Archive for the ‘Debates’ Category

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CRA names companies that received federal emergency wage subsidy

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020

… more than 368,000 businesses, non-profits and charities in Canada have received the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)… A recent review of CEWS disclosures by the Financial Post found that at least 68 publicly traded Canadian companies continued to pay out shareholder dividends while receiving the wage subsidy. The review found those companies got at least $1-billion in CEWS and paid out more than $5-billion in dividends.

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Ottawa will take a hard look at companies that paid dividends while accepting COVID-19 supports, Justin Trudeau says

Sunday, December 20th, 2020

The program was meant to help companies avoid layoffs and keep employees on the payroll… 30 companies that paid out a combined total of $2 billion to shareholders between April and September while receiving the wage subsidy… Extendicare, the largest operator of private nursing homes in Canada, had paid nearly $10.5 million in dividends since April, while its home-care subsidiary was receiving millions of dollars from the wage subsidy.

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Basic income hailed as key in kickstarting the economy in a post-pandemic Canada

Wednesday, December 9th, 2020

 A universal basic income would not only lift more than 3.2 million Canadians out of poverty, it would also create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, grow the economy by tens of billions of dollars and eventually pay for itself with increased tax revenues… the biggest message coming out of this (report) is that a basic income program can be designed in a sustainable way,” said Paul Smetanin, CANCEA president and one of the report’s authors. “It can be thought of as an investment as opposed to a cost.”

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Canada’s rapidly approaching fiscal crisis isn’t driven by the pandemic

Sunday, December 6th, 2020

… thanks to the remorseless arithmetic of population aging, with its crushing combination of higher costs (mostly for health care) and lower revenues (with fewer people of working age to earn income or pay taxes on it)… the provinces’ collective debt-to-GDP ratio is likely to hit 120 per cent by mid-century.

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A national child-care program would be a boon to Canada’s post-COVID recovery — none more so than Ontario’s

Saturday, November 28th, 2020

Ontario’s failure to build a 21st-century child-care system is holding back provincial economic recovery. Its patchwork arrangement of overstretched group care, tax-subsidized nannies and sky-high fees squanders tens of billions of dollars of GDP, income and tax revenue. Ontario, and other lagging provinces, have a golden opportunity to fix this problem — and in so doing accelerate Canada’s reconstruction after COVID-19.

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The Problems with Economic Efficiency

Tuesday, November 24th, 2020

Roger Martin is a leading global thinker in business management, and his new book, “When More is Not Better: Overcoming America’s Obsession with Economic Efficiency,” offers an idea of why that is… Beyond the obvious problems with economic inequality for people trying to make ends meet, such gaps can also seed serious political problems. And as some recent polling indicates, this can undermine confidence in both democracy and capitalism.

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Canada needs a bold pro-growth strategy for both pandemic recovery and a successful future

Sunday, November 15th, 2020

… we need to remove the barriers that prevent some of our citizens from realizing their potential. This includes a stronger income-security framework and skills programs that are better aligned with labour market needs. Affordable and accessible child care that… can improve the participation of women in the labour force, and help close the gender pay gap. Greater workplace accessibility for disabled Canadians can also add workers. Improved integration of newcomers into the economy through better recognition of skills, education and qualifications can increase labour productivity…

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Canada’s K-shaped recovery is deepening the lines between rich and poor. Here’s how we can shift our economy toward a fair outcome for all

Sunday, November 15th, 2020

… current economic data shows that the pre-pandemic well-off are benefiting while the pre-pandemic marginalized are suffering considerably…  COVID-19 and its congruent economic crisis is an opportunity to implement key changes that will set Canada’s economic trajectory on the right path. Specifically, three things must be done: a universal basic income with automatic stabilizers; high-quality, affordable child care; and a well-designed wealth tax.

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On the cusp of a national daycare strategy

Saturday, November 14th, 2020

Advocates have been calling for an accessible system dating back to 1970… But this time, advocates believe it could actually happen, buoyed by the government promise of not just one-time funding but sustained funding for the future… With Canada’s population aging out of the workforce… accessible and high-quality child care will be key to keeping younger Canadians working… “We have a market-based system for what is effectively an essential service.”

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Taking advantage of workers must not be the future of work

Monday, November 9th, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has laid waste to our economy and exposed deep inequalities in our communities. It has shown how frayed our social safety net has become and how much is wrong with the labour market… The pandemic has shown how low-paid, precarious work isn’t just bad for the people who hold down those jobs, but for society as a whole… It can’t be left up a few companies who have landed on an exploitative business model to decide what the future of work looks like.

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