Economy
Slicing the Pie: Federal Assistance for Provincial Sales Tax
Reform
A
new report from The C.D. Howe
Institute recommends that Canadian provinces that have not yet harmonized
their tax systems speed up the process and pursue greater
integration with the country at large. Author Benjamin Dachis argues that few tax changes offer as much economic promise as
replacing provincial retail sales taxes
(RST) with a value added
tax like the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST). He further asserts that there
are clear economic benefits from harmonization with the GST tax base, such as
lower compliance costs, more inter-provincial trade, lower costs for consumers,
and a lower effective tax rate on new business investment. http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/ebrief_55.pdf
Good Enough for Government
Work
The latest version of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies’
annual review of provincial finances through the use of a standardized grading
system is now in a single document discussing all ten provinces. The
highest scores this year went to Alberta and
Ontario, with the next tier consisting of
Newfoundland and
Labrador, New
Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and
British
Columbia. Prince Edward
Island and
Quebec follow, while
Nova
Scotia and
Manitoba finish in a last place tie. http://www.aims.ca/library/GoodEnough.pdf
The Last Recession
Spook
A recent article from the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives criticizes talk of cutting into government run social programs
due to a possible economic downturn caused by difficulties in the American
economy. It recommends that now, more than ever, is the time to pay attention to
such programs and ensure that they are running at peak
efficiency.
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/Ontario_Office_Pubs/2008/Last_Recession_Spook.pdf
Foreign
Affairs
The Institute for Research on Public
Policy has just
released the latest issue of its monthly publication Policy Options. This month features
three articles on the U.S. presidential elections, including a
look at the numbers behind the race for the Democratic nomination and the
ongoing debate over NAFTA on and off the campaign trail. The April edition also
includes an in-depth analysis of the Canadian federal budget, testimony from the
first commander of Canada's Strategic Advisory Team in
Afghanistan, and much more. http://www.irpp.org/indexe.htm
Making Sense of a Changing Planet:
Summer School 2008
The Université de Montréal’s International
Studies Center, in conjunction with the
Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Faculty of Law, is offering six
intensive Summer school courses touching on some of the most important
developments in the world today including: “Africa, not as ‘dark’ as you think”;
“China Risen: How it Changes and Changes us”; Peace Operations: Manufacturing
Peace”; “The Middle-East beyond conflict”; “The US after Bush: Perils and
Promises”; and “International Environmental Law: Law to the Planet’s Rescue”.
Each six-day course is given by a dozen of the best experts in the field and the
courses are intended for members of NGOs, diplomats, journalists, members of the
civil service or of corporations, graduate students and, under conditions,
certain undergraduates. The courses are given entirely
in English
(and there is a French
version). For more informatin, rates and registration:
http://www.cerium.ca/spip.php?page=affiche&id_article=4007
Environment
Turning on
Canada’s Tap?
The Polaris
Institute has
released a new report on bulk water exports entitled “Turning on
Canada’s Tap?” The report, prepared by
Tony Clarke, Executive Director of the Polaris Institute, outlines why
Canada needs a comprehensive policy and
strategy for bulk water exports to the
United
States. http://www.polarisinstitute.org/files/turning%20on%20canada's%20ta[.pdf
Great Lakes
Management
How Great Lakes water is managed, protected and
distributed might well prove to be the North American environmental issue
of the 21st century, not only for the 40 million Canadians and Americans who
live in the lakes' basin, but for other areas of the countries, where growing
populations are leading to water shortages. In his book Great Lakes Water
Wars, published in 2006, Peter Annin chronicles the sometimes highly
contentious history of water policy in the Midwest and the forging of a new binational
agreement to manage diversion from the lakes and their tributaries. As he spoke
at Wayne State University's annual Wayne-Windsor Canadian Studies
Symposium, "Whose
Great Lakes? The Politics of Water," Mr. Annin spoke with the Metro Times of
Detroit about the timely and critical issue
of the water management in the region. http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=12767
Health
Canadians’ Access to New Medicines
Delayed or Blocked
Canadian patients are having
difficulty obtaining new medicines as a result of lengthy delays in the approval
of new prescription drugs and the refusal of provincial drug plans to pay for
the new medicines, says a new article from The Fraser Institute. The survey claims
that two separate stages of Canada’s drug approval process contribute
to delays or result in the unavailability of new drugs to some patients, and
suggests some adjustments to the current system.
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/newsrelease.aspx?nID=5291
More Canadian
Children Surviving Cancer
More Canadian children with cancer
are surviving, according to Canadian
Cancer Statistics 2008 released today by the Canadian Cancer Society. Although rare,
cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in Canadian children over one
month of age, second only to accidents. For all childhood cancers combined, the
five-year survival is estimated to be 82 per cent - an increase of 11 per cent
over 15 years. "More children surviving cancer is welcome news," says Heather
Logan, Director, Cancer Control Policy, Canadian Cancer Society. "However, many
survivors experience future health issues, called late effects, either as a
result of the cancer or the treatment. An important challenge now is to find out
more about these late health effects through research." http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2008/09/c3534.html
University of Toronto Research Finds Shift Work Linked To
Organ Disease
Disruption of
an individual’s natural sleep-wake cycle has been determined to be a
contributing factor in the development of organ disease, say findings of University of Toronto researchers
recently published in the Journal of
American Physiology. The human body works according to a natural 24-hour
sleep-wake cycle, also referred to as a circadian rhythm, which controls body
temperature, sleep-wake timing and the way our organs and body systems work
together. “We knew that circadian rhythm disruption had been linked with reduced
longevity so we decided to try and find out where, why and how longevity is
compromised,” said Professor Martin Ralph of psychology at U of T and one of the
lead researchers on the project.
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin8/080407-185.asp
Women Play Key Role in Protecting Villagers from
Mercury Poisoning and Chagas Disease
In a small village beside a river in
the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, 26 women keep a conscientious daily record of
everything they eat for a year; they also let their hair grow. By the end of the
year, they have produced detailed food diaries and long strands of hair for the
Brazilian and Canadian scientists of the International Development Research
Center investigating high levels of toxic mercury in the region, which can
become hazardous when it enters aquatic systems.
http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-122189-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
Very Premature Babies at Higher Risk
of Autism
Very
premature infants with low birth weight are more likely to show early signs of
autism, according to a study conducted by McGill University researchers, along
with colleagues from Children's Hospital Boston, Brigham and Women's Hospital
and Harvard Medical School. The study was published in the journal Pediatrics on April 3, the first World
Autism Day, and was widely publicized globally in conjunction with the
event. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/news/item/?item_id=29878
Demographics
Earnings Instability of Immigrants
in Canada
Earnings Inequality and Earnings
Instability of Immigrants in Canada, published by Statistics Canada, provides further
insights into the changing fortunes of immigrants in
Canada by focusing on the volatility of
their earnings – best captured through the lens of year-to-year deviations of
individual annual earnings. The study found that instability in earnings for
immigrants usually declines substantially after they have spent several years in
Canada. This is consistent with the view
that during the first several years in
Canada, immigrants move more frequently
from one job to another, or have part-time or temporary jobs; however, as they
gain experience in Canada, immigrants are likely to find more
stable employment.
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/080409/d080409b.htm
Science and
Technology
“Green”
Method Decontaminates Deadly Nerve Agents
Research by two scientists has
resulted in an exciting new method for rapidly and safely destroying toxic
agents such as chemical weapons and pesticides. Recently completed testing by an
independent European defence corporation and Queen’s University scientists has shown
the researchers’ method to be greater than 99 per cent effective when used on
the deadly nerve agents Tabun, Soman and VX. When tested in solution, full
destruction of all three agents was achieved in less than 30 seconds. Testing on
contaminated surfaces showed virtually complete decontamination of the agents in
10 minutes – the shortest of the time periods tested. http://qnc.queensu.ca/story_loader.php?id=47fb870ea02f1
UBC
Researchers Discover Anti-virulence Factor in
Salmonella
Researchers
at the University of British
Columbia have discovered an anti-virulence factor in Salmonella, knowledge
that could be used to design improved Salmonella vaccines. Virulence factors
allow a pathogen to thrive in the host and cause disease, while an
anti-virulence factor controls the degree of
infectiveness.
http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2008/mr-08-037.html
