Canadians Need to Know Snow-washing
Us Canadians need to live up to the stereotype that we are a nice, peaceful, and safe country. Clearly the so-called trucker protest tarnished our reputation, but in financial circles…
transparency
How corrupt is Canada?
How corrupt is our country? Not very. But we can do better. According to Transparency International’s (TI) 2020 report, we are in eleventh place on their Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).…
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation And The Astroturf Lawnmower
Astroturfing is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and…
If Not Harper, Then Who?
“I’ve seen issues come up before that get a lot of press attention, and sometimes a photograph or sometimes a side issue can move votes, but I always believe that…
Truth Out: What’s Going On With the TPP?
TPP Update: After years of secret negotiations, we’ve just learned U.S. Trans-Pacific Partnership officials have decided to appoint a “Chief Transparency Officer.” So who did they pick? One of their…
Albertans have a right to ask questions about the integrity and preservation of their government’s records
Alberta Tories contemplate their departure from the Legislature. Actual Progressive Conservative Government officials may not leave office in exactly the manner illustrated. Below: But if they do, is this the…
Canada setting new global standard for TPP secrecy: Council of Canadians
Despite being less than a week away from hosting hundreds of negotiators and other officials from the other 11 TPP member countries, the Canadian government has kept a tight lid…
#Urbanarium2014: How to build a truly “Engaged City”?
“Engaged City” was unanimously passed yesterday, and it seems like the pundits are all out criticizing the process. … Democratization of the planning process is a fundamental problem with bureaucratic…
DTES Local Area Plan- Speaker #5, on Amendments
We need to respect the experiential knowledge of DTES residents that understand how the plan violates their security. Not fundamentally opposed to Vision- but you have to realize reality. If…
Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan- Summary
Like last time, I did some LiveTweeting of the evening- My strategy is to summarize the main point of all the voices; add in my OWN commentary (I can be
The facts on PHS scandal & following reactions of critics, boards and Jenny Kwan
…The fact is that PHS provides really important harm reduction programming that needs to be defended. The scandal involves non-profit board members that are supposed to be working in the…
Financial reform: Taking responsibility as public servants and otherwise…
Facts: I don’t hate Vision Vancouver. I’m indifferent to the overall career of Gregor Robertson. I actually like Andrea Reimer, from what I know of her. (Confession: I really like
Canada’s Opaque Transparency – An Open Data Failure
Yesterday, at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) Canada Minister of Natural Resource, Joe Oliver, announced with great fanfare a new initiative to compel mining companies to disclose…
Army ant commander promises discipline against media leaks
Inspired by this headline: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/army-commander-promises-discipline-against-media-leaks-1.2495204
Mother Jones’ Modest Proposal
Like me, you probably share that sinking feeling that privacy is gone for good, dead without so much as a fight. If you want a reasonable degree of privacy any…
Harper: Bringing New Levels Of Accountable Government To You
It comes as no surprise that The Harper Government has spent a great deal of time and energy doing its level best to be as unaccountable as possible to voters.…
CanadiAnt Taxpayers Federation Demands Accountability, but Not for Itself
Inspired by this headline: http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2013/09/17/Canadian-Taxpayers-Federation-Accountability/
Anthony Weiner for the mayor of New York City
Anthony Weiner campaigning on the streets of New York City. He believes in transparency.