« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Harper is right: Foreign radicals are after the oil sands
Monday, May 28th, 2012
May. 26, 2012
The perfect archetypes of the 1 per cent, the Kochs now fund everything from the government-hating Tea Party to the far right wing of the Republican Party, to a vast labyrinth of think tanks, foundations, not-for-profits and political front groups. All are designed with two related objectives: to oppose any government regulation that limits the unrestricted operations of the oil industry, the basis of their fortune, and to discredit climate science and clean energy while denying global warming… Since the Canadian Revenue Agency is busy hunting down non-profits who are abusing their charitable status, it will no doubt be interested in the $1.7-million the Fraser Institute received from “sources outside Canada,” nearly 16 per cent of its funding.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Dragging medicare into the 21st century
Sunday, May 27th, 2012
May. 24, 2012
Regardless of political allegiance, there is near unanimity that a universal health system is a good thing – for reasons of economics and social justice. That’s why every Western country save one has a universal system. When it comes to health care, only the United States is morally bankrupt and economically inept… The reality is that every other developed country has universal health care that is better, fairer and cheaper than ours. We are big on grand pronouncements such as, “Medicare is what defines us as Canadians.” But we are laggards on the practical side.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Health care sits top of mind as Ontario wrestles its deficit
Sunday, May 27th, 2012
May. 26, 2012
The changes to doctors’ fee schedules that have already been announced, targeted mostly at a few specialists’ groups such as ophthalmologists and radiologists, should help… But to maintain that limited growth through 2017-18, as promised, will require major structural changes that are likely to have a bigger impact on service delivery. With everything from hospital mergers and the centralization of services to stricter standards for prescriptions and referrals likely to be on the table in the years to come
Tags: budget, Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living, tax
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
The troubling truth about free trade
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
May. 21, 2012
If the goal is truly boosting trade (as opposed to enshrining business-friendly economic rules or propping up authoritarian governments in Latin America), then this government is failing miserably. Canada’s export failure cannot be blamed on foreign trade barriers. Instead, we must look in the mirror – at the structural inadequacy of our business sector. Canada has chronically failed to nurture and develop domestically based globally active firms that produce innovative, high-value products for world markets.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
An online opportunity for Canadian universities
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
May. 22, 2012
Computers can’t lead intense small-group discussions, give rigorous feedback on essays or help students think through intellectual puzzles. Canadian universities need to make clear that new technology can’t produce well-educated undergraduates on the cheap, because the most important elements of a university education depend on unchanging principles and strong relationships between professors and students. But… what’s possible in higher education is changing rapidly.
Tags: globalization
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
‘Time and punishment’ now Canada’s way
Saturday, May 19th, 2012
May. 18, 2012
Corrections – the idea that those in prison might be assisted while incarcerated to be better prepared for life outside jail – is apparently foreign to the Harper government. Instead, it wants to put more people away for longer, then, figuratively speaking, throw away the key. Punishment is in; correction is out. Just when you think this government’s criminal justice policies, which have been almost universally denounced by experts in the field, can’t get worse, they do.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, ideology
Posted in Child & Family Debates | 1 Comment »
Shrugging off Canada’s competitiveness shortfall
Friday, May 18th, 2012
May. 18, 2012
There is very little that can be done about Canada’s gaping competitiveness shortfall. Almost three-quarters of the gap is due to the soaring loonie, which is out of our control… Could Canadian workers be the problem? Again, the answer is no. Canada has among the highest rate of postsecondary education graduates in the world, performs well above average (and the United States) in international testing, and has a superior (and more rapidly improving) labour quality than the United States… during periods of high commodity prices, resource-intensive countries like Canada shed competitiveness. But this is paired with no obvious diminishment to well-being,..
Tags: economy, globalization, standard of living
Posted in Delivery System | No Comments »
Doctor-bashing’s not the cure for health-care costs
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
May. 17, 2012
… everyone behaves as if the competition for resources is a zero-sum game and no one is rewarded for acting in the collective interest. The system virtually guarantees turf wars. As a result, the medical professions resemble medieval guilds – fiercely protectionist, rigidly conservative and jealous of their status and perks… There are lots of cheaper, more effective ways to do health care. But the system is rigged to squash innovation… We spend around 12 per cent of our GDP on health care. Singapore spends around 2.4 per cent. By almost any measure, Singapore has better health-care outcomes than we have.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Update on the class war: 1% winning, 99% regrouping
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
May. 12, 2012
… there’s far more wealth in Canada today than ever before. Per capita GDP is 50 per cent higher (adjusting for inflation) than 30 years ago. Yet most of that wealth has been transferred to the richest Canadians through tax cuts and government subsidies. Since 1980, the ultra-rich have increased their share of the national income from 8.1 per cent to 13 per cent, a shift of $67-billion. Here’s a strange coincidence. The combined federal and provincial deficits now run at about $65-billion annually.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Charities silenced by the taxman
Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
May. 16, 2012
… in this case, the law gagging charities is most definitely wrong because it infringes on free speech… democracy would be better served if charities had more freedom to advance ideas and to debate issues. Certainly, this would help ensure voters are better informed when it comes to policies… this is something Mr. Harper should already understand. In fact, as a conservative, he should be ideologically opposed to government rules and regulations that only serve to stifle free expression.
Tags: ideology, philanthropy, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Recent Comments