In this three-part post (Conservatives, NDP) I wanted to take a look at what the parties said in their platforms compared to what they want to spend money on…are they putting their money where their mouth is? For each of the parties I’ve created two wordles or word charts. In…
Read more
In this three-part post (Liberals, NDP) I wanted to take a look at what the parties said in their platforms compared to what they are actually spending money on in those same platforms…are they putting their money where their mouth is? For each of the parties I’ve created two wordles…
Read more
The first leg of the federal election campaign has featured much debate over who benefits from different proposals. At least indirectly, it has been a discussion about income inequality as the federal parties reveal proposals that could widen or close income disparities while growing the economy. Against this noisy foreground, two…
Read more
A quick and easy way to get a very bad bad headache is to attempt to compare and contrast the fiscal plans attached to the major party platforms. But they throw some light on the real priorities of the parties, and the real choices in play in the election. One…
Read more
By Michael Byers and Stewart Webb Last November, Canada’s mission in Afghanistan was extended by three years without a debate in Parliament when Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that our soldiers would shift to a much safer training role. His explanation was that “when we’re talking simply about technical or…
Read more
Perhaps the most compelling villain on Star Trek: The Next Generation was the Borg, which seeks to assimilate other groups into its hive. The Macdonald-Laurier Institute seems to be performing this function for Canada’s conservative pundits (although corporate-tax cutters also resemble the Ferengi). Yesterday’s Globe and Mail featured an op-ed…
Read more
If you head to the end of the Conservative platform, you will find that they plan to add almost $1 Billion in net new spending/tax cuts in 2014-15, rising to $3.1 Billion in 2015-16, while still balancing the Budget in 2014-15. The new spending is on income splitting for families…
Read more
(An addition to my earlier post given that it is being construed as an endorsement – I found the NDP platform which was released after the Green platform to be very strong on job creation and it has a strong green jobs and environment component as well. I’ve pasted an…
Read more
This was published today in the Globe and Mail’s online business feature Economy Lab. A fuller analysis can be found at the PEF website, here. Stephen Harper has unveiled yet another plank in a platform that seems remarkably out of touch with the concerns of an electorate walking on post-recession…
Read more
Here are the most important facts about the Tax Free Savings Account. Introduction of the Tax Free Savings Account: January 1, 2009, right at the height of the economic meltdown What’s new: Stephen Harper promises to double the contribution limits to the Tax Free Savings Account, from $5,000 a year…
Read more