Latest Policy Bytes

June 25, 2018 - Well, when this comes to print, the provincial election will be either over or just about over. There will have been millions, nay billions, of dollars’ worth of promises made. In the coming weeks, the harsh reality of governing, as opposed to campaigning, will start the slow process of whittling those promises down. The items that get pursued will be those that are most easily achievable or those to which the new government, of whatever stripe, is most committed.

June 18, 2018 - What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “rangers”? Most likely, it is an image of park rangers patrolling Northern Ontario’s numerous provincial parks. But think again; the Canadian Rangers play a very different role in Ontario’s northern regions, and it is one that deserves more recognition.

June 4, 2018 - When stepping on the path to post-secondary education, there were some big decisions I needed to make. Which school do I go to? Which program do I chose? After graduating from the University of Ottawa, I had to choose my career path and where I wanted to establish myself for the next 5, 10, 15 or more years. I picked Northern Ontario.

May 28, 2018 - Where passion meets profession – Shelby Mahon does it all at Backcountry Motorsports Media.

May 17, 2018 - This column first appeared in Northern Ontario Business.

May 14, 2018 - What is the difference between Northern Policy Institute (NPI) and Common Voice Northwest (CVNW)? This was a question asked from the floor of the recently completed Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) Meetings in Kenora. It’s an important question, and one worthy of some exploration.

May 7, 2018 - Governance in Northern Ontario is like a giant, tangled bowl of noodles. The bowl is brimming with easy to confuse acronyms, overlap between different pieces of legislation, and service bodies made up of various departments.

April 23, 2018 -This transition briefing is part of Ontario 360's "30 on 30" initiative. Over the month of April, 2018, Ontario 360, housed at University of Toronto's School of Public Policy and Governance, is releasing 30 daily “transition briefings” by a wide range of policy experts on a comprehensive set of issues facing Ontario’s next government. To view all articles, visit http://on360.ca/

April 16, 2018 - I have said it before and I will say it again: you should be a guinea pig. If you live, work, invest, study or travel in Northern Ontario, or if you are just thinking of doing any of those things, then the government has an obligation to be experimenting on you. 

April 9, 2018 - Sault Ste. Marie’s community farm, “Food Bank Farm” has been helping the city and surrounding area since 2017. Formerly known as the “Purple Scallion”, this social enterprise makes it it’s mission to ensure everyone has access to fresh food, no matter their financial situation. In March of 2016, over 330 000 people used a food bank in Ontario alone. Incorporating nutritious items is important for food banks as statistics show that healthy eating habits reduces the risk of many different health problems.