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By Greg Fingas, on June 13, 2013, at 9:34 am Here, on how Canada’s federal privacy law actually prohibits our own federal government from conducting secret surveillance (so long as it’s actually followed) – as well as how little that law means if countries don’t recognize that privacy applies beyond their borders.
For further reading…- Michelle Shepard reported here on Canada’s history of surveillance activities. – The federal Privacy Act is here. See in particular section 11′s obligation to public lists of personal information collected by each government institution, as well as the treatment of exempt data banks in section 18. – CSEC allows Canadians to (Read more…)
By Greg Fingas, on June 6, 2013, at 9:33 am Here, on how the recent Munk Debate has helped to highlight Canadians’ preference for a fairer, more progressive tax system – and on a couple of the most important steps we can take toward that end goal.
For further reading…- Ipsos Reid’s polling on public views toward taxing the rich is here. – Stephen Gordon’s response to the Munk Debate (referenced in the column) is here. And I’ll note that there seems to be some difference in determining the tax rate applicable to high-end income: while KPMG’s numbers roughly match Gordon’s, the CRA’s figures actually show Ontario as (Read more…)
By Greg Fingas, on May 30, 2013, at 9:02 am Here, on how Tom Mulcair’s effective cross-examination of Stephen Harper serves as only one step toward the government we should want – i.e., one thoughtful and responsible enough to actually withstand answering real questions.
For further reading…
- Plenty of other commentators are rightly pointing out Harper’s predictable retreat into obfuscation and deflection, including Chantal Hebert, John Ivison and Dan Lett.
- Andrew Coyne traces both the entire Clusterduff and the Cons’ increasingly laughable talking points to an obsession with expediency over truth: People don’t make ethical choices in isolation. They take their cues from those (Read more…)
By Greg Fingas, on May 23, 2013, at 9:09 am Here, featuring my suggestion to minimize the damage done by the Senate even if constitutional change isn’t on the table.
The column was intended largely to respond to the camp whose every reaction to Senate issues is to declare there’s nothing we can do but put up with the status quo.
But there may well be more of a push for abolition than I’d anticipated: Tom Mulcair and the NDP are leading the charge, Democracy Watch is also launching a campaign, and Pat Atkinson makes the case in the Star-Phoenix. And Antonia Maioni points out how the (Read more…)
By Greg Fingas, on May 16, 2013, at 9:26 am Here, on how a narrow focus on pursuing a seemingly safe path to a bare majority government may have contributed to the B.C. NDP’s stunning election defeat this week.
Needless to say, there’s no lack of other commentary on the election, with Alice Funke, Sixth Estate, Michael Stewart, Paul Ramsey and Thomas Walkom all reaching conclusions relatively similar to my own. And while not a lot of observers can claim to have identified the problem in B.C., Dan Tan and Leftdog look to have earned at least partial credit.
[Update: Let's add David (Read more…)
By Greg Fingas, on May 9, 2013, at 9:45 am Here, on how all of Canada could lose out if Christy Clark’s B.C. Liberals are able to follow through on their plans to eliminate the Therapeutics Initiative which has provided needed information about the effectiveness of prescription drugs.
For further reading…- More background about the current status of the Therapeutics Initiative is available here and here. – And the efforts to reduce public purchasing costs for generic drugs discussed in the column include the national initiative reported on by CBC, as well as Alberta’s more recent push. – But hopefully my concern will be rendered moot by (Read more…)
By Greg Fingas, on May 2, 2013, at 9:22 am Here, on how increasing inequality at the top of the income spectrum is creating a real disparity in opportunity affecting both middle-class and lower-income children.
For further reading, see Sean Reardon’s column (or better yet, his study) discussing the U.S.’ experience in detail.
By Greg Fingas, on April 25, 2013, at 9:15 am Here, on how the one point of agreement about the environmental impact of the tar sands is that we still don’t have enough information to so much as evaluate the effects of the industry at the core of the Harper Cons’ economic strategy.
For further reading…- The Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Environmental Monitoring Information Portal is here, with the disclaimer mentioned in the column here. – CBC reports on the EPA response (PDF) to the State Department’s current environmental assessment of Keystone XL. – And Joe Oliver is doing what Joe Oliver does by publicly bashing climate science (Read more…)
By Greg Fingas, on April 18, 2013, at 9:02 am Here, building off of my previous analysis on the current positioning of Canada’s federal parties.
For further reading, see:- Bob Hepburn and Carol Goar on the purpose and effect of attack ads in general; and- Andrew Coyne on the Cons’ particular brand of personal attack, featuring some suggestions to reduce the amount of negative advertising.
By Greg Fingas, on April 11, 2013, at 9:59 am Here, on how the Wall government is extending purely individual rights such as the right to privacy to corporations – and how that could lead to yet more corporate abuse in the future.
For further reading…- The Hansard record from March 18 featuring Gord Wyant’s approval of corporate secrecy in the name of civil libertarianism is here (PDF, starting at p. 2747). – The Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner’s letter to Wyant questioning the “company’s privacy” language (among other parts of Bill 65) is here (PDF).- The Supreme Court of Canada’s seminal decision on the quasi-constitutional
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: New column day
By Greg Fingas, on April 4, 2013, at 9:53 am Here, on how the CFIA’s inability to do anything about tainted horse meat exemplifies the problems with weak and under-resourced regulators.
For further reading…- Again, Mary Ormsby’s original story is here. – Andrew Nikiforuk’s take on the appointment of oil lobbyist Gerald Protti to set up Alberta’s new regulatory system is here. – And for those who haven’t given it a read in awhile, Matt Taibbi’s feature on the role of financial institutions and their alumni in causing repeated crashes is worth another look.
By Greg Fingas, on March 28, 2013, at 9:35 am Here, applying the recently-approved Somerset development as an example of why we should expect elected representatives to do more than just remind us that we’re on our own in dealing with health and environmental issues.
For further reading, see:- reports from CBC and Vanessa Brown; and- commentary from Edward Dodd and Paul Dechene.
By Greg Fingas, on March 24, 2013, at 1:44 pm Here, on how Brad Wall’s willingness to see the long form census scrapped suggests that his government’s push toward mandatory annual standardized tests for all students can’t be explained by any real interest in evidence-based policy – and how the move looks to damage students’ education in substance rather than providing any useful information.
For further reading…- Wall’s position on the census is discussed here, as he helped to block any agreement among Canada’s premiers on trying to reverse the shredding of the long form census.- Emma Graney’s initial report on the Sask Party’s mandatory testing
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Slightly Aged Column Day
By Greg Fingas, on March 14, 2013, at 9:51 am Here, on how Brad Wall’s first set of utterly implausible attacks on Cam Broten seems to reflect a failure to learn from the mistakes of the Saskatchewan Party’s Republican cousins.
For further reading (and a quick response to the spin), Broten’s policy development proposal is here.
By Greg Fingas, on March 7, 2013, at 8:35 am Here, on how the Saskatchewan NDP’s leadership campaign winding up this weekend looks to be well ahead of the party’s 2009 campaign in voter turnout and fund-raising.
For further reading…- The current financial reports from this year’s campaign are here. 2009 numbers are from James Wood’s post-campaign report, showing full-campaign donations of $131,132 to Dwain Lingenfelter, $62,231 to Ryan Meili, $21,725 to Yens Pedersen and $21,064 to Deb Higgins.- Voter turnout numbers from 2009 are here.- And for those interested in reading more about the leadership campaign as we approach this weekend’s convention, see my
By Greg Fingas, on February 28, 2013, at 9:07 am Here, on how the current controversy over residency requirements only helps to show how Canada’s Senate is beyond fixing.
For further reading…- Again, Andrew Coyne similarly points out how abolition is a more viable option than trying to rewrite rules to preserve the existing Senate.- Kelly McParland’s take on Mike Duffy is probably still the best commentary linking the circumstances of the Cons’ Senate scandals to the institution as a whole, while the Charlottetown Guardian rightly notes that the primary issue facing Duffy is ineligibility rather than expense claims. – And amazingly, Stephen Harper is doubling down
By Greg Fingas, on February 21, 2013, at 10:14 am Here, on Brad Wall’s off-key lobbying against action on climate change – and why we should see the bright side of having the Obama administration push us toward more sound environmental policy when far too many Canadian leaders have failed in their responsibilities.
For further reading…- Wall’s simultaneous lobbying for automatic pipeline approval and against any further Canadian action on climate change can be found here (see in particular the video clip to the right) and here.- Jeffrey Simpson and Tzeporah Berman have made similar points about the value of the U.S.’ message linking Canadian
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: New column day
By Greg Fingas, on February 14, 2013, at 9:04 am Here, on how a narrow focus on balancing budgets misses the more important story as to how our elected officials manage public money.
For further reading…- Paul Krugman makes a similar point with reference to happiness economics, while highlighting the particular value of stimulus within a depressed U.S. economy. – Ian Lovett reports on California’s proliferation of “capital appreciation bonds” as a prime example of the dangerous buy now, pay later approach, while Douglas Hainks points out that Miami’s new baseball stadium will escalate in cost from $91 million to $1.2 billion under a similar scheme.
By Greg Fingas, on February 7, 2013, at 8:35 am Here, on the difference between genuine accountability and the rather more barbaric version on offer from the Cons and the Sask Party.
While there are too many examples of the latter to list, I’ll point out a few of the most recent ones – including the federal Cons’ false denials and subsequent finger-pointing over their push-poll robocalls, Con MP Brent Rathgeber’s declaration that he doesn’t want the public having access to PBO research which doesn’t serve a requesting MP’s purposes, and the Sask Party’s concerted attack on Saskatchewan’s provincial auditor
By Greg Fingas, on January 31, 2013, at 9:49 am Here, updating the respective effects of smart investment and needless austerity in the economic laboratory provided by the 2008 financial meltdown – and noting we have all the more reason to be suspicious of our own austerity buffs at home.
For further background, see…- Jason Kirby’s 2011 proposal to compare the U.S. and U.K. as test cases. – Philip Aldrick on the disastrous effects of austerity in the U.K.- The U.S. Treasury’s comparison (PDF) of growth among different countries up to early 2012.- Reuters on Japan’s sudden surge since its stimulus program
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: New column day
By Greg Fingas, on January 24, 2013, at 9:54 am Here, on how a close Saskatchewan NDP leadership campaign makes it all the more likely that a small number of new members can make a massive difference in the race.
The most important followup link is naturally to the party’s membership page – which should be the best way to connect before tomorrow afternoon. But for those interested, leftdog and Aaron Genest have both issued membership appeals beyond those of the campaigns.
By Greg Fingas, on January 17, 2013, at 9:20 am Here, on the general irrationality of the right-wing obsession with chaining public services and tax rates to population growth – and the particularly egregious application of that theory by the Regina Chamber of Commerce when it’s put added pressure on city services by insisting on generous tax abatements for some of the businesses and individuals who can most afford to contribute to maintaining them.
For further reading…- My look at the city’s proposed 2013 budget doesn’t include a detailed breakdown of tax expenditures and abatements: there’s some mention of the cost associated with the city’s housing tax incentive
. . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: New column day
By Greg Fingas, on January 10, 2013, at 9:17 am Here, on the Cons’ choice to start charging emergency-stricken communities for disaster relief work by the Canadian Forces.
For further reading, see the initial report from Lee Berthiaume, as well as Michael Den Tandt’s criticism of the move.
By Greg Fingas, on January 3, 2013, at 8:44 am Here, on the danger that Stephen Harper’s long-term plan for Canada includes unelected Senators taking a page out of the Republicans’ obstructionist playbook to keep elected officials from doing their jobs.
For further reading, see Charles Pierce and Michael Cohen on the Republicans’ destructive template. And I’ve previously pointed out here and here that unaccountable senators with no respect for conventions or the public interest could easily use a similar strategy to negate the choices of Canadian voters.
By Greg Fingas, on December 28, 2012, at 9:19 am Here, on how Canadians have a far more positive view of protest movements than of the politicians whose actions bring about the need for activism – and how joining movements like Idle No More can ensure we have less to complain about.
For further reading.- Environics’ polling on public support for British Columbia’s HST movement, Occupy and the Quebec student strike is discussed here. – In contrast, see Angus Reid’s finding that only 27% of respondents respect politicians – and Ipsos Reid’s conclusion that only 9% trust them.- Which makes for just the time to point
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