by David Frisch | Mar 23, 2015 | Blog, News
By 11:41am on January 2, the first official working day of the year, Canada’s top 100 CEOs have already pocketed $47,358 — what it takes most Canadians an entire year, working full-time, to earn.* By the end of 2013, Canada’s top 100 CEOs had pocketed an average of $9.2 million. At this rate, Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs make 195 times more than the average Canadian worker—and 237 times the average Canadian woman. Keep an eye on our pay clock to keep track of who’s making what, and find out more in our report, Glory Days: CEO pay in Canada soaring to pre-recession heights. The report includes a list of Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs. *Based on 2013 CEO compensation data and the 2013 average Canadian wage. Amount displayed based on your current time zone. January 2, 2015 Interactive Tools Offices: National Office Issue: Employment and labour – Inequality and poverty – Women’s equality Projects: Growing Gap - See more at:...
by David Frisch | Feb 23, 2015 | Blog, News
Now that I’ve been acting as a Courtenay Councillor (hopefully with increasing competency!) for close to three months, people often ask me, “is the job what you expected?” I’ll tell you what I tell them all, “it’s better!” It appears to me that Courtenay has a council and staff that are capable of, and motivated to, make great changes for the long term benefit of the city. I am impressed with how council is making wise decisions based on facts and with a focus on the future. And it’s high time, too! We need to consider the needs of our retirees, but also of great importance, we need to consider the needs of our young people and future generations. This requires a more creative approach to resource management and infrastructure investments. It also means that we must start living like social justice, environmental sustainability, and financial responsibility are inextricably connected. This is the job that I was running for, and I’m happy to report that I am joined by others that are equally motivated. Thanks for your support, now let’s get to work. Here’s a video that speaks to my...
by David Frisch | Feb 6, 2015 | Blog, News
We were sitting on drywall buckets, back in 2006, eating our lunch in one of the dusty condominium units under construction. My tile-setting coworker and I covered a lot of territory on lunch break discussions; lots of shop talk, pastime stuff, money, and of course the politics of relationships; but on this day we asked, “Why doesn’t anyone talk about global warming?” Our vexation stemmed from just a few basic facts: Firstly, we learned about human caused global warming in grade 10 geography, so it seemed like nothing new (in fact, the idea has been around since the 1930’s and gained scientific attention in the 1970’s). Secondly, at that time, as we ate our lunch, an overwhelming majority of the world’s scientists agreed that global warming could be attributed to humans burning fossil fuels. And lastly, it was widely reported that the effects of global warming were, and would continue, causing considerable difficulties and costs to citizens everywhere. So, it really seemed obvious that actions should be taken. Through our discussions, what we came to believe was that we as a society seemed to be like frogs in boiling water (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog). Well, as the wiki suggests, I now believe we were wrong. Since my election in November I have witnessed how the actions of voters have created local governments around North America that are willing to take real steps to mitigate global warming aka climate change. And not only have we started dialogue about the cost of global warming and environmental degradation, but we have a mayor and council that is willing to examine the status quo. We have open...
by David Frisch | Jan 28, 2015 | Blog, News
As the City of Courtenay works to create it’s first Asset Management Plan, I am encouraged to learn that it will allow all of us to better plan for a sustainable future. I think this plan will give us a better understanding of the true cost of our roads, sewer, water, and hopefully natural assets, like watersheds, estuary, and other ecosystems, that make our valley so great! The Town of Gibson has gone so far as to include natural assets (albeit not yet as a dollar figure) in their financial statements – http://www.gibsons.ca/eco-assets. What will we do?...
by David Frisch | Dec 9, 2014 | Blog, News
Posted Dec 3, 2014 at 12:00 PM – Scott Stanfield (Record Staff) Mayor Larry Jangula and the six recently elected members of Courtenay council were sworn-in at the inaugural meeting Monday. Jangula, along with Couns. Manno Theos, Bob Wells and Erik Eriksson, will represent the city on the Comox Valley Regional District board. Jangula had sat on the CVRD board before being elected mayor in 2011 while Theos was a district director last term. Eriksson has previously sat on Courtenay and Tahsis councils. Couns. David Frisch, Doug Hillian and Rebecca Lennox are alternate district directors. Though council agreed unanimously on Jangula’s recommended appointments, Hillian thought Frisch should be worthy of a seat at the district table, considering the first-time councillor topped the polls by more than 600 votes at the Nov. 15 election. “The democratic will of the people, to a certain extent, is not being reflected in the appointments,” Hillian said. “To me, that’s an issue.” He also noted the added pressures on Jangula’s already demanding schedule as mayor. As opposed to a recommended two-year appointment to the CVRD, Hillian suggested a one-year term would provide opportunity for a review period. “I think, given that it’s a new term, there’s some uncertainties involved. I’d be happy to support the appointments on the basis of that amendment.” Theos noted a steep learning curve at the CVRD, which is “run very differently” from Courtenay council. Since council is now a four-year term, he favours a two-year appointment where directors can “move forward, get their feet wet and be productive” as CVRD board members. “It’s a very difficult mandate,” said Jangula,...
