Ontario has sunk to have-not status, holed by the collapse of the auto industry and the deterioration of the manufacturing base that sustained it for so long. Premier Dalton McGuinty’s frequent demands for a better deal from Ottawa have been temporarily quieted by billions of dollars in federal spending to offset the recession and encourage adoption of a harmonized sales tax, but the road back to its previous level of prosperity will be long and difficult.
Worth A Look
Don’t Hide School Rankings
Public education should not require us to put blind faith in the plainly ridiculous idea that all schools bearing the government trademark are equal. If the quality of public education did not benefit from competition and informed consumer choice, it would be the only consumer good in the universe that didn’t. And if our choice of schools must be straitened, it is all the more vital for data about schools to be abundant, multivalent and accessible.
Three Principles for Bringing on a Crisis
Transparency and accountability, determination to take the long view and fair distribution of burdens. Neglect of those principles helped bring the crisis about and threaten to prolong it. Honouring them better can help us get out of it faster and stronger.
Follow The Kiwi Leader, Not Obama
Paradoxically, the raft of hasty public spending initiatives implemented across the world may hold back recovery if households and markets become increasingly alarmed about higher future taxation, interest rates and inflation.
Featured News
The Tourism Economic Sector Impacted by COVID-19: Time to Reopen
The COVID-19 crisis led to significant travel restrictions in the world and in Canada. The country has totally or partially closed its national borders to tourists and non-essential travellers. Within Canada, travel between provinces has been restricted. Indeed, some...
New-ish LNG Project has Nisga’a First Nation Backing, Aiding its Launch, but Will Not Guarantee It
Recently, a previously-mooted huge, estimated $55 billion Liquefied Natural Gas, ‘LNG’, project taking natural gas from Northeastern British Columbia to its northwest coast at Pearse Island received the blessing and explicit financial and political backing from the...
Going With the Grain
A plan to curb a venerable monopoly
Others Pay for Quebec
The Lucids are losing. That is, this group of Quebecers headed by former premier Lucien Bouchard are losing the debate they themselves started two years ago when they proposed an austerity program to meet the financial and demographic problems looming ever larger in...
For a Grain Boom, End the Monopoly
Only a few months ago, the Canadian Wheat Board was rarely discussed outside Western Canada. Now, it looks set to become one of the top national political issues of 2007. Debate about the wheat board's usefulness and practices has been percolating for years, but,...
Parkinson’s Flaw
There are many speculations as to why Tom Parkinson is no longer CEO of Ontario’s power utility Hydro One, here’s what really happened.
City unveils $2-B mega-fix
Mayor Sam Katz has released his proposed budget for the coming year and for the next six years. Also, a debate about P3s (Public – Private Partnerships).
Climatic Hubris
On Saturday evening, the science director of the David Suzuki Foundation told CBC Newsworld that world scientists agree? We must act now "to stabilize the Earth's climate." We have heard a similar refrain for years. We are told over and over that the rise in...
Temperature Proves that The Forks is City’s Hotspot
The effect of urban heat is more powerful than first thought. Winnipeg is proof of that.
Job Growth Keeps Houston Housing Market Strong
Five questions with Houston-based Trendmaker Homes’ President Will Holder about his thoughts on the property market in Houston.
Toxic Statistics
You have to hand it to Junk Science maestro Rick Smith and his lobby group, Environmental Defence. Persuading Rona Ambrose - who was yesterday relieved of her Environment portfolio – and Health Minister Tony Clement to donate body fluids for chemical analysis was a...