For the first time ever, Canada’s private sector is racking up debt faster than any other of the world’s 22 advanced economies, putting the country at risk of serious economic consequences, according to new research by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
A new report authored by CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald reveals that Canada added $1 trillion in private sector debt over the past five years ($2016), with the corporate sector responsible for the majority of it.
Corporations and corporate power
VANCOUVER – A subsidiary of Malaysian state-owned Petronas, the company behind a massive Liquefied Natural Gas plant proposal near Prince Rupert, has built at least 16 large unauthorized dams in northeast BC to trap water used for fracking operations, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has learned.
On March 6, 2017, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Manitoba government was examining Saskatchewan’s experience with using Public Private Partnerships (P3s) to build new public schools. The Saskatchewan government claims that it will save $100m dollars by using P3s, although it was not explained how it arrived at that conclusion.
In this issue:
BC’s new (affordable?) housing policies
A bleak jobs picture outside BC’s big cities
The great log export drain
The biggest source of waste in Canadian health care? The private, for-profit sector.
BC’s Jobs Plan doesn’t equal a comprehensive poverty reduction plan
Joining our CCPA–BC community
The role of big money and corporate lobbying in BC politics has become a major issue as we head into the May provincial election. It’s a problem of central concern to us at the Corporate Mapping Project, a research initiative investigating the power and influence of the fossil fuel industry. In a study published today, we took a close look at political donations by oil, gas and coal companies and their industry associations. We also analyzed information from the BC Lobbyist Registry to find out what kind of access to government these donations help secure.
This study examines the political reach of the fossil fuel industry in British Columbia, as evidenced by donations to political parties and lobbying efforts by oil, gas and coal corporations and industry groups.
It finds a remarkable and disturbingly close relationship between industry and the provincial government – one that not only contradicts the province’s stated aim to fight climate change but also undermines democracy and the public interest.
Mapping Political Influence examines the political reach of the fossil fuel industry in British Columbia, as evidenced by donations to political parties and lobbying efforts by oil, gas and coal corporations and industry groups.
(Vancouver) A new study finds the policy alignment between BC’s provincial government and the fossil fuel industry may be explained, at least in part, by extensive donations to political parties combined with intense, sustained lobbying pressure on public officials. The study also reveals that most of the fossil fuel corporations and industry groups donating and lobbying in BC are headquartered in Calgary, the US and beyond.
Screenshot from the July/August 2009 issue of Upstream Dialogue, a newsletter from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.