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Issues & Experts Archive > Week of June 9 – 16, 2003
Week of June 9 – 16, 2003
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Jun 10, 2003
A new road toward peace in the Middle East…Israel’s army has begun dismantling settler outposts on the West Bank, as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon moved to meet one condition of the so-called ‘road map’ peace plan, the historic accord between the Israelis and Palestinians announced last week. Meanwhile a new poll has revealed that nearly 60 per cent of Israelis think that giving up the settlements is worth doing if it brings about peace. The dismantling comes in the wake of the killing of five Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip by Palestinian terrorists on the weekend. SFU historian and Middle East expert William Cleveland can assess the new plan, its potential for success and the events triggered since its announcement.
The right stuff…A provincial election is still a few years away, but an unexpected move has the NDP looking for the person with the right stuff to lead the party into the next election. Interim NDP leader Joy MacPhail announced she’s not seeking the leadership and is getting out of politics. SFU political scientist Patrick Smith doesn’t think the potential candidates lining up so far to take over the NDP helm stand much of a chance. He predicts candidates such as Bruce Ralston and Bill Tielman would become no more than sacrificial lambs, as they don’t have the political standing and history of a Svend Robinson, Libby Davies or a Nelson Riis. Smith says the NDP would stand a better chance against the Liberals with one of those candidates. Smith can also comment on the ghosts likely to haunt a new NDP leader in any way tied to former NDP premier Glen Clark’s downfall.
A fine financial pickle…In response to the first comprehensive review of the provincial government’s new welfare rules, SFU economist Krishna Pendakur feels the condemnation is fair. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ (CCPA) review says the Liberal package is "radical and unprecedented, and will cause unacceptable hardship and upheaval in communities across BC." Pendakur agrees with the CCPA’s assessment that the new welfare rules amount to "taking away resources from those who have the least to finance tax cuts for those who have the most." However, due to the financial pickle the government has created for itself, it has little room to move. Pendakur calculates that "undoing the income tax cut would reclaim about $2 billion in revenue, but undoing the MSP tax increase and the sales tax would cut the government’s new revenue by three quarters of a billion dollars." Pendakur can also offer thoughts on the CCPA’s analysis of the government’s new time limits on welfare benefits and the elimination of earnings exemptions.
- William Cleveland, 604.921.7379 (h); cleveland@sfu.ca
The right stuff…A provincial election is still a few years away, but an unexpected move has the NDP looking for the person with the right stuff to lead the party into the next election. Interim NDP leader Joy MacPhail announced she’s not seeking the leadership and is getting out of politics. SFU political scientist Patrick Smith doesn’t think the potential candidates lining up so far to take over the NDP helm stand much of a chance. He predicts candidates such as Bruce Ralston and Bill Tielman would become no more than sacrificial lambs, as they don’t have the political standing and history of a Svend Robinson, Libby Davies or a Nelson Riis. Smith says the NDP would stand a better chance against the Liberals with one of those candidates. Smith can also comment on the ghosts likely to haunt a new NDP leader in any way tied to former NDP premier Glen Clark’s downfall.
- Patrick Smith, 604.291.3088, patrick_smith@sfu.ca (available until June 12)
A fine financial pickle…In response to the first comprehensive review of the provincial government’s new welfare rules, SFU economist Krishna Pendakur feels the condemnation is fair. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ (CCPA) review says the Liberal package is "radical and unprecedented, and will cause unacceptable hardship and upheaval in communities across BC." Pendakur agrees with the CCPA’s assessment that the new welfare rules amount to "taking away resources from those who have the least to finance tax cuts for those who have the most." However, due to the financial pickle the government has created for itself, it has little room to move. Pendakur calculates that "undoing the income tax cut would reclaim about $2 billion in revenue, but undoing the MSP tax increase and the sales tax would cut the government’s new revenue by three quarters of a billion dollars." Pendakur can also offer thoughts on the CCPA’s analysis of the government’s new time limits on welfare benefits and the elimination of earnings exemptions.
- Krishna Pendakur, 604.291.5501, pendakur@sfu.ca (unavailable June 11-17)