Archive for the ‘Governance Debates’ Category
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Another week, another courtroom, another defeat for Doug Ford on climate change
Tuesday, November 17th, 2020
Several young people (ranging in age from 12 to 24) argued that the decision to pursue less stringent GHG reductions amounts to a violation of their Charter rights. They asked the court to order the government to adopt a “science-based” target and want a declaration that a stable climate is part of our Charter rights… It’s true that courts have been willing to make decisions with broad impacts before, but this would be something nearly revolutionary.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction, rights, standard of living, youth
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Five things you should know about Ontario’s 2020 budget
Friday, November 6th, 2020
Here are five key items from the 2020-21 budget. 1. Record spending makes for a record deficit — but not record interest payments… 2. Health-care spending is, unsurprisingly, growing during the pandemic… 3. Lots of help for small businesses… 4. Lean years for schools coming(?)… 5. The cries for Ottawa’s money will never stop… As it stands, federal transfers to Ontario in this fiscal year were $33.4 billion, up $8 billion from last year.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, jurisdiction
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Thanks to Quebec millennials, another referendum isn’t looming
Sunday, November 1st, 2020
… Among those age 55 and older, there is a big difference between francophone Quebeckers and people in the rest of Canada in the proportion saying their provincial government best represents their interests; among those under 40, this difference has disappeared… the differences between the outlooks of young adults in different parts of Canada have never been as small as they are today. Our historically weak transnational ties have been getting stronger under the radar.
Tags: ideology, immigration, jurisdiction, multiculturalism
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Ranked ballots for municipal elections matter and why Doug Ford should care
Monday, October 26th, 2020
… what is Premier Doug Ford afraid of? Municipalities deserve to decide how they conduct their own affairs, including how they elect their leaders. In fact, in referendums in Kingston and Cambridge, ranked ballots were chosen by voters as the way to elect their representatives.
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, multiculturalism, participation, rights
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Ottawa now has a road map to rein in digital giants
Thursday, October 22nd, 2020
… an Australian-type regime in Canada would allow news publishers to recover about $620 million in ad revenue a year that’s now going to swell the bottom lines of Google and Facebook. That would make up most of the revenue losses the publishers are expected to suffer in the next few years. And it would be enough to save the jobs of an estimated 700 journalists (and all the content they produce), along with some 1,400 others in the news industry alone.
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology, rights
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Federal NDP chooses wealth taxes as the wedge issue party needs right now
Wednesday, October 14th, 2020
The biggest knocks against wealth taxes is that they encourage the flight of capital and tax avoidance, and they shrink incentives for investment. The Parliamentary Budget Officer costed the 1-per-cent tax proposal and estimated it would raise $5.6-billion in the current fiscal year, but also that each family’s net worth would shrink by 35 per cent in a vast expansion of avoidance behaviour.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, tax
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An ambitious plan for an alternate reality
Friday, September 25th, 2020
This is the prospect that has so entranced the Prime Minister’s Office: bundling all the policies they’d ever dreamed of together and passing them all in a rush – in the name of “the pandemic” – and doing it all with borrowed funds. The government that failed at so basic a state responsibility as safeguarding public health is eager to take on new challenges.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, standard of living, tax
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New survey shows Canadians want lasting change to accompany economic recovery
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020
… change should be “fundamental.” … most often cited… is the need to reduce inequality… a priority shared by the higher and lower income alike… in a society that provides quality long-term care for the elderly, that covers all essential medicines through public drug plans, that makes sure employees can take paid sick days when they need to, and that makes affordable and high-quality daycare for young children available to all parents who need it.
Tags: budget, child care, economy, Health, ideology, participation, pharmaceutical
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Can Canada pivot from pandemic to progress?
Sunday, September 20th, 2020
… the Liberals’ Throne Speech on Sept. 23 will be an opportunity to set out policies and programs to carry us forward in ways that are more inclusive and equitable… a guaranteed livable income, along with adequate wages and benefits for the employed – as well as other social and health supports such as child care, education, pharma, mental health and dental care – would be a way to protect all Canadians.
Tags: budget, child care, corrections, crime prevention, economy, Health, ideology, Indigenous, participation, pharmaceutical, poverty
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With the pandemic war still on, can we afford a postpandemic Throne Speech?
Thursday, September 10th, 2020
Team Trudeau’s original 2015 idea of using that extra borrowing to pay for a temporary surge in long-term investment fell by the wayside. There’s a strong hint it might be revived later this month. Would that make sense? The only fair answer is: It depends on what the money is being spent on… If it’s permanent, how will it be paid for?
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, jurisdiction
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