A pair of recent Supreme Court decisions delivered earlier this year have changed Canada's relationship with Aboriginal peoples, but the consequences are by no means as drastic as some of the overheated commentary suggests, a new study from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute finds.

While some believed the Tsilhqot'in and Grassy Narrows decisions would cause chaos in the natural resource sector, the impact of the two landmark rulings is in fact far more nuanced.

At their core, the decisions continue a balancing act between empowering and limiting the authority of both Aboriginal peoples and governments. Far from a tilting of the playing field, they are more a rewritten rule book.

The new paper, titled The End is Not Nigh: Reason over alarmism in analysing the Tsilhqot'in decision", is written by MLI Senior Fellow Ken Coates and author Dwight Newman.

Coates and Newman published an op-ed on the subject in the Globe and Mail. The report also received coverage in the Vancouver Sun, the CKNW radio station in Vancouver and CBC Radio One.

The report's release arrived on the same day as a key meeting took place between British Columbia Premier Christy Clark and key First Nations leaders in Vancouver to discuss the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the provincial government.

In an op-ed written for MLI on the meeting, Coates applauded the province for taking the initiative but said that the meeting tossed the ball firmly into the court of the provincial government.

MLI's work on Aboriginal issues was also profiled in the Atlas Network's series on Today's Berlin Walls.

 

Canadian governments are fomenting abuse of the health care system by failing to force abusers, some of whom needlessly visit emergency rooms dozens of times a year, to pay a user fee, a new MLI Straight Talk Q&A reveals.

Dr. Brett Belchetz, a practising emergency room physician in Toronto, cites the example of a patient with a cold who wants a doctor to prescribe antibiotics.

If their family doctor doesn't give them what they want, they will go to a walk-in clinic. After that they'll see him in the emergency room for another crack at getting the medication. Others are making dozens of repeat visits in an attempt to get narcotics. And Dr. Belchetz is aware of patients who, unsatisfied with a diagnosis, have sought and received up to 14 CT scans, at a cost of $1,000 apiece.

Dr. Belchetz gave interviews to CFAX 1070 in Vancouver and 1310 News in Ottawa. He also spoke with local CBC Radio One stations across the country.

What's the path for the federal government now that it's nearly back in the black?

That's the question at the heart of the cover story for the October 2014 issue of Inside Policy, the magazine of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Stanley Hartt, a former deputy minister at the department of finance and chief of staff in the Prime Minister's Office, argues that the federal government should exercise prudence in deciding what to do with a modest surplus expected in its next budget.

This issue of Inside Policy also includes an excellent selection of articles on a broad range of public policy challenges: Elaine Depow writes on intellectual property policy and we also provide an excerpt from F.H. Buckley's new book, The Once and Future King.

Hartt also authored an op-ed on the subject for the Vancouver Sun.

 

MLI Commentary: Canada needs to counter Russian aggression with Arctic security

Russia's aggressive gambit to seize territory in Europe has amplified the need for Canada to fortify its claims to potentially disputed territory in the Arctic, says foreign policy expert Aurel Braun in a new commentary for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Braun, a professor of international relations at the University of Toronto, says Russia has succinctly revealed its imperial ambitions in recent months.

But what does all this mean for potentially conflicting claims between Canada and Russia in the Arctic?

Rather than relying on its allies, Braun calls on the federal government to consolidate its military power in the region while rallying public opinion against the Russian threat.

In the commentary, titled "North American Defence, Arctic Security, and Russian Imperial Delusions", Braun says that Russia has signaled its imperial ambitions don't extend just to its western borders.

Braun spoke with CJOB in Winnipeg and CBC North TV about the commentary.

 

 

MLI Commentary by Philip Cross: Despite expected surplus, Canada isn't as rich as you think

MLI congratulates Clark/Martin-led group for engaging with Aboriginal issues 

Violent offenders need to be kept behind bars: Perrin in the Post

Simple majority a terrible way to decide Scotland's fate: Crowley in the Globe

 

Writing in the Globe and Mail, Macdonald-Laurier Institute Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley criticized the process that led to September's independence referendum in Scotland. Even though 55 per cent of those casting a ballot voted against independence, Crowley argued a simple majority should never have been enough to make such a momentous decision.

Votes for independence are serious matters that alter everything from the value of houses to the validity of university degrees, he said - fifty per cent plus one simply isn't good enough.

 

Abandoning Ukraine undermines the West's credibility: Blank in the Globe

 

Writing in the Globe and Mail, Macdonald-Laurier Institute author Stephen Blank called on western leaders to reject suggestions that they can't defend Ukraine against Russian interventions.

Failing to protect Ukraine threatens the West's credibility across Europe, he said.

"Doing so will fail to bring honour, security or peace - neither in our time, nor in the future", wrote Blank.

Blank is currently involved with MLI on a project examining Russia's ambitions in the Arctic.

 

Leadership on internal trade barriers needs to come from Ottawa: Crowley in the Globe

 

Writing in the Globe and Mail, MLI Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley said Canadian premiers have again shown that they are incapable of reducing internal trade barriers.

At their most recent meeting in August, he wrote, they only managed to produce some vague phrases that sounded like progress but instead represented yet more stonewalling.

 

Federal meddling in credit card fees won't help consumers

The federal government's request to credit card companies that they lower the fees charged to retailers will do nothing to help lower-income consumers and small merchants, according to an analysis by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver said in September he is asking credit card companies and banks to reduce the transaction fees retailers pay "on a voluntary basis at this point". He hopes the lower fees for merchants will be passed along to consumers in the form of lower prices.

However a report MLI produced in 2013, titled "Credit Where It's Due", says that such price controls usually fail to achieve the desired effect.

Battle for the soul of Islam should matter to us: Crowley in Postmedia papers

Writing in the Ottawa Citizen and Postmedia papers across the country, Macdonald-Laurier Institute Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley argued that the Islamist threat to western societies is a secondary battlefield to the fight over who speaks for Islam.

It matters to the West who wins, he said, because "the Muslim world is riven by doctrinal differences, with global consequences for Muslims and non-Muslims alike".

 

Canada can't be complacent about its military spending: Crowley in Postmedia papers

 

Writing in the Ottawa Citizen and other Postmedia papers, Macdonald-Laurier Institute Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley said Canada is hollowing out its claims about defending freedom by failing to back its talk with enough military spending.

Canada could at one time depend on the United States to back it up in the event of a military conflict, Crowley wrote. But not any more.

"Talking the talk is not enough", wrote Crowley. "We must put boots on the ground and walk the walk".

 

Google a dominant supplier, but a monopoly? No: Crowley in the Globe

 

Writing in the Globe and Mail, Macdonald-Laurier Institute Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley argued that companies like search engine giant Google may be dominant but by no means own a monopoly over their area of business.

"Real monopolies are ones where privileged suppliers are insulated from competition, technological change and consumer preferences", wrote Crowley. Google, on the other hand represents a "huge blinking billboard signalling a rich opportunity" to potential competitors.

Leuprecht on The Agenda, CBC to talk cost of policing in Canada

 

Macdonald-Laurier Institute author Christian Leuprecht appeared on TVO's The Agenda to discuss the rising cost of policing in Canada.

Leuprecht is the author of an MLI paper that shows why the escalation of police budgets is unsustainable and offers alternative methods for delivering similar services at lower costs.

Leuprecht also spoke with the CBC Radio One program The 180. The Westman Journal, a newspaper in Brandon, Manitoba, also cited Leuprecht's work for MLI in a piece arguing for the need to examine policing costs in greater detail.

Crowley speaks at events in Ottawa, Calgary

 

Macdonald-Laurier Institute Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley had a busy speaking schedule in September and October.

He gave talks at two different events, both taking place in Calgary and organized by the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy. The first, which took place on Sept. 15, discussed how barriers to internal trade are affecting Canadian competitiveness. The second, on Oct. 8, looked at the controversial concept of social licence.

Crowley discussed the future of health care in Canada at an event in Ottawa on Sept. 17. On Sept. 13 he also spoke at an event on the future of the Middle East and on Sept. 14 he looked back at where the West stands in the War on Terror.

 

Canada should lean more on former prime ministers: Crowley

 

Writing for the website Leaders and Legacies, Macdonald-Laurier Institute Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley argued that former prime ministers should play a larger role in public life once they leave office.

The unique political culture of the United States explains in part why their former presidents play a larger role in public life, he said.

Still, he believes "we can and should make better use of them in non-political roles that celebrate the contribution they have made and the statesmanlike role they can acquire".

Crowley was also quoted in a National Post story examining the role of former prime ministers in public life.

 

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