If anything’s become clear while watching the star-spangled spectacle unfold south of the border, it’s this: nature—in this case, human nature—abhors a vacuum. The context is evident. Growing inequality. Gutted infrastructure. The rise of the precariat. And in the absence of a clearly articulated plan that will address the disillusionment,…
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There is no question that disillusionment with the electoral process and democratic institutions is approaching a breaking point, on an international scale, and manifesting itself in radically different ways, from deeply progressive to dangerously regressive. We saw it in Greece (when Syriza was elected on a platform based on an…
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The Fraser Institute’s new report, The Costs of Pipeline Obstructionism, claims that lack of new export pipelines to tidewater is costing Canada $2.02–$6.4 billion dollars per year (depending on the assumed oil price). The authors offer the following table, based on exports via the proposed Energy East pipeline, as evidence…
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In 1989, when the House of Commons voted unanimously to end child poverty by the year 2000, there was much applause. But as the years started to pass, political inaction fueled a deepening sense that government commitments to reduce poverty were mere words. It’s 2016 and Canada is a long…
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In the eyes of fans of the free market, the fact that Crown corporations are granted exclusivity over certain sectors of the economy comes across as one of the most scandalous of aberrations. For this reason, the idea that the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) should be privatized pops…
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In the short term at least, it appears that Canada Post has backpedalled on its threats to lock out workers and shut down the postal system as labour negotiations continue. This is a remarkable reversal for a corporation that, during the last round of bargaining, enjoyed a very different result…
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Postes Canada semble faire marche arrière, du moins à court terme, quant à ses menaces de mettre en lock-out ses travailleuses et travailleurs et de paralyser le service postal, puisque les négociations se poursuivent. Il s’agit d’une volte-face remarquable de la part d’une société d’État qui, lors des dernières négociations,…
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