Archive for the ‘Economy/Employment’ Category
Ottawa Should Soften Bite Of Benefit Clawbacks For Low-Income Families
Wednesday, November 30th, 2022
… the “participation” tax rate (PTR)… is the cumulative effect of all taxes and loss of fiscal benefits on the entire prospective earnings from work. For a stay-at-home parent, it represents the financial penalty paid out of the total income derived from getting a job… The paper recommends the federal government: Implement “benefit shields”… Allow income averaging… [and] Replace the federal childcare expense tax deduction with a refundable credit
Tags: jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
By the numbers: Here’s the living wage in 10 Ontario regions
Thursday, November 17th, 2022
In Ontario, the minimum wage is now $15.50 per hour, having risen from $15 in October. According to the OLWN, in 2021, the highest living wage was $22.08 for residents in Toronto… “It doesn’t account for debt repayment or saving for education… “we’re talking about the barest living wage for workers to thrive, to have a family, to participate in our society”
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
For millions of Ontario workers living on a knife’s edge, paid sick days would be a huge boon. It would also benefit everyone else
Sunday, November 13th, 2022
Employer-paid sick days are desperately needed to improve the mental health and well-being of workers, especially low-income, racialized and non-unionized workers who are least likely to have paid sick days or workplace benefits of any kind… Legislating employers to provide an adequate number of paid sick days is necessary to protect workers from unjust termination and unsustainable financial strain.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Four ways the fall economic statement could help prepare all of us for the coming recession
Thursday, November 3rd, 2022
People are anxious. The world is talking about recession… What can the government do about any of it? Help those struggling to choose between heating or eating, or even between food or shelter, by asking a bit more from those who saw a windfall in corporate profits and shareholder dividends. Here are four ways to do just that…
Tags: budget, economy, housing, ideology, tax
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Correcting Course: Employment Insurance Needs a Redesign to Counter Recessions and Achieve Equity
Tuesday, October 11th, 2022
As a primary pillar of Canada’s social safety net, Employment Insurance (EI)… has also gone off track from its original main goal: to provide insurance against unpredictable job losses… The authors make three main policy recommendations: (i) Implement uniform or more universal entrance requirements. (ii) Sharply reduce the number of EI regions. (iii) Improve the responsiveness of the benefit duration formula to labour market downturns and recoveries.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
EI Needs A Redesign To Be Recession-Ready
Thursday, October 6th, 2022
… Gray and Busby… propose implementing uniform or more universal entrance requirements across Canada… variations in the length of benefit entitlement periods would be driven by changes in unemployment rates instead of levels in given regions… [and that] the number of regions be sharply reduced… these changes may require a small increase to EI premiums.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
The new villain? Workers fighting for better wages. Don’t fall for it
Wednesday, October 5th, 2022
This is an important chapter in the history of workers’ struggles for decent work, a moment of fighting not only inflation but long-standing systemic inequalities. It has the potential to pit unionized worker against non-unionized worker, and private sector worker against public sector worker. Or it has the potential to pave the path toward decent work, through fairness and equity
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
One in six households in Ontario is now struggling with food insecurity. Here’s why it’s going to get worse
Wednesday, September 21st, 2022
The chattering classes have embraced a new economic theme: government efforts to fight inflation will trigger more inflation. They’re wrong… Ontario was the only province where more people were food insecure in 2021 than in 2020… Last week the Trudeau government introduced $4.6 billion in federal aid to be spent on inflation relief until the end of 2023, almost every penny for those with low incomes.
Tags: economy, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
We’re losing workers, not jobs
Saturday, September 17th, 2022
It turns out that inflationary pressures are caused by pent-up retirements as well as pent-up spending. And those inflation-causing labour shortages are set to worsen before they improve… The worker shortages hold back economic growth and keep Canada’s productivity growth rates at notoriously low levels. Solutions include fast-tracking immigrants into jobs; experimenting with four-day work weeks and other hybrids; luring retirees back into the workforce; and closing the gender pay gap.
Tags: economy, globalization, immigration, participation, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Justin Trudeau’s $3.1B inflation-relief plan includes increase in GST rebate
Tuesday, September 13th, 2022
… the first pieces of legislation… will be to double the GST tax credit, provide dental care payments and increase housing benefits for millions of Canadians… the tax credit increase will last for six months… dental care payments are framed as a first step to achieving a national program… for people without existing insurance… The third measure [will] provide 1.8 million people with a $500 increase their federal housing supports.
Tags: budget, economy, standard of living
Posted in Delivery System | No Comments »
Recent Comments