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The U.S. and Canada have little differences, but today, they are adding up fast
Sunday, June 14th, 2020
American society is tilted slightly more towards freedom than order. Canadian society tilts slightly in the other direction… Americans are richer overall, but the median Canadian household now earns more than its American peer. Research in fact shows that Canadian households in the bottom 56 per cent of the income distribution are better off than the same American households.
Tags: economy, ideology, immigration, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
The conservative path to a fairer country
Wednesday, June 10th, 2020
Sound conservative values, such as fiscal responsibility, an economy that works for all, fairness, opportunity, self-reliance, respect for the rule of law and personal freedom are essential if we hope to level the socioeconomic playing field and allow communities and individuals to thrive… Through solid political and civic engagement with our democratic institutions, social and economic justice can be achieved… It is essential that marginalized communities are not just in the room, but are also in decision-making positions. This is not about quotas; it is about diversity.
Tags: economy, ideology, multiculturalism, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Ontario court throws out law barring self-induced intoxication as defence for sexual assault
Thursday, June 4th, 2020
… the higher court said the provision violated a bedrock principle that an accused must voluntarily break the law to be convicted. Deciding to get intoxicated doesn’t meet the threshold… “What must be voluntary is the conduct that constitutes the criminal offence charged”… The legislation failed, the Appeal Court said, because it was unlikely someone could know beforehand that, if they got drunk, they would lapse into a state of automatism and involuntarily commit violence.
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, rights
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Liberals should take a cue from Mulroney, not Chrétien
Wednesday, May 20th, 2020
Mulroney could have adopted the approach that Chrétien took, slashing transfer payments to the provinces and eliminating the deficit entirely. But he judged it to be irresponsible and not worthy of a prime minister in our federal system. So he didn’t… The free trade agreement with the United States had been signed, the GST and deregulation put in place and privatization begun.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
We must ensure the post-COVID world does not fall prey to socialism
Wednesday, May 20th, 2020
There is a titanic political struggle about to come. The right must start thinking about how to fight it… It will be a conflict in which the natural supporters of free enterprise as the foundation of human progress, and fiscal responsibility as the bedrock of a confident economy, will suddenly find themselves on the back foot… if people are left to turn only to socialist ideas in the wake of these terrible weeks, today’s tragedies will turn into the lifelong torment of tomorrow.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, privatization
Posted in Debates, Equality Debates | No Comments »
Never forget the dignity and courage of our essential workers
Friday, May 15th, 2020
One hopes, in particular, that a main takeaway of this whole experience is that we’re permanently reminded that work is imbued with dignity and is something to be valued. It’s important not just for the economy but for the character of the people. It’s a key a source of our individual meaning and self-worth… from doctors to grocery cashiers — who acted heroically and helped us get through it… They stepped up when we needed them most. And we should let them know that we know it.
Tags: Health, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Counterpoint: Protect our domestic supply by shutting down the paid-plasma industry
Tuesday, May 12th, 2020
The fact that the federal government gave blood brokers licenses to export plasma out of cash-strapped New Brunswick and Saskatchewan has been nothing less of an embarrassing policy blunder — one that was based on the fundamental lie: that blood brokers would contribute to our national blood supply. They do not. The fact is that the private paid-plasma model is being systematically abandoned throughout the world.
Tags: globalization, Health, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
COVID-19 presents lessons in how a guaranteed basic income program could work
Monday, May 4th, 2020
Basic income can be designed to target only those who need a top-up to provide for and maintain a very basic standard of living. And it can be implemented with speed, simplicity and efficiency by the keepers of our tax files, the Canada Revenue Agency… Fifty members of the present Senate (from the left, right and centre) have written to the government recommending that transition planning work be done now…
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Trudeau rejects turning CERB’s $2,000 a month into a universal benefit for Canadians
Thursday, April 23rd, 2020
“We feel that targeting the maximum amount of help to the people who needed it quickly was the right way to begin to get through this process.” … A group of 50 senators from different political and partisan backgrounds signed an open letter to Trudeau on Tuesday, also calling for the CERB to be turned into a universal benefit… A universal payment would ensure greater social and economic equity as well as greater efficiency, the senators say.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, participation, poverty
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Shockproofing Canada: We can make masks and ventilators, but we can’t make drugs needed to treat COVID-19
Friday, April 17th, 2020
“That’s the problem with stockpiles… You end up sitting on millions of dollars in drugs and equipment. Then you have to keep replacing it. And which ones do you stockpile?” The alternative, then, would be to expand production capacities for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies at home, but that’s more complicated than it might seem… Countries such as Canada will have to each find their own balance between self-reliance and international cooperation…
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, pharmaceutical
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
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