Canadian politics

BC’s High Booze Costs

Jul 112012

Logic does not apply to liquor prices.

"Bill has a column, right — so I'm warning you — so if you tell Bill he's wrong, the chances are he's going to get a column out of it."
– Voice Of BC host Vaughn Palmer to BC liquor minister Rich Coleman

Do you believe the price of beer, wine and spirits in British Columbia is reasonable? That BC booze costs are comparable to other provinces and American states? I don't, so I posed a simple question to Coleman on Shaw Cable's Voice Of BC on May 31.

"Why do consumers of beer wine, and spirits pay among the highest prices in North America for those products?" I asked.

But Coleman immediately rejected my conclusion when Palmer asked: "Is he right about that?"

"Not really, no. We have a pretty comparable price structure to the rest of Canada," Coleman replied.

Oh yeah? I may only be a columnist and wine blogger but I think the minister is wrong.

Atlantic Canada: Collateral Damage

Jul 112012

Canadian politics

Stephen Harper's policies backhand people of Atlantic region.

Forget for an instant Newfoundland's oil and gas gushers, which have transformed that perennial tail-of-the-dog province into one of Canada's "haves." Set aside Nova Scotia's shimmering, ships-yet-to-be-built contracts that are supposed to pave our yellow brick road to the future. And ignore as well, at least for the moment, that it is summer, the very best of times in Atlantic Canada — certainly not a time to be contemplating That Question. That Question, as posed recently by Peter McKenna, the chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Prince Edward Island, is simply this: "Has the Harper government placed Atlantic Canada in its crosshairs?"

No way to run a province

Jul 102012

Canadian politics

Alberta's budget depends on vagaries of oil markets.

by Ricardo Acuña for Vue Weekly

What a ridiculous way to run a province!

Albertans with a good political memory will remember the impact that the drafting of the 2011-2012 provincial budget had on Alberta politics in the late winter of 2011. Premier Stelmach wanted to present a budget with a projected $3.4 billion deficit. He was also ready to back-track on his promise to balance Alberta's books by the year 2012, saying he would need a couple of more years.

The puzzling Peter McKay

Jun 202012

Canadian politics

Could a secret handshake be keeping him in power?

by Stephen Kimber for Metro

Why is Peter MacKay still in the federal cabinet? I mean, really.

Let us traipse through the potato patch of what should have been the meteoric down and down, and down some more career trajectory of our man in Ottawa, a man most famous for his love life, his entitled-to-his-entitlements adventures on our dime and his — let's be kind — fudged public pronouncements.

Left behind in the boom

Jun 192012

Canadian politics

Wealthy Alberta and Saskatchewan lag on minimum wage.

by Gillian Steward

Alberta and Saskatchewan have the fastest growing economies and some of the most profitable corporations in the country right now. But they are also the provinces with the lowest minimum wages. Yet another sign that mega investments in resource developments greatly benefit some people but leave others in the dust.

Alberta's minimum wage is going up, but not by much. Premier Alison Redford announced recently that in September minimum wage will increase by 35 cents to $9.75 an hour, just above Saskatchewan's rate of $9.50, the lowest in Canada.

Pride and politics

Jun 182012

Canadian politics

Alison Redford participates in Pride Week.

by Samantha Power

Premier Alison Redford made history recently by being the first Albertan premier to deliver an address at Edmonton's Pride Week. It was as large a step for the PC party as it was a politically astute move.

Shortly after Ms Redford announced she would be delivering an address at Pride, Wildrose opposition leader Danielle Smith revealed she too would be appearing at Pride, just not at the parade. Or any public event. Ms Smith attended Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht's police reception, a limited space event to which you had to RSVP.

Diversity counts

Jun 182012

Canadian politics

Organizations with more diversity deliver better performance.

by Mehdi Rizvi

Maytree foundation and Civic Action recently released the fifth report in the DiverseCity Counts series. The series features research by Dr Chris Fredette, an Assistant Professor with the Sprott School of Business in the area of management and strategy. He holds a PhD in Organizational Studies from York University's Schulich School of Business.

These researchers used three surveys of board chairs and executive directors to develop detailed analysis of diversity in the boards of non-profit sector organizations. They say that the focus on governance and leadership diversity is both timely and increasingly instrumental to the success, legitimacy, and viability of nonprofit and public organizations.

Redistricting time

Jun 122012

Canadian politics

Time to put boundaries on the electoral boundaries commission.

Redistricting time

Time to put boundaries on the electoral boundaries commission.

Dateline: Tuesday, June 12, 2012

by Stephen Kimber for Metro

Premier Darrell Dexter is right that the province's Electoral Boundaries Commission was wrong to ignore its mandate to eliminate designated minority ridings. But his government was wrong to force that mandate on the commission in the first place.

Let's rewind. There's a legal requirement that an electoral boundaries commission be established every so often to determine the appropriate number, size, shape and composition of the province's voting districts.

CEO sets out to save BC Premier’s job

Jun 122012

Canadian politics

Jim Shepard's logic hard for public to fathom.

by Bill Tieleman

You know, we lived through socialism in BC for 10 years. I know what it looks like and it is not pretty.
– Jim Shepard, Concerned Citizens for BC leader

One can admire veteran corporate executive Jim Shepard for doing what he believes is right — attempting to save Premier Christy Clark by putting his retirement time and business experience on the line to head a political rescue mission.

But he's the wrong salvage operator, who's using faulty "facts" and a counterproductive approach that may backfire on the BC Liberals.

Shine a light on the oil sands boom

Jun 122012

Canadian politics

Canadians are seeing economic changes.

by Dan Woynillowicz, Director, Strategy and Communications, Pembina Institute

Canada needs more light and less heat on the economic impacts of oilsands expansion. When it comes to energy issues, the list of things that are apparently too "divisive" to discuss seems to grow by the day — from climate change and pollution reduction, to a national energy strategy, and most recently the impacts of booming oilsands development across the Canadian economy.

The ongoing debate about the economic changes Canadians are seeing warrants serious consideration and action, given the regional tensions those changes are creating. Similarly, as the federal government reduces environmental oversight in an effort to expedite oilsands production and exports, it's imperative that Canadians understand the challenges and risks associated with our growing economic reliance on this sector.

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