There’s now even more evidence that countries around the world can reduce carbon emissions without sacrificing economic growth. Carbon intensive industries often argue that regulations will destroy the economy and do little to protect the planet. They couldn’t be more wrong. A recent study looked at emissions and economic growth
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Things Are Good: How Good Policy Alongside Good Design Improves Lives
Tishaura Jones, the first female treasurer of St. Louis, set out to improve her city through good design. Through her own struggles dealing with the city’s bureaucracy she identified many problems with how information is presented, she noted she wasn’t the only one running into bad design. Jones decided to
Continue reading52 Ideas: What does Alberta Future Look like?
In 2018, an Alberta Government Department – called Alberta Economic and Development and Trade developed a pamphlet. Entitled the “2017 Highlights of the Alberta Economy”, it noted that Alberta had “one of the world’s most productive agricultural economies, with a total farm area of 50.3 million acres or 20.3 million hectares”.
Continue reading52 Ideas: We should reform, amend or change government but we should never attack it.
When I was nineteen, I joined my first political campaign. In some ways, it was odd. For, while, I lived in a house that talked about the problems of the world, a house where the news was avidly watched, I had never thought about joining a political party. I just
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
Continue reading52 Ideas: On Fildebrandt: I nominate Fildebrandt for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation 2018 Teddy Awards
For over two decades, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has described what their vision of good public policy should be. One of the best symbols, descriptors, of their view has been the Teddy Awards. The Award is named for a former federal appointee, Ted Weatherill. Mr Weatherill had the unfortunate distinction
Continue reading52 Ideas: Who will pay the cost for Digital Security? On the regulation of Uber and large digital companies
In 2006, when I came to Calgary, Identity Thief was something that we all heard about. While, I did not have RFID sleeves for my credit cards yet, I was able to take precautions. When I took a cab in 2006 from the Airport to Downtown Calgary, I could take
Continue reading52 Ideas: Policy over Partisanship
Two decades ago, I was involved with a student newspaper. It was called the Calumetro and it was published by the Calumet College Student Government. It was one of many publications that enhanced the student experience of York University’s Main Campus and it taught me all sorts of things. While
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Free Trade, CETA, TPP, and the US and Canadian Federal Elections: Some Critical Perspective
The following is critical to understand – for the people of Canada, the US, Europe and the world: “free trade” deals such those already signed (NAFTA), and those being pushed through with great secrecy now (CETA, TTIP and TPP), are agreements which grant supra-national powers to transnational corporations, powers over
Continue readingThe Tory Pirate - Politics & Policy: Pirate Party Platform Spotlight (Part 4):Supporting Local Representation
A common complaint that the electorate has year-after-year is that MPs do not represent them. As party discipline hastightened into a stranglehold it has, in effect, made it impossible for MPs to represent their constituents’ views inParliament. The Pirate Party rejects this model of how a party should be run.
Continue readingThe Tory Pirate - Politics & Policy: Pirate Party Platform Spotlight (Part 3): Fairness For Independents
Every election people across Canada seek to be elected as independents. Independents face a number of hurdles notshared by their party-nominated cousins. Obviously, they do not benefit from party brand management and national advertising. Perhaps more unfair is the requirement that all money raised by independent candidates be forfeited toElections
Continue readingThe Tory Pirate - Politics & Policy: Pirate Party Platform Spotlight (Part 2): Mincome
Poverty is an ongoing and tragic failure of Canadian governance. It has been an issue for so long that it is suspected themajor parties no longer believe they can truly solve the issue. The Pirate Party of Canada does not embrace such uglydefeatism. But what is the solution? It obviously
Continue readingThe Tory Pirate - Politics & Policy: Pirate Party Platform Spotlight (Part 1): Intellectual Property Reform
Welcome to the Pirate Party Platform Spotlight where I explain a selected planksfrom the party’s 2015 election platform (since I highly doubt the media will). Ok, letsget this over with. What’s with the attitude? Well, the Pirate Party of Canada is hopelessly typecast. Ifpeople are aware of the Pirate Party they already
Continue readingThings Are Good: Urban Living Cheaper, More Sustainable Than Suburban
Years of car-focused suburban designs have unleashed problems in the 21st century that we will have to deal with and accommodate. The years of the suburbs are coming to an end and it can’t be soon enough. With every passing years more and more municipalities discover that urban design is
Continue readingThe Right-Wing Observer: Tory Misuse of Holocaust is Offensive
The carefully orchestrated Conservative Campaign of Confusion continued today as the Harper Tories repeatedly exploited and misused one of the world’s most baggage-laden words. The Tory Word of the Day on March 3, 2015 was “HOLOCAUST”. No fewer than two Tory ministers today grievously used this word in an attempt to increase public
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Shaw is trying to force indie Internet providers to artificially raise prices for Canadians
10418983_10152770578749759_4936705458735744107_n.png New move blocks Canadians from affordable Internet alternatives, in attempt to force independent providers to raise prices in line with Shaw’s recent steep price hike January 8, 2015 – Reports indicate that Shaw is attempting to abuse their control of key Internet infrastructure to artificially increase Internet prices for
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: OpenMedia delivers letter from 48 leading organizations calling for full text of TPP to be released to enable public debate
This week, our own Free Expression Campaigner Meghan Sali travelled to Washington, D.C., to hand-deliver an exciting new letter organized by our friends at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and 47 other civil society organizations calling on TPP negotiators to release the text of the Trans Pacific Partnership. The letter represents
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Let’s talk about pol-i-cy. #nlpoli
Some people are making issue lately out of the fact that – supposedly – the Liberals have not released any policies. The Liberals will be government soon and no one knows what they plan to do. There are two types of people talking like that. One are partisans, mostly Conservative,
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: CBC article on Ontario budget mentions my youth voter registration policy
Yes, this is shameless self-promotion on my part, but hey, my Mom thought it was cool: “The Liberals also plan to revamp the Grade 10 Civics curriculum to get students more involved in their communities and introduce voter registration in high schools.”
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: CBC article on Ontario budget mentions my youth voter registration policy
Yes, this is shameless self-promotion on my part, but hey, my Mom thought it was cool: “The Liberals also plan to revamp the Grade 10 Civics curriculum to get students more involved in their communities and introduce voter registration in high schools.”
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