Last Friday BC Stats, the BC government’s statistical agency, weighed in on the topic of income inequality. The CCPA has talked about this subject for years and it is nice to see that BC Stats has not only acknowledged the problem but says that: Compared to other provinces, BC ranked dead last in 2009, with [...]
Keith Reynolds’s Blog Posts
Keith Reynolds is a National Research Representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees. He has done policy work for all three levels of government. Keith maintains a Facebook page in honour of BC cheese.
BC dead last on inequality: BC Stats
January 30th, 2012 · Keith Reynolds · 2 Comments · Poverty, inequality & welfare
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New Brunswick Auditor General latest to blast public private partnerships
January 15th, 2012 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Privatization, P3s & public services
One more provincial Auditor General has come out swinging at public private partnerships (P3s). Last week New Brunswick’s AG released a report on two P3 schools that had been announced by the NB government in 2008. New Brunswick Auditor General Kim MacPherson joins public auditors in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia who have [...]
The BC government could start with local purchasing to build jobs in our communities
January 3rd, 2012 · Keith Reynolds · 8 Comments · Economy, Employment & labour
The BC government has been heavily promoting its “jobs plan” over the last week on television, radio and on the internet. On twitter they invited people to come on line to give their ideas about what could be done to promote more jobs in communities. But there is one idea to promote jobs in communities [...]
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Business dominated think tank winds up with report showing little progress in BC
December 19th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Economy, Poverty, inequality & welfare
The British Columbia Progress Board came out with its last report today. Gordon Campbell started the think tank in 2001 and now Christy Clark has ended it. The report shows progress, but often in the wrong direction. You can find the whole report here but it will take patience. It weighs in at a hefty [...]
Just who should be putting who under trusteeship?
December 15th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · 1 Comment · First Nations & Aboriginal
I am the first to admit that, lamentably, I know very little about the problems that face First Nations people. That did not stop me from having an opinion about the federal takeover at Attawapiskat. My first reaction was that the Chief and Council should have thrown the keys to the federal government and said, [...]
Tags: Attawapiskat
Is it P3s or the 3 Stooges? A tale of two cities
November 30th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · 2 Comments · Privatization, P3s & public services
For those of us not fond of the expensive and secretive public private partnerships (P3s) promoted by the BC and Canadian governments, the last few weeks have been entertaining. In one community voters rejected the use of a P3 water system. In another community the federal government refused a P3 after the city had spent [...]
Tags: Abbotsford·Ed Fast·PPP Canada
BC government claims new power over personal information. Public comment sidelined.
November 9th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Transparency & accountability
The BC government has a lot of personal information about you. Legislation passed last month means the government can do a lot more with it. The legislation passed without the public consultation demanded last year by the Information and Privacy Commissioner. In 2010 a legislative committee undertook a review of Freedom of Information and Protection [...]
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The Union of BC Municipalities Convention: a potpourri of policy
October 2nd, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Economy, Employment & labour, Environment, resources & sustainability, Housing & homelessness, Municipalities, Privatization, P3s & public services, Provincial budget & finance, Taxes, Transparency & accountability
For people who follow local policy issues the annual meeting of the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) is always chock-a-block with material. Last week’s meeting in Vancouver, which saw hundreds of mayors and councilors along with most of the Cabinet, much of the BC opposition and dozens of groups selling both items and ideas, was [...]
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Will the “Jobs Plan” just add to the government trust deficit?
September 24th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Economy, Provincial budget & finance, Transparency & accountability
There has been some very good analysis written about the details of this week’s roll out of the BC Liberal government’s “Jobs Plan.” A number of pieces are on this site. Marc Lee and Iglika Ivanova had an excellent column in the Sun. Instead of commenting on the policy thrust, however, I would like to [...]
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On Labour Day, think about unions as an equalizing force
August 31st, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · 2 Comments · Economy, Employment & labour
By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed levels of production. Those who today attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them. Martin Luther King speaking in 1961 On Labour Day 2011 unions in North America are facing historic challenges. [...]
Tags: BC Federation of Labour·CFIB·Inequality. Canadian Labour Congress·Labour Day·unions
