British Columbia is often thought of as a province characterized by towering mountains and magnificent ocean views but throughout our history it has been the rivers that have been critically important to our lives. From the First Nations who lived here for millennia to the gold rushes of the 1800s to recreational salmon fishing today, rivers have been central to British Columbians lives. Thats why its not a coincidence that Rivers Day started in British Columbia in 1980.
british columbia
Octobre 1, 2013
2:00AM
Imagine if governments engaged in a massive spending binge over the last decade, with the benefits falling to just a small part of the population and then hiked taxes four times to pay for it. Now imagine if they argued, in some Orwellian twist of illogic, that such excess generosity was fully funded, affordable, and sustainable this after the multiple tax hikes demonstrated they were not.
Septembre 4, 2013
2:00AM
As labour and capital have become more and more mobile, jurisdictional competitiveness is becoming more important in securing and maintaining economic prosperity. A minimum requirement is to have taxes, regulations, and other important policies competitive with competing jurisdictions. To gain an advantage, jurisdictions need policies that differentiate themselves from competing jurisdictions.
As BCs recently minted Clark government works through its economic priorities, it would be well advised to consider worker choice laws.
Mai 31, 2013
2:00AM
On the last day of May, the government of British Columbia gave the back of its hand to Alberta and indirectly to the rest of Canada, which benefitsand could benefit morefrom continued development of Albertas oilsands. Claiming insufficient environmental protections, the BC government rejected the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project that would bring bitumen from Albertas oilsands to Kitimat, where it could be exported to markets in Asia.
Mai 2, 2013
2:00AM
Too often in politics, particularly during election campaigns, citizens conflate political brands with policy. That is, too often we make assumptions about the policies of political parties based on a perception rather than the reality of experience. Many assume, for example, that Conservatives care deeply about and pursue policies based on tradition, balancing budgets, and competitiveness while the NDP focus more on the poor and disadvantaged, strengthening unions, and restricting trade. The reality, however, is that policies are never that tightly woven with specific parties.
Avril 13, 2013
2:00AM
There is apparently no shortage of politicians with a not-so-secret Hollywood love affair: they love to throw tax sweeteners and direct subsidies at the film industry, this in an effort to lure film production to their province or state.
The latest starry-eyed politician is the British Columbia opposition leader, Adrian Dix. In his run-up to that provinces May election, the B.C. NDP leader has promised to up the film tax credit for labour costs to 40 per cent, up from 35 per cent.
Mars 30, 2013
3:00AM
April 1st is an important day for British Columbians and we're not referring to the Easter long weekend. On that day BC officially scraps the HST and in one fell swoop restores the old Provincial Sales Tax system.
But moving back to the PST will cause harm to the provincial economy and BC families will lose out on the increased prosperity and jobs that the HST would have encouraged. Since our province will be poorer with the PST, it falls on our political leaders to take action to lessen the impact.
Mars 14, 2013
3:00AM
More than three years after the end of the recession and British Columbias provincial government continues to struggle with deficits, which as of the last quarterly update will likely exceed $1.5 billion. Relying on revenues to rebound enough to catch up with spending just doesnt work as BCs own history aptly demonstrates. Similarly, municipalities across the province continue to struggle to find sufficient resources for infrastructure needs while balancing their books.