Archive for the ‘Governance’ Category

« Older Entries | Newer Entries »

Doug Ford will axe the tax — except his own stealth carbon tax

Thursday, March 28th, 2019

Ontario will mark April Fools’ Day with a few strange stunts… shuttering the office of Ontario’s environmental commissioner, ending a quarter-century of independent oversight… paying more than $30 million in legal bills out of the pockets of Ontario taxpayers to fight the federal government that also represents them… Our premier is waging a loud battle against the federal carbon tax in court, while simultaneously proposing his own stealth carbon tax at home.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »


What Canadians need to know about the SNC-Lavalin affair

Friday, March 22nd, 2019

It is important to remind Canadians that the justice committee is not a court. We are neither a tryer of fact or a jury… We need to formulate clear rules as to appropriate interactions with the attorney-general as relates to prosecutions and remediation agreement considerations.

Tags: ,
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »


New funding will fill key data gaps, create Canadian information centre

Thursday, March 21st, 2019

The federal budget is channelling tens of millions of dollars toward filling key data gaps in housing, gender equality, the labour force and Indigenous communities, areas where researchers say Canadians are often in the dark thanks to spotty or inaccessible numbers… the Liberal government declined to make any firm commitments to fill these data gaps, even while acknowledging that Canada has many… “But the funding is likely to be highly inadequate to develop the kinds of data required…”

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »


Federal Budget Response 2019

Wednesday, March 20th, 2019

On pharmacare: “Today’s measures don’t fulfill the bold promises of national pharmacare including hundreds of dollars of savings per family in both insurance and out-of-pocket drug costs. / On decent work and skills training:… workers are now being asked to pay for their own training. / On housing: “… Taking out new loans from CMHC or retirement savings doesn’t make housing more affordable–it just allows for another source of debt financing that must be repaid. / What’s missing: Funding for a national child care plan

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »


SNC-Lavalin is a sideshow to the real Wilson-Raybould issue

Saturday, March 16th, 2019

We should all stop simpering, shut down the Indigenous grievance racket, devise a serious reform policy and stop acting like pathetic apologists for the brave and good people who built this country, the Aboriginal people first among them… The natives have entirely legitimate grievances and we have to address them, but not by throwing money at undemocratic leaders and accepting the blood libel that we are the descendants of barbarians.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »


Property taxes are the obvious solution to Toronto’s revenue crisis

Saturday, March 2nd, 2019

John Tory… is kicking the can down the road by deferring maintenance and raiding reserves. The favourite answer of local politicians is Ottawa and Queen’s Park. But those governments can — and do — point to the fact that we refuse to collect taxes at a rate anywhere near that of our neighbours. Why would they fund us if we won’t fund ourselves?

Tags: , ,
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »


Fiscal Transparency: How the Federal Government Can Get an A+

Friday, March 1st, 2019

To start, make the key numbers in the 2019 budget easy to find: up front, and clearly identified… produce estimates that matched the budget and the financial statements… the 2018 budget’s reconciliation of its projections with the anticipated estimates was unclear and incomplete… Timely reporting helps legislators and citizens spot – and, if needed, demand action to correct – deviations from plans that make no sense and/or threaten the fiscal plan.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »


‘Yada yada yada’ isn’t the problem. It’s Ford’s autism policy

Sunday, February 24th, 2019

MacLeod can call this a “fair, equitable and sustainable” system all she wants, but that doesn’t make it a good one. Or a system that provides kids with autism, especially those on the high needs end of the spectrum, access and funding to services they desperately need. But in the face of mounting evidence that this policy is deeply misguided and won’t achieve its stated outcomes, the Ford government has reacted the way it usually does — claiming victory anyway.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »


Ontario government quietly ordered autism therapy providers to stop admitting kids from wait-list last September

Sunday, February 24th, 2019

The provincial government quietly ordered autism service providers last September to stop admitting new children for therapy and to keep parents in the dark about the move… Internal documents — from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and senior administrators of nine regional service providers — state that the 23,000-child wait-list for autism therapy was closed because of “financial pressures.”

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Governance Delivery System | No Comments »


Doug Ford surprises – by not gutting police oversight

Thursday, February 21st, 2019

confidence in the police, according to the Ford government, was undermined by a stillborn law that never got to impose steep fines on officers who refused to co-operate with the SIU, and never made it slightly easier to fire them for misconduct or incompetence. And so, the Ford government has now tabled the Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act – yes, the COPS Act. The government is pitching it as a radical overhaul of Liberal police oversight, to make it more fair to police. Spoiler alert: It’s mostly not.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »


« Older Entries | Newer Entries »