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In October 2003, Dr. Jerry Buckland from Menno Simons College and a group of researchers examined the critical issue of fringe banking in North End Winnipeg. The original 229 page report was titled “The Rise of Fringe Financial Services in Winnipeg’s North End”.
So what has happened since the reports original release? Is this research sitting on a shelf collecting dust? Not a chance.
Since the re-election of George W. Bush, much has been written about what it means to have such a militant right-wing ideologue running the world’s most militarily powerful country. Predictions of what we can expect over the next four years range from more “pre-emptive” invasions of other countries suspected of being pro-terrorism to doomsday scenarios of a global nuclear holocaust.
The next time you go to a locally-owned Canadian restaurant and order the special—e.g., veal cordon bleu, wedge potatoes, mixed vegetables and salad—you may imagine cooks in the restaurant kitchen busily cutting meat and vegetables, combining them with spices and other ingredients to prepare your meal. You’re probably wrong.
Reading Lewis Lapham’s chilling account in Harper’s of how public opinion in the U.S. was dragged to the reactionary right—and the similar account by Eric Alterman and Paul McLeary that you’ll find on Pages 8-10—I gave thanks that the same mass brainwashing exercise in Canada has not (so far) been as successful.
As public debate heats up for the October 16 referendum on Vancouver’s electoral system, we’re hearing plenty of dire warnings, gross exaggerations and outright silliness about the “dangers” of a ward system. One dire warning being sounded by some (including former councilors who should know better) is that wards will cost the taxpayer dearly — that a switch to wards will result in higher city spending, debt and taxes.There are no comprehensive Canadian studies on the economic impacts of municipal electoral systems.
Back in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, when the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress were promoting a political merger between the socialist party and organized labour—later to culminate in the creation of the New Democratic Party—I was working as a CLC rep in the Atlantic region. One of my assignments was to try to persuade union locals to affiliate with and financially support the new party after it was established.
Will Jean Chrétien’s bill to reform election financing restore public confidence in the political system, as he says it will?
Parliament passed the bill in June. It caps corporate and union donations to federal parties at $1,000 and allows contributions only to riding associations, not directly to the parties. The bill also caps individual donations at $5,000.
To compensate for kicking the donations habit, the parties will earn a $1.75 subsidy for every vote they received in the previous election.