|

To avoid future ‘freedom convoy’ protests, we need an economy built on hope

Sunday, January 8th, 2023

… the rise of authoritarian (or what we call ordered) populism; the collapse of institutional trust; and the burgeoning role of disinformation transmitted largely, but by no means exclusively, by social media. All of these forces are fanning the flames of discontent in ways we could not have imagined a decade ago… The roots of these new forces are complex but ultimately initiated by the collapse of shared prosperity and inclusive economics.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »

Why Canadians need to wake up about populism

Thursday, July 11th, 2019

Ordered populism… has four key conditions: A declining middle class, wage stagnation and hyper-concentration of wealth at the very top of the system; Major shifts in social values which see more progressive values displacing traditional social conservative values which… produce a cultural backlash by those seeing themselves falling victim to loss of identity and privilege; A growing sense of external threat…; Declining trust in public institutions plus a rise in ideological polarization. All those conditions are present in Canada. They predominate among less-educated males

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »

A pollster’s painful reckoning…

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Jun. 17, 2011
Election 2011 revealed a voting fault line delineated by a generation gap. On one side of the gap: Canadians over 45 enthusiastically favouring the Conservatives, with a likelihood of voting starting at about 60 per cent and rising with age to more than 80 per cent. On the other side: younger Canadians generally disliking the Conservatives, but with a voting likelihood of at most 40 per cent, decreasing to about 30 per cent for the youngest electoral cohort, those under the age of 25… if under-45 Canadians had voted in the same proportion as over-45 Canadians, there would have been no Conservative majority but more likely an NDP-led coalition.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »

Canadians surprisingly divided over education, religion, in-depth poll reveals

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

Mar. 22, 2011
… whereas conservatives are more likely to embrace a world view that seeks certainty and abhors ambiguity, and hold the belief that morality is more important than knowledge, most poll respondents believe that science and expertise are undervalued in the country and see Canada moving toward a more knowledge-based society.

Tags: ,
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »

Lauded economist slams census decision

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Aug. 07, 2010
“I think it’s ridiculous the government would intervene and tell Statistics Canada how to collect its information,” Dr. Sylvia Ostry told the Couchiching Conference on public affairs… Canadian economists have been virtually unanimous in arguing that making the long form voluntary will undermine the reliability of the data used for research and planning by public institutions such as hospitals, governments, businesses and scholars…

Tags: ,
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »

Harper’s census push months in the making

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Jul. 26, 2010
Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided at the end of December to scrap the mandatory long-form census despite being told by Statistics Canada officials that important data would likely be lost or impaired as a result… The government announced at the end of June that the long form would be voluntary in the 2011 census… In fact, there are two faces to the controversy: the compulsory collection of information and the purposes for which the data may be used… conservatives see a battle as well: against the ideology of “social engineering” in the data-and-rationality camp.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Governance Debates | 3 Comments »

|