Critical Conversations
A Critical Conversation™
A Critical Conversation™, which was developed by the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University, aims to push the boundaries of current thinking on policy and regulation around current challenging issues. These conversations bring together senior public servants with key opinion leaders from industry, professional associations, and non-governmental organizations in an impartial university setting. Workshop participants can take advantage of these intimate in-camera workshops to question Canadian and internationally recognized experts and actively explore options and alternatives with their peers and colleagues through a candid and far-reaching, yet moderated conversation. Sessions are short and are focused on discussion and knowledge transfer among participants. Modified Chatham House rule is observed.
Past Conversations
A Critical Conversation 2009: On the Regulation of Known Unknowns
Event Summary Report of Proceedings
A Critical Conversation 2009: Smart and Sustainable use of Canadian Forest-based Bioenergy
Policy Priorities for the Sustainable use of Forest-based Bioenergy Report of Proceedings
A Critical Conversation 2012: Occupant Management and Re-occupancy of Buildings after Bio-terrorism
On February 23rd, 2012, the RGI and Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA), held a Critical Conversation™ on Occupant Management and Re-occupancy …
A Critical Conversation 2014: Railway-Shipper Relations
On 16 October 2014 the RGI hosted a Critical Conversation on the current state of railway-shipper relations in Canada, bringing together representatives from Canadian National …
A Critical Conversation 2014: The Relationship Between First Nations and Resource Development
Position Paper (Watts, 2014) Chief Isadore Day’s Slides – The Duty to Accommodate Watt’s Slides – Aboriginal Engagement Report of Proceedings
A Critical Conversation 2015: First Nations and Regulatory Regimes
Regulation is an essential component of modern public governance; however, the environment in which Canada’s regulatory regimes must function is undergoing fundamental change. In particular, …
A Critical Conversation 2016: Reflection on Regulatory Regimes – Present & Future
Governments have three core responsibilities — To tax, spend and regulate. Over the years, there has been a wealth of commentary about the taxing and …
A Critical Conversation 2017: Building Public Trust – A Role for Competency-based Management
Governments have three core responsibilities — To tax, spend and regulate. Over the years, there has been a wealth of commentary about modernizing the taxing …
A Critical Conversation 2018: Regulating for Innovation
The digital and data-driven economy opens up new opportunities for innovation, growth and jobs but also brings new competitive challenges for businesses and public policy …
A Critical Conversation 2019: Early Lessons Learned from Cannabis
Early Lessons Learned from Cannabis On April 8, 2019 RGI hosted a Critical Conversation looking at the national regulatory design and implementation regime to legalize …
A Critical Conversation 2020: Challenges to Evidence-based Policy Development in an Age of Public Polarization and Disengagement
A Critical Conversation 2020: Challenges to Evidence-based Policy Development in an Age of Public Polarization and Disengagement On February 20, 2020, we looked at the …
A Critical Conversation 2023: Regulatory Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A Critical Conversation 2023: Regulatory Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned On June 27, 2023, The Regulatory Governance Initiative hosted a Critical Conversation event …
A Critical Conversation 2025: Values and Ethics in the Regulatory Context
A Critical Conversation 2025: Values and Ethics in the Regulatory Context On Monday, June 2, 2025, the Regulatory Governance Initiative hosted a Critical Conversation event …