I’ll Keep on TOC’n
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation One of the more enjoyable parts of my work routine over the past year has been the opportunity to pull together the weekly blog article for the Let’s TOC website. So, it is with some sadness that I am posting my last entry. The original [...]
Investment in Infrastructure is Canada’s Economic Health Care Program
By: Chris Lorenc, President, Manitoba Heavy Construction Association (MHCA) It is well established that sustained investment in public infrastructure brings results—enhanced economic productivity, higher competitiveness, and therefore, better rates of economic growth. And, it is this economic growth that generates revenue for governments with which to fund Canada’s globally-envied health care, education, and social safety [...]
Bridging Our Way to a Better City
By: Charlie Clark, Councillor, City of Saskatoon Many cities have nicknames. New York is the “Big Apple.” Calgary is “Cowtown.” Brandon is “Wheat City.” And Saskatoon is the “City of Bridges.” At first blush, that label seems counter-intuitive. After all, Saskatoon sits smack-dab in the middle of the western Canadian prairie. But, Saskatoon is home [...]
Field of Dreams (Part II)
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation Whenever I point to the Jets Stadium and the establishment of the Vauxhall Baseball Academy as an example of a very successful local and rural infrastructure investment that has yielded some great economic development and social dividends, the response is overwhelmingly positive. Often, it’s outright [...]
Field of Dreams (Part I)
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation I don’t know if Bob Miller ever heard a voice whispering “If you build it they will come.” Maybe. After all, Bob did much the same thing as Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella, who in the movie Field of Dreams, acted on a little voice telling [...]
Newer and Better
By: Ann Pham, Communication Coordinator, Canada West Foundation I recently returned for a visit to my old university campus. I almost didn’t recognize where I was. It’s only been two years since I graduated from the University of Calgary, but so much has changed. Buildings have sprouted in the field where my friends and I [...]
The Infrastructure Penny Tax: Can we Talk About the Real Issues Now?
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation The world unfolds in some crazy ways. In January 2011, I addressed Canada’s first national infrastructure summit in Regina. My presentation to delegates was a bit off the cuff. As part of that presentation, I tossed out the idea of a penny tax for infrastructure. [...]
Tracking the Federal Infrastructure Interest
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation The Canada West Foundation has a long history of monitoring government tax and spending trends. Buried inside my computer are several databases of federal, provincial, and municipal finance data that stretch all the way back to 1960. Some fiscal metrics go all the way back [...]
Why September’s Second Summit is so Important
By: Gord Hume, President of Hume Communications Inc., former Councillor of the City of London, ON, and author of “Cultural Planning for Creative Communities” and “Taking Back Our Cities” The second National Infrastructure Summit in Regina in mid-September is another important step for Canada, its municipalities, and private industry to confront the growing deficit in [...]
For Whom the Road Tolls
By: Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation Last week, the National Post reported on a study—from the Netherlands of all places—saying that Vancouver’s traffic is the worst in Canada. Vancouver is also the second most congested city out of 26 major centres in North America. News items like this are becoming more [...]
