Archive for the ‘Governance Debates’ Category
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Appointing independent senators: Leave the skepticism behind
… the very purpose of a Senate composed of appointed members was to ensure that senators would consider the public policy issues of the day on their merits, not on the basis of preprogrammed positions dictated from above by party leadership. Canadians have seen this ideal compromised through patronage appointments, excessive partisanship and executive interference by previous Prime Ministers’ Offices. This is precisely why the government’s policy is to not exercise top-down partisan control over any member of the Senate
Tags: featured, ideology, Senate
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When First Nations take control of their affairs, they succeed
The essential role of the federal government has been to get out of the way, to legislate new opportunities for First Nations to deploy their own creativity. Abolition or wholesale amendment of the Indian Act may not be politically possible, but building such off ramps has proven feasible in the past and can continue in the future.
Tags: economy, featured, Indigenous, jurisdiction, participation, rights, standard of living
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What makes Canadians proud of their country? Equality and respect, poll says
Asked… what made them proud to be Canadians, the top unprompted response was our commitment to equality/equity/social justice (25.2%), followed by our reputation as peacekeepers (19.4%), multiculturalism (12.0%) and respect for others (11.3%). Asked… to name the top Canadian values, rights and freedoms topped the list at 15.5% followed by respect for others (11.6%), kindness/compassion (11.4%) and social values (8.7%).
Tags: ideology, multiculturalism, participation, rights, standard of living
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Trudeau confounds provinces with Conservative policies in Liberal clothing
Jane Philpott, the federal minister, offered them the same 3% increase the Conservatives had promised. She also noted that health spending has been rising at a rate of 0%-2% a year, while the provinces have been getting 6%, which is a pretty good deal. No one wants to say out loud where the extra money has been going, but we all know the answer: the provinces use it to finance whatever programs strike their fancy.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health
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Liberals should be bold in tackling challenges of second year
Reassert federal leadership in health care. There’s a crying need for more money in areas such as homecare… Simply handing over cash won’t buy change. The federal government should insist on national standards in this area. – Get pharmacare on the national agenda… – Fix Bill C-51, the fatally flawed anti-terror bill… Match rhetoric with action in fixing relations with indigenous people.
Tags: economy, Health, immigration, Indigenous, pharmaceutical
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The Senate finally does something right
… the proposals fall into three categories: providing greater openness, improving internal operations and generating better legislation. In principle all are desirable… [including] a proposal to group senators into “caucuses” rather than parties… all represented on committees… But a less rigid, us-versus-them, in-versus-out pattern of debate and voting would still be an improvement, perhaps even a useful model for reforming the Commons
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, participation, Senate, standard of living, tax
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Cotler challenge would force Trudeau to match human rights talk with action
Irwin Cotler, the human rights lawyer and former Liberal justice minister, has noted the Liberal government’s much-professed determination to “re-engage” with the UN, and made a laudable suggestion: Canada should use its position to vote against the re-election of members with objectionable records, and publicly reveal its vote… Keeping the globe’s worst human rights offenders off a commission meant to police such offenses seem like a very good place to start
Tags: crime prevention, featured, globalization, jurisdiction, rights
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It’s time the feds got off the health-care escalator
Rather than the old game of fiscal federalism — Ottawa raises the taxes for the provinces to spend — the federal government should instead offer to convert the existing transfer into “tax points,” Ottawa cutting its own taxes to make room for the provinces to raise theirs. The sums involved would be roughly the same, but it would at last be clear just who was paying for what, and should answer to whom. I believe this principle is called responsible government.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health, tax
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How to tackle the housing crisis in Canada’s cities
One in five renters spends more than half their income on housing. Emergency shelter occupancy rates are pushing 90 per cent. And 1.5 million Canadians can’t find safe, decent housing they can afford. Housing is less affordable at every income level and that’s having serious impacts on our nation’s prosperity, its productivity and its identity as a place of equal opportunity and inclusion… at the Toronto Housing Summit… we’ll present seven principles to tackle our housing crisis
Tags: budget, economy, Health, homelessness, housing, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Governments must pony up to address affordable housing crisis
… municipal leaders from across the country… are all in agreement that the federal government should dedicate most of its promised $20 billion in “social infrastructure” money over 10 years to affordable housing. While that would mean abandoning plans to spend some of that money other priorities, like child care and recreational facilities, it would at go a long way to addressing a housing crisis that leaves many thousands of people struggling to find a decent, affordable place to live.
Tags: budget, homelessness, housing, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
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