Search results for “apachesolr_search”

  • Social impact bonds are a wolf in sheep’s clothing

    Earlier this year, Vancouver city council considered a motion encouraging the city to look into the issue of “social impact bonds” (and more broadly “social impact investing”), which is a warm and fuzzy sounding term that actually refers to a type of privatization. I spoke to city council to help…

  • December 2005: The Right to Privacy—A New Oxymoron?

    Our privacy shield is getting badly battered on every front Privacy is an extremely complex human value, but it boils down to the need and “right to be let alone”–to be free of unwarranted intrusions into our daily lives, 24/7. Think of privacy as a cultural and legal shield protecting…

  • Research for Communities: The Spence Neighbourhood Challenge

    Download 362.95 KB4 pages

  • Research for Communities: Home Ownership

    Outcomes for families and communities Download 102.31 KB4 pages

  • Research for Communities: Home-ownership for Low-Income Households

    Outcomes for families and communities Download 466.49 KB59 pages

  • "<aTakver / Flickr” style=”border-radius:0px;–objectFit:cover;–imagePosX:50%;–imagePosY:50%” decoding=”async” srcset=”https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_fall2017_carbontax_20year-300×133.jpg 300w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_fall2017_carbontax_20year-768×341.jpg 768w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_fall2017_carbontax_20year.jpg 900w” sizes=”(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px” />

    Climate justice and the BC carbon tax: 20th Anniversary retrospective

    BC’s carbon tax was announced in February 2008, a year after the landmark February 2007 Throne Speech that focused extensively on climate change. That set in motion a whole-of-government exercise out of the Premier’s office aimed at developing a climate action plan. (See my ten-year retrospective here.) At the time,…

  • Basic income panel calls for major reforms to income security in BC

    When the final report of BC’s Basic Income Panel came out in January, the media coverage was largely reduced to a few dismissive headlines that the panel had rejected basic income. Behind the headlines, however, is a comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of the state of poverty in BC and the…

  • Corporate Mapping Project

    Fossil-Power Top 50 launched

    Who’s who of Canada’s fossil fuel industry in a publicly accessible database (VANCOUVER) What do Suncor, Encana, the Royal Bank of Canada, the Fraser Institute and 46 other companies and organizations have in common? They are among the entities that make up the most influential fossil fuel industry players in…

  • Red markers indicate dams currently being reviewed by the EAO’s office; yellow markers indicate water licences that Progress Energy applied for on December 23 of last year and where dams already existed.

    A Dam Troublesome Exception: Progress Energy’s dams should not be exempted from environmental review

    I sent the following letter to BC’s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) in response to Progress Energy’s extraordinary request to retroactively exempt the Lily and Town dams from environmental reviews. Such reviews should have been conducted before the dams were built. Not only did those reviews not happen, but the company…

  • glass of beer on a table

    Making it easier for Ontarians to drink more isn’t a good idea

    As 7-Eleven applies to serve beer and wine in 61 stores across Ontario, spare a thought for alcohol policy experts. Around the world, scholars have done extensive research into drinking and its effects. It’s important work: Alcohol, while often enjoyable, is not good for us. It’s addictive. It’s linked to…

  • Canada backsliding on climate policy in face of rising climate threats: report

    READ THE FULL REPORT HERE. OTTAWA—As Canadians from coast to coast to coast grapple with record-breaking wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events, a new report finds that many Canadian governments—at both the federal and provincial level—are moving in the wrong direction on climate policy. The study, co-published by the…

  • The Budget, Employment Insurance and the Unemployed

    Following  are the notes on which I based presentations to the Senate National Finance Committee on June 6 and the House of Commons Finance Committee on May 29. They summarize key CLC concerns with the Budget Implementation Bill. Lack of Consultation The significant changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) program…