by Gillian Steward
A Calgary for-profit hospital, once a beacon of hope for medical entrepreneurs across the country, declared bankruptcy last week. And who will have to pick up the pieces? None other than the public health-care system and ultimately Alberta taxpayers.
by Bill Tieleman
"Polls? Nah… they're for strippers and cross country skiers."
– Sarah Palin, ex-American vice-presidential candidate.
by Ken Georgetti
Corporate executives in Canada will be dancing in their suites to celebrate Corporate Tax Freedom Day on January 30. A research study by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) — called What did Corporate Tax cuts Deliver? — shows that by that date corporations will have paid their taxes to all levels of government for the entire year.
by Inside Queen's Park
With Kathleen Wynne's pledge to un-shutter the pink palace [re-open Queen’s Park] within barely three weeks, the Ontario provincial government's transition from the one headed by Premier Dalton McGuinty to that being reconstituted by Premier-elect Kathleen Wynne, has necessarily begun in haste. Picking a cabinet team and swearing them in is of course a key element in establishing the Wynne government.
from the Green Party
OTTAWA — The Green Party of Canada is calling on the government of Canada to stand on guard against the demands of the United States (US) for extraterritorial enforcement of an American law: the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
By Vicki Saporta
January 28 marked the 25th anniversary of R v Morgentaler, the Supreme Court decision that decriminalized abortion in Canada. This landmark decision has undoubtedly protected the health and saved the lives of countless women and changed the legal landscape in Canada.
by Stephen Kimber
“You obviously have something against Nicole Ryan,” declared a reader of my column last week. In it, I’d questioned the Supreme Court’s decision not retry Ryan on charges she’d hired a hit man to kill her husband. “I'm not sure what it is,” the reader continued, “but it was extremely distressing to deal with the fact that you’re now on the side of the abusers.”
That reader certainly wasn’t alone in extrapolating wildly from what I wrote. I shouldn’t have been surprised.
by Rajan Zed
Hindus have termed Canadian government billboards in Hungary targeting Roma (Gypsy) asylum-seekers as highly inappropriate and blatant racism.
from Inside Queen's Park, Volume 26, Number 2
The ballot question was evidently at the top of Kathleen Wynne’s mind in addressing supporters at a $500 fundraising reception January 23. Wynne presents herself as poised to re-open the Legislature right after the leadership convention, staunching the self-inflicted wound of prorogation and seeking an accommodation with one opposition party in order for the Liberals to continue in power. Sandra Pupatello’s preferred pitch is to appeal to combative Liberals by promising to stiff-arm the other parties while she wins a by-election.
As this department sees it, the close race between the front-runners will be decided by how many delegates and ex-officios, and which of the other four contenders, embrace which ballot question.
If there's one thing that both BC Liberals and New Democrats can agree on it's this: giving money to Hollywood is almost irresistible!
