The hoarded wealth of the superrich can do more good in the public’s hands, so let’s tax it: a book excerpt
Sunday, January 18th, 2026
… the wealthiest one per cent of Canadians increased their share of total Canadian wealth from 18 per cent to 26 per cent between 2010 and 2019, while the share of wealth owned by every other income group in Canada declined… while Canadians at almost every income level pay a substantial portion of their incomes in tax, billionaires do not… a wealth tax… could raise billions of dollars that could create a better-functioning democracy with a more hopeful, well-nourished and empowered citizenry.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
B.C. to end drug decriminalization project, after ‘challenging’ three-year-experiment
Friday, January 16th, 2026
The program was pitched with the goal to “reduce stigma and fear of criminal prosecution that prevents people from reaching out for help, including medical assistance.” But a furor ensued over claims that the program was encouraging public drug use in playgrounds and other inappropriate places… we continue… adding treatment and recovery beds… intervention and supports… harm reduction services and undertaking everything that we can to save lives,”
Tags: Health, jurisdiction, mental Health
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Ford government says 300,000 more people have access to primary care
Wednesday, January 14th, 2026
… Jones said the targets can be achieved through the increase in primary care teams, expansion of residency programs for Ontario-trained doctors and making it easier for foreign-educated physicians to practice here… the province is also adding 340 undergraduate seats and 551 postgraduate positions in medical schools over five years and many family doctors are taking on more patients… through the primary care teams.
Tags: featured, Health
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Reducing Ontario health care waits: Six solutions avoiding privatization pitfalls
Friday, January 9th, 2026
Canada has long been among the worst performers on specialist wait times in high income countries… Every dollar Ontario shifts to private medicine is a dollar not spent on public health-care… Four of these six fixes leverage technology Ontario already owns. Each would reduce misery, lower wait times and save lives. Refusing to act isn’t caution — it’s complicity. Wait times aren’t a matter of shortage, they’re a policy choice
Tags: Health, rights, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Canada has to defend this vital part of its infrastructure from America. Here are three steps Mark Carney can take
Wednesday, January 7th, 2026
With their astronomical wealth, tech companies use extraordinary, undemocratic means to shape policy conversations in favour of consolidating US power… First, Canada needs a new digital strategy and charter to meet the moment… Second, Canada must identify and secure the most critical digital systems and data from foreign control… Third, Canada must stop giving away leverage to the U.S… Digital sovereignty does not arrive by surrender.
Tags: economy, globalization, jurisdiction, privatization, sovereignty, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Tax havens cost Canada some $15 billion a year in revenue. Is Ottawa’s crackdown working?
Sunday, January 4th, 2026
Taxing corporations and high net-worth families fairly is more important than ever. Canada needs the economic activity, governments need the tax revenue, and Canadians need to know that the tax system that they pay into — year in, year out — is equitable… If the entities you’re trying to stymie specialize in hiding behind complexity, adding even more complexity may make things worse. Simpler rules, on the other hand, could help.
Tags: economy, globalization, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Donald Trump’s war on narcoterrorism is misguided: Cocaine is not the problem
Monday, December 22nd, 2025
The opioid problem is not an import… it is sustained by cheaper, and even more dangerous, synthetics prepared (often domestically) in illicit labs… It is traceable, in microeconomic terms, not to the abundant supply of illegal opioids, but to the widespread demand for them… A great many Americans feel hopeless. Their lives have been immiserated, socially and economically… Maybe they could… bolster the welfare state, or create jobs that lift people out of poverty?
Tags: crime prevention, globalization, Health, ideology, mental Health, poverty
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Canada doesn’t need another headline about doctors — it needs a plan
Monday, December 22nd, 2025
… more than 13,000 internationally trained physicians already live in Canada without any pathway to practise. Before adding thousands more, we should ask why so many already here cannot even be assessed… Canada’s problem is not a lack of potential physicians, but a failure of planning and foresight… We have the need. We have the talent. We have the institutions. But we have not connected the dots. It’s time to build the system Canadians deserve.
Tags: economy, Education, Health, immigration
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Blame Doug Ford, not international students, for the catastrophe facing Ontario colleges and universities
Tuesday, December 16th, 2025
… years of underfunding, mismanagement and neglect, colleges and universities across the province are slashing programs and cutting jobs… the harm may become irrevocable. Even in the best case, it will take years, and perhaps decades, to repair the damage already done… postsecondary education is a provincial responsibility…
Tags: budget, Education, ideology, immigration, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »
Ontario won’t have charter schools, board closings or mergers, pledges education minister
Saturday, December 6th, 2025
Education Minister Paul Calandra said Friday that… “There will be no closing of school boards in whatever we do… We’re not amalgamating school boards. I’m not bringing in charter schools. I’m not merging the public system and the Catholic system together… But… nothing has convinced him that the ”$43 billion Ministry of Education budget should be delivered by trustees across the province of Ontario.”
Tags: Education, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »
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