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When politics crowds out good tax policy
Tuesday, April 30th, 2019
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce recently called for a royal commission on tax reform. Another approach would be to create a continuing tax review or advisory process separate from the political cycle, where expert and evidence-based analysis could help to develop proposed reforms to the tax system – ideally not just federally, but also provincially and at the municipal level. Serious non-partisan research and public engagement would be critical to its success.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Should we cover the health bills of snowbirds and cross-border shoppers?
Tuesday, April 30th, 2019
Anyone who is foolish enough to travel without first purchasing private health insurance faces the prospect of catastrophic medical bills, with or without this program. The OOC program is also highly inefficient. A lot of time, energy and money is spent making piddling payments: There are about 88,000 claims a year, and the average reimbursement is $127. Put another way, it costs $2.8-million to pay $9-million in claims and those payments cover less than 5 per cent of travellers’ medical bills.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
The push is on to reinvent American capitalism
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2019
In today’s America, just 16,000 families account for US$6-trillion in assets. That is equal to the total wealth of two-thirds of all U.S. families. While so many go wanting, thousands have so much wealth they couldn’t spend it all if they lived to be 800. It’s irrational, and one of the many reasons rethinking capitalism is overdue… Mr. Trump triumphantly points to continued good growth and near record-low unemployment numbers… But … Republicans are vulnerable on the inequality issue. Their tax cut was a giveaway to the wealthy and to Corporate America.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Passing Bill C-81 is critical to making Canada accessible for all Canadians
Monday, April 22nd, 2019
… only three provinces – Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia – have accessibility legislation in place to remove barriers and mandate a minimum standard that enables meaningful access in the built environment and helps create a place where people with disabilities are living to their full potential. While the Charter offered a profound statement of equality for people with disabilities, we still have a long way to go to achieve the outcomes Canadians expect.
Tags: disabilities, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Psychiatrists shouldn’t have a monopoly over psychotherapy
Monday, April 22nd, 2019
An average of 57 sessions of CBT over the course of approximately one year delivered the exact same clinical outcome as 234 sessions of psychoanalytic psychotherapy delivered over four years. The implications of this study are huge… Although psychiatrists do have some special advantages when they integrate psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy treatment together, they do not have a monopoly on delivering effective psychotherapy.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
It’s time for Canada to ban handguns
Monday, April 22nd, 2019
… semi-automatic rifles that can accommodate large magazines ought to be banned in Canada. The same can be said of handguns. They have no place in a peaceful society. Handguns are designed to be concealable and deadly. They are semi-automatics; shooters can fire a round with each pull of the trigger without having to manually recock their weapon. They can be legally purchased in Canada with a nine-round magazine, which means they can do a lot of damage quickly, just like a semi-automatic rifle, although without the same accuracy and firepower.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Why is retiring later a good idea? Because 65 is the new 55
Friday, April 19th, 2019
Canadian Institute of Actuaries suggests… Shifting the target retirement age for CPP and Old Age Security from 65 to 67, with a commensurate 14.4-per-cent boost in the monthly pension… Allowing Canadians to defer OAS and CPP until as late as 75, with a big boost in monthly payments as incentive… Encouraging employers to choose 67, rather than 65, as the target retirement date for new pension-plan members
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Did Jody Wilson-Raybould understand her role as attorney-general?
Wednesday, April 17th, 2019
Politically accountable oversight in ensuring that the public interest is properly taken into account isn’t anathema to the rule of law. The attorney-general’s power to superintend prosecutions is an integral part of our justice system… The DPP is expressly mandated to notify the attorney-general if a case “raises important questions of general interest.” … the attorney-general appears to have reflexively deferred to the DPP and abdicated her responsibility for vigorous and independent oversight.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Big drug companies might cut R&D, delay new drugs if pharmacare means more generics, Ottawa warned
Tuesday, April 16th, 2019
… brand-name pharmaceutical companies may respond to a broad shift to generic drugs by delaying the introduction of new drugs in the Canadian market or by reducing the R&D activities that they undertake in the country,” said the analysis, labelled “secret,” … The proposal calls for an expanded list of countries Canada can use when comparing patented drug prices… to take into consideration when assessing whether a drug is overpriced.
Tags: Health, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
How raising the age for CPP and OAS to 67 would benefit the whole country
Monday, April 15th, 2019
It’s past time we updated a retirement-income system conceived in the days when people lived just 10 to 15 year after retirement… “This isn’t a recommendation to assist the government in improving sustainability or save the government money.” … Retirees will need more savings than previous generations because they will live longer, because company pensions have become more scarce and because saving is made more difficult by low interest rates.
Tags: economy, pensions, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates, Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
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