From the Ottawa Citizen Sharing a joint could result in a 2 year jail term.
Les Routledge
Pacific Nations
It should be both a national economic and national security priority to expand our ability to supply energy to our trading partners in those regions.
Who are the 1%
Interesting commentary from the National Post.
Employment Insurance Report
A new report says the Employment Insurance system is broken and needs a more transparent, effective and equitable national framework.
Featured News
To Infinity and Beyond
Space exploration is fraught with a wide variety of hazards; solar storms could irradiate astronauts, collisions with small, unseen objects could cause instant death, and the acts of both leaving Earth and coming back are high risk maneuvers that involve high speeds...
Global Minimum Tax Is Cartel Scam with Loopholes
Rhetoric is one thing; reality is another. As is becoming increasingly clear, the OECD’s July 1 proposal for a 15 per cent global minimum for corporate taxation is nothing of the sort. Although the awaited initiative slated for 2023 will not and cannot achieve a level...
Bio-Mass Ethanol
Producing ethanol from bio-mass materials such as ag and forestry residues or purposely grown trees and grasses is proving to be a complex technology challenge. It will be easy along the way for critics, like this one at Grist, to claim the effort is a fools errand (see middle on comments re ethanol). While this is a critical commentary about the technology, it may be worthwhile to review the links contained within it.
Ag Regulations – Thinking Before Subsidizing
Harry has a good post on the impact of environmental regulations on small farms.
While it is honourable and virtuous to call for that help, it also behooves governments to think with their heads instead of their hearts when it comes to designing, devleoping, and implementing these regulations that have no thought of tomorrow and how farmers will pay for the added costs.
Small Farm Perspective on Policy
As an operator of a small livestock and forage farm, I keep an eye on policy developments in the broader agricultural sector. For the most part, I have an opinion that small farmers would be better off with less government intervention and direct assistance in the agriculture sector. I am not a fan of farm subsidies, intrusive regulations, or single desk marketing boards.
A post at GRIST presents a American “progressive perspective” on how current farm policy discussions are moving in the United States. It is interesting that the message in the article is small farms will benefit from functioning competitive markets and reduced direct subsidies.
Toronto’s Big Experiment
It looks like the City of Toronto will pursue the development of the Shepperd subway line using private financing.
Green Point – Counter Point
In my reading about green issues, I have often run across the assertion that investing in energy efficiency is a losing proposition in terms of reducing energy use. The assertion is that as efficiency is increased, the marginal price of the good decreases, leading to overall more aggregate demand.
The New Yorker has focused attention on this assertion this week in an article written by David Owen. The Breakthrough Institute has added some commentary on the article and has posted additional research on the topic in the past.
Foreign Investment is No Panacea
Terrence Corcoran take the government to task today in an article at the Financial Post. He asserts that the government has muddled their priorities when it comes to promoting competition before liberalizing rules governing foreign investment.
The future promises at least another decade of tangled policy, court battles and regulatory chaos — and delayed innovation. No other outcome is possible so long as the government intends to set the policy agenda exactly backward. The plan, as frequently outlined by Industry Minister Tony Clement, is to first get all the spectrum allocated and settle all the competition issues, including installing a range of competing companies. Only then will the government look at changing foreign-ownership regulations.
Broadband – The Australian Model
The spectrum will allow the NBN Co to deploy a fixed-wireless network that will be capable of delivering minimum broadband speeds of 12 megabits per second to the last seven per cent of the nation outside the fibre footprint of the $36 billion national broadband network. The Australian
It is interesting to contrast the broadband situation in Canada to the one unfolding in Australia. After years of being frustrated by limited competition in the market, the country elected a left-learning Labour government that decided to roll-out a broadband network controlled by the government. Telstra, the incumbent telco operator, will not longer control access to the customer. They were also compelled to sell their local loop assets to the new government controlled enterprise.
US Debt Causes Warming
Thanks to Watts up with That for this item that follows on my previous correlation does not equal causation post.
Total US Debt (public and private) as a percentage of US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) correlates with NASA GISS US Annual Mean Temperature Anomaly better than CO2 levels! So, if we want to reduce warming, cut the debt!
Smoking – Allowed Basis of Discrimination
More hospitals and medical businesses in many states are adopting strict policies that make smoking a reason to turn away job applicants, saying they want to increase worker productivity, reduce health care costs and encourage healthier living. The New York Times
Some employers argue that they have the right to avoid hiring workers who smoke or even terminate those who start because they cost the organization money in terms of lost productivity and increased health care costs.