[A] library extends cultural services by providing everyone with an open area which serves as a venue for civil activity and creative ability. Libraries, which deviate from other cultural establishments, cover all fields of art and convey both information and experiences. Libraries do not present limits, rather they expand and…
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It’s no surprise—to anyone with even a modest awareness of the subject—that child care is expensive. But when we released our recent report (A Growing Concern: 2016 child care fees in Canada’s big cities), what did raise some eyebrows was the speed and intensity with which fees have increased over…
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The arguments against the elimination of tuition fees are deeply flawed. More to the point, they’re often hilariously dependant on the complete suspension of reality. For example, we’re asked to believe: Debt is bad for governments but builds character for students. “Public” is the same as “free.” The progressive tax…
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This fall, tuition fees in Canada are set to increase by 2.8% to a weighted average of $6,373. That’s a smaller increase than in previous years, but (as always) averages can mask some important details: in this case, the plethora of options provinces are pursuing to address the optics…
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If anything’s become clear while watching the star-spangled spectacle unfold south of the border, it’s this: nature—in this case, human nature—abhors a vacuum. The context is evident. Growing inequality. Gutted infrastructure. The rise of the precariat. And in the absence of a clearly articulated plan that will address the disillusionment,…
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There is no question that disillusionment with the electoral process and democratic institutions is approaching a breaking point, on an international scale, and manifesting itself in radically different ways, from deeply progressive to dangerously regressive. We saw it in Greece (when Syriza was elected on a platform based on an…
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In the short term at least, it appears that Canada Post has backpedalled on its threats to lock out workers and shut down the postal system as labour negotiations continue. This is a remarkable reversal for a corporation that, during the last round of bargaining, enjoyed a very different result…
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Postes Canada semble faire marche arrière, du moins à court terme, quant à ses menaces de mettre en lock-out ses travailleuses et travailleurs et de paralyser le service postal, puisque les négociations se poursuivent. Il s’agit d’une volte-face remarquable de la part d’une société d’État qui, lors des dernières négociations,…
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The recently-released PBO report, Federal Spending on Postsecondary Education, is a treasure trove of information about education funding, tuition fees, savings schemes and tax credits going back to 2004-2005 and projecting forward to 2020. It’s also vindication for a number of organizations that have been pointing out how the high…
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[Image: Twitter user @zittrain] Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a shock that, as ends no longer come close to meeting, and as households reel under the strain of systems and employers that treat quality of life as an inconvenience, people are turning to “alternative funding models” to try and buy…
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