Global Pathology

Dec 10, 2010
[Note: I will be giving a presentation on this subject this Sunday, December 12th, from 12:30 to 1:30 at the Unitarian Church (Hewett Hall), 49th and Oak, Vancouver] ———- Johann Goethe wrote:  “Viewed from the height of reason, all life looks like some malignant disease and the world like a madhouse.” His view may seem… View Article

What’s Canada’s Carbon Debt?

Dec 10, 2010
Martin Khor, of the South Centre, has done an interesting analysis for the (doomed) Cancun negotiations on climate change. The talks have broken down on north-south lines, with southern countries wanting to keep the Kyoto framework that puts the onus on northern (advanced, industrialized) countries to reduce emissions and give carbon space to southern countries… View Article

The Vision Thing

Dec 6, 2010
For many years now, the year 2010 has had an almost mythic quality to it. More than just a decade-ending round number (we never collectively named that decade; I like “the naughties” myself), it had deep meaning for BC because THEY WERE COMING. The Olympics. Vancouver 2010. In the early days, utopian olympianism ruled the… View Article

Reduction in unionization helped break the economy

Dec 5, 2010
Do unions have any role in today’s society?  Right wing organizations like the Fraser Institute say no but a report from an unlikely source suggests otherwise.  The International Monetary Fund, no left wing organization, has published a paper suggesting the decline of unionization is one of the causes of the financial crisis and an increase… View Article

The Economist Magazine calls out BC

Dec 1, 2010
Well, I never thought I’d see this rebuke of Canada and BC in The Economist Magazine of all places. But the current issue of the conservative magazine singles out BC for its high rate of child poverty. You can find it here. The piece highlights cuts to welfare, and notes, “One of the keenest slashers… View Article

Poverty reduction update

Dec 1, 2010
Lots of developments on the Poverty Reduction front over the last two weeks. Here are a few updates: First, last week brought news that Danny Williams is stepping down as premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. Personally, I’m sad to see him go. Rarely mentioned in the news reports last week about his record of accomplishments… View Article

Globe misses the mark on food

Nov 23, 2010
Today’s Globe and Mail features an article about the farming crisis in Canada. On close inspection the “crisis” is that Canada has not kept up its share of the global marketplace; that is, it is about our failure to increase exports. Low farm incomes are mentioned with nostalgiac dismay but nothing of the large transnational… View Article

A Paradigm Shift is Happening

Nov 21, 2010
A “paradigm shift” was the theme of Dr. Marti Glenn, one of the keynote speakers at the 2010 International Congress of The Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology & Health, which took place from November 11-14 at Asilomar, California. Dr. Glenn, who is the Dean of the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, began by saying that,… View Article

Reducing the space for democracy – one speaker from the CCPA’s 30th anniversary

Nov 21, 2010
Last week I was lucky enough to join 250 people in Ottawa for a daylong conference to honour the 30th anniversary of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.  Nine different speakers and two intelligent moderators focused the audience on the democratic and economic challenges we face as a Canadians and some solutions we need to… View Article

Our taxes really aren’t too high says Liberal backbencher

Nov 17, 2010
A follow up to Blair Redlin’s post on municipal taxation.  It appears that at least one backbench MLA in BC’s Liberal government also thinks businesses are getting a pretty good deal from our local governments. West Vancouver – Capilano MLA Ralph Sultan has an opinion piece on his website in which he says “Vancouver reigns… View Article

Rights-based legal aid: a proposal for BC

Nov 9, 2010
CCPA-BC’s new study on legal aid in BC explores the impact of cuts to the system and proposes a new rights-based approach that would cut both economic and social costs. Listen to interviews with the authors on CBC’s Early Edition, Jim Harrison’s show on CHNL in Kamloops and Adam Stirling’s show on CFAX in Victoria…. View Article

Feds got it right on Prosperity

Nov 8, 2010
The federal government made the right decision in rejecting the Prosperity mine proposal. The project would have had significant adverse environmental effects, and that for some is reason enough to deny approval. But even if one were willing to accept the environmental impacts because of the economic benefits the project would have offered, it is… View Article

Big municipal tax shift a great deal for business

Nov 7, 2010
Municipal spending and municipal taxes are amongst the lowest in Canada. KPMG says businesses in Vancouver have the lowest business taxes amongst 41 cities they studied. So how come the pressure keeps coming to shift property taxes away from business and on to residential taxpayers?… View Article

Every bite counts

Nov 3, 2010
Our latest Climate Justice Project report, Every Bite Counts: Climate Justice and BC’s Food System, has been unleashed on the province. I have to admit that this was one of the most challenging research projects I’ve ever been part of – the food system is complicated, and overlaying climate change and social justice issues added… View Article

Auditor has reservations about the government’s books

Nov 2, 2010
For two years in a row BC’s Auditor General has placed reservations on his report that looks at the Province’s finances as set out in the Public Accounts.  This means that the AG disagrees with the way the province is keeping its books on three different issues.  He also presents other ideas on what the… View Article

Disappointing Premier’s announcement won’t help the BC economy

Oct 27, 2010
British Columbians who expected to see any meaningful action on the economy tonight were greatly disappointed by Premier Campbell’s address. In a paid television appearance (*update* which we now know cost $240,000), the Premier attempted to set the record straight on HST and claimed to be concerned about the economy and families struggling to get… View Article

Premier picks “can do” guy to sell HST in Cabinet shuffle

Oct 27, 2010
MLA John Les returned from the political wilderness Monday when the Premier appointed him Parliamentary Secretary for HST Information in his Cabinet shuffle.  In my mind it was one the most dubious choices in what was a controversial remixing at the top. Earlier, Les had served as Solicitor General until losing his post during an… View Article

Upset about offsets

Oct 26, 2010
A recent story on offsets reported in the Tyee caught my eye. In a nutshell, a residential subdivision development on Denman Island was prevented from going ahead in part because of the magic of carbon offsets. First of all, more conservation by preventing this type of development is a good thing. But in what way… View Article

On average, who knew Wednesday was World Statistics Day?

Oct 22, 2010
I’ll bet I was one of the few people in British Columbia that was a little excited that last Wednesday was set aside to honour statistics. The United Nations General Assembly declared October 20th World Statistics Day.  The Under-Secretary for Economic and Social Affairs issued a statement saying: Reliable, timely data are crucial for economic… View Article

Perverse outcomes of the Basi-Virk case

Oct 21, 2010
I — along with a whole lot of other British Columbians — have been stewing away about the abrupt end to the BC Rail trial, and the decision to let David Basi and Bob Virk completely off the hook for $6 million in legal fees. Politics of the matter aside, what really gets me is… View Article