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		Arctic Visions May 2013 Published 10 times per year, Policy Options is Canada's premier public policy magazine. Its goal is to encourage an informed debate on the important public policy issues of today and tomorrow.
	Editor's note Bruce Wallace ON THE COVER Contents First Steps – Building a balanced, sustainable energy futureJames Miller Williams is not among Canada's most prominent historical figures, but he is among our most influential... Tom Mulcair First Steps – How to encourage corporate social responsibilityFrom social impact bonds to carbon taxes, legislators are taking a hard look at the socially harmful consequences that result when many parties contribute to a problem but no one bears the full cost... Laura McGee Perspectives – Buying local: Nice idea, lousy public policySomething is intuitively appealing about the notion of supporting local businesses. Some municipalities have procurement policies that require them to buy from local vendors, or at least give local businesses preferential treatment. It seems only logical to keep those dollars within the community... Todd Hirsch Arctic Visions – A collectionFrom traditional northern powers to new actors in energy-challenged East Asia, countries are casting their eyes toward the Arctic. In the following pages, we examine how the Arctic looks from where they stand as they look to the Far North in a different light, wondering what it might hold for them. Arctic Visions – A normal great power? Russia and the ArcticThe Arctic's "bad guy" may be intent upon improving its image. Elana Wilson Rowe and Helge Blakkisrud Arctic Visions – The Chinese PoleSome countries see China's interest in gaining observer status on the Arctic Council as a threat. But Arctic countries should be more concerned about China opting out. James Manicom and P. Whitney Lackenbauer Arctic Visions – Wanting inAs climate change opens new economic opportunities and strategic interests in the circumpolar region, countries like France are demanding a voice in how the Arctic is governed. Joël Plouffe Arctic Visions – A path to responsible developmentEnsuring the proper extraction of resources in the Arctic Ocean requires more than new laws and regulations. It also needs companies to create and abide by their own codes of responsible conduct. Timo Koivurova Arctic Visions – Park the paranoiaSouth Korea and Japan bring technological and scientific advantages to help the Arctic develop in a sustainable way. Canada and the Arctic states should welcome that involvement. Ken Coates and Kimie Hara The Opponent – How Bill McKibben changed environmental politics and took on the oil patchIn the 1980s, Bill McKibben became one of the first journalists to warn of the perils of climate change. Since then he has parlayed his extensive environmental writing and the reach of digital media into a grassroots campaign against the fossil fuel industry, the Keystone XL pipeline in particular. How did this writer-turned-activist become the bane of the Canadian oil patch? And what is his vision for the future?... Matthew C. Nisbet The Wonk – After the BudgetArticle series on the implications of the latest federal budget, which may be more surprising and extensive than appeared in the initial reviews. After the Budget – Trouble aheadOttawa is laying the groundwork for a fiscal future that will strain already heavily indebted provinces. The federation needs to change its tack if Canada is to compete in the Information Age. Tom Courchene After the Budget – Ottawa's new activismOttawa's latest budget was greeted with yawns by many observers. That's a mistake, because Budget 2013 may ultimately mark the moment when the government signalled its readiness to embrace a more interventionist role in the economy. Stephen Tapp After the Budget – Fixing the skills gapBudget 2013 was a fair response to the growing debate about whether Canada's labour market is working well. But until we have better data, we may not understand the full picture. Tyler Meredith Ici et ailleurs – Ottawa dicte aux provinces des règles incohérentesStephen Harper est maintenant en vitesse de croisière, notait avec satisfaction le Globe and Mail au lendemain du dépôt du budget. Il met la clé sous la porte de l'Agence canadienne de développement international, change les règles du jeu pour la formation de la main-d'oeuvre sans ajouter d'argent neuf et introduit même un programme de travail obligatoire pour les jeunes autochtones... Alain Noël Vieillissement – Pour une assurance publique des soins de longue duréeAmong possible financing options, only a public insurance plan would ensure universal coverage of long-term care needs equitably and efficiently, and it would also be more consistent with the "aging at home" approach favoured by seniors and governments. Michel Grignon and Nicole F. Bernier Reply All – The destiny of demographic changeChanging population trends lie behind our diminished prospects for economic growth. If we understand the demographic facts we'll be able to come up with the right policies to deal with the economic challenges. Rafael Gomez and David Foot Nota Bene – The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse WorldThe rise of the South is unprecedented in its speed and scale. For the first time in 150 years, the combined output of the developing world's three leading economies – Brazil, China and India – is about equal to the combined GDP of the longstanding industrial powers of the North – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and the United States... UN Development Program Nota Bene – Nuclear power saves livesIn the aftermath of the March 2011 accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the future contribution of nuclear power to the global energy supply has become somewhat uncertain. Because nuclear power is an abundant, low-carbon source of base-load power, it could make a large contribution to mitigation of global climate change and air pollution... Pusher A. Kharecha and James E. Hansen Nota Bene – "The Future of Food"One future for food is the emergence of a food fascism. Not just this absolute uncontrollable power by a handful of corporations, but also the abuse of law against innocent farmers who are saving seeds. We've created a whole global movement on seed freedom because friends in Europe are being sued if they're saving seeds; friends in Latin America are being sued for saving seeds... Vandana Shiva Nota Bene – The case for diplomacy with IranFor more than three decades, the United States has relied more heavily on the pressure track than on the diplomatic track of its "dual-track" Iran policy. While this strategy has been successful in some ways, a cycle of pressure and resistance to pressure has brought the United States and Iran to a standoff... The Iran Project Nota Bene – Early warning of warmingSpeech to the Royal Society, London, September 27, 1988 Margaret Thatcher

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