Archive for the ‘Debates’ Category
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Canada’s economy has weathered a pandemic and an unpredictable president. It can handle some post-election chaos
Wednesday, November 4th, 2020
… the last four years of doing business with the United States has been rife with risk… one problem after another for Canada’s cross-border relations… NAFTA negotiations, tariffs, unpredictable “Buy American” policies, antagonism… [Yet] As a country of exporters, we are reliable and resilient. In the face of protectionism, global trade battles, unpredictable leaders and pandemics, we keep on trucking.
Tags: economy, globalization, participation, standard of living
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Without a path to fiscal recovery, we’re lost
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020
Ms. Freeland seems to believe that setting fiscal targets is somehow contradictory to committing to the pandemic-fighting task at hand. As if the second you identify where you want to take your fiscal balance down the road, you are implicitly starting to withdraw necessary stimulus… Maybe it’s the image of an “anchor”… Fine. Let’s call it something else. Let’s create a fiscal compass.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, tax
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Unions shouldn’t defend the indefensible
Thursday, October 29th, 2020
… we need more unionization. When you encounter trouble at work — which will happen at badly managed workplaces — someone has to have your back, and that’s the union. But perhaps unions have to shift their frames a little. Some have fallen into a ludicrous Trumpish trap that everything is either black or white. Not true. There are shades of grey. Unions shouldn’t defend the indefensible.
Tags: crime prevention, economy, ideology
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COVID pandemic offers glimpse of upheaval climate crisis will cause
Monday, October 12th, 2020
The fiscal infusions must be directed to address both the impacts of COVID and to kickstart the changes needed to address the climate crisis. For example, the transition of CERB to a basic guaranteed income to eliminate poverty and its health impacts. Or a just and equitable transition from fossil fuel-based economy to a sustainable “green” economy… we need a Team Canada — all levels of government, all political groups working together. And we need action.
Tags: featured, Health, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Ontario needs to step in and protect workers
Wednesday, October 7th, 2020
Too many companies have built business models that maximize profit by exploiting workers, largely by finding ways to avoid treating them as employees… Business exploiting lax labour laws to the detriment of workers is a concern in the world of temp agencies and their increasingly unscrupulous money-making tactics, the misclassification of workers as independent contractors to strip them of basic employment rights, and the expansion of temporary and part-time work that comes with few benefits.
Tags: economy, Health, ideology, rights, standard of living
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Liberals are considering a universal basic income, but economists have tough questions for its proponents
Thursday, September 17th, 2020
“What we’re really talking about is not ensuring everyone receives a cheque but ensuring there’s a minimum floor below which no Canadian ought to fall. So it really is a conversation about rethinking and reinventing our social safety net”… But the program won’t be popular with everyone… Problem 1: The Cost… Problem 2: The Incentives… Problem 3: The Cuts…
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living, tax
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This Labour Day, resolve to make life better for underpaid, undervalued ‘heroes’
Monday, September 7th, 2020
If the mantra of “build back better” means anything, we must revalue low-paid but essential work and tackle the scourge of precarious work, gig economy jobs and temp agencies that leave workers scrambling just to earn minimum wage. We need to legislate paid sick days for all workers… and dramatically expand affordable childcare so that women aren’t held back.
Tags: child care, Health, ideology, jurisdiction
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Our recovery must be just and equitable for all
Monday, September 7th, 2020
… six principles for a just recovery: Put people’s health and well-being first, with no exceptions; Strengthen the social safety net and provide relief directly to people; Prioritize the needs of workers and communities; Build resilience to prevent future crises; Build solidarity and equity across communities, generations and borders; Uphold Indigenous rights and work in partnership with Indigenous peoples
Tags: economy, Health, ideology, Indigenous, participation, rights, standard of living
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The Liberals seem to think they have abolished scarcity. Let’s hope they’re right
Saturday, September 5th, 2020
There was widespread public consent earlier this year to the proposal that the economy should be put into a coma, to prevent the spread of a deadly disease… Spending hundreds of billions of dollars in borrowed money to keep the lights on in the midst of a once-a-century pandemic made sense. Borrowing billions more to fulfill every Liberal dream, political or ideological, does not.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, tax
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Trudeau’s using our moment of crisis to reinvent our economy. That’s exciting
Saturday, August 29th, 2020
The Liberals are not proposing radical change. Every advance they will propose is an expansion or acceleration of existing Canadian priorities and practices… The timing is right. Interest rates are at a historic low. The government’s cost of borrowing to pay for pandemic relief, a permanently stronger social safety net, and seed capital for tech-oriented startups with export potential is therefore manageable.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, participation, tax
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