Archive for the ‘Governance Debates’ Category
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Dismantling Democracy: Stifling debate and dissent in Canada
… we document the abuse of parliamentary rules, the intimidation of public servants, and the defunding and intimidation of organizations that hold views at odds with the government. The report documents where the federal government has gutted the capacity of its own departments and independent agencies to offer information and analysis needed to make sound policy choices… the government has pursued a deliberate strategy to repress alternative views.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Canada needs a Senate and our Senate needs to be fixed. Here’s how
Ottawa should bypass the bad old approach to constitutional negotiations by tabling a specific reform proposal and appealing directly to the electorate for a referendum mandate to enact its proposals… The provinces, faced with a federal proposal endorsed in a national referendum, would find it very hard to resist… the chances of getting the reforms through the formal amendment process increase dramatically. Put the people first and the provinces will follow.
Tags: featured, ideology, jurisdiction, rights, Senate
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Third-party spending caps in Ontario elections are overdue
Ontario is increasingly isolated in allowing the uncontrolled practice. The federal government and six provinces — Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia — have strict controls on how much third-party groups can spend during elections. Ottawa, for example, caps it at $188,000, while it’s $30,000 in Alberta and just $5,000 in Manitoba. It’s high time Ontario got on the bandwagon.
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, participation, rights, standard of living
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Ontario’s political-donation rules badly need an update
in Ottawa and many of the provinces… corporations and unions don’t get to make donations to political parties, or use loopholes that allow them to turn a maximum contribution of $9,975 into something 10 times that large via subsidiaries and local chapters… Ms. Wynne needs to get on board… where individual donors – actual voters – are the only donors, and they don’t have to compete with the massive cash resources of powerful vested interest for the governing party’s attention.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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It’s not too late to fight back against Tory anti-terror bill
We must not allow the legitimate concerns about security to dictate reductions in the protection of the fundamental rights for which security itself is pursued. Any solution must respect the necessary balance between security and freedom that will continue to allow us to shape the kind of society we want… Engaged citizens and civil society have proven that, with determination, we can prevail. We must stand up for our rights and for the society we want. We must fight to repeal C-51.
Tags: crime prevention, featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Why the G7 summit must go beyond crisis diplomacy
… the G7 should now commit to eliminating hunger and absolute poverty by 2030. Only if we manage to secure the food supply for the world’s growing population will there be a chance of success for other development measures… The G7 ought to be a model for the necessary transition to a low-carbon economy… Statistics show a reduction in poverty and inequality when more women play an active part in economic life… The G7 therefore wants to give more girls and women in developing countries the chance of vocational training.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, poverty, standard of living, women
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Ontario municipalities get alternative to ‘first past the post’ in next election
Under a ranked ballot system, by contrast, victory goes to the candidate who can assemble a broad base of support… So the incentive for candidates under ranked ballots is towards more civil, less divisive campaigns. Voters, in turn, find themselves facing a different, less unpleasant calculus… perhaps the biggest impact of this change is simply that it is, in fact, a change… one change and it may be easier to make others.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation
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Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin argues tolerance, within limits, ‘is the only way forward’
McLachlin argued tolerance, within limits, “is the only way forward,” saying the Canadian government’s 19th century assimilation policies toward aboriginal people would today be called “cultural genocide.” … Democratic societies succeed when they tolerate and embrace religious and cultural differences but… there will always be limits to that. She suggested indirectly “21st century jihadists” will not be shielded by guarantees of free speech or religion.
Tags: crime prevention, featured, ideology, multiculturalism, participation, rights, standard of living
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The fix is in — Senate will quietly allow popular Reform Act to die
it wouldn’t do to actually vote it down. Bad form, old chap. And anyway, unnecessary. Instead it will simply never come to a vote. The Senate rises for the summer June 23, not to return until after the election. That’s just six weeks from now: 18 sitting days, by the Senate’s leisurely calendar. If the bill is not passed by then, it dies, along with every other piece of legislation still on the order paper. It should not be difficult to stall it until then.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Another budget, another contemptuous Tory omnibus bill
The Conservatives have tabled whoppers of more than 450 pages three times. In 2010, they dropped an 880-pager on Parliament… The latest Conservative one, eight times as long, should go to a number of committees for proper study – Public Safety and National Security, Veterans Affairs, Finance, for example. Instead, it will be pushed through the Commons, a single committee and an obliging Senate before Parliament rises in June. In doing so, the Conservatives will further cement an ugly precedent.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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