Archive for the ‘Governance Debates’ Category
SNC-Lavalin is a sideshow to the real Wilson-Raybould issue
Saturday, March 16th, 2019
We should all stop simpering, shut down the Indigenous grievance racket, devise a serious reform policy and stop acting like pathetic apologists for the brave and good people who built this country, the Aboriginal people first among them… The natives have entirely legitimate grievances and we have to address them, but not by throwing money at undemocratic leaders and accepting the blood libel that we are the descendants of barbarians.
Tags: budget, ideology, Indigenous, rights
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Property taxes are the obvious solution to Toronto’s revenue crisis
Saturday, March 2nd, 2019
John Tory… is kicking the can down the road by deferring maintenance and raiding reserves. The favourite answer of local politicians is Ottawa and Queen’s Park. But those governments can — and do — point to the fact that we refuse to collect taxes at a rate anywhere near that of our neighbours. Why would they fund us if we won’t fund ourselves?
Tags: budget, ideology, jurisdiction
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Fiscal Transparency: How the Federal Government Can Get an A+
Friday, March 1st, 2019
To start, make the key numbers in the 2019 budget easy to find: up front, and clearly identified… produce estimates that matched the budget and the financial statements… the 2018 budget’s reconciliation of its projections with the anticipated estimates was unclear and incomplete… Timely reporting helps legislators and citizens spot – and, if needed, demand action to correct – deviations from plans that make no sense and/or threaten the fiscal plan.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, participation, standard of living
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‘Yada yada yada’ isn’t the problem. It’s Ford’s autism policy
Sunday, February 24th, 2019
MacLeod can call this a “fair, equitable and sustainable” system all she wants, but that doesn’t make it a good one. Or a system that provides kids with autism, especially those on the high needs end of the spectrum, access and funding to services they desperately need. But in the face of mounting evidence that this policy is deeply misguided and won’t achieve its stated outcomes, the Ford government has reacted the way it usually does — claiming victory anyway.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living, youth
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Doug Ford surprises – by not gutting police oversight
Thursday, February 21st, 2019
confidence in the police, according to the Ford government, was undermined by a stillborn law that never got to impose steep fines on officers who refused to co-operate with the SIU, and never made it slightly easier to fire them for misconduct or incompetence. And so, the Ford government has now tabled the Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act – yes, the COPS Act. The government is pitching it as a radical overhaul of Liberal police oversight, to make it more fair to police. Spoiler alert: It’s mostly not.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, rights
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Ottawa should change tax rules to encourage donations to charity
Thursday, February 21st, 2019
… the Trudeau government… should broaden the tax exemption on capital gains for charitable donations. It can do that by giving the same tax treatment to donations of shares in private companies and real estate as is now given to gifts of publicly traded shares. Experts who have looked at this idea estimate it would result in additional donations to charities of about $200 million a year. That’s a big chunk of change that would go to organizations like the United Way and local hospital foundations.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, philanthropy, tax
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MacLeod needs to build on past successes
Wednesday, February 20th, 2019
… the needs of children with autism… and the needs of their families are complex, treatments are evolving and no one has yet gotten it perfect… It may feel good in the moment to suggest that everything past was wrong but that kind of thinking does children a disservice and that is what should matter to us all… If we don’t even try to build on what has been successful in the past, if we don’t even try to listen to each other and the people on the front line, in this case the parents, then we are bound to fail spectacularly.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living, youth
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Toronto needs to pay for the needs of a major metropolis
Sunday, February 17th, 2019
… spending is low. A few shrill voices on the right squawk on about waste at City Hall, but the facts show the city is actually spending less per resident now than it did back in 2010, when the figures are adjusted for inflation… But how does Toronto compare to other cities? One measure is the annual growth in spending over the past few years, and there it turns out Toronto ranks right near the bottom — 27th out of 29 Ontario cities listed in a Fraser Institute survey last fall.
Tags: budget, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living, tax
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The Ford government needs to stop its bully tactics
Friday, February 15th, 2019
A government that has genuinely and openly consulted with affected groups, ahead of making changes, and believes its new policy can stand up to fair public scrutiny doesn’t run around demanding unknowing and unconditional support… it can be difficult for people and vulnerable groups that rely heavily on provincial policies or funding to speak out against the government of the day. But this government’s bully tactics seem to have pushed them into doing just that.
Tags: budget, child care, disabilities, featured, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living
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Thank God for Canada!
Thursday, February 7th, 2019
For aid programs in the developing world… Canada champions programs that are extremely cost-effective but so deathly boring that they will never be discussed on TV — initiatives like iodizing salt to prevent mental impairment…. Off the ice, Canadians pursue policies that are preternaturally sensible. Canadians regulate guns, oversee the banking sector so as to avoid financial crashes, and nurture entrepreneurship and economic growth without enormous inequality.
Tags: featured, globalization, ideology, immigration, multiculturalism, rights, women
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