There are defenders of the status quo who view any suggestions for reform with suspicion, but every aspect of our modern society is subjected to continuous review, change and improvement. The same process should be applied to hospital funding in Canada. If we are to improve we must change what we are doing.
Year: 2012
This Christmas, we have more to be thankful for than ever
The world is safer than it has ever been, and despite current economic turmoil, global poverty is in retreat. There are certainly policy improvements that could ameliorate socio-economic conditions in the western world, and there is a lot left to be done to tackle global poverty, but we are on the right trajectory.
Losing Sight Of The Issues: Birds, bowling, and bags: when city councils take on needless battles
Councillors have also spent time debating and voting on matters they have no power to actually address, whether it be banning shark-fin soup, opposing the Iraq War, or ending the NHL lockout — just this week, a Vancouver city councillor put forward a motion to write a letter to the NHL and the players’ association urging them to end the standoff (it passed).
Calgarians Deserve Details on Swollen Project Prices
Whatever the process for tallying up a $1.4-billion bill, the West LRT still ranks as an insanely costly project, at $190 million per kilometre of track, or $42,000 and change per estimated daily rider according to a review done by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
Featured News
There’s Nothing Fair About Canadian Health Care
For the past 14 years, Vancouver surgeon Dr. Brian Day has led the charge for health-care reform, pushing for the right of patients to pay for private care if their health and well-being are threatened as a result of waiting in a stagnant and overburdened public...
Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
The path to net zero, based on the much disputed belief that carbon dioxide is a pollution, is more steep and impractical than most people realize. Replacing fossil fuels with clean electricity will require much more power generation and a greatly upgraded grid to...
Forget the Doom: Coral Reefs Will Bloom
A widespread belief that the world’s coral reefs face a calamitous future due to climate change is proving less resilient than the natural wonders themselves.
Public Good Research
In this new global world, is there not a need to fund Ag Canada and the National Research Council to perform this type of foundation building research that can launch new innovations into our economy?
The United Nations should get out of the climate science business
The underlying assumption at all such U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) events is that a man-made climate crisis is looming and nothing less than a revolution in the way we generate energy is urgently needed to “save the planet.” No matter what direction science and technology is actually headed, no UN delegate dare oppose this, the UNFCCC creed.
Supreme Supreme Court Rules CRTC does not have jurisdiction to implement broadcaster fees for cable carriage
The fee for carriage would have allowed the traditional over the air broadcasters like CTV, and Global, to charge a fee to the cable, satellite and other distributors for the right to carry their signals. These fees would have been passed on to the cable...
Make School Day Work Smarter, Not Longer
Education reformers, particularly in the United States, say increasing the time students spend in school is necessary to prepare them for success. Proposed reforms are implemented too often without the sufficient evidence that they will be effective, and they can cost significant amounts of money.
On Today’s Tragedy in Connecticut
Today’s tragedy in Connecticut was horrific. But let’s take a moment to reflect. Peaceful human civilization is improbable, miraculous, and wonderful. The fact that a society has emerged in which most people can safely walk down the streets is utterly astonishing.
Mintz on SOE Takeover Policy
Jack Mintz generally agrees with the governments new policy framework. In his commentary, Jack presents a position that management control by SOE can lead to reduced economic performance.
Alberta Cannot Sustain a High Speed Train
Alberta’s Minister of Transportation announced the government is looking into building a high speed rail from Calgary to Edmonton. In order to be profitable, high speed rail must connect highly densely populated areas and transport huge numbers of people each day, and Alberta could not meet these criteria.
Time to Rethink the Toronto Megacity
Two cultures warring in the bosom of a single city – that’s the best way to understand the current mess in Toronto. The two cultures that were unwillingly yoked together in a megacity by Ontario premier Mike Harris in 1998 have given us the Rob Ford saga.