MacDonald’s death marks ‘the end of an era’
Some 20 years ago, Flora MacDonald had been invited to be one of the speakers at the annual “How Ottawa Spends” seminar of Carleton University’s School of Public Administration. The seminar launches the annual journal, which analyses several federal priorities each year. She was asked to address foreign affairs and she did so with her […]
Harper never had much of a Plan B for Canadian economy: David Crane
TORONTO—The Harper government never had much of a Plan B for the Canadian economy and we are now paying the price. Its priority from the start has been to make Canada an “energy superpower,” relying on aggressive development of the Alberta oil sands and pipelines to carry rising volumes of oil to U.S. and Asian […]
Our economy is in serious trouble: David Crane
TORONTO—The economy is in serious trouble—in fact, it has been in trouble for some time though our Finance Minister, Joe Oliver, has been in a constant state of denial. But that is not all the bad news. Both the NDP and the Liberals agree with Oliver that a balanced budget is necessary even though economic […]
Harper government has enormous obligation to farmers if it abandons supply management
No government has been more adamant in its defence of supply management and the dairy, chicken, turkey and egg industries than that of Stephen Harper. Under his leadership, in election campaign platforms, Throne Speeches and repeated public commitments, the Conservatives have presented themselves as staunch defenders of supply management. Yet, it turns out, no government […]
The pros and cons of micro-targeting
Micro-targeting is all the talk for the next election and it is most advanced in the Conservative campaign, while the other parties are still laying out national campaigns with national visions, for better or worse. Micro-targeting is often described as a party focusing on groups of voters to get their vote but it can just […]
Party platforms coming up short on environment
Climate change, it now appears, could be a much more important issue in the October federal election than it once appeared, though all three parties are tiptoeing around the key issue of what to do about Alberta’s highly polluting oilsands. The NDP and Liberals, as well as the new NDP government in Alberta, recognize we […]
Productivity central to Canada’s future well-being
It’s an issue that is below the political radar in Canada. Our politicians don’t talk about it because there are no easy answers. No mention was made in Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s 2015 budget speech. It was largely ignored in Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz’s recent speech on economic signposts watched by the bank. […]
Premier Notley’s challenge: take Alberta to its next stage of development, including a more sustainable energy industry
The election of an NDP government in Alberta under Premier Rachel Notley, could mark an important turning point in the province’s economy and in the broader social and political environment, just as the election of a Progressive Conservative government led by Peter Lougheed did in 1971. Lougheed brought fresh energy, vision and commitment to the […]
How about a royal commission on advancing democracy?
Whether it’s the ongoing Senate scandals, the NDP expenditure dispute regarding the House funds, the use of government dollars for seemingly partisan ads, or Michael Chong’s amendments for MPs, we have many controversies in our great democracy. Our democratic deficit just keeps growing and growing. Proposed solutions tend to be sporadic. We have a bunch […]
We can and should act to avoid catastrophic climate change
Our political parties are busy debating income distribution as we head towards the October federal election, but what Canada needs even more is wealth creation that will bring economic growth, good jobs and income-boosting productivity. As things stand, the economic outlook over the next several years is for only modest economic growth, with little room […]
