The provincial NDP are proposing a new school tax on homes worth more than $3 million. The revenue projections are in the vicinity of $200 million and would largely be used for seismic upgrades for school buildings. Many of the homes that would be affected by this new tax are located in the Vancouver-Point Grey…
Category: equality
A little technology, a lot of independence
With the recent passing of world-renowned physicist and cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, there have been many very interesting interviews on CBC Radio over the last few days. One of them was Tuesday, March 20 on The Current. Anna Maria Tremonti interviewed Gary Birch, the Executive Director of the BC-based Neil Squire Society. For more than 30…
Getting to first base with basic income
It’s been two weeks since the provincial budget was released. Many of you may be unaware of the fact that the new budget contained $4 million to “test the feasibility” of a guaranteed basic income for all British Columbians. The basic income movement has been around for many decades. In the 1970s, the federal government…
Calling the federal budget “progressive” doesn’t make it so
Many have suggested that Tuesday’s federal budget was a progressive one. I am not so sure. While it contained many welcome initiatives, such as improved parental leave and significant increases in funding for indigenous issues, I was very disappointed to see three critical items omitted. First on the list is a national childcare program. I…
Ordinary folks just made a difference!
Vancouver’s development permit board have turned down Beedie Holdings Ltd.’s application to develop a site at Keefer and Columbia in Chinatown with a controversial condo project. This was an historic victory for the community — one made possible because ordinary folks like you and I organised tirelessly to make it happen. Beedie had originally proposed…
Transit justice now: Bring HandyDART home
Many of you will be unaware of the fact that TransLink’s HandyDART service is not operated by TransLink. Instead, this very important shared ride service for people with cognitive and physical disabilities is contracted out to a third party — ultimately, an American, for-profit company called MVT. (The parent company of MVT Canadian Bus Inc.,…
Three cheers for regulating campaign donations!
During the recent provincial election campaign both the NDP and the Green Party made strong commitments to electoral financial reform. Tuesday, the NDP came through with a bill that will go a long way towards creating a level playing field in that regard during provincial elections. The legislation tabled by the NDP will eliminate all…