governance

9:55AM
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Canada’s federal parties should respect provincial jurisdiction

National politicians aren’t as well placed to make local decisions as local politicians.


10:57AM
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SNC-Lavalin reminds us that big government invites big scandals

Political actors can direct spending towards privileged parties.


2:03PM
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China sets debt traps, threatens militarily

China has already blocked 15 million of its citizens from train and airline travel.


2:32PM
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With true self-governance, funding and service levels are no longer determined by federal bureaucrats.


9:05AM
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The Liberal campaign platform has some laudable goals. However, one of the worrying policy initiatives, and one that is hopefully de-prioritized, is the raising of the top marginal federal tax rate on personal income from 29 to 33 per cent.


2:00AM
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"Travel", said Francis Bacon, "is part of education for the young and a part of experience for those who are older." But there is an additional benefit from a journey outside of one's own borders: a reminder of why certain places function better than others.

In a recent trip to Hong Kong, I met with a plethora of civil servants, some politicians and a few business people, all with an obvious interest in the future of that territory. My purpose was simple: to get a sense of how that territory has held up in the face of massive change occurring in China proper.


2:00AM
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Canada is a superb creation and initial credit for that must, obviously, go to Canada's fathers of Confederation. How we came about is a fascinating tale of seemingly intractable regional disputes resolved, at least for a time, by new institutions and a new country.


2:00AM
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When Christy Clark recently asserted British Columbia didn’t need the federal government and also said “we don't need Alberta,” the B.C. premier demonstrated why Canada’s founding fathers were concerned about provincial politicians: when they think in isolation, such premiers harm the interests of all Canadians.

The context of Clark’s election-time remark was how BC could become an energy superpower if more natural gas was developed and delivered through pipelines, as opposed to “allowing” oil pipelines to crisscross British Columbia more than they already do.