I went to McGill in the late 80s and early 90s when tuition fees were less than $1,200 a year, so with summer jobs and some parental help I graduated from my first degree debt-free. For my MA, which I took in Ontario, I worked part-time and graduated after one…
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It was bound to happen. After almost three months, Margaret Wente finally got wind of this kerfuffle in Quebec about students refusing to buy into the whole “but it’s just the cost of a cappuccino a day!” rationale for why a 75% increase in tuition fees over five (or 82%…
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Haven’t you heard? Canada’s in deep trouble. No, it’s not rising inequality. Or stagnant incomes. (That growing gap between the rich and the rest of us is so last week.) The environment? Whatever. A decimated workforce? Aboriginal poverty? Public sector layoffs? The attack on worker rights? Not even close. Do…
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This is my latest column for Canadian Business magazine. Giorgio, a hard-working, smart-as-a-whip University of Toronto student, asked me a great question after a recent guest lecture: What if the biggest challenge facing Canadian businesses and governments in the coming years isn’t an aging society but the economic and fiscal…
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Canada’s job market remains stalled and Canadians are understandably anxious about their future, and increasingly question whether their children and grandchildren will do better than they did. In fact, the latest job numbers have revealed that tens of thousands of Canadians have lost hope and given up looking for a…
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Judging by the recent proliferation of ‘tips’ on managing young workers, as well as the number of management consultants who now specialize in ‘multi-generational workplaces’, there’s a burgeoning market for advice on how to deal with ‘Millennials’ and ‘Generation Y.’ It figures: they are wreaking havoc on workplaces around the world,…
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This guest blog was written by Mike Marin and Anouk Dey. It originally appeared in the Toronto Star on February 24. The authors are part of a team that produced the report Prospering Together (in English and in French). What do the Occupy Movement and Canadian software giant OpenText have in…
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Since the announcement that his government was considering raising the eligibility age for Old Age Security (OAS), Stephen Harper has backed off slightly, assuring the public that such reforms are years away. Nevertheless, media and experts of all kinds have fired into gear, speculating on the possible motivations for OAS…
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The latest Labour Force Survey summary tables released by Statistics Canada contain something salient and troubling. It’s not the unemployment rate. It’s the fact that more and more prime-age workers are finding themselves working part-time hours simply because they can’t find full-time hours. It’s a fact, but it’s not getting…
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