Does the British Columbia Washington Border Region Coalition have a purpose? As is the case of the Washington British Columbia Border Region Coalition, it is encouraging when good people get involved and pursue tax transfers from government with purpose to better the social, economic and ecological conditions in the community in which they live. It is good when government grants such tax transfers to different interest groups for purposes that meet the standard for government intervention in the allocation and pricing mechanism — the allocation of resources into economic production of product and services in the economy. The problem is when government fails in its monitoring and intervening task, and tax transfers and government intervention does not meet the standard.

Abolishing the Working Opportunity fund 10-year monopoly, a good move. The Provincial Government of British Columbia is abolishing the Working Opportunity Fund 10-year monopoly to manage labour-sponsored funds in the province. That is a positive change, long overdue. The Working Opportunity Fund model does not meet the standards expected from a modem democratic mixed economy. It is also good democracy that the members, taxpayers and government has asked the provincial auditor-general to investigate whether there was undue political involvement in the operation of the Working Opportunity Fund. In that respect, the auditor-general should be busy looking into many past government intervention and deals. Who benefited and who lost? Where did the money go in projects such as the Fast Ferry

Can a ‘conventional fiscal policy approach’ and ‘tax cuts’ solve the strategic issues facing British Columbia in today’s open economic conditions? Previous BC governments failed to detect strategic issues and problems in the allocation and pricing mechanism that regulates the liquidity and money flow in our economy. That includes issues relating to federal tax transfer and intervention in the regional and local economy. Subsequently, they also failed to intervene appropriately before those issues caused adversity and irreparable harm to the community. In good democratic order, the voters reacted and gave the BC Liberals an explicit mandate to reorganize the government’s policies and institutions and to solve the issues that hamper investment in economic production and jobs. Canada and BC’s economy

Our Constitution Needs to Assure Government Accountability Reflecting on failures in the Fisheries, Forests, Health Care, Fast-Ferries, First Nation’s land claims, and with Human Resource Development Canada, etc. – there appears to be a need for more government accountability. Perhaps we need an amendment to our constitution? BC and Canada are not central planned autocratic ruled economies. Both are democratic parliamentary governed, mixed economic systems. In such systems, quality of life and social satisfaction entirely depend on two interrelated fundamentals: 1) a competitive private business and industrial sector that combines resources into economic production – – distributing wealth and securing the tax base and social satisfaction through (better paid) employment, 2) a government sector that monitors and detects issues in

British Columbia’s forest policies – a failing of democracy? Will US countervailing duties restore democracy? An OISD commentary; inviting discussion and participation to build a better community. Canada is not a planned economic system such as the former Soviet Union. Canada is a democratic governed mixed economy. In our system, quality of life and political stability depends on private investment from within and abroad into economic production in businesses that distribute real income and tax in the community via employment. The government’s task in this system is to provide such products and services the private sector fails, or is unable, to provide. One such fundamental government responsibility is to monitor the allocation mechanism that distributes wealth in the community and

Misunderstanding continues over Prime Minister Chretien’s comments on who is at fault for the actions of bullies and terrorists and whether the US and its allies should encroach upon Iraq without UN sanctions. With comments connecting the affluence of Western nations to terrorism, P.M. Chretien triggered a flood of debate over what he actually meant. Thank goodness there are those who, rather than political grandstanding and personally attacking the PM, are more interested in debating and addressing the causes of terrorism. The PM has been criticized for a CBC interview in which he linked the cause of terrorism to adverse socioeconomic and political conditions, and for blaming the developed countries such as US and Canada for failing to do something