(Vancouver) The majority of British Columbians would come out ahead under a plan to scrap MSP and replace the $2.5 billion in public revenues it currently brings in with fair taxes scaled to income.
Government finance
This short paper offers two options for replacing the MSP in BC with a fairer system. It originally appeared as a post on our Policy Note blog.
It will take more than one budget – hastily prepared – to fully appreciate the Conservatives’ master plan, but the Throne Speech, a fiscal update and Ministerial mandate letters tell us what we should be keeping our eye on.
ST.JOHN’S – The Newfoundland and Labrador budget will worsen gender inequalities in the province, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The study reviews the impacts of the 2016-17 budget on girls and women in Newfoundland and Labrador and finds it will decrease the income of the most vulnerable women, public service lay-offs will lead to greater unemployment for women, and cuts to education will negatively impact girls.
This study finds that the 2016-17 Newfoundland and Labrador budget will worsen gender inequalities in the province. The study reviews the impacts of the budget on girls and women in Newfoundland and Labrador, and finds that it will decrease the income of the most vulnerable women, that public service lay-offs will lead to greater unemployment for women, and that cuts to education will negatively impact girls. The author also makes several recommendations for the provincial government to improve its consultation process
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 to decide what Manitobans’ priorities are – because let’s face it, we’re a pretty diverse group with different ideas – the answer is quite clear: business gets to decide what Manitobans’ priorities are.
Elections are noisy and cluttered affairs that can make it difficult for some of the most promising, Manitoba-made policy innovations to get the attention they deserve. One of these policies is the use of day-to-day government purchasing to provide job and training opportunities for people with barriers to employment. Little-known outside the social enterprise sector, the Government of Manitoba is recognized as a national leader for using procurement to drive social change in our communities, which in turn is providing the government impressive savings.
On March 22 the federal Liberals delivered a budget that signals the end of a long period of austerity. Past Liberal and Conservative federal governments dramatically decreased their support in key areas such as healthcare, housing, First Nations, education and environmental stewardship. With the exception of healthcare, where this budget disappoints, there is reason to be optimistic that this government is ready to get back to the job of managing economic and social issues.
Premier Christy Clark rarely misses a chance to take credit for BC's recent economic growth and job creation numbers even though they have more to do with plunging oil prices and the low dollar than with any action her government has taken. This year's throne speech was no exception, calling BC "an island of prosperity" and a leader: "British Columbia’s economy leads Canada," and, "In 2015, we led Canada by creating more than 50,000 new jobs."
British Columbians face serious challenges; unfortunately Budget 2016 offers small measures that do not address these challenges in a comprehensive manner.
Read more in Iglika Ivanova's blog post: What you need to know about BC Budget 2016
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