Concerted, timely federal action needed for a Canadian shift to a cleaner energy economy
A genuine commitment to a cleaner, greener economy will require intensified federal action on all fronts including supporting directed research, deploying renewables, incenting energy efficiency, ending perverse incentives for fossil fuels and measures to create a transition workforce. While this government has invested in energy research, in the majority support remains dedicated to production of […]
Green Economy
Conservative MP Liepert plans to donate part of his $6,000 House Finance Committee salary to charity, says it hasn’t met, but Grit MP Easter calls it ‘playing politics’
Conservative MP Ron Liepert says he plans to donate part of the extra $6,000 salary he earns as vice chair of the House Finance Committee to a charity in his Calgary riding because the committee has only met once this month. Mr. Liepert (Calgary Signal Hill, Alta.) said three study pitches he made to the House Finance […]
Gender budgeting promise criticized for lax accountability measures
The Trudeau government’s promised gender-based assessment of the 2017 budget must come with strengthened reporting requirements and measurements to track progress, or it runs the risk of sputtering out as a limp public relations exercise, say critics. Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton, Ont.), chair of the House Status of Women Committee, told The Hill Times […]
PBO analysis of government’s $257.9-billion expenditure plan and main estimates
While the federal government will bring down its budget on Feb. 22, making for the most high-profile announcement of what its spending intentions are for the coming fiscal year, a lower-profile release coming out late last month was its “expenditure plan and main estimates.” Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Office released an analysis of the […]
Lobbying the money man: Morneau draws interest from wide range of government-relations practitioners
Being the gatekeeper of more than $300-billion in annual government spending—details of which for the 2017-18 fiscal year are to be released in the budget on March 22—it’s not surprising that so many people want an audience with Finance Minister Bill Morneau. A look through the federal lobbyists registry shows there have been 105 communication […]
Liberals ask Parliament to approve $2.5-billion to finance government operations until April
The Trudeau government is seeking approval from Parliament to spend an additional $2.5-billion before April on improving border security, financing the transfer of ownership of several federal dams, covering the costs of new labour pacts with civil servants, and writing off thousands of unrecoverable student loan debts, among other initiatives. The new funding requests are included […]
Why carbon pricing and cash rebates to oil companies go hand in hand
Canadian provinces are actively moving toward putting a broad-based price on greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, some of them are providing cash rebates back to businesses in emissions-intensive sectors. This combination of policy actions is sometimes viewed as bizarre, one that undermines the basic logic of carbon pricing. But it actually makes a […]
Main estimates 2017-18: the good, bad, and ugly for defence
The Canadian government’s 2017-18 main estimates were released Feb. 23 and contain mixed news for the Department of National Defence (DND): some good news, some bad, and some ugly. The one piece of good news is that the Trudeau government has adhered to the Liberal campaign pledge to maintain DND’s existing spending plans. DND has an […]
No health without mental health: words to live by
Today, in Canada, there are at least 1.6 million people living with a mental health problem or illness who cannot get the care they feel they need to get well. At first blush, the reason for this gap is as simple as a lack of investment. In Canada, we still only spend seven per cent […]
