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Harper and the illusion of economic management
Sunday, May 1st, 2011
May 01 2011
… the Conservatives… are putting forward the same market fundamentalist policies that have taken countries time and again to the brink of economic disaster: • Tax cuts that will benefit the wealthiest and boost corporations’ bottom lines, but do nothing to spur investment in manufacturing or increase the growth of full-time jobs. • “Cost efficiency savings” that will mean the roughly 80,000 federal public sector workers… will not be replaced… • “Smaller government” that will mean fewer public services and that Canada will continue to have one of the worst records of rising inequality and poverty…
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Does the election mark Common Sense Revolution 2.0?
Sunday, May 1st, 2011
Apr 30 2011
The ideal of decent living standards and a strong social safety net was once the war cry of reformers, who fought for social justice and equality, and vowed the Great Depression would never happen again. Now it is the target of political pit bulls who bare their teeth at the idea of “big government,” while savaging the institutions they have been elected to support and serve… Ultimately, the choice is to embrace the common good or face the consequences. That’s something Canadians may ponder as they head to the polls on Monday.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
The winner of this campaign? Citizen engagement
Saturday, April 30th, 2011
Apr 30 2011
Canadians… are less jaded about their country’s public affairs than much of the political and journalistic elite that purports to represent and inform them… the developments of the past five weeks have shown that there is a lot more appetite for a discourse based on hope than one based on fear… Serious policy never really made it to the centre stage of the campaign… But the reality is that there are ultimately less irreconcilable policy differences between the parties than their partisan hype would lead to believe…
Tags: ideology, participation
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »
Broken democracy can be fixed
Friday, April 29th, 2011
Apr 28 2011
Is it possible to bring democracy back to health? Yes, but it would require radical surgery, enlightened leadership and a core of Canadians committed to rebuilding the electoral system from the ground up… Step 1: Reduce campaign spending limits drastically… The current maximum… encourages the practices that alienate voters and subvert democratic principles… Step 2: Scrap the $2 per vote subsidy to political parties… Step 3: Create an independent public commission to organize and run weekly televised election debates.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
First Nations Children: The back of the bus
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
Apr 26 2011
Canada’s failure to address the growing gap in education funding for on-reserve schools will hold every Canadian back. It defies imagination how the human argument — the calls for social justice or children’s rights — continues to fall on deaf ears and fails to elicit a human response from those who seek to lead this country… The funding formula for First Nations education has not been revised in 22 years; it has not kept pace with costs in 13 years. Now that we are in the midst of a federal election campaign, it is time for all political parties to commit to an equitable approach to education funding.
Tags: ideology, Indigenous, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
Harper or Armageddon? Let’s be serious
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
Apr 26 201
Harper is right on three counts. There are economic storm clouds on the horizon. The opposition parties would seek to govern collaboratively if the Conservatives lost the confidence of Parliament. And we may have to endure a few more minority governments before a stalemate-breaking leader emerges. We have coped with far bigger problems than these. The only “black hole” that exists is in Harper’s imagination. There is no reason to vote in fear.
Tags: ideology, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Abused as Tory props [victims of crime]
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
Apr 27 2011
When the Conservative government created the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime four years ago, it said the watchdog would promote access to programs, explore systemic issues and make sure Ottawa met its commitments to victims. None of that can happen if the justice minister keeps the office’s annual reports under wraps. Sullivan says he filed his 2008 and 2009 reports before his three-year term ended last April but they have yet to be made public by the government.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, mental Health, rights, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Where do our taxes go? Only receipts will tell
Monday, April 25th, 2011
Apr 20 2011
There’s a movement afoot in the U.S. to introduce tax receipts, and I hope it migrates here. That way I’d know my share of the cost of the RCMP, mandatory flu vaccinations, street repair, maintaining our armed forces, and my contribution to our foreign aid… The hostility to taxes and government that many of us feel might be lessened if we knew the necessary uses to which our money is being put. And of course we’d also be better able to demand that spending on ineffectual programs stop… with this simple device of tax receipts for all, we could slay a few myths.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Mental illness needs to be election issue
Monday, April 25th, 2011
Apr 25 2011
No economic action plan is complete without a focus on the illness that is now the number one cause of workplace disability in Canada. It costs our Canadian economy over $50 billion annually. Mental health claims have overtaken cardiovascular disease as the fastest growing category of disability costs in Canada. Every day, half a million Canadians are absent from work due to a mental illness or addiction. This is a tangible productivity problem, and it doesn’t include “presenteeism,” those showing up for work, but unable to contribute to their full potential.
Tags: disabilities, Health, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Premiers could be reaching for their wallets
Monday, April 25th, 2011
Apr 25 2011
the Conservative party is emphasizing promised personal tax breaks: income splitting for some households, doubled Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), and tax credits for more athletic and artistic pursuits… Less noticed is the fact that provincial governments would bear a significant portion of the cost of these postdated tax changes. Provincial income tax generally applies to income as defined by federal tax rules. Shifting income to a spouse in a lower tax bracket or into a TFSA reduces both federal and provincial revenues.
Tags: budget, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
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