A wise person once said to me, as we watched a local organization slowly spiral out of existence, “You know it’s over when they’re counting the pencils in the drawers.” That stuck with me. So did the next piece of wisdom: “That’s why you don’t let accountants run everything.” (For…
Read more
In the wake of the Federal Budget, the CCPA’s Alternative Federal Budget, and months of disappointing job numbers, it seems that the national conversation about youth and work is undergoing a bit of a revival. Following on the heels of Jim Flaherty’s announcement of interest-free loans for skilled trades students,…
Read more
“Young people want to retire early and spend, too”. That’s the main finding of a survey commissioned by the Bank of Montreal, released last week in newspapers across the country. The coverage of the survey report is problematic on its own. For instance, although 1000 Canadians aged 18 and over were…
Read more
Co-authored with Brian Foster “Is the EI system making it more attractive to not work?” That’s the (attempt at) thought-provoking (or fire-stoking) title of a recent National Post piece, written in the aftermath of Jim Flaherty’s intellectually lazy and socially irresponsible public musings on the psychological, voluntaristic reasons for Canada’s unemployment…
Read more
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,…
Read more
In the Commission report that bears his name, and in all of his media appearances since its release, Banker Don Drummond has ably played the disinterested expert, taking no pleasure in sharing the “gloomy message” he has for Ontario. From the way most TV hosts and journalists have rushed forward…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more