Archive for the ‘Governance’ Category
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Are the Tories actually underspending? Here’s what the numbers say
Saturday, August 5th, 2023
… the Ontario government is already dealing with criticism on multiple fronts from political constituencies with demands that are hardly unreasonable: things like keeping hospital ERs open or adequately funding forest-fire suppression in the worst fire season in Canada’s recorded history or keeping the province’s largest city from falling into a budgetary black hole. These aren’t extravagances — they’re the normal things people expect from government.
Tags: budget, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
The Ontario treaty deal is a game-changer for Indigenous rights
Tuesday, June 27th, 2023
The $10-billion settlement announced this week between the Robinson-Huron First Nations, Ontario and the federal government signals a tectonic shift in Indigenous-government relations… Major developments of the Ring of Fire mineral properties and other northern Ontario projects are slowed by the absence of agreements with First Nations. A new prosperity-sharing formula will be critical in breaking future logjams.
Tags: Indigenous, jurisdiction, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Why Ontario is in court (again) fighting to save Bill 124
Monday, June 26th, 2023
While managing the government’s spending is obviously an important function of government, Koehnen said in his decision that it can’t be used as an excuse to ride roughshod over the guarantees in the Charter: “While it might be appropriate to infringe on a Charter right when faced with a serious fiscal challenge, it is not appropriate to do so as part of the day-to-day management of government affairs.”
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Justin Trudeau is leaving his stamp on the Supreme Court of Canada
Thursday, June 22nd, 2023
After 1982, the Supreme Court often had to determine which laws were consistent with the Charter and to clarify central aspects of the Charter… In the decades to come, Canada’s Supreme Court will undoubtedly issue rulings related to climate change, Indigenous Peoples, individual rights, the impact of technology, international relations and much more.
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, rights
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
The Ford government is bad at budgeting — or it isn’t being straight with Ontarians
Thursday, June 15th, 2023
… it misled everyone and projected a deficit and smaller future surpluses so it could starve programs, limit new spending, and divert that future money elsewhere to big tax cuts, corporate giveaways (hello, Stellantis), pre-election voter inducements, or paying down the debt… it boils down to this: the government is either incompetent or dishonest. We don’t have enough information to draw a firm conclusion either way.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Stephen Harper wasn’t obsessed with data. Here’s why Justin Trudeau is
Tuesday, April 4th, 2023
This whole fixation on data is, first and foremost, a big product of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the realm of health care. Trudeau has talked often about how the government learned in the early days of the pandemic just how little information it had at its fingertips… The data deficit in the current public service has also been cited as one reason the government has needed to lean so heavily on outside consulting firms
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Federal budget 2022: Highest-earning Canadians face minimum tax rate increase
Friday, March 31st, 2023
Ottawa is raising the alternative minimum tax rate and imposing new limits on many of the exemptions, deductions and credits that apply under the system starting in 2024… it is increasing the alternative minimum rate to 20.5 per cent from 15 per cent starting in 2024… Wealthy Canadians pay the alternative minimum or regular tax, whichever is higher… about 32,000 Canadians will be covered by alternative minimum tax in 2024
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
The provinces’ poor-us act on health care is wearing thin
Tuesday, March 28th, 2023
The provinces chose to ignore those tax-point grants in the recent funding debate. But a new round of tax-point transfers makes sense: it would put the ability to generate health care dollars – and the responsibility for how well they are spent – in the hands of the provinces that deliver the services.
Tags: budget, economy, jurisdiction, mental Health, tax
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Biden breaks taboo on taxing wealthy, showing Trudeau how to do it
Thursday, March 23rd, 2023
… their wealth is largely held in corporate stock and, unless they sell stock and trigger a capital gain, no income tax applies. The wealthy are a formidable interest group who play an enormous — although largely hidden — role in shaping the political agenda. Still, they’d have more trouble keeping a wealth tax off the agenda if our progressive politicians embraced the idea with the same gusto as the broad Canadian public.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
We can’t fight authoritarianism without understanding populism’s allure
Monday, March 20th, 2023
… democracy only works when it is safeguarded by a robust system of checks and balances, masses of engaged citizens and an independent judiciary. Every populist who promises to destroy the government to save it is lying for personal gain. It’s as simple as that… the fate of democracy depends on the passion of the people to defend it from its enemies. But today, the people’s passion is in the grips of hard-right populists.
Tags: ideology, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Recent Comments