BC Finance Minister Kevin Falcon says he is keen to take a fresh look at the BC tax system. He is welcoming new ideas, and he even wants your opinion. He has struck an “expert” panel to review BC’s tax regime, and in early January the government launched an online tool that the public can [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Economy'
Kevin Falcon’s narrow take on tax options
January 28th, 2012 · Seth Klein · 3 Comments · Economy, Provincial budget & finance, Taxes
Breaking down financial barriers to higher education is more affordable than you think
January 25th, 2012 · Iglika Ivanova · No Comments · Economy, Education, Employment & labour, Women
In a new report released today by the CCPA, I revisit the important question of who really pays for university education. Convention wisdom has it that the public heavily subsidizes post-secondary education. The illusion of a subsidy comes from the fact that tuition fees, high as they are, don’t cover the entire cost of education. [...]
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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 [...]
Time to give shale gas industry a closer look before we’re totally fracked
November 9th, 2011 · Ben Parfitt · Comments Off · Climate change, Economy, Energy, Environment, resources & sustainability, First Nations & Aboriginal, Uncategorized
Despite the recent release by Canada’s natural gas industry of a set of guiding principles governing the controversial gas well “stimulation” method known as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”, and despite the almost immediate endorsement of those principles by BC Premier and industry cheerleader Christy Clark, more and more British Columbians are justifiably worried about what [...]
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Occupation, democracy and coops
October 18th, 2011 · Marc Lee · 1 Comment · Economy
I hung out a while yesterday at the Vancouver Occupation, and was impressed with their efforts at radical democracy. Many in the mainstream press have been quick to pile on for how time-consuming decision-making can be under this model, but perhaps they have not spent enough time in legislatures and committee meetings and public consultations. [...]
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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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Fighting energy poverty
September 28th, 2011 · Marc Lee · Comments Off · Climate change, Economy, Energy, Housing & homelessness, Poverty, inequality & welfare
Today we released a new Climate Justice Project report, Fighting Energy Poverty in the Transition to Zero-Emission Housing: A Framework for BC, by yours truly, Eugene Kung (a lawyer with the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre and a steering committee member of the CJP) and Jason Owen (who worked on this project as a student at UBC, now with [...]
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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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A ‘Jobs for Jobs’ Strategy
September 23rd, 2011 · Marvin Shaffer · Comments Off · Economy, Employment & labour, Energy
It is ironic that within weeks of its much publicized report and stated concern about the upward pressures on BC Hydro rates, the government announces a job strategy that will drive up electricity rates more than anything else — more even than the self-sufficiency policy government has belatedly recognized must go. The plan for new [...]
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