CTF: BC budget disappoints as spending and borrowing rise
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is disappointed with the B.C. government’s management of the public purse and troubled by rising public debt forecast in today’s provincial budget. “This government would like everybody to cheer a $1.265 billion deficit for last year, because it’s lower than forecast. That’s not good enough. The real story here is $440 […]
Harper, Autocrat
As tens of millions of Egyptians celebrated their victory over a brutal dictator and began the task of creating democracy, the story from Canada was of democracy going backwards. For five years under Stephen Harper, Canada has been subjected to a systematic erosion of democracy (as I document here). Canada is not Egypt and Harper is […]
Rousseau, Nasser and the Egyptian revolution
In watching the live streaming coverage of the Egyptian revolution on Aljazeera I am awe-struck by the incredible humanity of what is unfolding in that country. I imagine Jean Jacques Rousseau wandering amongst the throngs of people and being equally amazed and delighted. For the character of this uprising, this outpouring of frustration and joy, of kindness […]
Ready, set, go! Federal spring election under way?
With all the attention focused on the BC Liberals and NDP leadership races, you may not have noticed: the next federal election campaign is already under way. The vote will take place in late April/early May. The first visible sign were those negative TV ads launched by the federal Tories a couple of weeks […]
BC leads in job losses, posts highest unemployment rate outside Atlantic Canada
By BC Federation of Labour Job numbers released Friday by Statistics Canada show British Columbia continues to lose jobs. BC lost 9,100 jobs in January and was the only province to see significant job losses. Most other provinces showed job gains, including Ontario which created 36,300 jobs in January, and Alberta which saw job numbers […]
The HST: A democratic opportunity
The focus of politics has shifted over the past two to three decades from issues to personalities. Media reports refer to Conservative or Liberal governments or to Harper or Campbell governments, as if federal and provincial governments were owned by political parties or their leaders. Such references are indications that our parliamentary democracies have become […]
State of BC families released in report
A new report produced by the Ministry of Children and Family Development offers insight into the challenges, goals and key priorities of B.C. families – and how they have changed over the past few decades. Titled Family Roots, the report is the Province’s first step in establishing a baseline of government programs and services for […]
And then everything changed....
The photographs are as stunning as they are inspiring. The world is now totally focused on the democratic rebellion in Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak, the dictator who Israel relies on for its current unassailable position, sends out the army to deal with demonstrators and what happens? The soldiers, including officers, joined with them, hugging them, kissing […]
Ignatieff and the media: who's telling the truth?
This one should make you laugh, shake your head or maybe even cry. It shows perfectly why so many Canadians don’t trust our politicians or our media. On Wednesday, the Toronto Sun carried a story headlined “Feds shouldn’t foot bill for NHL-calibre arena:Iggy” The piece revolved around Quebec City’s dream of building a $400 million arena and […]
Why tax cuts make us weak
I don’t think I have ever re-cycled a column before but the whole question of tax cuts and all the issues it involves never really changes. In November, 2007, I wrote a column for the Tyee and rabble focusing on Conservative finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s five year tax cut plan. This up-coming cut to corporate […]
