OTTAWA—The government’s plan to extend the Canadian Forces mission in Afghanistan deserves a public debate, argues a new report published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Rideau Institute.
Analysts Michael Byers and Stuart Webb determine that the new training mission, first proposed by the Liberals then adopted by the Conservatives, poses many dangers to Canadian soldiers:
International trade and investment, deep integration
There is a clear incompatibility between Canadian health care policies and the increasing scope of international trade and investment treaties. Canada’s public health insurance system and the regulations around who can provide health care services and on what terms (including the Canada Health Act) cut against the grain of such treaties, which, in contrast to Medicare, tend to place the ability to make profits before the needs of citizens.
Why should a provincial government be punished for doing the right thing?
That’s a question the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador - and all Canadians - should be asking themselves in the aftermath of last summer’s decision by the Harper government to pay AbitibiBowater $130 million to settle a NAFTA lawsuit.
Last week, the Commons Standing Committee on International Trade held hearings into the NAFTA settlement. Property rights advocates loudly complained that Ottawa shouldn’t have to foot the bill for the “irresponsible actions” of the Danny Williams government.
This report documents all 66 known NAFTA investor-state claims (to October 2010) and analyses recent key developments, including the Canadian government’s troubling decision to settle AbitibiBowater’s NAFTA claim by paying the company $CAD 130 million. It finds all levels of government, particularly in Canada, are being targeted by investors for alleged breaches of Chapter 11, NAFTA's investment chapter.
OTTAWA—All levels of government in Canada are increasingly being targeted by investors for alleged breaches of Chapter 11, NAFTA’s investment chapter, says an analysis released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
According to the analysis, by CCPA Senior Trade Researcher Scott Sinclair, as of October 2010, 43% of the known 66 claims under Chapter 11 were made by foreign investors against Canada.
“The disparity in income between the rich and the poor is merely the survival of the fittest. It is merely the working out of a law of nature and a law of God.”
--John D. Rockefeller, 1894.
Canada already has a large bilateral trade deficit with the EU—$15 billion in goods and close to $4 billion in services, and loses some 70,000 jobs as a result. This study finds a free trade agreement would make that imbalance worse.
The study models three scenarios to provide a range of estimages regarding the likely impacts of EU-Canada free trade. In every case, Canada's bilateral trade balance worsens significantly. The simulations suggest an incredmental loss of between 28,000 and 150,000 Canadian jobs.
OTTAWA—A Canada-EU free trade deal would create a huge trade deficit for Canada, resulting in the loss of up to 150,000 Canadian jobs, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The study, by economist and CCPA Research Associate Jim Stanford, models three scenarios to provide a range of estimates regarding the likely impacts of EU-Canada free trade. In every case, Canada’s bilateral trade balance worsens significantly. The simulations suggest an incremental loss of between 28,000 and 150,000 Canadian jobs.
You may have missed the news about a recent study by the Mayo Clinic on optimism and pessimism. The study over a 40-year period concluded that optimists tend to live longer than pessimists: “Grouchers and grumblers don’t enjoy the longevity that is reached by people who are happy and hopeful about the future.”
The devastating impacts of climate change are clear. But there are disturbing revelations about how global elites are tackling the issue. Al Gore—on one hand — promotes carbon emissions trading and green technologies as a solution, and—on the other—profits handsomely from his timely investments in those same initiatives. Infamous climate change skeptic Bjørn Lomborg recommends free market solutions to fight global poverty and disease.