Archive for the ‘Debates’ Category
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Sustainable development goals offer a path to prosperity
The Sustainable Development Goals take effect in January 2016, when UN member states are expected to enact policies and legislation to realize them and their associated targets…. a privileged country like Canada is in an ideal position to show leadership on these development goals, especially if we expect poorer UN member countries to do their part. Canada must work with other nations to create transformative change that protects what we have and leaves the world in better shape for our children and grandchildren.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, Health, ideology, participation, standard of living
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TPP deal offers overdue opportunity for a new vision in agriculture
On a purely net basis, to be left out of a signed deal would have been tragic for Canada’s agricultural economy… now… it is time to redefine what competitiveness really means… When Europe ended the quota system this year, several programs allowed a number of farmers to fully prepare for the open market… We must be prepared to give industry the time and resources to foster better streamlining during the transition.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living
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In international trade, it’s not really all about exports
… in free trade talks, the concessions are actually the gains… It’s about acknowledging the central role of consumers, and of competition for consumers’ custom, in driving businesses to lower costs and raise productivity — to specialize in areas of comparative advantage, and reap economies of scale from longer production runs… The objective isn’t to increase exports, per se… Rather, it’s to change the composition of GDP: An economy that trades relatively more of what it produces and consumes will be more specialized, other things being equal, and enjoy higher productivity as a result. Which is ultimately what underpins wages.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
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TPP deal a clear win for Canada
… almost all sectors of our economy stand to benefit.. It will now be up to our exporters to aggressively seize new market opportunities open to them… We will have to relax some protectionist measures propping up our least competitive entities, as will other TPP partners… On trade liberalization, we are actually moving at a much faster clip globally than domestically… some recalcitrant provinces should act to break down the shackles inhibiting competition in our own country.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living
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Austerity’s vicious circle
… cuts target services for the most vulnerable… We lag in tackling inequality and poverty… Austerity creates a cycle of erosion and distrust. As public services are squeezed, we get less, we wait longer, we pay more out of pocket, we get angry with government and, ironically, become less willing to pay the taxes that would stop this erosion… The debate we need is precisely about what those wise choices are, about what and whom government is for and whether we are willing to pay the price for the Canada we want.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Capitalism should be for the many, not the few, book argues
What role government must play is central to Reich’s just-published Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few. The title beguiles because, as we all know, we’re in a mess. “The issue of widening inequality, the decline of equal opportunity, the stagnation of median wages, [these] have become central issues”… The book runs much deeper than executive winnings. Bankruptcy rules that favour the big over the small, diminished union power, the agglomeration of market power into near monopolies…
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Minimum Wage Rates in Canada: 1965-2015
Minimum wages are among Canada’s oldest and most important social programs…. recent increase in minimum wages across Canada is likely due in part to the creation of poverty reduction strategies, which have focused attention on minimum wages… Currently only five jurisdictions index their minimum wage rates – Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Yukon. The report also compares minimum wages in Canada to other countries.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
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We are ignoring food security at our peril
The first issue is poverty. According to Food Banks Canada, which is the national umbrella for food banks, there has been a 25 per cent increase in food bank visits between 2008 and 2014. These charities are used by 841,000 Canadians every month (310,000 of whom are children); they received 14 million visits in 2014… One of the negative consequences of the large trading agreements that our federal government has embraced has been a loss in our food processing industry.
Tags: Health, ideology, poverty, standard of living
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Corporations are not people — and it’s people who pay taxes
Corporations cannot be wealthy; it’s better to think of them as a form of wealth… a large fraction of small businesses — or at least, small businesses that generate a large fraction of income in this sector — are in effect instruments used by high-earning professionals to minimize their tax burden… there’s little evidence to support the claim that governments should be giving special tax treatment for small businesses in the first place: they generally pay lower salaries, offer worse benefits and weaker employment security, and are less productive than large corporations.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, tax
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