Search results for: “site/Pat Armstrong”

  • Canada needs a green industrial strategy to combat climate change: Report

    READ THE FULL REPORT HERE. OTTAWA—Canada’s efforts to combat climate change are coming up short because the country lacks a clear industrial policy, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). “Climate policy is often so focused on the things we need to stop doing—namely,…

  • From the ground up: Building a successful Early Learning and Child Care System in Nova Scotia

    The Nova Scotia government has announced that it will introduce a new free pre-primary program for children turning four by the end of December 2017. While there are many reasons to be concerned about the implementation of this program, the good news is that the government is investing in the…

  • February 2004: Poisoning the Environment — Free

    Polluters are supposed to pay clean-up costs–but they don’t What is remarkable about the latest environmental law decision from the Supreme Court of Canada is not how ecologically enlightened the Court is (since a series of previous cases had already demonstrated the Justices’ “green” wisdom), but rather the breadth of…

  • Nova Scotia has the worst provincial child poverty reduction record over 30 years—shows the 2021 Report Card

    CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT Halifax, NS—The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia (CCPA-NS) released the 2021 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Nova Scotia: Worst Provincial Performance over 30 Years. This report provides the 2021 Child and Family Poverty rates for Nova Scotia, based on…

  • Polling on taxes – response to a critic

    On November 29, the CCPA released an opinion research study led by myself and Randy Galawan called Beyond the 1%: What British Columbians think about taxes, inequality and public services. The study involved an extensive online survey (poll) of a broad sample of British Columbians, conducted by Environics Research, and…

  • Evidence is in: privately funded health care doesn’t reduce wait times

    Current public dialogue is full of questions about what kind of innovation or “revamping” the health system needs. In this context, as a physician, I am compelled to apply principles of evidence-based practice to the public vs. private debate: Will Brian Day’s plan to expand privately funded health care in…

  • The Attack on Organics

    Anti-organics study funded by Cargill and other corporations Food issues have been much in the news recently, but I want to focus on what can only be called an attempt to trash organic food and organic farming – an attempt that, as we shall see, fits into a larger agenda.…

  • Book review – Just cool it! The climate crisis and what we can do

    The following is a review of Just cool it! The climate crisis and what we can do by David Suzuki and Ian Hanington, published by Greystone Books/David Suzuki Institute. Two passages in the introduction to this book encapsulate the situation that confronts us as the effects of global warming become more serious every…

  • Uber No Solution for Winnipeg

    Analysis of taxi and transport Conservative forces in the provincial legislature and at Winnipeg City Hall are combining to enable ride-sharing services such as Uber and allow its introduction into the Winnipeg market. Acting on recommendations of the December 2016 report prepared by accounting firm Myers, Norris, Penny (MNP) on…

  • December 2007: No Excuse For Denying Drug Coverage

    It’s time to end Canadians’ long wait for Pharmacare Canadians have been waiting for Pharmacare since the early 1960s when it was proposed by the Royal Commission on Health Care. However, despite repeated promises in the ensuing decades from the National Forum on Health and even the Liberal party itself…

  • March 2004: Tackling Our Worst Drug Addiction

    Big Pharma’s hold on our health care system must be broken Parliament’s Standing Committee on Health has identified many important and disturbing issues related to prescription drugs in Canada, including the rising costs, the review and control of prices, the approval of new drugs, the monitoring of adverse effects and…

  • From disenfranchised to revitalized: Ten proposals to set our forests and BC’s rural communities on a new course

    Fort Nelson and Merritt lie at two geographical extremes, the former perched in the northeast corner near some of British Columbia’s biggest natural gas plays, the latter located deep in the province’s southwest, near rolling dry hills that are home to BC’s biggest ranches. It takes nearly 15 hours by…