Archive for the ‘Governance Debates’ Category
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Tory crackdown on tax evasion lost in a fog
It is next to impossible to find out how much money is leaking out of the country. CRA refuses to provide any estimate of the gap between the taxes it is owed and the amount it collects… Promising to penalize globe-straddling corporations that cheat the taxman is good politics — until voters realize it is an empty slogan.
Tags: budget, globalization, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Holding the Harper government to account, one written question at a time
If our Parliament was ever a place where great debates took place, it has now been replaced by MPs reading scripted talking points… The joke in Ottawa about “Question Period” is that it’s called Question Period and not “Answer Period” for a reason: MPs get to ask whatever questions they want, but government ministers or parliamentary secretaries don’t necessary have to answer them. Not so with Order Paper questions. They must be answered.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Tony Clement hatches open government plan
Clement’s objective is to “create a more cost-effective, efficient and responsive government” — in other words, save money. The rollout will take place as thousands of jobs in the public sector are being cut… No matter what Clement prescribes, the PMO will keep vetting all outgoing information, controlling what cabinet ministers and Conservative MPs say and stopping anything with the potential to harm the re-election prospects of the Conservative party from getting out.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights
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We are assured CETA is ‘a historic win’ for Canada. Why can’t we judge for ourselves?
Canada is a democracy, but all laws are not created equal. Our domestic laws are submitted and resubmitted, debated and amended before achieving royal assent. In the matter of international trade, however, a mix of law and tradition gives the executive branch exclusive authority… With a strategic ways and means bill, the legislature need not be involved at all… Between executive dominance of an ever-expanding trade agenda and the disproportionate influence of foreign corporations, popular accountability is eroding in our otherwise well-functioning democracy.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, participation, privatization, rights, standard of living
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4 ways to refute the Fraser Institute’s bogus tax Index
The right-wing think tank counts non-tax revenues as “taxes” to pad the numbers, including revenues from user fees…. The Fraser Institute… ignores the obvious: back in 1961, there was no medicare, no Canada Pension Plan, no Guaranteed Income Supplement, just to name a few public services… Even by the Institute’s own flawed numbers, taxes are going down
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, tax
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Fraser report conceals big picture on taxes
“The average Canadian family spends less on basic necessities thanks to taxes and the government programs they support.” … Instead, a recent study from the Fraser Institute pushed the opposite message. The study, however, is fundamentally flawed… Keeping careful watch on the quality of programs provided by the government and paid through public taxes is our democratic responsibility. Failing to acknowledge the necessity of these programs and the individual benefits they provide through collective action is misleading at best
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, tax
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Stephen Harper: The environment’s best friend
… now that Canada’s environmental house has been thoroughly burned to the ground it seems to me we have an opportunity… the second environmental legacy of the Harper years: a fierce and rejuvenated environmental movement. The great irony of the much-reported, politically motivated Canada Revenue Agency assault on environmental charities is that it has made traditionally cautious and low-key individuals and groups very angry. Blatant injustice tends to have that effect on people.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living
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Why the CRA’s crackdown on charities may be reasonable
… it was never Parliament’s goal to create a privileged class of lobbyists connected to charities. On the other hand, many people feel that restricting the political activities of charities is absurd given that virtually all charitable activity can be characterized as an attempt to change the way social resources are spent… The crucial message… is a reminder that our charitable status is a privilege and not a right. It is a privilege granted by CRA, an arm of the government, and as such we and other charitable organizations will always exist subject to the scrutiny of those in power in Ottawa.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, philanthropy
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
There’s a lot more to the economy than simply business
The Department of Finance this week announced the make-up of its Economic Advisory Council for the coming year. It has 16 members, who will be paid $1 plus expenses… What is surprising is that [Jack Mintz] is the only professional economist on the Economic Advisory Council. Almost all the rest are presidents and CEOs… But there’s a lot more to the economy than simply business… Who will speak for consumers and workers on this Economic Advisory Council?
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, privatization
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Only higher taxes will cure Ontario’s fiscal ills
Ontario’s program expenses, which exclude the interest payments made on the public debt, are 16.7 per cent of provincial GDP. By Canadian provincial standards, this is actually quite low. In fact, only two provinces spend less… on a per capita basis… Ontario is the second lowest… by these standards at least, Ontario does not appear to be a profligate spender… If Ontario has a large budget deficit that needs to be reduced but doesn’t have an obvious spending problem, then we must conclude that Ontario has a revenue problem.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, tax
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