Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Alberta’s United Conservative Government has been reduced to doing what market fundamentalists like Jason Kenney usually vow they’ll never contemplate: picking winners and losers. Or, the way these things often seem to turn out, picking winners and discovering later that they’re actually losers.
Continue readingTag: economic development
The Sir Robert Bond Papers: Come by Chance and the Politics of Inertia #nlpoli
More than six months after they shut it down, the company that owns the Come by Chance oil refinery wants to sell it. And they want provincial taxpayers to pay. According to Saltwire, “Glen Nolan, president of the United Steel Workers Local 9316 union, said that in recent conference calls
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Opening the taps #nlpoli
Opening the Taps by Edward Hollett on Scribd -srbp-
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Building on our successes #nlpoli
“First and foremost, be totally honest with the electorate,” former Premier Clyde Wells told Anthony Germain on CBC’s Sunday Edition last weekend. He was giving some general advice to the next Premier on how to handle the provincial government’s enormous financial problems. “Don’t go sugar-coating anything. Fully disclose what you’re
Continue readingAlberta Politics: What Brexit and Ottawa’s decision on the Teck oilsands mine have in common: Jason Kenney’s stubborn intransigence
Question: What do Brexit, which finally happened on Friday but the full implications of which are yet to unfold, and Ottawa’s impending decision on the Teck Resources Ltd. Frontier oilsands mine in northern Alberta have in common? Answer: Both are examples of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s stubborn tendency to cling
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Continuing continuity #nlpoli
In the face of thousands of well-informed people telling Dwight Ball that the provincial government must change direction to survive, in the face of mountains of evidence that the province has been on the wrong course since 2005 or so, and lately, in t…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Developing a sustainable, diverse economy #nlpoli
When it comes to developing a successful economic development strategy, Edsel Bonnell has advice worth heeding.He co-chaired the team that developed “Change and Challenge,” the 1992 Strategic Economic Plan. The SEP “called for a transformation of cultu…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Up the harbour and down the shore, again #nlpoli
Today marks SRBP’s anniversary. The first post appeared on January 3, 2005.Events of the past few weeks are a reminder of both how much has changed – we have a new government party – and at the same time, how little has changed. Read on and…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Diversity #nlpoli
Labrador economy must diversify to survive, say opposition parties. There is a CBC headline to conjure with. Pure political magic for the two parties promising something different from what has gone on before. Liberal leader Dwight Ball told CBC that we “must look at the other advantages that we would
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: NC Councillor Rob Douglas-Roger Hart—Big Idea No. 3: Community Investment Funds
Here is the Big Idea No.3 from Rob Douglas and Roger Hart regarding economic development and the potential of expanding co-operatives in the Cowicham Region. Big Idea No.3: Community Investment Funds Rob Douglas-North Cowichan Read more…
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Wallener– Maroc– They Don’t Share the Same View For Economic Development For The Cowichan Region
Here is a guest post from Damir Wallener responding to Don Maroc’s earlier Column regarding Damir’s proposal to include hi-tech when looking at econmic development for the Cowichan Valley. Damir Wallener I recently shared my thoughts on economic development with the CVRD board. I am grateful for the delegation opportunity,
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Why Not a Community Investment Fund for the Cowichan Valley?
Rob Douglas Since 2001 the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) has operated an in-house economic development body to help the regional economy prosper and grow. With an annual budget exceeding $800,000, Economic Development Cowichan (EDC) now employs several staff and oversees a range of activities to expand the agricultural sector,
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Paths old and new: beyond the tar sands
This is an expansion of my last piece on the tar sands. The expanded form was republished as a Bullet at Socialist Project. I’ve decided to post the new bits here as they can stand alone. On a path to nowhere One way to see how this happens is to turn
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: NAFTA, “Free Trade” and the TPP: Fast-Track To Full Corporate Rule
“Twenty years ago, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed into law. At the time, advocates painted a rosy picture of booming U.S. exports creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and economic development in Mexico, which would bring the struggling country in line with its wealthier northern
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Problem Described #nlpoli
One of the major factors affecting economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador is the literacy level of the population. If you want to see the extent of the problem in one area, consider the case of Bell Island. According to a May 2008 briefing note released as part of a
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Annual GDP Change #nlpoli
A release on Friday from Statistics Canada showed that the provincial economy shrank by almost 5% in 2012. They even supplied a lovely chart to illustrate the GDP changes in each province as well as the national average. This wasn’t just modest growth or even a modest drop. We are
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: We can get there from here #nlpoli
People across the province are astounded that some students at Memorial University cannot correctly identify countries, continents, and oceans on a map of the world. Geographic illiteracy shocks people. Well, it should, just like they should be appalled that 44% of the people over 15 years of age in this
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Putting selective “facts” on the splitting table #nlpoli
Premier Kathy Dunderdale wants to have a “conversation” about the provincial government’s financial mess and the ways we might fix it. That’s what she told CBC’s David Cochrane in her year-end interview. One of the things Kathy wants to talk about is taxes, specifically the number of people not paying
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Remittance Work and the Newfoundland Economy #nlpoli
For those who have been following the issue, SRBP and others were talking about remittance work back in 2007. It remains a key part of the current administration’s economic policy. The proof is in an airport in western Newfoundland that offers parking facilities for patrons who may be gone for
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: GovSpeak Translator #nlpoli
A “forgivable loan” is another way of saying that a private-sector company is getting a free gift of public-sector money. -srbp-
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