Archive for the ‘Governance Policy Context’ Category
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Supreme Court rules against banks in highly watched case
The “paramountcy” rule is applicable in Canada when there is a conflict between provincial and federal law; when one arises, the federal law prevails… dependent on fundamental provincial rules such as the basic rules of contract”… Until now, it was unclear whether a single person could bring a class-action suit against multiple defendants when that person does not have a directly relationship or a contract with each defendant. The Supreme Court ruled that a single person can do so, so long as the issue at hand apply to a broad population.
Tags: economy, featured, jurisdiction, rights
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Ontario is left with few options to fix its revenue problem
Ontario could choose to follow British Columbia’s lead and introduce a tax on the emission of greenhouse gases – a carbon tax… Consumers and businesses alike would feel the impact; they would face greater incentives to economize on fuel use, and firms especially would be led to develop innovative ways of doing business that rely less on fossil fuels. Rebates for low-income households could easily be built into the policy. An Ontario carbon tax would represent a pragmatic blending of fiscal and environmental policies.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, tax
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Budget offers fairer tax system
Premier Kathleen Wynne has proposed tax measures that would boost provincial revenues by $1 billion. She is proposing to make the tax system fairer by lowering the income threshold for the top tax bracket of 13.16 per cent from $514,090 to $220,000 and adding a new tax rate of 12.16 per cent for those earning between $150,000 and $220,000. This is expected to bring in an additional $635 million in 2014-15.These changes will only apply the top 2 per cent of income earners.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Stephen Harper’s incoherent approach to crime
Given the voluminous research that has examined the relationship between crime and sentence severity, it is dishonest to suggest that these changes will better protect children. The prime minister understands the value of evidence: After all, he urged parents to follow the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of vaccinations for their children. In criminal law, apparently, evidence is trumped by political needs… Canadians and their justice system are not well served.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology
Posted in Governance Policy Context | 2 Comments »
Supreme Court ruling should remind Ottawa of unfinished business with First Nations
This week, the country’s highest court ruled that native Canadians still own their ancestral lands unless they signed away their ownership in treaties with government. The decision was one in a long-running series of victories for aboriginal Canadians in the court system, which has also required that they be consulted and that their concerns be accommodated for resource projects that would impact traditional territory.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, Indigenous, jurisdiction, rights
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Strong Supreme Court ruling on native rights
Canada’s First Nations have just won a historic victory in the long struggle to affirm their rights. The Supreme Court has ruled — for the first time — that they have a broad right to claim possession of ancestral lands and to decide how those lands are used… it sets out guidelines for future dealings between the Crown and aboriginal communities in the fraught area of land claims… Where native groups don’t have formal title, the Crown must consult “in good faith” before making use of native land, and accommodate residents.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, Indigenous, jurisdiction, rights
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Time to scrap this relic: Ontario’s 1999 Taxpayer Protection Act
The Taxpayers Protection Act set the psychological tone on taxation at Queen’s Park for the next 15 years. It created the political conditions for such a long list of tax cuts that, today, Ontario coffers sacrifice a cumulative of $19 billion a year to the tax cut agenda Harris unleashed in those heady days of right-wing ideology in the late-1990s… Economic resilience starts with examining the revenue tools that have been diminished by years of tax cuts.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization, rights, standard of living, tax
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Canadians have right to online anonymity, Supreme Court rules
“Anonymity is an important safeguard for privacy interests online,” Justice Thomas Cromwell wrote for a unanimous court… It has implications for the ability of police to probe the Internet for the purpose of fighting crime and terrorism — and for the courts, which some say could be inundated with police requests for warrants… “An Internet Service Provider’s records of its IP address assignments are like a cipher key that unlocks Internet privacy
Tags: crime prevention, featured, ideology, rights
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15 essential aspects of 2014 Ontario budget
A new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) would provide a top-up to the Canada Pension Plan for about three million workers in the province. While CPP covers all employees, the ORPP would cover about half of the workforce, excluding people whose companies already have a workplace pension plan and those who work in federally regulated industry sectors… The budget is peppered with new spending for aboriginals, low-income and sick Ontarians, much of it previously announced.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, pensions, tax
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Ten things about the Ontario budget
… a new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, similar to the Canada Pension Plan… will force Ontarians to contribute a portion of their paycheques if they don’t have a plan through their employer… The Ontario Child Benefit , which helps low-income families, will be increased from $1,210 a year per child to $1,310… $11 billion will be invested in repairing and building elementary and secondary schools over the next decade… [and] Another $11.4 billion will be spent on new and redeveloped hospitals
Tags: budget, child care, economy, Health, ideology, pensions, tax
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