The Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program has become such a mess that its complete elimination for low-skilled occupations is now an active possibility. Business, for its part, is screaming bloody murder that the cancellation will force the shutdown of entire sectors. They claim even offering $100/hour or $180,000/year to serve…
Read more
It seems like every newly elected Premier in Ontario who wins on even a slightly progressive platform feels like the first step in office is to help the boys on Bay Street relax. And so it is, perhaps, that Premier-elect Kathleen Wynne came out of the gates post-election with two…
Read more
You may not have heard about it because it didn’t receive much media attention, but the Parliamentary Finance Committee has been researching Youth Unemployment. Canada has a youth unemployment problem. The youth unemployment rate at 13.9% in 2013 is more than twice the rate of those above 25, youth employment…
Read more
You have to wonder why the Harper government bothered with process at all. It’s like there was never any doubt that Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline would get approved. But historians may look back on this moment as the beginning of the end of pipeline politics. Opposition to Enbridge’s Northern Gateway…
Read more
The Ontario election is nearing its end and by Thursday night we will know the makeup of the next provincial government. In some ways, this election featured a lot of substantive debate and policy discussion. For instance, a lot of focus was placed on the relative merit and credibility of…
Read more
Allow me to woman-splain some things about the wage gap. What is the wage gap? When two people have the same job, work the same hours and make different amounts of money that is a wage gap. In Canada, women working full-time earn between 20-23% less than their male colleagues.[i]…
Read more
New Statistics Canada jobs data shows that much of Ontario remains on the same unsteady ground it was on a year ago. Communities and regions suffering from continually high joblessness and underemployment remain pretty much stuck in that pattern; while the regions that are doing well – such as Kitchener-Waterloo…
Read more
Both before the budget was tabled and during its presentation, Finance Minister Carlos Leitão spoke of “rigour” and “responsibility,” but never used the term “austerity.” Yet, this is truly an austerity budget: many government departments will be receiving less next year than they have this year. Here is a summary…
Read more
This blog is the second in CCPA-NS’ series called “Progressive Voices on Public Education in Nova Scotia.” The Minister’s Panel on Education has challenged Nova Scotians to “get involved” and help “effect change in the education system.” Public schools are among our most important democratic institutions, so the call for…
Read more
Election debates can be exciting spectacles — they’re fun to watch, and they are important reminders of the value of democracy and constructive disagreement. They are not, however, the best format for political leaders to cite their sources or explain nuance and in the rapid back-and-forth some detail is lost….
Read more