What Can America Teach Canada About Health Care Reform?
{The following post was written as a column for the January 2013 edition of the Anahim – Nimpo Lake Messenger. –MC} Last month, I commented that in the future we…
Mark Crawford
In the U.S.A. Employer Health Insurance Premiums Rose 62%, Deductibles More Than Doubled Across States from 2003 to 2011
In the next federal election, Stephen Harper, Jim Flaherty , and Conservative candidates across the country will be crowing about how their tax cuts and tax subsidies have helped to…
Stephen Harper’s Awkward Announcement –and a Worrying Pattern
Late on a Friday evening on December 7, the prime minister announces that the Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC will be allowed to take over Nexen for $15 billion, but…
Two Cheers for Obamacare
{The following column will appear in the Anahim-Nimpo Lake Messenger in December} On November 6, I breathed a sigh of relief when Barack Obama was re-elected for a second term…
Why is NDP the Best When it Comes to Fiscal Responsibility?
It is a common talking point of New Democrats, whenever they are playing defence on economic issues: the NDP has the best record of the three major parties when it…
The Ideal MP for the Cariboo-Chilcotin
{The following article was also published in the November 2012 issue of the Anahim-Nimpo Lake Messenger–MC} Have you ever thought about what the ideal political representative for the Cariboo-Chilcotin would…
Remembering Billy McIntyre–and a Suggestion
I remember my father saying that he and a few other boys from the Prince Albert -Paddockwood area of Northern Saskatchewan had decided to sign up in 1941 , event…
Harper and Conservatives’ "Pedal to the metal" with new FIPPA Treaty
Prime Minister Harper spoke to a friendly crowd at last summer’s Calgary Stampede when he said that this period of majority government was not a time to relax, but to…
REVIEW: Prof. Smeaton’s Analysis of the Great Recession
I must confess: I have half a dozen good books sitting on my shelf that haven’t quite gotten around to reading yet. It is probably no accident that most of…
Obama’s Tepid Incremental Housing Policy
Andrew Leonard has written an excellent article on the role that housing policy has played in the U.S. economy and politics: http://www.salon.com/2012/10/10/obamas_hard_housing_lesson/ . The disappointment in Obama's performance can be…
Who Manages the U.S. Economy Better – Republicans or Democrats?
By Arthur I. Blaustein, Professor Community and Economic Development and Public Policy at the University of California, BerkeleyMost Americans have one eye on the nation’s economic crises and the other…
Christy Clark Disaster Update : I told Ya so!
When someone yearns for the spotlight and dreams of becoming premier, yet shows little interest in policy ideas and little patience or ability for the details of public administration, they…
How Liberals and Conservatives Conspired to Bring You a Tainted Meat Crisis
In 1997, the Chretien Liberal government bowed to pressure from a combination of provincial government and business interests to transfer the responsibility for meat inspection from Health Canada to Agriculture…
Let’s Consider a Street Nursing Program For British Columbia
When Athabasca University alumnus Tracey Collins walked across the stage to receive her Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, she brought attention to her pioneering work in street nursing--and made…
Let’s Consider Having Two Thorium-Fuelled Nuclear Reactors in Northern Alberta and Sakatchewan
Mention the words "nuclear power" , and you're likely to get a knee-jerk reaction against them, particularly from people on the left who assume that "nuclear" means "uranium" or "plutonium",…
The Real Problem with Margaret Wente
Margaret Wente's partial apology for her partially plagiarized July 18, 2009 column titled "Enviro-romanticism Is Hurting Africa," is further proof that she is above all, a stylist who specializes in…
Why NHL Owners Should Budge
NHL President Gary Bettman is no doubt correct when he says that financial health for all 30 NHL franchises requires a bigger share of revenue for owners. But notice that…
Lougheed’s Legacy
{A version of this posting appeared as a letter to the Editor in the Edmonton Journal on September 18, 2012 }Last year I had the good fortune of meeting Peter…
REVIEW: Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry
Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation by Frances Widdowson and Albert Howard (McGIl University Press 2008).I don't have time to write a detailed review of this…
A DNC Speakers’ List I Would Like to See
1. Bill Gates: "Why We Should Spend More Money On Public Education"2. Warren Buffett: "Why I Should Pay More in Taxes"3. Ted Turner: "Why We Should Pull Our Weight at…