The province of Ontario has committed to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour — and that is a real game changer. The province will increase the minimum wage from $11.40 today to $14 on January 1, 2018 and then to $15 an hour on January 1, 2019. About…
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The cost of living keeps going up, but new Statistics Canada data shows that slow earnings growth means pay raises aren’t keeping up with inflation. The latest Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) tells the story of slow earnings growth in Canada. Average weekly Canadian earnings have not changed…
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I submitted the following to the National Energy Board, which is seeking comments on what should be included as part of the upcoming hearings on the proposed Energy East Pipeline. In particular, they are interested in arguments about the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions. The deadline for submissions is May…
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While governments in Canada are increasingly taking climate issues seriously, efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change in Canada remain all over the map. Some governments are taking meaningful steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and build low-carbon economies, while others double down on environmentally-destructive resource extraction and…
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CCPA’s David Macdonald, Senior Economist, appeared as a witness on budget implementation Bill C-44 May 16, before the House Standing Committee on Finance. Image via ParlVu. As stakeholders gather before the House Standing Committee on Finance to comment on federal budget implementation Bill C-44 this week, one aspect of the legislation–proposed…
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While it is easy to get distracted by rhetoric during an election campaign, people want and need to understand how party platforms would affect their lives and communities in tangible terms. One of the issues discussed in the election campaign is income assistance. The Nova Scotia Alternative Budget 2017 provides…
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Image via the Toronto Star The Trump administration is not making it easy to predict what a NAFTA renegotiation will look like for Canada. On the one hand are demands from the U.S. president for a “fair” new framework for North American trade that puts American workers first. On the other…
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Ron Kneebone (Professor of Economics at the University of Calgary) and Katherine White (Yukon’s Deputy Finance Minister) have referred to social assistance as “the final layer of the public social safety net — designed to catch those people in need of support but unable to find it from family, friends…
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The upcoming provincial election has thrust into the spotlight various debates about how to best address poverty in Nova Scotia: wage increases, social programs, tax-based incentives, or a job. Recently, the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party announced that, if elected, it would raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2020….
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It seems that many in the media barely glanced at last week’s Nova Scotia budget. The rationale was that because it would not be put to a vote, it was more akin to an election platform than to an actual budget. But if that’s the case—if the budget is indeed…
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