil Troy, and a feature piece on MLI's Great Canadian Debates. Click here to read the latest issue. To subscribe to IP's print or digital edition, click here.

According to MLI's leading composite indicator, Canadians can expect their economy to continue to grow at a slow but steady pace into 2013. MLI's Leading Indicator rose 0.2% in October to match its growth in September, but with the manufacturing sector and the stock market replacing the housing sector as the main source of expansion.

"These trends hold out the prospect for continuing albeit slow growth in the Canadian economy over the next six months, despite recession in Europe and uncertainty surrounding the U.S. budget plan," said Philip Cross, MLI Research and Editorial Coordinator. "They reflect continued strength in most domestic sectors in Canada and a pickup in key markets in the U.S. for our exports."

Reuters Canada covered MLI's Leading Indicator here in an article entitled, "Canada leading indicator shows housing decline in October."

MLI continues to lead the debate on how we think about foreign direct investment and the CNOOC-Nexen deal. In a new Financial Post op-ed, MLI's Brian Lee Crowley says Canada is in a position of strength vis-à-vis China and we can say no to CNOOC if we judge that to be in Canada's national interest. He adds that if China acts belligerently in response to a no on Nexen, it will only hurt itself.

Global TV's The West Block then invited Roger Robinson, recent panelist on MLI's CNOOC-Nexen panel discussion, to examine the deal. Robinson spoke to host Tom Clark and raised more red flags on the proposed Chinese takeover of oil and gas producer Nexen. Click here to watch the interview.

With more than two billion more people expected to be living on Earth by 2050, more food will be eaten in the next 50 years than in the whole rest of human history. What is the solution to feeding those hungry mouths? MLI's Brian Lee Crowley weighs in and says part of the solution to humanity's hunger is the sea in his latest column published in Postmedia papers across the country. After all water covers seven tenths of the earth's surface but provides only one percent of humankind's food.

Crowley then took this message to the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance's 2012 National Forum. As keynote speaker, his address focused on the potential the aquaculture industry has to feed the world.

Event attendees included the aquaculture industry, regulators, policy makers, and political leaders who participated in discussions on how to cooperatively advance Canada's farmed seafood sector.

On November 28^th, the 2012 GrowCanada Conference featured MLI Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley as keynote speaker. Crowley's talk emphasized the potential the agriculture and food sector has to be an economic powerhouse for Canada. However, many obstacles stand in its way, including a policy preoccupation with small farms, sacrificing our international trade bargaining power to protect supply management, poorly designed income support programmes for farmers and an unwillingness by political and other leaders to defend the use of science and reason to increase our ability to feed our burgeoning population.

The conference brings together leading agricultural thinkers to explore the future of Canadian agriculture and learn what it takes to secure Canada's place on the global agricultural stage. For more information, click here.

MLI has been all over the news. Here are a few highlights:

MLI's Brian Lee Crowley says Prime Minister Stephen Harper is wise to stay clear of premiers' talks in a column that was published in Postmedia papers across the country.

Crowley then says we should make use of former Canadian Prime Ministers and their valuable experience in the Ottawa Citizen.

MLI's Philip Cross writes about Mark Carney's departure from the Bank of Canada and says that his real legacy will be seen when interest rates are finally raised in the Financial Post.

In her latest blog entries for The Globe and Mail, MLI Senior Fellow Linda Nazareth writes about the state of the U.S. economy, Canada's love affair with non-mortgage debt, and what we can expect from the latest Bank of Canada rate announcement.

The National Post seeks the advice of MLI Senior Fellow Alex Wilner in an article discussing how to rehabilitate convicted terrorists and quotes from MLI's study on the subject. Click here for more details.

Maclean's interactive put together a map of the 100 most powerful buildings in Ottawa and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute made the list. Click here for more details.

MLI's recent study on provincial solvency and federal obligations continued to make waves last month. The study was highlighted in a National Post article discussing Alberta's ability to balance its budget. Then, MLI's Philip Cross and Marc Joffe wrote about Ontario's looming default crisis in the Ottawa Citizen.   

MLI is pleased to welcome Karine Hopper as our new Director of Administration. Ms. Hopper joins the MLI team after several years in the federal government. Most recently, she served as Manager of Personnel and Administration in the Prime Minister's Office. Earlier in her career, she held positions in the office of the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs) and in the Communications department of the Prime Minister's Office.

Ms. Hopper will be responsible for MLI's internal administration and event organization. She will also assist in MLI's fundraising initiatives. She can be reached at karine.hopper@macdonaldlaurier.ca or by telephone at 613-482-8327 ext. 102.