The Environment: The Frustrated Business Panel Sees Kyoto as a Bad Treaty on a Good Issue, and Gives a Failing Grade to Ambrose and Dion as Ministers

Québecois as Nation Resolution in Parliament: Political Games That Won’t Affect the Quebec Economy or Future of Separatism but Reduces Respect for Politicians

Wait a Moment: Western Canada’s Initial Response to the Québecois as Nation Resolution in Parliament

Human Rights in China: Harper’s Public Diplomacy Outperforms Chretien’s Quiet Diplomacy; Excellent for Human Rights, Neutral for Business

Infrastructure and P3s: Polytechnics, Subways, Hospitals, and Waste Treatment Facilities Most Need Investment; Seniors’ Residences, Seaports, and Recreational Facilities Most Appropriate to P3’s

Wal-Mart: Great Business, Not Great Corporate Citizen Positive on More Banking Competition, Ambivalent about a Wal-Mart Bank

Flaherty’s Fairness: The Minister Surpasses for Seniors, Is Mistrusted on Trusts

U.S. Congressional Election and Canada: CanAm Relations Best Ever, Border Movement the Big Issue, Democratic Victory Might Help Canada

ICV-National Post Values Survey Part 1: Religious Liberty under Same Sex Legislation - How Much Freedom Should Clergy Have and How Far Should Parliament Protect Freedom

Seeming Seismic Shift in How to Spend the Federal Surplus: Jump in Support for Debt Paydown, Fall in Support for Provincial Transfers in Health/Education; Among Tax Cuts Benefiting the Economy, Jump in Support for Across-the-Board Personal Tax Cuts

R&D Spending by Government: Only One Instrument Works - Tax Credits; Only One Sector Merits Targeting - Environmental and Enabling Technologies; Only One Sector Deserves Grants - Universities

The Healthiest Old People in History: Retirement Aversion and Retirement Anticipation

Harper’s Spending Cuts: Widespread Applause, Highest Scores for Clean Auditor-General Report, Cuts in Cabinet Spending, and Ultra-Low Debt/GDP Ratio

Western Separation
Le Mouvement Séparatiste à l'Ouest

Greenhouse Gas Policies for Corporations: Rare and Improbable - It’s a Government Responsibility

Crises and Crisis Preparedness: Harper Scores Highly While Border Problem Perceived as Worsening and Canada’s Legal and Immigration Systems Considered Failures Firms Perceive Palpable Risks for their Operations and Appear to Be Taking First Steps to Action

Annual State of the Union Evaluation - Public Sector Unions on the Rise; Private Sector in Decline - Unions Good for Health and as Defence against Unfairness - Devastating to the Economy and Taxpayers

Report Card on Federal Economic Policy: Strong Scores on U.S. Trade Relations and GST, Middling on Home Security Spending, Poor to Failing Grades in Eight Other Areas

State of the Teaching Profession 2006 Annual Survey

Expliquer le sondage trompeur anti-Harper du Globe

Explaining the Globe’s misleading anti-Harper poll

Energy Crunch: More than Ever, North America Should Get Off Oil; Conserve, Explore, and Downplay Russia/Mexico; Ontario Should Renew Nuclear Despite Environmental and Terrorism Risk - Its Premiers Score Badly on Energy Planning

Widespread Concern about Terrorist Risks in Canada, Harper Earns Good Performance Score on Mid-East, Israeli Response to Hezbollah About Right or Too Little vs. Too Much by Close to a 2:1 Margin, Iran, Saudis Blamed for Lebanon War

It’s the U.S., Stupid - Forget WTO, and Build Bilateral Agreements

Mideast Crisis

CPP, Pension Debacles, and Defined Contribution Plans: Tie CEO Pensions to Employee Pension Changes, Ontario Wrong to Infuse Teacher Pensions without Debate, No Enthusiasm for Plowing Surpluses into CPP

Solving the "Fiscal Imbalance" - Good Idea Fraught with Inherent Conflict over the Details and a Risk of Harming the Economy; Newfoundland’s Position on Resource Income Repudiated

Canada - Rosy Prospects; Education and Skills Key to Our Competitiveness; U.S. and Democracy Key to Our Century of Outperforming Argentina

Lobbying and Political Lucre: What Gets Influence - Money, But Friendship More Effective; What Stops Corruption - Jail Time and the A-G’s Glare, Division of Opinion about Rules as the Solution

Mississauga Terror Arrests: Significant Fallout for Canada’s Security Against Attack and Immigration Policy; Marginal Impact on Can-Am Relations; Harper Scores Again

Corporate Scandals: Jail Trumps SOX and SOX-Light as Deterrent to Crime; Favour Long Prison Terms for Ken Lay, Ebbers, Kozlowski, and Rigas, but Divided Opinion about Martha; Canada Soft

Exchange Rates - Bank of Canada Should Not Raise Rates Wednesday; Ideal Loonie Is U.S. $ 0.86, But Likely Value Will Be U.S. $ .93; Rising Loonie Not Likely to Trigger Recession But Rise Appears to Have Harmed Some Businesses; Bank of Canada Governor Earns High Scores Despite Worries

Where Aboriginals Stand: Demonstrators Were Right, There Will Be More Land Ownership Demonstrations; Education and Health Spending Should Be the Priority; Not Transfer Payments, Policing, Suicide Prevention, or Housing

Corporate Giving: Widespread Agreement about Facts, Not about Obligation; Charities Admired, but Hints of Embryonic SOX-Type Backlash

Another Strong Week for Harper: High Performance Scores for Budget and Softwood Deal; Praise for Military-Security and Tax Cut Provisions and the Principle of Keeping Commitments; Concern about Budget as an Electioneering Device

Harper Aces Accountability: Present Government Seen as More Ethical Than Others, Even Somewhat More Ethical than Business

Newfoundland Oil: Newfoundlanders Hurt Most by Breakdown of Talks, Nobody the Winner, the Ghost of Churchill Falls

Dramatic Improvements in Can-Am Relations Under Harper

Ports: Near-Unanimous Unease about Security, Polarization on the Dubai Deal

Truth or Consequences for CEOs:

• When Are CEOs Most Truthful—When Speaking with Insiders or When their Firm Is Prospering
  
• What to Be Done about CEOs Who Lied When Applying—Fire Them
  What Should Be Done to Protect Firms from CEOs Who Lie on their Job Applications—Adapt Sarbanes-Oxley to Executive Recruitment

The State of Press Freedom in Canada
· Very High and Unchanged in a Decade
· Among Journalists as a Whole, the Biggest Threats - Ill-Informed Journalists and Uninterested Audiences
· Among 9% of Journalists with Fear of Firing, the Biggest Threats to Freedom—Advertisers, Senior Editors, and Owners
· Government Secrecy Volunteered as a Threat,
· But Regulatory Reprisal Rarely Seen as Impacting Press Freedom

The Offending Danish Cartoons - Most Canadian Journalists Found the Cartoons on the Web and Want Media to Carry Them; A Mix of Respect and Fear Explains Non-Publication; Non-Publication Plays into the Hands of Muslim Extremists

Honeymoon with a Hiccup: Harper Earns High Scores Except Mainly for Emerson

Fairmont and HBC Sales: Loss of Icons and Heritage or Ordinary Transactions

What Should Harper Prioritize: Taxes, Crime, and Can-Am Relations, Not Bank Mergers or Childcare Allowance

Cues to Harper’s Longevity

Expectations of a Potential Harper Government

Canada’s Entrepreneurial Culture and Its Challenges

Public Opinion on Healthcare: Widespread Support for Medical Choice/2-Tier in the Wake of Supreme Court Decision

Trade - Opposition to Agricultural Protectionism along with Some Concern about Imports and Public Health

Increased Concern about Can-Am Relations: Martin’s Criticism of the U.S. More Serious Barrier to the Relationship than U.S. Ambassador’s Criticism