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Keep the foothold in GM
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
November 21, 2010
The fact that 50,000 Canadians continued to work and pay taxes, instead of collecting EI benefits, boosts the net fiscal position of the two governments by at least $2-billion per year. So in economic and social terms, more than just financial terms, the rescue was both necessary and successful… But more importantly, there’s a sound economic case for preserving a government equity share in the long run.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Canadian health care is on the critical list
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
November 22, 2010
The time has come for a full range of private health care… Private health providers should be welcome to open clinics and hospitals at their own expense… [and] invoice the province at the identical rate per procedure conducted. Efficiencies of operation and patient satisfaction would determine profitability levels for private organizations and public. The money would follow the patient.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Common sense on aboriginal law
Saturday, November 20th, 2010
Nov. 19, 2010
By a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has set a new standard for interpreting First Nations’ land claims arising from so-called “modern treaties” — those signed after 1975. From now on, disputes between governments and First Nations will be handled by the courts much more like land-use disputes arising between governments and non-aboriginal Canadians… Governments that otherwise respect the provisions contained in modern treaties are under no obligation to engage in open-ended “consultations” with native bands that go beyond the administrative procedures…
Tags: Indigenous, participation, rights
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Pension envy all the rage
Saturday, November 20th, 2010
Nov. 18, 2010
… if Ottawa implements recommendations from a University of Toronto think-tank, the normal retirement age for… receiving Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits would be pushed back two years from the current 65 to 67. Worse, early reduced CPP benefits could no longer commence as early as 60 but be deferred to 62. This would happen gradually, over 10 or 15 years… It should be up to individuals to decide to work until 67, not up to government. And those running that government shouldn’t be treated more generously than the working Joes who make their early retirements possible.
Tags: pensions, rights, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
World has judged universal care lacking, Bliss argues
Friday, November 19th, 2010
Nov. 18, 2010
Prof. Bliss… did not have a detailed plan of how to do away with universality. But he suggested it could be achieved through requiring wealthier users to pay for some of their care out of pocket, making health services a taxable benefit for higher-income people, or simply having a separate health tax that exacted more of the revenue from those in the top brackets… But Prof. Bliss’s call to end universality — the notion that all Canadians have equal access to a government service regardless of income — fell flat with some health-policy experts…
Tags: budget, Health, standard of living, tax
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Canadians want ‘fundamental changes’ to health care: survey
Friday, November 19th, 2010
Nov. 17, 2010
While overall confidence was found to be improving and quality of care was rated top notch, Canada came in dead last for access to primary care after hours… same-day or next-day access to a doctor… (and) wait times for a diagnosis on a condition they were worried about… Canada should make better use of other medical professionals, such as nurse practitioners and pharmacists… triaging patients… (and) electronic health records… “Canadians recognize that we need transformative change in our health-care system…”
Tags: Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Be fair to Ontario
Friday, November 19th, 2010
Nov. 17, 2010
Canada is no longer a country of a prosperous “centre” and a needy “periphery.” Yet Ontarians still contribute about $20-billion more than they get back in federal transfers and services for purposes of redistribution to other parts of the country. There are two possible solutions to federal policies that are poorly designed for Ontario: Fix federal programs so they treat all provinces and all Canadians equally or gut the federal government — as proposed by Bernier — and let Ontario keep more of its own money and fund and define its own programs.
Tags: budget, featured, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
No national standards required
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
Nov. 14, 2010
Instead of centralization, devolution of policy and service delivery, as a recent Mowat Centre report argued, can help strengthen the Canadian federation. Should Canadians fret about the government’s inability to unilaterally impose national standards? The short answer is no. Highly comparable social policies and programs can and do emerge across the provinces without imposition of mandatory and uniform rules… First, provinces need access to reliable and sufficient funds to act in their constitutionally-recognized policy areas.
Tags: budget, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Bureaucracies ‘stealth’ subsidize have-not provinces: study
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
Nov. 14, 2010
This “stealth equalization,” as it is described in the Frontier Centre for Public Policy paper, is disguised in disproportionately large federal bureaucracies across the perennial ‘have-not’ provinces, with the exception of Quebec. At the extremes, Prince Edward Island has 3,657 federal employees per 100,000 people, while Alberta has just 936… “We have an explicit equalization program that most are aware of, but this is one of the numerous other ways that Canadian public policy takes wealth out of the highest-productivity regions and redirects it to lower-productivity regions.”
Tags: budget, economy, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Ontario parents who fail to pay support can lose car
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010
Nov. 8, 2010
Starting December 1, people caught driving [with a suspended licence for failing to pay family support] will have their vehicles suspended for seven days… Such a remedy is a punitive measure that goes beyond the transportation ministry’s jurisdiction and does not take into account legimate reasons for missed support payments, says Lloyd Gorling, founder of Ex-fathers, an advocacy group for divorced dads… “How are you going to make support payments if you can’t get to work?”…
Tags: rights, women, youth
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
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