Archive for the ‘Governance Debates’ Category
Stream of election gimmicks and promises will violate our human rights obligations
Friday, November 29th, 2024
All of these proposals rely on borrowing money so it can be sent to many people who don’t need it… Meanwhile, homelessness, food insecurity, and poverty are on the rise, and this comes with both immediate and long-term costs. Governments would be wise to invest every extra dollar they have in proven solutions, such as a stronger income security system and non-market housing sector… our governments [are] obligated to steer our society toward the fulfillment of everyone’s human rights…
Tags: budget, disabilities, poverty, rights
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This is why you need the CBC
Thursday, October 3rd, 2024
Public media can lead the way in charting a course for all media to use AI ethically, and in ways that diminish rather than contribute to the flow of misinformation… developing and testing ways to encourage civil online conversations as an antidote to the harmful, toxic online discourses that are fed by misinformation and disinformation.
Tags: globalization, ideology, participation
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I cover the far right for a living. This is why I wasn’t surprised to find Canadians embedded in an alleged Russian propaganda scheme
Monday, September 16th, 2024
… Tenet Media produced at least 51 videos this year focused on Canada that were viewed half-a-million times… on hot button cultural issues, including immigration, crime, gender and sexuality, as well as “anti-white” sentiment, unmarked residential school graves, and economic grievances about grocery prices and housing affordability… It is bad for our democracy when a significant slice of our population is being deliberately misled and even radicalized.
Tags: featured, ideology
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Who wants you to believe taxes have risen 2000 per cent? Would-be Prime Minister Pierre Poilievre for a start
Thursday, August 8th, 2024
For decades the Fraser Institute has been using its ample resources to disconnect taxes in the public’s mind from all the benefits, services, programs and infrastructure that taxes provide… the effective tax rate Canadians pay has increased by 28 per cent since 1961… But… government today provides a lot more benefits than it did in 1961 — most notably, universal health coverage and old age pensions — major programs that have become essential to the well-being and financial security of Canadians.
Tags: economy, Health, ideology, pensions, standard of living, tax
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The Danger of Poilievre’s ‘Axe the Tax’ Scam Hits Home
Monday, August 5th, 2024
Opposition to climate action stems mostly from Canada’s largely foreign-owned fossil fuel industry, American dark-money-funded think tanks and Canada’s major newspaper chain, owned by American hedge funds… Emissions are being reduced, and with the Canada Carbon Rebate the vast majority of Canadians are financially better off under pollution pricing… Canada cannot slogan its way out of the climate crisis
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living, tax
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It is time for Canadians to confront Poilievre’s assault on decency
Friday, August 2nd, 2024
… extremist narratives have “increasingly normalized” threats to politicians and “have the potential to negatively affect the fabric of Canadian society.” Exploiting people’s frustrations and fears will do nothing to make life more affordable, improve access to health care, address climate change or strengthen equality. Canada’s common decency — the enduring values of civility and caring, honesty and humility — are central to understanding our country.
Tags: ideology
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Four decades of tax cuts, deregulation and privatization equals a serious distribution of wealth problem
Saturday, July 6th, 2024
After slashing government funding to public services starving them into crisis just to pay for tax cuts to the wealthy and their corporations, they then present privatization as the solution to a problem they created. The only thing deregulation and privatization does is create more profit-making opportunities…
Small tax cuts to the general population have been used as a cover for massive tax cuts to the wealthy and their corporations. Reversing tax cuts is not raising taxes, it is restoring revenue to rebuild our once civil society.
Tags: budget, ideology, privatization, standard of living, tax
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Doug Ford has bungled affordable housing and now Ottawa is rubbing his nose in it
Tuesday, May 14th, 2024
The federal government now says it will send funding directly to municipalities, cutting Ontario out of the equation entirely… Why can the two levels of government come together to build subsidized factories, but not subsidized housing? … Ultimately, the friction over funding may have less to do with personalities than priorities. In Ford’s Ontario, unaffordable factories count for more than affordable housing.
Tags: budget, economy, housing, jurisdiction
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Trudeau would be wise to raise the GST to 7 per cent instead of reforming the capital gains tax
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024
… the GST has underwritten Canada’s social safety net for more than 30 years. In 2006… the GST accounted for 30.6 per cent of all federal tax revenue… Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and finance minister Chrystia Freeland have sought refuge in progressive populism with their plan to expand the capital gains tax. But the sustainable policy choice would be to put those two points back on the GST.
Tags: budget, economy, tax
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Democracy Is Under Siege Globally. Canada Is Being Tested
Monday, April 8th, 2024
Finkelstein preached that you didn’t need a vision to win in politics, just good polling that revealed what people were against. Once that was established, the goal became tying the unpopular thing — immigration, carbon tax, inflation — to a flesh and blood political “enemy.” … The idea was to avoid talking about your own positions and policies, the better to demonize your opponent. The objective was not to sell yourself but rather to destroy your opponent… repeating simplistic slogans… “Axe the tax.” “Not worth the price.” “Everything is broken.”
Tags: featured, globalization, housing, ideology, immigration, rights, tax
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