The latest world environment and climate change conference (COP-18) is taking place in Doha, Qatar. One of the prime issues under discussion is the attempt to force countries all over the world to adopt binding agreements to limit “carbon emissions.”
Year: 2012
Businesses Don’t Pay Taxes
Repeat after me everyone: "Businesses don't pay taxes, people do." I wrote last week about companies using tax avoidance (not evasion) to reduce their tax bill. One of those companies, Starbucks, has announced that due to public pressure (and to protect their image),...
Former Toronto Mayor Calls for De-Amalgamating the Megacity
Amalgamating the seven municipalities that now constitute the City of Toronto was quite likely the biggest mistake made by the Government of Ontario in modern history. It was hugely unpopular — 76.8 percent of residents opposed amalgamation — and failed to create the projected savings. As I’ve argued in the past, the City of Toronto, as currently constituted, is essentially ungovernable.
Behind the scenes – preparing the open letter to the U.N. Secretary General on his climate science mistakes
Answering the public's questions about the preparation of the letter from 125+ climate experts Since the publication in Canada’s National Post of the November 29, 2012 open letter from climate experts to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the Web has...
Featured News
Cities Have to Expand for House Prices to Fall
The cost of actually building a house does not vary that much across Canada The Ford government’s plan to expand the land supply available for housing has evoked the usual dog whistles about “urban sprawl” by interests apparently unaware of the strong...
How We Teach Reading Really Does Matter
Reading is the most important skill taught in school. If students don’t learn how to read, not much else that happens there is going to matter. That’s because being able to read is important in virtually every job. Without the ability to read, life itself will be a...
Another politicised storm
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg blames climate change for Hurricane Sandy as a means to deflect attention from the fact that he didn’t do nearly enough to prepare for and deal with the storm.
Saskatchewan May Finally Lower Drinking Age to 18
According to today’s Leader-Post, the Saskatchewan Party is considering joining the Alberta and Manitoba in setting the legal minimum drinking age at 18.
Biodiversity: The Next Environmental Deception
Tim Ball argues that alarmists exaggerate the severity of global species extinction.
U.S.-based civil forfeiture abuses could happen here too
A Massachusetts couple who have been in the motel business since the 1950s have encountered problems with the feds. In this piece, it is documented that drug use was discovered in some of the hotel rooms over the years. The problem is the motel property is worth about...
Traditional Broadcasting and Video Distribution Still Prospers
In spite of all the hype around Internet video, the traditional broadcasting system continues to very well. The CRTC’s "Communications Monitoring Report 2012" was released in September. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/PolicyMonitoring/2012/cmr.htm It...
There’s No Such Thing as a Free Bridge: Canadians and Michiganders stand to lose from government bridge
The Government of Canada has reached an agreement with the State of Michigan to build a new international bridge. Canadian taxpayers would pay the entire cost. However, a private company already plans to build a new bridge. The government would be better off allowing the private sector to absorb the risk.
You Had To Wait How Long For A Phone?
You might be forgiven for thinking that the days of waiting three to six months to get a phone hooked up at your house were long gone. Surely that was all fixed when the telephone companies were privatized and the efficiencies and competition of the market started...
The Myths of Equalization: Notes for Speech by Prof. David C. MacKinnon to the Rotary Club of Ottawa West
I will deal with the myths associated with the current equalization system and then devote the largest part of my remarks to the consequences of these myths for Canadians and the politics of actually changing.
Canada’s Organic Nightmare
A sustained assault is being levelled against agriculture across North America. It comes generally from environmentalists but more specifically from the organic industry, which survives, for the most part, by levelling unfounded attacks against any form of food that...