Hon. Gail Shea

Minister of National Revenue and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Our government is taking action to ensure that our tax laws are respected, while simultaneously working at home and abroad to ensure that our tax system meets Canadians' expectations of fairness and transparency. We are supporting international talks to better share information and working to close loopholes.

Robert Scheer

Editor, Truthdig.com; Author, 'The Great American Stickup'

For defense contractors, the government officials who write them mega checks, and the hawks in the media who cheer them on, the name of the game is threat inflation. And no one has been better at it than the folks at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Dedrick Muhammad

Senior Director of Economic Programs, NAACP

Black unemployment is still double the national rate, and research has shown that, even when controlled for factors like education and experience, Black job seekers still face hiring discrimination.

Leo Hindery, Jr.

Chairman, U.S. Economy/Smart Globalization Initiative at the New America Foundation

Never has there been a bigger "Scr__ You" to American workers and manufacturing than tax-avoider Apple's tag line on all of its national advertising: "Designed by Apple in California"

Paul Dewar

NDP MP, Ottawa Centre, Opposition Foreign Affairs Critic

Stephen Harper's decision to protect those who use international tax havens to evade paying their taxes is inexplicable and unacceptable. Canadian companies should be good global citizens paying their fair share of taxes in countries where they operate, not hiding behind tax shelters and shell companies. After all, tax evasion is hurting the Canadian economy as well -- one estimate puts the cost at $7.8 billion per year, or slightly more than the amount the government will spend on infrastructure in First Nations communities over the next decade. Yet the government will not even provide the Parliamentary Budget Officer with the data necessary to calculate an official figure.

Kathleen Wynne

Premier of Ontario

The new Ontario government believes in a strong, sustainable future for the horse racing industry in this province. We have a plan, guided by the report of the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel, for a way forward that will put the industry on a sustainable path. I know how important the horse racing and breeding industries are to the culture and economy of communities across Ontario, and that is why our government will continue to work with the industry to ensure that it has a strong, sustainable future.

Dimitri B. Papadimitriou

President, Levy Economics Institute; Executive Vice President and Professor of Economics, Bard College

Did the London Whale revelations result in protections for bank customers -- and their federal insurers -- from this kind of gambling?

Phyllis Cuttino

Director, Clean Energy, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Tesla's repayment of a Department of Energy loan nine years ahead of schedule is welcome news and another indication that use of electric vehicles is growing -- both here and around the globe.

James Rollins

Author, 'The Eye of God: A Sigma Force Novel'

With today's easy access to technology and knowledge, DIY scientists are popping up all over the United States. The fringes of scientific exploration have shifted out of the white towers of university labs and into neighborhood garages and basements. But with this come risks.

Zach Hindin

Writer and musician based in Harlem.

Almost immediately, the press invoked George Orwell to characterize the drama unfolding around Edward Snowden's revelation of the NSA's digitally omniscient domestic surveillance program. It should have been Aldous Huxley.

Deborah Burger

Co-President of America's RN Union: National Nurses United

It's an event that that will feature a land, sea and air protest that matches a triad of reasons to oppose the Keystone project - for health, economic, and, of course, environmental imperatives.

G(irls)20

Empowering Girls and Women Globally

I feel it important to figure out the answer to the regularly asked question, "why aren't more girls enrolled in S.T.E.M (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs and jobs"? Women, do excel in engineering programs when they are in them, they often avoid it because of lack of exposure and understanding of what engineering is.

Daniel Tencer

Business Editor, Huffington Post Canada

House prices in Canada have soared compared to rental costs, to the point that paying a mortgage is 60 to 70 per cent more expensive than renting the same property. So why are the banks still saying it's a good time to buy?

Bjørn Lomborg

Author, 'How to Spend $75 Billion to Make the World a Better Place'

British Prime Minister David Cameron has rightly put free trade on the top of the G8 agenda. It is possibly one of the best ways we could help the world foster economic prosperity and development.

Joseph Farrell

EVP Operations, BiTE interactive

Last week, the newest frontier in mobility and application development dawned: the "iCar." During its annual World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC), Apple announced plans to bring the iOS experience in 2014 to at least 12 different car markers.

Richard Branson

Founder, Virgin Group

It shouldn't just be left to politicians and community organizations to tackle the world's problems -- businesses should help, too. Although individually lots of businesses do great things, collectively they could be far more powerful and do much more good.

Adam Grant

Wharton professor and author, 'Give and Take'

In a classic study, sociologist Mark Granovetter showed that people were 58 percent more likely to get a new job through weak ties than strong ties. How could acquaintances be more helpful than good friends?