Search results for “site/Pat Armstrong”

  • Climate Justice Project

    Subsidizing dirty industries with expensive clean electricity is a recipe for major rate hikes

    Premier Clark’s recent decision to cap the BC Hydro rate increases next year may have ratepayers breathing a sigh of relief. But it’s a short term fix that will only delay addressing the major financial challenges now facing our Crown utility. Once the 2013 election is over, whoever forms BC’s…

  • Climate Justice Project

    Few jobs, massive emissions from oil and gas: look to green investments for stronger economy, says report

    CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—Accelerated oil and gas extraction will boost profits but won’t drive major employment gains, says a report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Instead, embracing a “green industrial revolution” will allow Canada to meet its climate change commitments while…

  • Managing Oil Wealth

    The Alberta/Canada Model vs. the Norwegian model The post-2000 petroleum-led resource boom is substantially reshaping the Canadian economy. It has driven up the dollar exchange rate from 62 cents to parity with the U.S. dollar, squeezing out other export sectors: traded services, tourism, forestry, and most notably manufacturing, where it…

  • Alternative Federal Budget

    Think tank calls on feds to scrap spending cut plans

    Alternative Budget promotes a budget for the rest of us CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) urges the federal government to table a detailed budget that restores Canadians’ trust in the economy, public institutions, and democracy. With the release of its annual…

  • A Tale of Two Austerity Hardliners

    Conservative soul mates, Stephen Harper and British Prime Minister David Cameron, were in Davos, Switzerland a month ago lecturing Eurozone leaders on how to get their collective act together. As they have done since the G-20 meeting in Toronto, both were preaching fiscal austerity as the solution to Europe’s, and…

  • American flag flying over cargo ship
    Trade and Investment Research Project

    From deep integration to reclaiming sovereignty

    Managing Canada-U.S. economic relations under NAFTA For some months now, business leaders and other free trade proponents have been beating the drums for another big leap of faith into a new comprehensive “trade” arrangement with the United States. Once again they are warning that the status quo is not acceptable,…

  • Slow and easy will win energy race

    It is hard not to detect a note of desperation in the provincial government’s recently unveiled natural gas strategy. In announcing it, BC Energy Minister Rich Coleman notes that we are “in a foot race” with Australia, Qatar and the United States to push as much of our natural gas…

  • Labour Matters

    Federal spending cuts will cost more than 60,000 jobs: study

    CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—Federal cutbacks announced in the 2010 and 2011 budgets will result in more than 60,000 job losses, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Any additional cuts in the upcoming federal budget would result in even more…

  • Contrived deficit from tax cuts excuses Harper program cuts

    The economy is cleverly being used to trump the environment in both Canada and the United States, largely by exploiting people’s ignorance of economic matters. As part of deficit reduction, the Harper government has announced cuts of 776 jobs at Environment Canada; the Federal Fisheries’ budget has been cut by…

  • Challenging capitalism: a 12-step program

    Over a year ago, I posted “What are the Game Changers?“, an attempt at sparking some strategic thinking for the broader left. Now that we’ve had a month of Occupation, building on the original Occupy Wall Street action, I’ve been wanting to put these ideas back on the table, so…

  • BC government claims new power over personal information. Public comment sidelined.

    The BC government has a lot of personal information about you. Legislation passed last month means the government can do a lot more with it. The legislation passed without the public consultation demanded last year by the Information and Privacy Commissioner. In 2010 a legislative committee undertook a review of…

  • Occupy Canada Resources from the CCPA Vault

    With increased attention on the 99% emerging from the Occupy Wall Street movement, it’s time to open the CCPA vault on the issue. www.growinggap.ca is our dedicated website on income inequality, and it’s a treasure trove of facts and arguments documenting worsening income inequality in Canada and offering solutions to help…