Troy Media

Nancy Pelosi’s two dilemmas

- Robert Taylor, Founding Partner, Energy Futures Network During her September visit to Canada to discuss the ongoing development of Canada’s oil sands, U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi reportedly said that she is "not keen on fossil fuels", which can only lead one to believe that America has a ready and preferable alternative.

Afghan women doomed if foreign troops leave

By Lauryn Oates, Projects Director, Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan This week, the now well-known ousted Afghan MP Malalai Joya will kick off her latest speaking tour of Canada. Joya's message is that Canada is part of a hostile occupying force in her country. As Joya and her antiwar sponsors disseminate that message, it will be important to seek out the views of other Afghan women who live in Afghanistan and fight for reforms there. As the "troops out" organization, Code Pink, learned last year when it met with women leaders in Kabul, most have no interest in seeing NATO's departure any time soon. These women want peace and they know a premature exit by international forces will not lead to the end of violence, but will swiftly usher in more repression, particularly for women.

The darker side of multiculturalism

Doug Firby, Managing Editor, Troy Media When the Liberal government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau made Canada the first country in the world to officially embrace multiculturalism in the early 1970s, it’s a safe bet those politicians did not foresee the security and gender equality problems western democracies are vexed with today.

Canada’s economic outlook for 2011

Dr. Roslyn Kunin, BC Business Columnist, Troy Media It’s that time of year again. As we move into the final quarter of 2010, crystal balls are being dusted off to give us an early glimpse of what 2011 will hold. Prognosticators have good reason to be apprehensive as they prepare their forecasts. If we look back to the beginning of the last recession, we find that most forecasts made then were off the mark, usually because they were far too pessimistic.

No ‘evidence’ gun registry works

- Herbert Grubel, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute In 1994, when Liberal Justice Minister Allan Rock introduced legislation for the long gun registry, I sat a few feet from him in the House of Commons, serving as a member of the Reform Party caucus. Before Question Period one day, I asked him privately for information to assess the merit of the bill. He promised he would provide it to me but never did. Nor was it produced or considered in the public debates the preceded the vote in Parliament that enacted the gun registry.

Cuba moving toward economic freedom?

- Mark Milke, Director, Alberta Prosperity Project, Fraser Institute In Fidel Castro's recent interview with Atlantic magazine columnist Jeffrey Goldberg and in response to the question, "Is the Cuban economic model still worth exporting?", the retired dictator made this admission: "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us any more."

BC lumber optimism grows because of new markets and products

Dr. Roslyn Kunin, BC Business Columnist, Troy Media It used to be so easy. All you had to do was look at housing start numbers for the US. That determined the health of the forest industry in British Columbia and, to a large extent, the state of the whole BC economy. This was when the woods sector had one dominant market, US home builders, and one prominent product, dimension lumber – of course in US dimensions. And it was the dominant player in BC’s economy.

Cable and cell phone companies are finding a new way to fund the news

Terry Field, Media Columnist, Troy Media The proposed purchase of CTVglobemedia by telecommunications giant BCE (Bell Canada Enterprises) is another signal that the media world as we have known it is passing away, and is being replaced by something more dynamic and diverse.

Time for oil industry to take a stand

Gwyn Morgan, Columnist, Troy Media What do the seal harvesters of Atlantic Canada have in common with workers in Alberta's oil sands? Both are targets of sustained attacks aimed at the demise of their livelihood. And in both cases, the main strategy of attackers is to eliminate the market.

Quebec turned its back on leading health care reform in Canada

By Mark Rovere, Associate Director, Health Policy Research Centre, Fraser Institute The Quebec government had the opportunity to be the first province to enact meaningful reform in health care, but instead it got cold feet.

Subsidizing arenas has zero benefit for economy

By Mark Milke Director – Alberta Prosperity Project, and Niels Veldhuis, Director – Fiscal Studies Fraser Institute CALGARY, AB, and VANCOUVER, BC, Given the federal government's past, present and projected future red ink, Canadians could be forgiven for thinking Ottawa might prefer to pinch pennies rather than dole out hundreds of millions more in corporate welfare, this time to the most undeserving recipients of all, pro-sport franchises, most owned by billionaires.

Global recovery hinges on U.S. fiscal restraint

WASHINGTON, D.C., Economists are concerned that fiscal policies in the United States producing an ever-growing debt atop high unemployment levels will make it impossible for Canadian and European economies to recover from the recession.

The OECD’s (mis)leading indicators

By Dr. Roslyn Kunin, BC Business Columnist, Troy Media Is the world economy headed into another downturn? Will Canada be dragged down with it? A quick glance at the composite leading indicators (CLI) released this month by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) might lead one to think so, but this would be wrong.

Economy is in angels’ hands: economists don’t have a clue

By Todd Hirsch, Alberta Business Columnist, Troy Media Back in the ‘90s, Canadian songstresses Jane Siberry and k.d. Lang sang a hauntingly beautiful duet about the beauty and pain of life, and all its unanswerable questions. “Calling all angels, walk me through this one, don’t leave me alone. Calling all angels: we’re trying, we’re hoping . . . but we’re not sure how this goes.”

Cut-rate tuition is a bad deal for taxpayers

Ben Eisen, Policy Analyst, Frontier Centre for Public Policy Not all university students are created equal. While all of them may share the same fear of final exams, they don’t all share the same fear of the tuition bills they are paying.

Naming “honour killings” necessary to prevent further violence against women

By Richelle Wiseman, Executive Director, Centre for Faith and the Media The death of 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez in 2007 was neither the first nor last honour killing in Canada. But details of her murder are better known than most. The statement of facts agreed to by the Crown and defense in the prosecution of Aqsa’s killers make it clear her father and brother strangled her because they thought she had brought shame to the family. To re-establish family “honour,” Aqsa had to die.

Eco-terrorism, multibillion-dollar market for organized crime

By Peter C Glover, International Correspondent, Troy Media LONDON, UK - Eco-terrorism is not only on the rise, it’s also branching out.

Canadians ready for a change to health-care system

By Gwyn Morgan, Columnist, Troy Media "Will governments have the cash to meet the needs of our aging population without increasing debt to unsustainable levels?" This question, posed by Auditor-General Sheila Fraser to delegates at last month's general meeting of the Canadian Medical Association, is extremely important.

Fatal downside of medical tourism

By Catherine Ford, Columnist, Troy Media Medical tourism is one of those benign phrases that conjures up happy thoughts of a little liposuction while lolling about on a beach in some exotic port.

Gun registry issue falls victim to inane political debate

By Catherine Ford, Columnist, Troy Media Canada’s federal government is tough on crime but soft on guns. It’s a case of being hard-nosed, but softheaded. How this is being played out leads one to believe irony is not Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s strong suit.