Now that Greyhound is threatening to remove routes from northern Ontario, Saskatchewan’s NDP has suggested that Saskatchewan Transportation Company should take over some of the bus routes. At least they are only talking about potentially profitable rou…

A poverty “shoe-down” at the Manitoba Legislature Jan. 4, 2013: Demonstrators calling for an increase in rental rates for income assistance recipients, left dozens of pairs of shoes on the steps of the Manitoba Legislature. Photo: Paul S. G…

Mulcair needs seats in Saskatchewan and Manitoba if he wants to win an election. Here’s the plan to do it

The CBC News is reporting that Gavin van der Linde, the mayor of Morris, a southern Manitoba town, is “furious over what he calls racist comments about aboriginal people in the latest edition of the community newspaper”. The editorial of th…

Canada’s third largest freshwater lake in serious trouble by Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive, Feb. 4, 2013: A report by a Germany-based international environmental foundation is reminding Canadians of the consequences of neglecting the …

Manitoba is set to invest record levels of funds on road infrastructure in 2013, the government says.

The post Manitoba Invests $194 Billion in Roads appeared first on DesignBuild Source Canada.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

For the group, Youth for Lakes, this was the beginning of a 2000 kilometre trek to Parliament Hill in Ottawa that will take them an…

This summer I had the opportunity to travel to the mecca of arctic adventures. Churchill, Manitoba – home of the polar bears, the belugas, tundra buggy’s, zodiac adventures, and some of the friendliest Canadians you’ll come to meet. In this small town of less than 1000 people, travellers from all over the world board VIA [...]

8 Reasons I Can’t Get Churchill Off My Mind is a post from: I Backpack Canada

New post. Mommy Moment is owned by Jody Arsenault, from Manitoba, Canada.

It’s not just me, so many people (especially in Manitoba) are ready to say goodbye to winter. Dear Summer, please come for a visit. I miss the sunshine. I need the sunshine. Anyone else want to welcome Summer to come for a visit? (A LONG visit)

The post Dear Summer… appeared first on Mommy Moment.

When a new hostel opens up in Canada, particularly those in unique or new settings, I can’t help but get excited. In the small town of Churchill, Manitoba, home of the polar bears, belugas, and all things arctic adventure related, the Tundra House Hostel opened its doors to eager backpackers and budget travellers from all [...]

See Churchill on the Cheap with Tundra House Hostel is a post from: I Backpack Canada

The Atikokan Progress reports that Youth 4 Lakes is a group of about a dozen Treaty 3 Indigenous youth ages 13 to 36 from Manitoba and Kenora who embarked on March 28 on a 2,100 kilometre walk from Winnipeg to Parliament Hill. They have been ave…

Vernon, BC black metal band XUL have unveiled the dates of their upcoming cross-Canada tour. The band is currently offering a free stream of their 2012 debut album Malignance, give it a listen here. It’s also available for PWYC. They’re currently worki…

In the 1970s two locations around Winnipeg were chosen for a social assistance experiment. Everyone was provided with a living income regardless of who they were for a period of four years. Evelyn Forget has studied the results. Forget is a professor o…

Greyhound is cutting service in Manitoba and northern Ontario, a move the federal government says is designed to “shake down” taxpayers. Fortunately they don’t seem too eager to give into intimidation from the Texas-based bus company and hand out subsi…

Taxing high earners wouldn’t have filled provincial coffers, writes Kevin Milligan

Can’t get enough of the discussion around harmonizing provincial sales taxes? Here are a few reports for your bedtime reading…1) 2001 University of New Brunswick – The Effect of the Harmonized Sales Tax on Consumer Prices in Atlantic Canada2) 2005 Mo…

From The Canadian Press: “WINNIPEG — The fur is set to fly in Manitoba over whether landlords should be forced to accept tenants with pets.

“Since the end of January, more than 2,500 people have signed up on a Facebook page to support Gerrard’s bill, which was tabled at the end of the legislature’s fall sitting. Groups such as the Winnipeg Humane Society have joined the battle and are calling on the NDP government to pass the bill.”

For me, this is great news. I live with a cat, and I can tell you that Ontario has had a ban on “no pets” policies for many years, and it hasn’t pushed landlords out of business. I lived in Ontario for several years, and I can tell you the system isn’t collapsing due to a ban on no-pets policies.

I would expect the governing NDP, a nominally social democratic party, to be on the side of the property-less over the property owners in a case like this. Here’s a chance for social democrats to show their superior capacity for compassion, right?

Sadly, no.

“‘It is hoped that the damage deposit provision … will encourage more landlords to welcome tenants with pets,’ Rachel Morgan, press secretary to Family Services Minister Gord Mackintosh, wrote in an email.”

Oh, yes. That idea. Pet damage deposits. An idea lifted from British Columbia’s right-wing government, without any evidence that it has succeeded in producing more pet-friendly accommodations for renters.

Brilliant play, that.

“Gerrard is hopeful, however, that the government may change its mind, especially in the face of public pressure.”

Good luck with that. The current premier is the guy who pushed the damage-deposit policy through (when he was finance minister) despite the extra burden it will mean to pet owners, and despite the utter lack of evidence that it’s an effective policy in any way. He considered the landlords’ viewpoints, paid no attention to any arguments against the policy, and gave the landlords a gift like any good friend of the powerful would.

It’s not too late for the NDP to show that it cares, but I won’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen.