Following similar legislation in other countries Canada has finally introduced a beneficial ownership requirement on Canadian companies. Federally registered companies will have to disclose who owns them, which means it’ll be harder to commit tax fraud. Plus, by having companies reveal who benefits from their existence it will be easier
Continue readingTag: business
Things Are Good: Investing in ESGs Pays Off
If you have money to invest you sure will want to invest in a company with a good environmental, social, and governance (ESG) record. New research has revealed that companies that have strong ESG policies become more profitable. The traditional arguments for good ESG policies are based on good public
Continue readingScripturient: What Happened to Trebor?
Back in late 2020, local media was singing the praises of a new company called Trebor RX at 395 Raglan Street in Collingwood. Its entrepreneurial owner, George Irwin, promised great things for the new plant and its innovative products, including creating up to 100 new jobs.* The idea sprouted in
Continue readingThings Are Good: Visualize the Supply Chain of Every USA-Based Company
COVID-19 revealed to many the precariousness of modern “free trade” supply chains, indeed the pandemic supply chain issue is still impacting us to this day. Various international deals that favour profits over people put us in this situation, so how do we get out of it? This is the question
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Former Conservative PM Stephen Harper reported planning ‘activist fund’ with protégé of ‘Evil Captain Kirk’
Stephen Harper, the former Canadian Conservative Prime Minister, plans to team up with a protégé of Carl Icahn, the notorious vulture capitalist and destroyer of American jobs. Mr. Harper and Courtney Mather will launch an “activist fund,” Bloomberg News reported yesterday, based on information from an unidentified person said to
Continue readingThings Are Good: Converting to Co-Ops will Save Small Businesses
The pandemic clearly caused chaos in the business world from lockdowns to supply chain issues, and this has caused many small businesses to face closure. Small businesses closing isn’t good for local economies and there are solutions to support these small operations. The best option is to convert to a
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Ontario’s COVID-19 Disaster in Five Words
The Ontario government would like to blame the behaviour of Ontario’s citizens for this disaster implying somehow we are so much worse than the citizens of other countries, and even other provinces, that are at the end of this crisis as we enter the worst of it. The fact is
Continue readingThings Are Good: Evidence is in: Green Policies Improve Economic Performance
Short-term thinkers who put quarterly profits above all else consistently argue that caring for the environment destroys business. They are wrong. The evidence keeps growing that planet (and people) friendly policies encourage economic growth while also forcing companies to increase their efficiency. It’s a win-win for businesses and the planet.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Independent Bookstores Succeeding Despite Pandemic and Amazon
This century bookstores have been struggling to survive due to the rise of Amazon and changing entertainment consumption patterns. When the pandemic started many bookstore owners thought it would be the event that ends the local bookstore. It turns out, the pandemic has actually helped independent bookstores. Bookstores have started
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The MEC Mess an Intuitive Understanding
These comments are not based on any comprehensive analysis but rather my intuitive response to what has been filed in court and published online and the media coverage. It appears that both sides may be correct, sort of. From a business point of view the Board of Directors actions may
Continue readingThings Are Good: Denmark Bans Bailouts to Businesses Paying Dividends and Using Tax Shelters
Every decade we need to bailout businesses so capitalism can keep functioning. In the last bailout, caused by American bankers, western countries gave banks corporate welfare cheques that went from the banks to the elite shareholders through dividends. This clearly didn’t work out well for 90% of people as the
Continue readingThings Are Good: Good Coffee for Good Causes
A coffee chain in Cambodia is more than just another place to get an espresso. Feel Good Coffee is a social enterprise that runs cafes and sells coffee wholesale to improve the lives of the average Cambodian. One of the really neat things they do is train their staff to
Continue readingThings Are Good: Run a More Innovative Company Through Suggestions
To make a company more efficient and innovative all that’s needed is a suggestion box. It turns out that listening to employees can increase the effectiveness of a company no matter how you do it. So if a suggestion box is too old school you can use a Slack channel
Continue readingThings Are Good: Toronto’s Bloor Bike Lanes Boost Local Businesses
Despite being only 2.4 kilometres long the bike lane on Bloor street in Toronto was heavily contested. It was debated in local politics for decades and was only declared permanent recently. During the debate car drivers demanded the “right” to occupy land at the expense of others while maintaining an
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Are U.S. capitalists going soft?
The aristocracy of American capitalism can be found on the membership list of the Business Roundtable. The Roundtable, one of Washington’s top lobbyists, includes among its 193 members the chief executives of the cream of the country’s corporations, including Amazon, Apple, Fox, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Goldman Sachs and dozens of
Continue readingThings Are Good: Fight Inequality by Taxing Corporations
Unless you earn more then $200,000 a year corporate tax cuts likely make your life worse. Even though it’s a myth, it’s long been argued that by cutting taxes for wealthy companies jobs will magically pop into existence. Indeed, this myth is so pervasive in modern capitalism that we’re increasing
Continue readingScripturient: Small town rules
In their book, Small Town Rules (Pearson Education Inc., USA, 2012), authors Barry Moltz and Becky McCray explain seven rules for businesses that use the model of a small town to offer advice on growing and maintaining a business n the “connected economy.” And while most of their rules are
Continue readingThings Are Good: Energy Fund Backed by Bill Gates Only Invests in Carbon Reduction
On of the richest people on the planet is sick of climate change and has launched a venture capital firm to slow down global warming. Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) funds companies that can make a marked reduction on annual carbon output while also being profitable. Using capitalism to undo what
Continue readingThings Are Good: Worker-Owned Companies can Save Capitalism
We’re all well aware of the harm caused by the box-box retailers on local communities and their international suppliers; indeed, the people hurt the most are the workers. As a result of the pressures of large multinational corporations mixed with poor working conditions an old solution is gaining new traction.
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Tying A Few Things Together
I have written a few posts recently which criticize quite strongly the recent spate of conservative “we must cut everything” hysteria over Alberta’s budget: On Alberta’s Budget 2018 On Government Finances and Debt About Hospitals and Ian Brodie All of these posts revolve around the basic theme of how ridiculous
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