Stephen Harper loves bragging about Canada’s stellar record of financial regulation. So it is a tad awkward to admit the architecture of Canada’s securities regulation is strictly bush league.
Canada has a patchwork of provincial securities regulators, while other countries like the US have federal securities watchdogs (like the Securities Exchange Commission) to oversee securities activities.
Corporations and corporate power
On May 12 EPC unanimously voted to accept a report prepared by Winnipeg Public Services. The Report recommends that the City award a contract to Veolia for the design, construction and, it appears, the shared operation of the South and North End sewage treatment plants. The Report assures readers that this is a good deal for Winnipeg. But those of us who have been following the process are not convinced.
Regina —The Saskatchewan office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ series "Transforming Saskatchewan's Electricity Future" was launched with the publication of "Sustainability is Achievable, But How Do We Get There?" by Mark Bigland-Pritchard and Peter Prebble.
OTTAWA—The new federal Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada doesn’t do enough to protect consumers or address the stability of the payments system, says a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The report, by Doug Peters, former Secretary of State (Finance) and former TD Bank Chief Economist, and economic consultant Arthur Donner, says that the Code of Conduct is a step forward, but it is voluntary. To be fully effective, it would need to be both mandatory and have penalties spelled out.
As spring unfolds in southern Manitoba, we will soon see more than migratory birds arriving. Over 400 Seasonal Agricultural Workers are about to arrive from Mexico to take up the back-breaking work of cultivating vegetable and berry crops on Manitoba’s farms.
The Ontario government has recently announced major changes to the way that it will pay for generic drugs. The aim is to rein in rapidly increasing costs for the Ontario Drug Benefit Program.
Generics help make public drug plans affordable, but, to get used, they need to be dispensed by pharmacists. In effect, what the pharmacy owners tell the generic companies is that they will not stock their products unless the companies sell to them at a discount.
On April 28, the National Day of Mourning for workers killed on the job, we are reminded that although workplace injuries and fatalities may be accidents, they are preventable. While preventing injuries and deaths benefits both employer and employee, it is always left to government to create and enforce regulatory regimes that keep Canadians safe.
Le fédéral a annoncé dans son budget de 2010 la création d’une nouvelle commission chargée de réduire les tracasseries administratives. Comme les réductions d’impôt, la déréglementation constitue un dossier que les gouvernements adorent manipuler constamment. Au Canada, la chanson tourne souvent depuis les années 80. En fait, une refonte majeure de la réglementation fédérale a été annoncée il y a trois ans à peine, dans le budget de 2007.