Opinions
Do your part to take the community to a better future
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 27th, 2017
With municipal elections less than three weeks away, the campaign is in full fervour as candidates go out and make their pitches to voters. Some of these candidates simply bring with them a desire to serve, others see these elections ambitiously as a means to enter the power structure of our city and influence the ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!The loudest voices against tax reform are not neutral
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 25th, 2017
Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s proposals for tightening tax breaks associated with private companies is generating several kinds of response on social media and in mainstream media. The most evident is an impressive deluge of evidence-free rhetoric claiming that the proposals are an attack on everything from the middle class to maternity leave for female ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Guest Column: Tax system fairness should be the government’s end goal
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 23rd, 2017
“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.” — Donald Rumsfeld Sometimes the most knowledgeable person in a room ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Alberta could follow other provinces’ leads in setting rules for pot sales
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 23rd, 2017
With the nation-wide legalization of recreational marijuana coming up in July 2018, the clock is ticking for Alberta to put in place its own set of regulations. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is essentially legalizing weed while dumping the logistics of its distribution on the provinces. If anything goes wrong, he can blame the provincial governments ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!MLA Report: Investments, not corporate welfare
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 22nd, 2017
I don’t believe a $23 million infrastructure investment split between the federal and provincial governments to help facilitate the building of a $360-million potato-processing facility is, “corporate welfare.” What I do believe is such an investment such as that made to develop the Cavendish Farms facility is just that — an investment. An investment that ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Transit at forefront of 2017 municipal election campaign
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 21st, 2017
Monday night’s decision by city council to reverse course on transit changes may have also short-circuited campaigns of half those seeking seats next month. Or did it? Depending on the viewpoint of individual voters, it hurts some and helps others, but who and how much remain to be seen. Council voted 6-3 on Monday to ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Guest Column: The political necessity of Morneau’s tax reform plan
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 20th, 2017
Justin Trudeau’s agenda has stalled. On issues ranging from peacekeeping to climate change, the prime minister’s Liberal government is treading water. It needs to show it can get more done. Hence the government’s stubborn insistence on pushing ahead with Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s modest — albeit controversial — tax reform plans. In the first months ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Fair Entry program misses the mark
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 19th, 2017
Imagine if the Esplanade was built without wheelchair accessibility. Because let’s face it, that sort of design costs extra money, and only a few people out of the city’s whole population require that sort of assistance to access the site. After the fact, the city announces they have a plan. If you have a disability ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!How can NDP, under a new leader, make its biggest impact?
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 16th, 2017
With the vote for the national NDP leadership beginning Monday, now is an appropriate time to reflect on how the party can make its biggest impact on the federal scene. It must be recalled that the party lost its Official Opposition status largely by allowing the Liberals to outflank them on the left. Then-leader Thomas ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!MLA Report: Summertime coffee talk centres on required solutions for Alberta’s future
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 15th, 2017
Jerry Seinfeld said something like “this coffee thing is getting so crazy, we are stopping for coffee on our way for coffee.” I mention that because I love how Cypress-Medicine Hatters drink large amounts and I just had the summer to drink many cups with friends and constituents. Almost everyone mentioned their concern for our ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Candidates must answer the transit riddle
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 14th, 2017
One month after new transit routes were unveiled and one week after they were redrawn, the issue is threatening to become quicksand ahead of a municipal election. Seemingly simple on the surface, there appears to be depth to the controversy beyond bus stop locations. Whether the changes are good or bad, right or wrong, those ... Read More »
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