bureaucracy

Saturday April 9, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 9, 2022

What Toronto wanted in the federal budget for housing — and what it got

April 7, 2017

One of the central pieces of the federal budget unveiled Thursday was affordable housing — $10 billion earmarked to tackle the crisis country-wide.

It’s a mix of funding for projects and policy changes aimed at making housing more affordable.

So what was Toronto looking for and what did it get?  And what will the budget mean for one of the least affordable cities in the country?

Much of the $10-billion investment focuses on boosting the supply of homes, something that is key for Toronto. 

February 1, 2017

The city was eyeing an extension of funding for a project it’s partnered on with the federal government: the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI).

That wish was granted. The budget proposes to extend the program, which creates new affordable rental housing for marginalized people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, at a cost of $1.5 billion over two years.

May 7, 2014

The largest portion of the $10-billion budget pledge is $4 billion dedicated to what the government is calling a “Housing Accelerator Fund.” The money will be for municipalities like Toronto to speed up housing development by slashing red tape, and the federal government estimates it can create 100,000 new units over five years.

When it comes to speeding up development, Bailão says the city has projects on the go for which they’d like to partner financially with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) — mainly its Housing Now initiative, which activates city-owned sites for the development of affordable housing within mixed-income, mixed-use, transit-oriented communities.

November 20, 2019

“I think all orders of government need to work together because if they really want to build 100,000 units … we have 15,000 here in the pipeline that need their financing and we need to make sure that financing is there,” said Bailão.

The question among many advocates is how quickly some of these measures can be implemented in big cities like Toronto, and how much coordination there can be between different levels of government.

“For this city, what’s needed is significant amounts of money and funding that can be spent quickly,” said Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute and a professor of geography and planning at the University of Toronto.

“We’re in this crisis. We need all hands on deck, and we need that real coordination and we need a sense of urgency to back it up.” (CBC) 

 

Thursday May 9, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday May 9, 2019

Canadian immigration system ‘not equipped’ to handle influx of irregular migrants: auditor general

The Canadian immigration system is not flexible enough to handle the influx of irregular migrants that began in early 2017, according to the country’s auditor general.

August 22, 2018

A lack of information sharing and use of outdated technologies by the three federal bodies responsible for processing asylum claims has compounded the problem, leaving those agencies unable to process claims in the required time frames, according to the spring report by the auditor general.

“Overall, we found that Canada’s refugee determination system was not equipped to process claims according to the required timelines,” wrote auditor general Sylvain Ricard in his spring report.

“Since the system was not flexible enough to respond in a timely way to higher claim volumes, the 2017 surge of asylum seekers led to a backlog and increased wait times for refugee protection decisions.”

July 17, 2018

Since early 2017, roughly 40,000 migrants have crossed the border irregularly from the United States into Quebec.

Nearly two-thirds of the asylum claims during that time were postponed because of issues within the control of the government, leading to delays lasting months, which have yet to be resolved.

Much of that backlog comes as the result of a lack of information sharing between the Canada Border Services Agency, Immigration and Refugees Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board, the auditor general said.

The report also warned that if current funding and procedures continue, wait times for asylum applications could more than double by 2024.

December 7, 2016

That would see applicants wait up to five years for a decision.

The former Conservative government passed legislation in 2010 and 2012 aimed at reducing that backlog by setting mandatory time frame requirements for processing asylum claims that said hearings for most applicants had to be scheduled within 60 days.

But the report found that the influx of irregular migrants “outstripped” the capacity of officials to process them within those time frames and added that, “As a result, at the time of our audit, the system faced a backlog of unresolved claims that was worse than in 2012, when the system was last reformed.” (Source: Global) 

 

Thursday April 21, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday April 21, 2016 Marijuana legislation coming to Canada next spring CanadaÕs legislation to begin the process of legalizing and regulating marijuana will be introduced next spring, Health Minister Jane Philpott announced Wednesday at the United Nations. During her impassioned speech at a special UN session on drugs, Philpott acknowledged the pot plan Òchallenges the status quo in many countries,Ó but she said the Liberal government is convinced itÕs the best way to protect youth, while enhancing public safety. Canada must do better when it comes to drug policy, she added, saying the governmentÕs approach will be rooted in science and will address the devastating consequences of drugs and drug-related crimes. ÒI am proud to stand up for our drug policy that is informed by solid scientific evidence and uses a lens of public health to maximize education and minimize harm,Ó she said. ÒAs a doctor, who has worked both in Canada and sub-Saharan Africa, I have seen too many people suffer the devastating consequences of drugs, drug-related crime and ill-conceived drug policy. Fortunately, solutions are within our grasp.Ó Philpott began her speech with an emotional recounting of a story she recently heard from a mother who lost her daughter to substance abuse. The woman described watching her daughter die as she sought help that should have been available to save her life, Philpott said. ÒShe described watching her daughter slip away as she struggled to access the treatment and services that should have been available to save a beautiful, fragile life,Ó she said. ÒStories like this are far too commonplace. Countless lives are cut short due to overdoses of licit and illicit substances. Today, I stand before you as CanadaÕs minister of health to acknowledge that we must do better for our citizens.Ó PhilpottÕs address happened to coincide with 4/20 the annual day of celebration for cannabis culture l

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 21, 2016

Marijuana legislation coming to Canada next spring

Canada’s legislation to begin the process of legalizing and regulating marijuana will be introduced next spring, Health Minister Jane Philpott announced Wednesday at the United Nations.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday January 13, 2016 The Blair roach project has won a powerful supporter. Premier Kathleen Wynne said she is pleased Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, now Scarborough Southwest MP, to lead the marijuana legalization efforts. ÒI have a lot of respect for Bill Blair. I think that heÕll do a great job and his taking on of that role is the beginning of that national conversation that I said we have to have,Ó Wynne told reporters Monday at QueenÕs Park. The premier added that she was heartened that Blair is embracing her proposal to have cannabis sold through government-owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario outlets. ÒIÕm encouraged that he had, as a preliminary approach, that he thinks that it might make sense to use a distribution network thatÕs in place, . . . (although thatÕs) not a foregone conclusion,Ó she said. ÒHeÕs got a lot of people to talk to and heÕs got a lot of questions to ask and a lot of decisions to make over the coming months, so I look forward to that conversation.Ó Blair, a rookie MP who is parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, will work with a three-member cabinet team and a soon-to-be-named federal-provincial-territorial task force to develop the policy for legalizing marijuana. On Friday, Blair said Ottawa will look to Colorado and other jurisdictions that have legalized marijuana sales. ÒWe have pretty robust systems of regulation for other intoxicants in this country, mostly overseen by the provinces, and so weÕve already got a model, a framework we can build on here,Ó he said. ÒI think there are certain modifications or adjustments that we may have to make for cannabis as opposed to alcohol, but I think there is already a strong system in place for the control and regulationÓ of marijuana sales here. The police veteran, who himself has never smoked marijuana, pointed out that it is Òvery difficul

January 13, 2016

During her impassioned speech at a special UN session on drugs, Philpott acknowledged the pot plan “challenges the status quo in many countries,” but she said the Liberal government is convinced it’s the best way to protect youth, while enhancing public safety.

Canada must do better when it comes to drug policy, she added, saying the government’s approach will be rooted in science and will address the devastating consequences of drugs and drug-related crimes.

“I am proud to stand up for our drug policy that is informed by solid scientific evidence and uses a lens of public health to maximize education and minimize harm,” she said.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday November 27, 2015 The LCBO wants to sell you pot Stocking weed alongside wine at the LCBO is the best way to protect public health, say addiction experts. But for marijuana advocates it's more of the same prohibition. In a statement released Monday, the union representing LCBO workers said the provincially owned stores are the ideal place to sell marijuana, should the federal government legalize it. "If they do legalize it, then it's a drug," Warren (Smokey) Thomas told the Star. "So we think that, like alcohol, it should be controlled." Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, said secure warehouses and staff trained to check ages are some of the reasons the LCBO should be the sole source of legal pot in the province, as it is with most alcohol. The scheme would also generate revenue for the government to combat the potential social costs. But marijuana advocates say those social costs and the spectre of public danger are overblown, and government-run sales would continue a prohibitionist regulatory approach. "Our view of course has always been that marijuana is one of the safest drugs. It's not any worse, slightly better, than coffee," said Blair Longley, the leader of the federal Marijuana Party. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals won this fall's election with an campaign platform promising to "legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana." However, Longley maintains the drug should be proportionately restricted based on its danger. So ideally, he said, anyone should be free to grow and use the plant how she wishes with the informed consent as to any danger. Hugo St-Onge, leader of Quebec's Bloc Pot party agrees that government stores are not the way forward. "We need to stop comparing marijuana to alcohol," he said. "Marijuana should have its own model, its own system." He prefers a food-model regulatory system, with sales done in a similar fa

November 27, 2015

“As a doctor, who has worked both in Canada and sub-Saharan Africa, I have seen too many people suffer the devastating consequences of drugs, drug-related crime and ill-conceived drug policy. Fortunately, solutions are within our grasp.”

Philpott began her speech with an emotional recounting of a story she recently heard from a mother who lost her daughter to substance abuse.

The woman described watching her daughter die as she sought help that should have been available to save her life, Philpott said.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

January 30, 2014

“She described watching her daughter slip away as she struggled to access the treatment and services that should have been available to save a beautiful, fragile life,” she said.

“Stories like this are far too commonplace. Countless lives are cut short due to overdoses of licit and illicit substances. Today, I stand before you as Canada’s minister of health to acknowledge that we must do better for our citizens.”

Philpott’s address happened to coincide with 4/20 the annual day of celebration for cannabis culture lovers, which takes on greater significance in Canada this year, with the government planning to green-light recreational marijuana use. (Source: Toronto Star)

 

2016-04-21tearsheet

Published in the London Free Press

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Wednesday April 15, 2015

Wednesday April 15, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 15, 2015

Like a carbon tax, but much worse

If you want to put a tax on greenhouse gas emissions, there’s an easy way to do it. You implement a carbon tax, like British Columbia did, and add it to the price of gasoline and other fossil fuels. The higher the emissions, the more tax people pay. Anyone can understand how it works.

Then there’s a second way, which is much more complicated and expensive. It requires a big bureaucracy to administer and is highly vulnerable to special interests. Lots can go wrong. In Europe, where they’ve been trying to get it right for a decade, it’s been an abject failure. This system is called cap and trade, and nobody but the experts can understand how it works.

Kathleen Wynne’s Ontario has chosen the second way. The fact that cap-and-trade schemes are incredibly opaque is considered a feature, not a bug. The government can swear it’s not a tax, even though the taxpayers will wind up paying for it anyway as industry passes on the extra cost.

Tuesday April 14, 2015Cap-and-trade schemes are supposed to encourage companies to find cleaner forms of energy. A cap is set on the amount of pollution each industry is allowed to emit. Individual businesses are then granted (or sold) permits to pollute. They can then buy or sell these permits on the open market. If they want to emit more pollution, they have to buy more permits, and vice versa. Finance people love carbon markets because there’s good money in it for them. (Source: Margaret Wente, Globe & Mail)

Saturday March 28, 2015

Saturday March 28, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 28, 2015

Ontario’s ‘sunshine list’ tops 100,000 members for first time

Ontario’s taxpayer-funded $100,000 club includes more than 100,000 members for first time ever.

Find out who made what: the Star’s searchable databases

The annual “sunshine list” of six-figures-and-up earners on the provincial public payroll released Friday included 111,440 people in 2014 — 13,644 more than the 97,796 the year before or a 13.9 per cent increase.

That means the equivalent of the population of cities the size of Burlington or Thunder Bay made this year’s tally, which was curated in six volumes spanning 2,491 pages.

As usual, Ontario Power Generation chief executive Tom Mitchell, who runs the nuclear operation, was the province’s highest paid civil servant, taking in $1.555 million last year.

The silver medallist was also from OPG with former chief financial officer Donn Hanbidge, fired after a scathing 2013 auditor general’s report on the electricity utility, receiving $1.208 million, including severance.

Bronze went to University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation’s president and CEO William Moriarty at $937,500.

“The people of Ontario have a right to know how their dollars are being spent. Ontario has the leanest government in Canada while still providing high-quality public services that people can rely on,” Treasury Board President Deb Matthews said in a statement at Queen’s Park.

“Today, we are releasing the 2014 public sector salary disclosure list as part of our government’s commitment to be the most open and transparent government in the country,” said Matthews, who made $165,851.

Premier Kathleen Wynne, whose salary, like all MPPs, has been frozen for seven years, earned $208,974. Interim Progressive Conservative Leader Jim Wilson made $159,266 while NDP Leader Andrea Horwath took home $158,157. (Source: Toronto Star)