The debate on Bill C-377 has moved to the Senate. As many Policy Note readers probably know, Bill C-377 would impose onerous and unfair financial and operational disclosure obligations on unions and other labour organizations, in the lofty name of “transparency and accountability,” but with the actual malicious aim of weakening Labour and publicizing the [...]
Entries Tagged as 'democracy'
Thank you, Hugh Segal
February 21st, 2013 · Jonathan Chapnick · 3 Comments · Economy, Employment & labour, Human rights, Law & legal issues, Taxes
Tags: democracy·labour rights·Privacy·unions
Parliamentary reform idea: Get Out of the House
February 15th, 2013 · Seth Klein · 2 Comments · Transparency & accountability
By Seth Klein and Shannon Daub [Note: Samara Canada has been gathering ideas for reforming Parliament. All the ideas they have collected are being posted on their blog, which you can find here. What follows is our contribution.] Here’s the big dilemma: Whatever reforms are made to Parliamentary practice and conduct, the simple truth is [...]
Who’s really “skewing” the pipeline debate?
January 11th, 2012 · Robert Hackett · 1 Comment · Environment, resources & sustainability
Apparently the Harper government and its echo chamber in the blogosphere (e.g. Vivian Krause) think that philanthropic funding of environmental groups is “skewing” the debate on the northern pipeline project. Presumably they would like to return to a more “normal” debate. You know, one disproportionately influenced by well-heeled corporate-funded market fundamentalist think tanks and pseudo-grassroots [...]
There is no Goldilocks in democracy
March 24th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · 1 Comment · Electoral reform
Oh boy, we’re in for a lot of democracy here in BC this year. Federal election in May and probably an HST referendum in June. My money is on an October provincial election if Christy Clark thinks the numbers are right. Then a vote for councils and school boards in November. And that is just fine [...]
Tags: democracy·Federal Election
Corporations are people too
January 31st, 2010 · Blair Redlin · 3 Comments · Electoral reform, Municipalities, Taxes
Advocates of democratic electoral reform are really out of step. Ideas like proportional representation and advertising spending limits are so retro, so 2004. The fashionable electoral reform idea this year is to give corporations a real say. It’s time for individual citizens to share their electoral democracy with corporations to give meaning to those old [...]
Tags: accountability·B.C. government·corporations·democracy·Electoral reform·Municipalities·STV & electoral reform
On minimum wages and talk radio
November 6th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · 4 Comments · Media, Poverty, inequality & welfare
Today marks the third time in the past four months that I get booted off a pre-arranged radio interview on minimum wages in BC. What is it about this topic that the universe doesn’t want me to say on live radio? I mean, I try not to be superstitious, but the string of coincidences is [...]

