Archive for the ‘Governance’ Category
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Public Servants ‘blow the whistle’ on tax system shortfalls
“The picture that emerged was of an organization struggling to carry out its function in the face of government mismanagement. This includes major budget cuts, a poorly conceived restructuring effort, and targeting those who make tax filing mistakes rather than prioritizing big time tax cheats,”… politicians and lobbyists influence the agency’s operations, corporations successfully lobby to avoid prosecution, and there allegedly is political interference in audits to stop investigations.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Delivery System | No Comments »
Encryption is crucial to our privacy and freedom
… encryption… enables our very freedom in a digital world. Encryption is a vital tool for enabling journalists to operate in countries without freedom of the press; allowing dissidents to co-ordinate against oppressive regimes; and in democracies, encryption empowers ordinary citizens to counteract intrusive government surveillance programs… Encryption may protect the content of a message, but it doesn’t hide where it is being sent.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, rights
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Federal cabinet secrecy is being misused
… government departments and agencies invoked cabinet secrecy more than 3,100 times in 2013-14, in response to requests for disclosure of federal records under the Access to Information Act. This represents a 49-per-cent jump in confidentiality claims over the previous year, which itself saw a 15-per-cent jump from the year before that… Legault has several recommendations for boosting accountability by giving the Access to Information Act more teeth
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Delivery System | No Comments »
Access to information: Government should be open, by default
In opposition, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau advocated a government that is “open by default.” The idea is entirely right. And now it’s time to deliver. A recent report from Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault suggests it won’t be easy… Some of it has to do with bureaucrats becoming snowed under by a growing pile of requests. But it’s also true that “secret” and “confidential” stamps are cheap, especially in official Ottawa. That has to change.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
How to build a bright future for First Nations and our new government
There are two important things to consider as we embark on this new path together. The first is the continuing cost of failing to right the wrongs of the past. The second is the tremendous benefit to be realized when Canada’s First Peoples enjoy the same quality of life as Canadians. The Centre for the Study of Living Standards found that, by 2026, closing the gap that exists between First Nations and Canadians could add as much as $400-billion to Canada’s economy and save $115-billion in social spending.
Tags: Indigenous, jurisdiction, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
A throne speech short on words, long on ambition
… this is a radical government. Expanding the Canada Pension Plan, pricing carbon, reforming the electoral system, adopting all 94 recommendations of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission, combining four different child benefits into one $23-billion plan: whatever else may be said about it, this is indeed “real change.” Much… will depend on cooperation from the provinces: the carbon pricing plan, CPP expansion, a new health accord… [and] the state of the federal government’s finances.
Tags: budget, globalization, ideology, Indigenous, jurisdiction, participation, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Because it’s (only) 2015: Trudeau’s childcare still considered his wife’s job
As a society, we have not embraced the idea of collective responsibility for caring for the next generation of Canadians. If individuals choose to have children, then they must be prepared to take financial responsibility for them. It is exactly the same set of ideas that makes any kind of national childcare program so elusive… The unstated – and sometimes even stated – assumption is that women should be taking care of the children.
Tags: budget, child care, ideology, women
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Trudeau’s Liberals a government without excuses
Besides a budget close to balance, Mr. Trudeau’s Liberals have low interest rates, low inflation and manageable unemployment. They have a country which finds itself, despite the divide-and-conquer politics of Stephen Harper, in an unusual state of harmony… Justin Trudeau has a low-growth economy, a low revenue stream, depressed commodity prices. No cakewalk is in store, but compared to the others, he has so little to lament, so much to build on.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance History | No Comments »
It’s time to reform the role of Speaker of the House of Commons
… there is a pressing need for House of Commons reform to make our central democratic institution a significantly fairer, more rigorous and more dignified forum… There are literally dozens of necessary and doable reforms… Many specific House reforms, however, could end up as virtual dead letters without first, or simultaneously, addressing a lynchpin reform — namely, the role and powers of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Restore GST rate to pay for government agenda
At seven per cent, the GST rate was already comparably low: Australia’s is 10 per cent, New Zealand’s 15 per cent, and the U.K.’s comparable VAT (value-added tax) at 20 per cent… many tens of billions of dollars in government revenue have been forfeited over the past eight years as a result of the cuts. This is money that could have gone toward reducing the national debt, or alleviating poverty on native reserves, or funding infrastructure, or relocating refugees.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
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