Archive for the ‘Governance’ Category
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When First Nations take control of their affairs, they succeed
The essential role of the federal government has been to get out of the way, to legislate new opportunities for First Nations to deploy their own creativity. Abolition or wholesale amendment of the Indian Act may not be politically possible, but building such off ramps has proven feasible in the past and can continue in the future.
Tags: economy, featured, Indigenous, jurisdiction, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
What makes Canadians proud of their country? Equality and respect, poll says
Asked… what made them proud to be Canadians, the top unprompted response was our commitment to equality/equity/social justice (25.2%), followed by our reputation as peacekeepers (19.4%), multiculturalism (12.0%) and respect for others (11.3%). Asked… to name the top Canadian values, rights and freedoms topped the list at 15.5% followed by respect for others (11.6%), kindness/compassion (11.4%) and social values (8.7%).
Tags: ideology, multiculturalism, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
Trudeau confounds provinces with Conservative policies in Liberal clothing
Jane Philpott, the federal minister, offered them the same 3% increase the Conservatives had promised. She also noted that health spending has been rising at a rate of 0%-2% a year, while the provinces have been getting 6%, which is a pretty good deal. No one wants to say out loud where the extra money has been going, but we all know the answer: the provinces use it to finance whatever programs strike their fancy.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health
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Liberals should be bold in tackling challenges of second year
Reassert federal leadership in health care. There’s a crying need for more money in areas such as homecare… Simply handing over cash won’t buy change. The federal government should insist on national standards in this area. – Get pharmacare on the national agenda… – Fix Bill C-51, the fatally flawed anti-terror bill… Match rhetoric with action in fixing relations with indigenous people.
Tags: economy, Health, immigration, Indigenous, pharmaceutical
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
The Senate finally does something right
… the proposals fall into three categories: providing greater openness, improving internal operations and generating better legislation. In principle all are desirable… [including] a proposal to group senators into “caucuses” rather than parties… all represented on committees… But a less rigid, us-versus-them, in-versus-out pattern of debate and voting would still be an improvement, perhaps even a useful model for reforming the Commons
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, participation, Senate, standard of living, tax
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Cotler challenge would force Trudeau to match human rights talk with action
Irwin Cotler, the human rights lawyer and former Liberal justice minister, has noted the Liberal government’s much-professed determination to “re-engage” with the UN, and made a laudable suggestion: Canada should use its position to vote against the re-election of members with objectionable records, and publicly reveal its vote… Keeping the globe’s worst human rights offenders off a commission meant to police such offenses seem like a very good place to start
Tags: crime prevention, featured, globalization, jurisdiction, rights
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Equalization payments aren’t sexy but they deserve attention, too
The aim is to ensure all provinces have the wherewithal to pay for social programs of similar size and scope. It’s a nation-building exercise… Everyone who pays taxes in Canada contributes to equalization, and every province has, at one time or another, benefited from it – yes, even Alberta… Painting it unkindly, as a rigged interregional welfare scheme, is a disservice…
Tags: budget, economy, jurisdiction, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Delivery System | No Comments »
It’s time the feds got off the health-care escalator
Rather than the old game of fiscal federalism — Ottawa raises the taxes for the provinces to spend — the federal government should instead offer to convert the existing transfer into “tax points,” Ottawa cutting its own taxes to make room for the provinces to raise theirs. The sums involved would be roughly the same, but it would at last be clear just who was paying for what, and should answer to whom. I believe this principle is called responsible government.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health, tax
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Province proposes limiting powers of Ontario Municipal Board
The quasi-judicial OMB — which hears disputes on everything from plans for monster homes to developers’ proposals for tall buildings that ignore city planning guidelines — has long been the bane of communities and councils. It is one of the most powerful appeal bodies of its kind in North America, with the ability to hear appeals as if they were new proposals and to overturn council decisions — allowing developers to circumvent the process of community consultation, review by city planning staff and approval by elected city councils.
Tags: housing, jurisdiction, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Governance Delivery System | No Comments »
The illusion of participatory democracy
It’s not clear how the thousands of comments made by citizens across the country are supposed to condensed, summarized and incorporated into the policy-making process. Without clear criteria for how to bring the findings of these meetings together, how should citizens assess whether the process is working? The major problem with the government’s strategy is that none of these processes seem designed to actually facilitate decision-making.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Delivery System | 1 Comment »
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