Canada is in a fiscal mess

Former Finance Minster Chrystia Freeland had to choose a response. The Prime Minister had told her that she would no longer be Minister of Finance and would be replaced by former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney. Would she accept the demotion, and if not how would she respond? Her resignation letter response was a bombshell with implications affecting all of the political parties.

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In 2030 electricity will be greener, but rates will still be expensive

Nova Scotians have good reason to be confused about who and what are affecting their electrical bills.

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Beware of Governments Announcing Bold Expensive Projects

Have you had a good look at your electricity bill lately? Some of the power you are paying, for now, will not be received for 35 years.
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Be wary of ‘independent’ evaluations of government policies

Organizations dependant on government support often produce documents highlighting the economic and other benefits that they provide. Like many commercial sales pitches, they feature the strong points and slip past the potential problems.

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The coming election is likely to be close

As expected, Mark Carney won the Liberal leadership and became the Prime Minister. As of March 9th, polls show a Conservative 6% lead in votes, the same as a week earlier.

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Private Facilities Can Help The Publicly Funded System

Nova Scotia has a single payer health care system. This space completely supports the principal that the best care in that system should go to the sickest people, not the wealthiest. It should not be possible to buy your way to the front of the line. Read More »

Canada and the United States have important border issues

In the lead up to his first presidency Donald Trump was making declarations (“We’re going to build a wall!”) about how he was going to stop the influx of asylum seekers on the border with Mexico.

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Let’s Hope That School Support Workers Are Back To Work On Monday

Should employees doing the same work be paid the same amount regardless of where they live in Nova Scotia? The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has been in the awkward position of taking both sides of the argument.

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The Teachers’ Plan Deficit Needs to be Addressed

The government and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union are doing a disservice to taxpayers and today’s teachers, who are paying for the inadequacy of past contributions by and for the teachers that retired long ago.

In contrast, the public-sector pension plans for civil service and health care workers are well-funded and can be expected to keep their promises to pensioners over the long term.

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Housing affordability and traffic congestion dominate Halifax’s election

Haligonians will vote for their municipal representatives on October 19, with early voting opportunities available beginning on October 8th.

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