Archive for the ‘Governance’ Category
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Why the G7 summit must go beyond crisis diplomacy
… the G7 should now commit to eliminating hunger and absolute poverty by 2030. Only if we manage to secure the food supply for the world’s growing population will there be a chance of success for other development measures… The G7 ought to be a model for the necessary transition to a low-carbon economy… Statistics show a reduction in poverty and inequality when more women play an active part in economic life… The G7 therefore wants to give more girls and women in developing countries the chance of vocational training.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, poverty, standard of living, women
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Ontario municipalities get alternative to ‘first past the post’ in next election
Under a ranked ballot system, by contrast, victory goes to the candidate who can assemble a broad base of support… So the incentive for candidates under ranked ballots is towards more civil, less divisive campaigns. Voters, in turn, find themselves facing a different, less unpleasant calculus… perhaps the biggest impact of this change is simply that it is, in fact, a change… one change and it may be easier to make others.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin argues tolerance, within limits, ‘is the only way forward’
McLachlin argued tolerance, within limits, “is the only way forward,” saying the Canadian government’s 19th century assimilation policies toward aboriginal people would today be called “cultural genocide.” … Democratic societies succeed when they tolerate and embrace religious and cultural differences but… there will always be limits to that. She suggested indirectly “21st century jihadists” will not be shielded by guarantees of free speech or religion.
Tags: crime prevention, featured, ideology, multiculturalism, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
We have the form of a parliamentary democracy, but not the substance
Members of Parliament, it is by now well established, have no real role or responsibility but to stand up and sit down when told… Collectively, [they] have very little ability to hold governments to account. They can’t get their questions answered, can’t get the documents they demand, can’t trust the figures in them when they do. Debates are now routinely cut off by a vote of “time allocation.” Committees increasingly meet behind closed doors, which is perhaps just as well, since their public hearings have become open farces.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Delivery System | No Comments »
The Tories scupper a basic right
The “law-and-order” Conservatives have just set an appalling precedent by using Bill C-59, the budget bill, to retroactively erase citizens’ Access to Information rights and to protect the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in connection with the now-defunct long-gun registry, one of the government’s pet hates. This casual assault on the rule of law is unprecedented, and abhorrent… Under the Information Act it’s a criminal offence to obstruct the commissioner and to destroy records to thwart a request.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, rights
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Canada’s national security agencies need parliamentary oversight
Internationally, our Five Eyes intelligence allies (Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S.) and the majority of our NATO colleagues, all have oversight capability on national security matters. Their systems of governance allow for cleared legislators to evaluate the effectiveness of their government’s decisions, resources, training and plans. The absence of oversight in Canada is rather unusual among Western democracies and presents a glaring difference between us and our allies.
Tags: crime prevention, featured, globalization, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
The fix is in — Senate will quietly allow popular Reform Act to die
it wouldn’t do to actually vote it down. Bad form, old chap. And anyway, unnecessary. Instead it will simply never come to a vote. The Senate rises for the summer June 23, not to return until after the election. That’s just six weeks from now: 18 sitting days, by the Senate’s leisurely calendar. If the bill is not passed by then, it dies, along with every other piece of legislation still on the order paper. It should not be difficult to stall it until then.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Another budget, another contemptuous Tory omnibus bill
The Conservatives have tabled whoppers of more than 450 pages three times. In 2010, they dropped an 880-pager on Parliament… The latest Conservative one, eight times as long, should go to a number of committees for proper study – Public Safety and National Security, Veterans Affairs, Finance, for example. Instead, it will be pushed through the Commons, a single committee and an obliging Senate before Parliament rises in June. In doing so, the Conservatives will further cement an ugly precedent.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Mel Hurtig’s wake-up call for Canada’s democracy
Hurtig writes that “not only does Stephen Harper demonstrate a lack of respect for the democratic foundations of our nation, all indications are that he is determined to undermine or destroy them. Information is withheld, dissent is stifled and the checks and balances on government power are eroded or eliminated.”… the only way to stop Harper is for the Liberals and NDP to form a coalition “for the sake of restoring our democracy and indeed, our civil society”
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
What does Alberta’s election have to do with socialism?
If resistance to this renewed barbaric capitalism must be collective… and if collectivity is embodied in nations and nationalism, and if nations must express their aspirations through governments… The end [of a political dynasty] was never particular policies or nationalism, it was always actual people and their needs. It was humanism, really. So if Alberta’s election provides some impetus for people to act together politically to create a nobler future, then maybe it’s somehow socialist, too.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance History | No Comments »
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