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  • The Big Chill

    Basic freedoms of speech and advocacy are now under siege There are few values at the heart of any vibrant democratic society more important than the right and the ability to speak out freely, to disagree, and to advocate for differing points of view. These rights lie at the heart…

  • Paved with good intentions: A guide to evolving climate policies in BC

    The road to hell is paved with good intentions, an economics professor of mine used to say back in the late 1980s. Concerned about the federal government’s inability to reign in fiscal deficits, hell back then was hitting a “financial wall” where the markets would no longer lend or would…

  • The Fraser Institute’s bizarre stance on census long-form

    Virtually alone in the growing outrage over the federal government’s decision to scrap the long-form mandatory census, the Fraser Institute threw it’s support behind the government’s decision with its chief economist Niels Veldhuis arguing that “voluntary surveys will yield enough accurate information about the country and critics saying otherwise are…

  • Do you want a more transparent, accountable government? Tell them so!

    The story goes that Franklin Delano Roosevelt once met with a group of activists who wanted bold action. He listened and then said, “You’ve convinced me. Now go out and make me do it.” BC’s new government is holding a consultation on updating our Freedom of Information and Protection of…

  • Canada’s largest companies prioritizing shareholder payouts over pension contributions

    OTTAWA—Last year, Canada’s largest publicly-traded companies paid out four times more to shareholders than it would have cost to fully fund their defined benefit (DB) pension plans, according to new research released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Thirty-nine companies on the S&P/TSX 60 maintain DB pension plans, amounting to…

  • Equal Pay Day in Ontario: Time to Close the Gap

    It’s Equal Pay Day in Ontario — a day to recognize the persistent pay gap between men and women.It’s also a moment to focus on policies that can effect real change, because the labour market looks radically different today than it was a generation ago. In 1976, the world of…

  • Trade and Investment Research Project

    Five things to know about the Canadian Free Trade Agreement

    Late last week, federal, provincial and territorial governments jointly celebrated the conclusion of a new internal trade deal they’re calling the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. The CFTA replaces the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), which was completed in 1995 and updated a half-dozen times since to respond to business complaints…

  • Wanted: A federal New Year’s resolution on global warming

    Prime Minister Harper is a very intelligent man, but there are some things that he just can’t understand. Or, more accurately, won’t understand. Harper’s most dangerous delusion is not accepting the scientific consensus that the biggest threat facing Canada – and the world – is the destruction of our environment…

  • Work Life: Business Wins Big – Throne Speech 2016

    Throne speeches typically are run-of-the-mill exercises that say very little while evoking lofty ideals such as prosperity, innovation and “establishing an open principled government that reflects the values and priorities of Manitobans . . .”.  Pretty hard to argue with any of that. But in case you’re wondering who gets…

  • April 2006: Selling Off Our Country

    Takeovers place key Canadian industries in foreign hands In the late 1960s and throughout the first half of the 1970s, Canadians became increasingly concerned about the already high and rapidly increasing level of foreign ownership in Canada, which had reached over one-third of all non-financial industry corporate assets and over…

  • UNSPUN: Manitoba’s Pension Record

    Pensions and the retirement security concerns of Canadians have been in the news in a big way in recent years. With two-thirds of Canadian workers not covered by a workplace pension plan and a majority of citizens not contributing to RRSPs (almost $1 trillion in unused contribution room) many look…

  • How Canada’s WTO “victory” on food labelling undermines BC’s local food efforts

    In December Canada once again made international headlines by defeating the Americans at the World Trade Organization, and, paradoxically, made it harder to promote and protect British Columbia’s agrifood sector.  After a seven-year dispute, the United States was forced to repeal legislation requiring country of origin labelling (COOL) for muscle cuts…