Latest Policy Bytes

December 10, 2019 - Ontario is the only province in Canada to fund four separate types of school boards: public Anglophone, public Francophone, Roman Catholic and Francophone Roman Catholic. Altogether, there are 76 publicly funded school boards in the province.

December 4, 2019 - In recent years, many Northern Ontario districts have experienced a decline in population growth. Among other challenges, this means that there are fewer available workers to fill much needed occupations. And the existing Northern Ontario population is not enough to meet this need.

November 26, 2019 - This blog first appeared in Northern Ontario Business.

November 22, 2019 - For some post-secondary students, school isn’t just an hour away, but several time zones away. This means travelling across the globe before hittin’ the books.

November 6, 2019 - A hot steaming cup of coffee is at the start to most people’s mornings, but for Twiggs Coffee Roasters location owners, theirs starts with roasting green coffee beans. With several business awards under their belt, several franchise locations and a distribution centre, Twiggs can argue that they serve “the best cup of coffee in Northern Ontario”.

October 17, 2019 - As the Federal political parties count down to the October election, they must have policy positions that speak to all national issues. Access to transportation is important to Canadians everywhere. It would be valuable to learn the leaders’ positions on transportation access to the remote northern communities, and whether or not, they have formed an opinion on the use of cargo airships to provide year-round freight transport.

October 2, 2019 - This blog first appeared in Northern Ontario Business.

October 2, 2019 - Egli's Sheep Farm is the story of how a small Swiss farming dream became a big Northern Ontario successful reality.

September 17, 2019 - The Government of Ontario has been clear in its desire to reduce the deficit, cut spending, and streamline service delivery, and the 2019 budget included expansive plans intending to do exactly that. One sector that has faced government scrutiny has been health care which they have defined as being disconnected and uncoordinated.

September 10 , 2019 - The opioid crisis has been affecting communities throughout Canada for years. Many communities have felt the consequences, and it continues to pose major policy challenges for each level of government. The crisis has shown no signs of slowing down in Ontario, with opioid use disorders increasing by 42 percent from 2014 to 2017 and rates of emergency room visits due to opioid poisoning jumping by 73 percent from 2016 to 2017.