In the 2015 election the Liberal Party platform stood out by promising to run a deficit in order to provide stimulus to a then slow-growing economy. They promised to spend money to implement new policies aimed at, say it with me, the middle class. The decision to commit to deficit…
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Why put together an index of gender equality in Canada? Why rush in where my better colleagues have warned me not to tread? As these things so often do, it started with frustration. None of the major international indices of gender equality include a measure for gender-based violence. This means…
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This summer, the federal government proposed a series of reforms to the Income Tax Act designed to close certain tax loopholes and address tax avoidance. Finance Canada says these changes would impact Canadian-Controlled Private Corporations (CCPCs) in three key areas: income “sprinkling” (a type of income splitting), passive investments made…
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While much of the conversation on Canada’s new Census income numbers focuses on the sustained nature of income inequality, little attention has been paid to what’s been happening to the richest 1% compared to the rest of us. This is the first time that a Canadian Census includes information about…
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New Census numbers released this week show that overall incomes have risen in the past ten years in Canada. This is excellent news. Economic growth driven by rising wages is growth we can feel, growth that translates into a better life. However, not all Canadians are having the same experience….
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It has been years since Statistics Canada has been able to release Census data on income inequality in Canada but the numbers are out at long last. Here are 7 things the Census teaches us about income inequality in Canada between 2005 and 2015. Resource boom masked inequality trends Thanks…
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Has gas price regulation in Atlantic Canada cost consumers $205 million in higher gas prices since provincial governments began regulating gas prices? This is the claim of a new study released by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS), written by its president Marco Navarro-Génie. This new AIMS study, “What’s…
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The Trump administration’s long-running NAFTA drama took centre stage this week as the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its objectives for the impending renegotiation—and it looks more like a summer rerun than the transformative spectacle we were promised. In short, the U.S. is pushing for an updated NAFTA modelled on…
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In a particularly repugnant move, the Fraser Institute chose National Aboriginal Day (June 21) to release a report by Tom Flanagan claiming that a sharp increase in people with Registered Indian status will drive up government costs. The methodology employed by Flanagan is remarkably shoddy, as I explain below. I’m…
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We all want to feel good about what Canada stands for. From progress on LGBTQ rights, to communities coming together to support new immigrants, to modest steps toward reconciliation, there are reasons to be proud of how far we’ve come in 2017. But are we prepared to move beyond pride—to…
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