Trade is back in the news with the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) talks and, of course, our very own softwood lumber dispute with the United States.
Year: 2001
A Conversation with Les Campbell
An interview with former top NDP strategist Les Campbell, who was former NDP leader Audrey McGlaughlin’s policy advisor…
Red Tape and Rural Life
You probably think that all of us country folk are as free as the proverbial birds, doing whatever we like, since there is no one out here to worry about it. Well, the reality is much different.
Slowdown is Opportunity for Reform
Recession and a military emergency are handing all levels of government a unique challenge. Our most important trading partner, to whose fate we are inexorably tied, is trimming corporate taxes and accelerating tax rebates while throwing in spending for lots of guns and butter to boot.
Featured News
Weaponizing the Law
The indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump for crimes invented by his political opponents is the most egregious example yet seen of the weaponizing of the law. The United States is now full of examples. However, in Canada, we also see the law being...
“Looking At” Seizing Control Over Western Canada’s Natural Resources
OTTAWA, REGINA - Last week, two things happened that could have profound impacts on natural resources development in Saskatchewan. One is a hint the federal government might want to take control of natural resources away from the provinces, and the other is the...
The Rise of eGovt
Just as the early 20th century’s sleepily parochial governments transformed themselves into sprawling bureaucracies to keep pace with industrialization, that lumbering, inflexible, messy, inefficient institution we call government today must — and surely will — transform itself in honor of the Digital Age.
School Choice, Kiwi-Style
As in most jurisdictions in North America, including Manitoba, New Zealand was grappling with major policy questions about education, from improving student performance to funding formulas, from charter schools to classroom size.
Lone Eagles Rising
Terrorist attacks in New York will accelerate the move of urban professionals to the countryside.
Water, Water Everywhere But Canada Won’t Sell It
With an average annual rainfall of 33 feet, Link Lake in British Columbia sends enough water into the Pacific Ocean to meet all of California’s water needs for the next 20 years, according to widely published estimates in the Canadian press.
Manitoba Beef Sector Sizzles
Amid all of the bad news in the grain industry and the conflicts over expansion in the hog industry, one segment of farming, the beef business, is doing quite nicely, thank you very much.
The Velvet Glove Of Welfare Reform
Largely unheralded, a notable anniversary slipped quietly by in the third week of August. Five years have passed since Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton signed his country’s massive welfare reform package into law. How has it worked out?
Water Exports – A Manitoba Bonanza?
An enormous volume of self-renewing fresh water flows through Manitoba each year. The system of rivers that drain into Hudson’s Bay have played an important economic role for centuries.
Getting People to Live Downtown
The key to a vibrant downtown is a growing permanent residential population.
Rebranding with Pooh
Exaggerated national reporting of Winnipeg’s many policy problems has damaged its “brand” in Canada. It’s time to play to our strengths.