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Why oil (not cars) drives the economy
Monday, February 7th, 2011
Feb. 07, 2011
Canada’s fortunes – and its currency – are now more closely tethered to oil than any other industry, including autos, forest products or agriculture… The oil and gas sector is now the dominant industrial contributor to Canada’s economy… Crude accounts for 20 per cent of Canadian exports, double its share in 2000… The energy-producing regions of the country gain wealth, population and influence. And some of the traditional haves of Confederation, including Ontario, look increasingly like have-nots, tied to a shrinking manufacturing sector.
Tags: economy, globalization, standard of living
Posted in Debates | 1 Comment »
EU trade deal could cost Canadian drug plans billions
Monday, February 7th, 2011
Feb. 07, 2011
Provisions in a new trade deal being negotiated between Canada and the European Union could add about $2.8-billion a year in costs to Canadian drug plans… The estimate includes $1.3-billion more for public drug plans and $1.5-billion for private drug plans… the Europeans have asked for three substantial changes in the laws and regulations that govern intellectual property protection related to brand-name drugs… designed to delay the arrival of copycat generic drugs on the market and, in turn, encourage brand-name companies to invest more in research and development.
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, Health, ideology
Posted in Health Debates | 1 Comment »
Are Canadians more conservative? No
Sunday, February 6th, 2011
Feb. 04, 2011
It’s widely said these days that Canada is moving politically to the right and that Canadians are becoming generally more conservative in their outlook on public matters. It’s an assertion based sometimes on hope, often on conjecture, occasionally on fragmentary evidence, but never on serious facts and deep analysis. Indeed, the latest Focus Canada survey by the Environics Institute so completely demolishes the assertion that perhaps now it can be laid to rest.
Tags: economy, ideology
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Harmonizing our border makes sense
Friday, February 4th, 2011
Feb. 04, 2011
… manufacturers have invested heavily in their compliance and security and partnered with governments to become trusted traders through initiatives such as Partners in Protection, Customs Self Assessment, and Free and Secure Trade. These programs… provide even greater trade and security information to governments so their resources can be focused on lesser known shipments. Despite this, the transactional compliance hurdles these companies face at the Canada-U.S. border weaken our manufacturing competitiveness, dampen export growth and impede job creation in both countries.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Universal health care scores well, but don’t be deluded
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
Feb. 03, 2011
That socioeconomic status and disease patterns are strongly associated in a gradient is well-established. But does medicare – universal access to health services – alter that association? The conclusion from the new research: not really… The poor visit physicians and hospitals more often not because it’s free but because they’re sicker. They have more diabetes, more heart attacks, more strokes. And much higher death rates… In other words, there is very little preventive health care going on even though medicare should lend itself to this approach.
Tags: featured, Health, mental Health, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
A border security deal is good for Canada
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
Dec. 15, 2010
A deal to enhance border security while ensuring more open access for the movement of people, goods and services would be a timely assertion of sovereignty, consistent with decades of common cause on bilateral economic and security issues. Ever since 9/11, security considerations have predominated border management, adding new requirements and new procedures and causing costly delays… we should welcome any agreement that smoothes the way for jobs and growth while toughening up our borders to security threats against both our countries.
Tags: economy, globalization, immigration, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
The case of the smelly lunch
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
February 3, 2011
There are many cases of genuine racism and discrimination in Canada. I don’t believe this is one of them. This is the story of a smelly lunch, a disgruntled employee and a powerful human-rights tribunal that slapped a small businesswoman with a hefty fine on the basis of an unsubstantiated grievance. When she didn’t pay up, the other side’s lawyers got a writ to order the seizure of her house.
Small businesses are common targets of frivolous human-rights complaints. Generally, their lawyers tell them to shut up and pay – because if they don’t, it’s going to cost them even more.
Tags: multiculturalism, rights
Posted in Equality Delivery System | 1 Comment »
Selling medicare can be good for your health
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
February 2, 2011
Medicare and entrepreneurship may yet go hand in hand. Some Toronto hospitals are selling cancer treatment to Kuwaitis, though local residents may be on waiting lists for such care. But treating medical expertise as a product for sale to foreign patients makes sense, if it increases medicare’s capacity to offer services to Canadians. If it has the additional benefit of spurring innovation and higher-quality care, as entrepreneurship has been known to do, all the more reason to try it.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Memo to Ottawa: Take jobs out of corporate tax debate
Monday, January 31st, 2011
January 31, 2011
There is considerable evidence showing that lower CIT rates increase investment and output. And available evidence also shows that reducing corporate taxesincreases wages. But there doesn’t seem to be much evidence showing that CIT rates affect employment one way or the other. People who expect the CIT cut to have a measurable effect on employment are likely to be disappointed… Employment is an important dimension for policy evaluation, but it is not the only one. Corporate tax policy isn’t about jobs, and it is a mistake to conduct the policy debate as if it were.
Tags: economy, ideology, tax
Posted in Debates | 2 Comments »
Child development not linked to length of parental leave, government argues
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
Jan. 28, 2011
…the question of whether longer parental leaves have tangible advantages for children is the subject of great debate among sociologists and economists… Part of the reason for the lack of consensus is that teasing out the effects of parental time off on children’s well-being involves evaluating a host of interconnected variables, including infant health, the quality of child care, parenting styles, work force opportunities, income, gender equality and families’ support systems.
Tags: child care, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | 1 Comment »
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