Search results for “site/human rights”

  • What’s on the Agenda?

    Remember in high school history when you learned about the very first nationwide protest for the nine-hour workday (May 1872) and the passing of the Trade Union Act the following month? No? What about when Saskatchewan launched the first provincial Medicare system (1962), and Canada followed suit with a national…

  • How many will vote in the November 2014 local government elections?

    In BC’s last local government elections in 2011 less than 30% of people bothered to vote.  CivicInfoBC has a handy list of turnout information for all of our local governments here. I was curious about how this compared to local election turnout in other provinces. I don’t have turnout information…

  • Trade and Investment Research Project

    Tar Sands and the CETA

    The recent decision by the European Union (EU) to disregard Canadian government pressure and forge ahead with regulations that recognise the higher green-house-gas intensity of fuel produced from tar sands and oil shale is encouraging.   But, as reported in today’s Globe and Mail, the Canadian government is still lobbying furiously against…

  • Climate Justice Project

    LNG’s threat to water sustainability

    One glaring problem with the provincial government’s strategy to turn British Columbia into a liquefied natural gas exporting juggernaut is that it scuttles any chance B.C. has to be a climate change leader. But equally problematic is how our government’s economically dubious fixation with gas exports jeopardizes our irreplaceable water…

  • November 2004: We Can Learn Much From Down Under

    Nine lessons on early child care we can learn from New Zealand The new federal government has promised to introduce legislation that would lead to the development of an early child care and education (ECCE) system in Canada. This is welcome news. At present, however, despite public proclamations on the…

  • Election 2011 UNSPUN: Why the Manitoba Provincial Election Matters

    Elections matter. Some matter more than others. The October 4, 2011 provincial election in Manitoba is important. This is less because of what is going on in Manitoba, where we have had stable and relatively progressive government since 1999, and more because of what is happening beyond Manitoba. Federally, a…

  • About that LNG Prosperity Fund

    Budget 2014 contains some new information about how the province intends to pay for all of the ponies BC children have been promised from LNG riches. Alas, there is not much there – a three page text box that mostly restates the hype on LNG – and from what has…

  • Fast Facts: Community Development Manitoba – style

    For fashion trends the world looks to Milan; Copenhagen has become synonymous with urban planning; but for community development, Manitoba is increasingly the source for inspiration and cutting edge policy. Manitoba’s home-grown approach to community development is being studied by other cities looking for ways to deal with the complex…

  • Education Project

    Our Schools/Our Selves: Spring 2001

    Class size in Alberta–an ongoing debate! The debate over class size in Alberta’s schools has sharpened significantly in the last few months. It has set parents and teachers against government. However, neither research nor polls seem likely to move the provincial government to enforce class sizes in kindergarten through grade…

  • July 2004: Drugs Are Not Enough

    Access to needed drugs only part of the solution to global ills, injustice The Access To Drugs movement, in particular the focus on anti-HIV drugs, has achieved an unprecedented level of public awareness for a “Third World” or development issue. It has caught the attention not only of the general…

  • 21st Century Globalization

    What Newfoundland/Labrador can teach the rest of Canada The Roil report on the 18-month strike at Voisey’s Bay nickel mine in northern Labrador is an eye-opening case study in 21st century globalization, and has the potential to be a game-changer. It is the final output of an industrial inquiry commission…

  • What will the election mean for Canada’s kids?

    With a federal campaign on, promises are flying faster than the puck at a playoff game. Most recently, Paul Martin pledged several billion dollars for child care over the next five years. This isn’t the first time federal Liberals have promised major action on child care. Canada’s kids deserve a…