Archive for the ‘Economy/Employment’ Category
The Economic Benefits of Canada’s Public Health Care System
Tuesday, October 20th, 2026
As we confront unprecedented challenges to our economic sovereignty, strengthening this powerful engine of growth and well-being should play a central role in Canada’s coming economic reorientation. As economists and health policy experts, we affirm our support for continued and expanded public health funding, and reforms to improve quality and coverage, in order to maximize the economic and human benefits of universal public health care.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, standard of living, tax
Posted in Debates | 35 Comments »
New federal wage protections for part-time and temp workers are coming soon. Will they work?
Friday, October 9th, 2026
Under the new rules, employers are required to pay workers equally, regardless of whether they are full-time, part-time, permanent or temporary, as long as they perform “substantially the same kind of work” in “the same industrial establishment.” Federally regulated temporary help agencies will also be prohibited from paying their employees less than a client company pays its own workers for comparable work, or charging workers fees to secure job assignments.
Tags: economy, standard of living
Posted in Debates | 6 Comments »
Ontario’s minimum wage is falling further behind the living wage
Wednesday, September 30th, 2026
The 2018 minimum wage freeze, coupled with the weakening of rent control, dealt a double blow to low-wage workers and working families across Ontario. Poverty—measured in various ways—has increased in recent years as a direct result of these policies. The provincial government should raise the minimum wage to the living wage rate – a single change that would considerably improve the lives of more than 1.5 million workers in Ontario. That measure would go further in reducing working poverty ifpaired with regulatory changes that halt price gouging in rental housing and groceries.
Tags: economy, featured, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Debates | 4 Comments »
Alternative federal budget 2026-27: Summary
Thursday, September 17th, 2026
Simply arguing for a strong Canada, without any other criteria, clearly isn’t cutting it… Recent federal budgets have been something of a wishlist from Canada’s corporate elites. The AFB… is a wishlist from below—of regular, working people and the movements they build. It is also a benchmark: a realistic, achievable outline of the Canada that we could have, if policymakers chose a route of ambition—a route of strength, but also a route of solidarity.
Tags: budget, child care, economy, Education, featured, Health, homelessness, immigration, Indigenous, Seniors, tax
Posted in Debates | 9 Comments »
Canada’s oil giants are cashing in on conflict. Consumers are paying the price
Sunday, August 9th, 2026
It is neither inevitable nor reasonable that one industry should profit so obscenely from a war that is killing thousands, dislocating millions, and undermining the livings standards of billions. This situation reflects a deliberate policy choice: to give a few corporations power to charge whatever the market will bear for an essential commodity, regardless of cost of production or harm to society.
Tags: economy, featured, privatization, standard of living, tax
Posted in Debates | 6 Comments »
Who were the Luddites? Their legacy ripples through politics, cultural commentary and literature
Thursday, August 6th, 2026
Along with the political radicals and the labour campaigners over the course of the 19th century, they took part in a prolonged struggle waged for rights, dignity and justice. That struggle partially succeeded, forcing the ruling classes to compromise rather than continuing to rely on brute force.
Tags: economy, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in History | 21 Comments »
Which country is richer, Canada or the U.S.? If median wealth is the measure, it’s Canada
Thursday, July 30th, 2026
The danger in the unfavourable Canada-U.S. comparisons is the distorting effect they can have on political decisions about economic strategy. Those run the gamut from irresponsible tax cuts to privatization of public services to extravagant spending on infrastructure projects — all meant in part to address the gap between rich and poor by increasing personal disposable income… “Public policy should focus on measures that truly effect our well-being, like real median income, fairness and quality of life.”
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | 15 Comments »
Ford government’s internal surveys expose failures in disability job training program
Friday, May 8th, 2026
Ford’s plan to get Ontarians off social assistance and into jobs is failing those with complex disabilities, according to the province’s own research… employers “don’t know how to support” workers with disabilities, and performance targets are pressuring agencies to place clients into jobs too quickly — even when those with “complex barriers” need more time to prepare… the Ford government hired third-party operators to oversee the program’s new rules for funding and contract renewals… “The new model is a disaster”
Tags: budget, disabilities, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Delivery System, Inclusion Delivery System | 17 Comments »
Canada’s quiet economic driver: Universities and colleges
Friday, May 1st, 2026
Universities and colleges lead the way on driving economic growth: Universities and colleges’ economic output was worth $61 billion in 2025, which was 2.1 per cent of Canada’s total GDP—just $5 billion behind residential building construction, much more than all oil sands extraction ($49 billion), and almost twice as much as mining or transportation manufacturing (at $33 billion each)… Despite only making up about two per cent of Canada’s economy, the post-secondary education sector represents over 34 per cent of all research and development, which was much higher than Canada’s peer countries.
Tags: economy, Education, standard of living
Posted in Debates | 8 Comments »
Canada Strong Fund
Thursday, April 30th, 2026
Designed to give all Canadians a direct stake in the Build Canada agenda… The Fund will invest in strategic Canadian projects and companies alongside other investors—with a clear objective to achieve commercial returns to build the wealth of Canada… When Canadians invest directly in the Canada Strong Fund, they will help fuel its growth and increase its ability to deliver meaningful benefits across the country.
Tags: economy, participation
Posted in Delivery System | 13 Comments »
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