BI in the News

In cutting federal deficit, Harper covers his ears

John Ibbitson / Globe and Mail

Was it wrong for the Harper government to balance the budget this year? That depends on whether we have become as conservative as the Prime Minister thinks we are.

The government promised to eliminate the federal deficit by 2015 and it has, although it took a bit of fiscal legerdemain. But in the opinion of many respected economists, a balanced budget is a mistake.

Growth is sluggish. Interest rates are at historic...

Report disputes Harper’s record on jobs

Dana Flavelle / Toronto Star

Unemployment is higher, job quality is mixed and there is evidence pay inequality has increased under the Harper government, according to a report to be published Wednesday.

While the economy has created more jobs since the Great Recession of 2008, unemployment is still higher than it was in 2006 when the Harper government came to office, the report for the Broadbent Institute found.

“That hasn’t stopped Stephen Harper and...

Tax-free savings plan contribution limit to double, Oliver suggests

Les Whittington / Toronto Star

OTTAWA—A confidential letter from Finance Minister Joe Oliver all but confirms that his April 21 budget will double the contribution limit for the government’s popular tax-free savings vehicle.

The current limit for cash going into a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is $5,500 a year, and Oliver...

Courting young, progressive voters

David McGrane / Winnipeg Free Press

Several studies have established that young Canadians have lower rates of voting compared with older Canadians. But little research has looked at the question: Do young Canadians display different political attitudes than older Canadians?

I recently authored a study published by the Broadbent Institute that analyzed a data set of 8,121 Canadians, compiled using polling done after each provincial election held since 2011. The...

Like Manning, Broadbent finds new life as thought leader

L. Ian MacDonald / iPolitics

Ed Broadbent on the left, as Preston Manning has on the right, has not only re-invented himself as a thought leader, he too has created a think tank that is a valuable source of ideas and public discourse.

The annual Broadbent Institute and Manning Centre conferences have become two of the most important events on the Ottawa calendar, tents where political soulmates can gather. Both conferences are notable for networking in the hallways,...

Progressives united, but who gets their vote?

Tim Harper / Toronto Star

The good news for the body politic in this country is that it is now flying on two wings.

The left side of the political brain has caught up to the right of the political brain and it only took a couple of years.

But realpolitik hovered as workers, thinkers and activists of the left gathered here on the weekend at the Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit.

It had been only a couple of weeks since a group of workers,...

Progressives must be ready to change Conservative ideas, NDP stalwart says

Joanna Smith / Toronto Star

OTTAWA—New Democrats and their like-minded friends must be more than anti-Conservative if they want to lead Canada in a new direction, says former party leader Ed Broadbent.

“We need to defeat bad Conservative ideas, but we also need to ensure that it is progressive ideas and policies that take their place,” Broadbent said in an advance copy of a speech he will deliver to open...

At last, encouraging news about democracy: Delacourt

Susan Delacourt / Toronto Star

Is it possible for Canadians to hate politics but still believe in government?

Two different report cards have been issued this week on Canadian democracy. One, from the Samara organization and a subsequent CBC debate, found that our politics are dismally “broken.”

...

Ed Broadbent On Bill C-51: 'Never Thought I'd See The Day' Liberals Won't Defend Charter

Ryan Maloney / Huffington Post

The elder statesman of the federal New Democrats says he cannot believe that the party of Pierre Trudeau will back Bill C-51, the Tory government’s controversial anti-terror legislation.

Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent made the remarks Friday in a speech kicking off a two-day conference organized by the Broadbent Institute, a left-wing think tank.

Broadbent's speech was largely critical of the Conservative government’s economic...

Anti-terror bill threatens Charter rights, Ed Broadbent warns

Mark Kennedy / Ottawa Citizen

The federal Conservative government is jeopardizing the civil rights of Canadians through its anti-terrorism legislation and has sat idly by as a wealth gap makes this a “vastly unequal country,” says former NDP leader Ed Broadbent.

Moreover, he says that as Canadian voters prepare for a federal election this year, they must consider replacing Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Tories after nearly a decade in power.

Broadbent says...

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