My paternal grandmother has a great saying that she likes to remind me of. Drawing from a well of old Jamaican wisdom, she says: “Don’t watch the noise in the market, just watch your correct change.” On September 18, Time magazine released a photo showing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in…
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The Ontario government is once again touting the wonders of using public-private partnerships (P3s) to build infrastructure. In an update released September 10, Infrastructure Minister Laurie Scott said the province has $65 billion worth of projects in the pipeline to build new transit, expand hospitals and construct a new correctional…
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L’année passée, les changements au financement de l’éducation en Ontario se sont apparentés à un spectacle de tours de passe-passe. Des annonces contradictoires du gouvernement, l’emploi de termes brumeux tels que « protection contre l’attrition » et des transferts d’argent entre les différentes enveloppes budgétaires ont généré une confusion générale sur ce…
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Over the past year, following changes to education funding in Ontario has felt like watching a cups and ball magic trick. Contradictory government announcements, the usage of obtuse terms such as “attrition protection,” and the moving of money between funding envelopes have created a general sense of confusion as to…
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“You’re absolute champions, each and every one of you, and I thank you, thank you, thank you.” A little while ago, Ontario Premier Doug Ford let his love shine for the province’s skilled trades workers. “I absolutely love the tradespeople,” he gushed during a visit to the Darlington nuclear plant….
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When we talk about housing affordability the focus is usually on home ownership and high housing costs. Less discussed is the affordability crisis faced by the third of Canadian households (4.7 million families) who rent their homes. This paper looks at the extent of the problem by determining the hourly…
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As public opinion polls confirm, the wheels seem to have come off the Ford Fiesta. After months of fallout from cuts to education, hundreds of educators across Ontario receiving redundancy notices, and a round of collective bargaining-related gauntlet-throwing, provincial MPPs retreated to their ridings for an extended summer break that…
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The Ontario government is cutting two-thirds of the funding for the Ontario Seniors’ Transit Tax Credit program. Whereas previously $9.7 million was allocated for the program, now there is $3.5 million. The spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation says, “no negative impacts to seniors are anticipated.” That sounds odd….
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It’s been a chaotic year for public education in Ontario. And for all of us who benefit from a high quality and publicly-accountable system, the stakes are high—particularly for our youngest and most vulnerable. Given what we know about the tremendous societal and economic benefits of investment in public education,…
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Wikimedia Commons photo The future of Ontario Place is up for grabs. Will Toronto’s waterfront park be a reinvigorated public space beside the natural wonder of Lake Ontario? Or a glitzy commercial zone, where enjoying the view means shelling out big bucks? Last month, the Ontario government clearly backed the…
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