Archive for the ‘Governance Delivery System’ Category
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Ontario’s private-sector gamble is another sucker’s bet
After being burned with ORNGE, eHealth and the gas plant scandal, you might think the Ontario government would shy away from further risky and wasteful private sector misadventures. But instead the government is doubling down. Its fall economic update proposed a major expansion of the latest fad from the world of finance: Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP), also known as Public-Private Partnerships (P3s).
Tags: budget, ideology, privatization, standard of living, tax
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Canada’s crackdown on government whistleblowers
The House of Commons recently shocked many Canadians by demanding its employees sign a comprehensive, lifetime “gag order” with draconian sanctions for any breach… this heavy-handed measure reeked of a coverup strategy and seemed to confirm that our political leaders are more concerned with concealing the truth than being transparent and accountable for their actions… this incident is not an aberration: it is part of a trend to suppress and criminalize truth-telling in Canada.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Ontario’s raw deal on fiscal transfers needs fixing
For too long, this province has played the role of Canada’s big benevolent money machine, through good times and bad. When other provinces like Quebec, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia got wind of cuts to their fiscal transfers or equalization payments, their protests forced federal decision-makers to back down. Ontario needs to gather strong voices, bolstered by smart policy recommendations, and learn how to do the same.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, tax
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Auditor general’s report: Liberal government falling short on autism treatment
… the province is allowing specialists trained here at a cost of $780,000 apiece to flee for work elsewhere while rural areas remain short of physicians… Despite a quadrupling in autism funding since the Liberals took power in 2003, “there are still more children with autism (1,748) waiting for government-funded services than there are children receiving them”… But some families of children with the disorder are getting more help than others
Tags: budget, standard of living, tax
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Conservative government spend billions annually on outside services
Over the seven-year period, the federal government has spent more than $67 billion on outside professional help… critics say it’s an attack on the public service that the Conservatives have never fully trusted — one that will limit the public’s access to information and could end up costing the federal coffers more… “These new ‘black-box’ wings are insulated from government hiring rules. They are also immune from government information requests through processes like Access to Information and Privacy.”
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, privatization, rights, standard of living, tax
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It’s time to shine more light on Canada’s political staff
Accountability has shifted as government power has centralized within the premier’s office or prime minister’s office… Political convenience has trumped political accountability. The federal government should put the original guideline back in place. Political staff should be accountable to the minister, premier, or prime minister for whom they work. In turn, those elected officials should be accountable for their political staff. That’s how it is meant to work.
Tags: ideology, rights, standard of living
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Put teeth in Access to Information Act
Stephen Harper has raised the culture of concealment to new heights, denying Canadians access to everything from the cost of prison building to the results of scientific studies. Some of his ministers refuse to respond to requests for public documents. Others drag their feet so long that the information is outdated… Federal bureaucrats routinely redact everything of public interest in departmental records. They charge Canadians prohibitive fees to compile and reproduce public data…
Tags: ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Broken promises on affordable housing
In its March budget, the federal government committed to renew its Investment in Affordable Housing Program at $253 million per year over five years to be matched by provincial and territorial governments, bringing the annual total for new social and affordable housing to $506 million. Eight months later, we’re still waiting for an announcement that any province or territory has negotiated a funding agreement with Ottawa… The wait list has continued to set new records since then.
Tags: budget, featured, homelessness, housing, ideology, standard of living
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Federal watchdog puzzled why government spending $10-billion less than budgeted
… the government has been unable to, or not spent, about $10 billion — $700 per household on average — that the House of Commons has approved in each of the past three years… [but] is asking for an additional $5.4 billion to spend in the latest supplementary estimates… The PBO says over half of the additional funds the government seeks is aimed at increased transfer payments, including for negotiating First Nations’ claims, and to reimburse costs for natural disasters
Tags: budget, ideology, tax
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No evidence Conservative tax credit made kids more active, analysis shows
… the credit is more likely to be used by higher income Canadians, is more likely to be used by parents of boys and only 15 per cent of survey respondents agreed the credit allowed them to enrol their children in programs they would not have otherwise been able to access. “It remains unclear whether the availability of the CFTC actually does increase participation in physical activity”… tax credits tend to reward behaviour that is already taking place.
Tags: budget, ideology, standard of living, tax, youth
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