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Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse

Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse.

Federal government spending tens of thousands at elite private club

Federal Crown corporations and government departments are spending tens of thousands of dollars each year at Ottawa’s elite Rideau Club.

According to documents tabled in the House of Commons, Crown corporations with business mandates topped the list of big spenders.

Once the place to see and be seen by top Ottawa business leaders and government mandarins, the Rideau Club’s popularity declined during Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government as spending by public servants came under more scrutiny.

The pricey private club atop a downtown Ottawa skyscraper is still popular among lobbyists and government relations professionals who often invite MPs to receptions at the Rideau Club on behalf of various industries.

read more at cbc.ca

OPINION | Canadians need to grow a consumer backbone: Neil Macdonald

So, United Airlines, after three weeks of groveling and apologizing for that terrifying police-state video on one of its flights a few weeks ago, is doing the sensible thing.

Instead of calling in police goons to brutalize seated passengers and drag them off overbooked flights, United will from now on offer up to $10,000 US to passengers who volunteer to take a later flight. A United spokeswoman quickly returned my call to confirm that.

But then, that’s the way the American market works.

Any U.S. company facing a blast-wave of consumer anger, and, in United’s case, watching its stock price wither, does what it has to do, knowing that customers can easily choose the competition.

Flight crews in the United States acknowledge that a thousand times a day upon landing: “Thanks for choosing us, we know you have a choice, and we appreciate your business,” or something to that effect.

Ever hear that on Air Canada? I haven’t.

read more at cbc.ca

 

Canadian health care struggles to find a cure for hallway medicine

Jack Webb died in a Halifax hospital on Feb. 1, after sitting in a chilly emergency room hallway for six hours and being bumped from a room by another dying patient during his five-day stay.

“I believe Jack was terrified. … He wanted to go home,” his wife, Kim D’Arcy, said.

His story isn’t unique. Over the last few months, there have been a flurry of stories from patients across Canada, complaining that they were kept in hospital hallways because of overcrowding.
A woman from Surrey, B.C. recently spent three days in the hallway, after being admitted for internal bleeding.

“When my doctor came to see me, there were people standing around and he was talking about my private, personal information about the treatment I was about to go through,” the woman, Karen Sidhu, told Global News.

“He couldn’t help it. It was really unacceptable.”

read more at globalnews.ca

The many obstacles to health-care improvements: Opinion

A series of daunting factors have led to the public’s passive acceptance of paying high costs for a narrow range of services of mediocre quality.

The need for change in health care has been obvious for years. Many studies have been conducted and recommendations made on what’s needed to meet optimally the needs of the population in the current and coming decades. But change itself has been very scarce.

One reason is that none of our 14 provincial/territorial/federal health care delivery “systems’ has a single governance; the place where the “buck stops” with respect to what each does and does not accomplish and how well or poorly. It is only by default that Canadians hold their governments accountable for how well their hospitals, physicians, pharmacists, and other providers meet their changing needs for health care services. On the other hand that there are 14 “systems” could be an advantage as it was when Saskatchewan’s pioneering introduction of Medicare was copied by other jurisdictions.

read more at thestar.com

Central Bank Chief Says Canada Can Handle More Infrastructure Investment

The Canadian government has ample fiscal room to increase spending on infrastructure, Bank of Canada Gov. Stephen Poloz said, adding it is required to offer a boost to the country’s tepid growth profile.

“We have plenty of opportunities in Canada to deploy more infrastructure investment,” Mr. Poloz said in an interview with Canada’s Global TV network broadcast on Sunday. “There’s a balance point in all this, but Canada is in a very good fiscal situation so we shouldn’t be worrying about” the impact of higher budget deficits at this time, he added.

Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/central-bank-chief-says-canada-can-handle-more-infrastructure-investment-1477243921

Canadian Gov’t Keeping Options Open On Digital Taxation

Canadian Heritage Minister Melanie Joly has said that she will discuss with the Finance Minister the potential application of a sales tax to foreign online services operating in the country.

During an interview with CTV News, Joly was asked whether the Government would force companies such as Netflix to pay into the Canada Media Fund that contributes to the production of Canadian content. She responded: “There will be no Netflix tax. This is a broader question: it’s about the participation of digital platforms to the system.”

In September, Joly launched a consultation on “Canadian Content in a Digital World.” Commenting on the consultation, Joly told CTV that the Government was “looking at all scenarios – certainly we want to engage with different digital platforms in the conversation and how they can support Canadian content.”

Pressed as to whether the Government could apply a sales tax for foreign online services operating in Canada, Joly replied that “this is a conversation of course that I will be having with the Minister of Finance Bill Morneau regarding sales tax.” She did however emphasize that this issue was “not necessarily under the purview of Canadian heritage – it’s much more under the purview of my colleague.”

Source: http://www.tax-news.com/news/Canadian_Govt_Keeping_Options_Open_On_Digital_Taxation____72512.html