Posts by Keith Reynolds

About Keith Reynolds

Keith Reynolds is the former National Research Representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees. He has done policy work for all three levels of government. His areas of expertise include privatization, P3s, and municipal government and finance. Follow Keith on Twitter

Will proposed new Senators be an aristocracy of the distinguished?

Nov 2, 2015

By Keith Reynolds

Ruth Ellen Brosseau is a Member of Parliament against the odds. A single mother and the assistant manager of a pub, she was elected in 2011, as Wikipedia describes her, as a “paper candidate” because the NDP had no viable nominee in the riding.” But here’s the thing. She worked hard, she impressed her constituents… View Article

The diminishing of access to government information – and some things to do about it

Sep 1, 2015

By Keith Reynolds

Freedom of Information legislation (FOI), or Access to Information (ATI) as it is known at the federal level in Canada, was a pretty important addition to government accountability when it became law in jurisdictions across Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada described freedom of information legislation as a pillar of our democracy that provides citizens… View Article

BC Muni’s issue verdict on local government Auditor: They are polite but stupid

Aug 12, 2015

By Keith Reynolds

After more than three years of existence, chronic controversy and underperformance from British Columbia’s Auditor General for Local Government (AGLG), the Union of BC Municipalities has issued its own verdict on the office. The office of the AGLG was created in 2012 following up on a promise by Christy Clark to the business community when… View Article

TransLink boss salary of $319,244+? Peanuts

Aug 5, 2015

By Keith Reynolds

Lately, there has been quite a fuss about how much the top people at TransLink get paid to provide road and transit services in BC’s lower mainland. The Huffington Post describes the salary for a potential new Chief Executive Officer as “eye popping.” The job advertisement describes “a salary of $319,244 plus an annual bonus… View Article

Legislative changes likely to reduce further the independence of the Auditor General for Local Government

Jun 29, 2015

By Keith Reynolds

Earlier this month British Columbians saw one more chapter unfold in the ongoing saga of the Auditor General for Local Government. The provincial government released the report on the AGLG’s office by a former Deputy Minister Chris Trumpy. Trumpy and his report had been the source of earlier controversy which cost the first AGLG, Basia… View Article

Fire the Auditor General for Local Government? It’ll cost us

Mar 29, 2015

By Keith Reynolds

When BC Community Minister Coralee Oakes fired the Auditor General for Local Government (AGLG) last week the issue that had been in the news was the performance of her office. However, AGLG Basia Ruta has now taken the matter to the courts and the issue there is likely to be the independence of her office. … View Article

BC Budget 2015 snapshot: More revenue from MSP, tuition, but less money for public services

Feb 25, 2015

By Keith Reynolds

One way to measure a government’s commitment to public services is to see what percentage of the province’s wealth (GDP) the government spends on these services. According to government plans outlined in the Budget Documents: Health care spending will fall from 7.9% of GDP in 2012/13 to 7.5% in 2017/18. Education spending falls from 5.6%… View Article

13 years on, BC Finance Ministry finds big problems with its public private partnership program

Jan 7, 2015

By Keith Reynolds

The BC Finance Ministry has produced a report much more critical of Partnerships BC and its activities around public private partnerships (P3s) than might have been expected by a province so committed to the practice. It raises issues of conflict of interest, dubious practices and questionable assumptions in the multi- billion dollar program. The story… View Article

Ontario Auditor breaks new ground with review of public private partnerships methodology: BC Auditor says maybe, sometime

Jan 5, 2015

By Keith Reynolds

Last month Ontario’s Auditor General issued her annual report. One of her targets was Ontario’s use of public private partnerships to build public infrastructure. As the Toronto Star put it, “Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk has taken a wrecking ball to the (Ontario) Liberals’ use of private money to bankroll new hospitals and transit…” Lysyk’s report… View Article

New BC Auditor General report finds public private partnerships double the cost of borrowing

Oct 30, 2014

By Keith Reynolds

British Columbia’s new Auditor General, Carol Bellringer, published her annual report on government’s 2013-14 summary financial statements today and it contains some pretty interesting highlights. First of all, and for the first time, the AG has published a comparison of how much it costs the government to undertake projects on its own compared to using… View Article

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A progressive take on BC issues

A progressive take on BC issues

Posts by Keith Reynolds

About Keith Reynolds

Will proposed new Senators be an aristocracy of the distinguished?

The diminishing of access to government information – and some things to do about it

BC Muni’s issue verdict on local government Auditor: They are polite but stupid

TransLink boss salary of $319,244+? Peanuts

Legislative changes likely to reduce further the independence of the Auditor General for Local Government

Fire the Auditor General for Local Government? It’ll cost us

BC Budget 2015 snapshot: More revenue from MSP, tuition, but less money for public services

13 years on, BC Finance Ministry finds big problems with its public private partnership program

Ontario Auditor breaks new ground with review of public private partnerships methodology: BC Auditor says maybe, sometime

New BC Auditor General report finds public private partnerships double the cost of borrowing