Paul Martin and his Liberal colleagues are handicapped by their anti-deficit phobia in dealing with the current economic downturn. A surplus come-hell-or-high-water approach makes sense in a period of economic expansion, but in the current recession (Yes, we really are going into one!), it is unwise to say the least.…
In February and March, the Climate Justice Project hosted This Changes BC: A Conversation on Climate Justice. Over four Saturdays, a group of 34 citizens from Metro Vancouver gathered to talk about what climate solutions could look like in their lives and our province. Having worked on these issues for many…
There’s a popular belief that parents chauffeur their young children everywhere. And certainly parents have many reasons for preferring cars over other modes of transportation: Children get easily tired. Parents need to pack things like food, diapers, etc. Parents want to keep their children comfortable and safe. Parents have busy…
As the promise of British Columbia’s liquefied natural gas bubble has begun to deflate, the conversation on how to grow good jobs in BC’s economy has been overlooking a key ingredient: food. A recent report by researcher Brent Mansfield issues a wake up call for the province’s current and long-term…
Ontario universities and public-private partnerships READ THE FULL REPORT HERE. OTTAWA–Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), while promoted as an innovative approach to the provision of public goods and services, are playing a damaging role in Ontario’s universities, according to a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. For Cash and…
Canadians perilously overexposed to electromagnetic radiation After three days of hearings on the health impacts of Wi-Fi and wireless technologies, Canada’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health released a remarkably timid report — An Examination of the Potential Health Impacts of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation – last December. Judging from the fact…
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE. VANCOUVER – The major investors in Canada’s fossil-fuel sector have high stakes in maintaining business as usual rather than addressing the industry’s serious climate issues, a new Corporate Mapping Project study reveals. “Substantial ownership and strategic control of Canada’s fossil fuel industry are in the…
Celebrating 10 years of community-based research: the 2014 State of the Inner City Report launch Tuesday December 16, 2014 Circle of Life Thunderbird House 715 Main Street Lunch 11:30 am Program – 12-1:15 pm Poverty in Winnipeg’s inner city is often a topic of public and media attention, but neighbourhood-level…
Catastrophic Failure of Leadership Last week, the Manitoba government announced it would amend Bill 16, the “Climate and Green Plan,” to eliminate its flat $25/tonne carbon tax, leaving it essentially empty of any real action on climate change. Just a few days later, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—the…
Winnipeg is home to Canada’s largest Aboriginal population. Aboriginal people, however, are among the most likely to experience homelessness and are also over-represented in housing that is unaffordable, overcrowded or in poor condition. Finding housing has become a wall preventing many Aboriginal people from successfully making Winnipeg home. Moving to…
Canada is well behind other developed – and some lesser-developed countries – in shifting gears to a green economy. Other countries are supporting green enterprises with targeted programs and subsidies. But Canadian NGOs, social enterprises and green entrepreneurs are largely on their own. There are many reasons – not the…
The Harper government wants you to believe that average families are squarely at the centre of their budget spending this year. Before you celebrate this “something for everyone” approach to politics, consider this: A striking number of Canadians actually won’t benefit from much of what is promised in this budget.…