Archive for the ‘Governance Policy Context’ Category
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Stephen Harper reinvents the welfare state
… the aim was twofold… First, the Conservatives wanted to do something popular. Cutting cheques for voters with children fit the bill. In effect, Harper had reinvented the old Family Allowance, or baby bonus, scheme that from 1945 to 1989 awarded every Canadian family a per-child cash payment. More importantly, the Harper government wanted to ensure that the alternative to the baby bonus — a comprehensive, publicly funded, national child-care program — never saw the light of day.
Tags: budget, child care, globalization, ideology, participation, privatization, standard of living
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A modern Access to Information Act is long overdue
I presented 85 recommendations to Parliament for the modernization of the Access to Information Act… [one which] strikes the right balance between the public’s right to know and the government’s need to protect legitimate interests… promotes timely and proactive disclosure of information in formats that are readily accessible to the public, strengthens oversight with order-making powers and provides for an effective compliance model… [It] is long overdue.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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The case for this bill has yet to be made
The bill is so broad and detailed that even normally well-informed Canadians may not grasp its full impact. All the more reason to subject it to close, extended scrutiny, rather than the rushed process the Conservatives have imposed. The onus is always on the state to show why the people’s liberties should be restricted, not on the citizens to show why it should not. That the government has not begun to discharge this obligation can only feed the growing unease over this bill.
Tags: crime prevention, featured, ideology, rights, standard of living
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An informal coalition of experts has become the most effective opposition to the Tory government
They enter the political arena only reluctantly, and do so only out of a sense of alarm at the implications following from particularly contentious and controversial legislation that appears destined to be passed without effective challenge within formal institutions of government, whether by opposition parties or skeptical voices within the governing caucus… Once engaged, they rely on a combination of professional experience, positional authority, and scholarly research in order to support their arguments.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Let the Senate reform itself
… changes would be to encourage the Senate to effectively and expeditiously propose amendments that the Commons must consider. Indirect vetoes would be largely eliminated and direct vetoes made more difficult. The Commons would be faced with clear proposals for amendments and be forced to consider their merits. Without the prospect of having to deal harshly with threatened vetoes, the Commons might consider Senate amendments more on their merits.
Tags: featured, ideology, jurisdiction, Senate
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Anti-terror bill a setback for human rights in Canada
Bill C-51 authorizes Federal Court judges to approve, in secret hearings, CSIS threat-reduction activities that would violate the Charter of Rights. So much for the notion that the judiciary is to be the guardian of the constitution… End runs around the ban on torture, around prohibitions on unlawful arrest and imprisonment, around fair trial guarantees and around protection against discrimination haven’t delivered a safer world… Embracing, not ignoring, human rights is where we need to start — and where we need to end up.
Tags: crime prevention, featured, ideology, rights, standard of living
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How TFSAs fit Harper’s vision of small government
RRSPs leave a legacy of tax revenue to future governments. Increasing TFSA contribution limits does just the opposite – it creates an investment vehicle that is ripe for abuse, whether by generating super-normal returns, or by sheltering income in a TFSA while claiming government benefits. At the same time, it deprives future governments of the opportunity to tax investment income.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, tax
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Long-form census is needed for good decision-making
Policy-makers are groping in the dark. So it was good news this week when both municipal and federal politicians shone a new spotlight on the issue… The evidence is mounting that the Harper government’s decision to do away with the compulsory long-form census and replace it with a voluntary National Household Survey – which cost $22 million more to produce – is costing Canada dearly.
Tags: economy, Health, homelessness, housing, ideology, immigration, multiculturalism, participation, poverty, standard of living
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A winning proposal for tax reform
… the [Fraser Institute] report identified no fewer than 68 tax credits that served mostly political ends and complicate the tax code for no identifiable benefit to society. Total cost: $23-billion… An extra $23-billion in federal revenue would have balanced the books two years ago. Or…it could be used to dramatically lower tax rates on the middle class… at no net cost to the treasury… every party should be able to sign onto a proposal that would make for a simpler tax form, a more efficient economy, and lower tax rates for millions of Canadians.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Ontario should look to B.C. model for new carbon tax
… fuels are taxed according to the emissions they generate, with an accompanying – and offsetting – decrease in income tax.
The beauty of the system lies in its simplicity: It slashes pollution, costs virtually nothing, has no adverse economic effects and doesn’t target the oil and gas industry… it should permit a grown-up discussion during a federal election year.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
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