Archive for the ‘Economy/Employment’ Category
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With TPP, the devil is in the detail
… the Council [of Canadians] worries that like so many so-called free-trade deals of recent years, the TPP is yet another corporate bill of rights… corporations, their associations and lobbyists have direct influence on the negotiators, while trade unions, NGOs and civil society have virtually none… James Balsillie… has concluded that the deal contains “troubling” rules on intellectual property that threaten to make Canada a “permanent underclass” in the economy of selling ideas.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, standard of living
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There are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ jobs
Service-sector jobs are not only the future of the Canadian labour market, they’re its present: 80 per cent of workers are employed in the service sector, up from 50 per cent in 1961 and 30 per cent in 1911… many regret this trend: the “good” jobs are disappearing. But what does it mean to say that one job is better than another? … Being able to produce more goods with fewer workers should be an unalloyed benefit — and in the long run, it is — but the short-term costs can be non-trivial.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living
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How much profit does Bell really need?
In 1969, a committee of the senate looking at media ownership concluded that, “This country should no longer tolerate a situation where the public interest in so vital a field as information is dependent on the greed or the goodwill of an extremely privileged group of businessmen.” Eleven years after that, a royal commission said that, “Conglomerates should be kept out of newsrooms.” … Unfortunately, no government listened to either the senate committee or the royal commission.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, standard of living
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Ontario at bottom for good jobs, social spending: Report
Ontario now boasts the highest proportion of minimum wage workers in Canada and one of the worst rates of long-term unemployment in the country, according to a new report by an anti-poverty coalition representing 90 community and labour organizations across the province… The report shows that Ontarians now pay more for health-care expenses than any other province. Funding per student for post-secondary education is the lowest in the country. Wait times for affordable housing and long-term care are the longest nationwide, and child-care costs are the highest.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living
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Amid oil slump, a surprising segment leads the economic charge
The services sector – things like wholesale and retail trade, transportation, tourism, financial services, education, health care and government services – accounts for 70 per cent of Canada’s economy. And this year, it’s accounting for all of the growth… With Canada looking increasingly at a global disadvantage on the manufacturing side, the expansion of services exports looks to be a natural and healthy transition for an increasingly knowledge-based economy.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, participation, standard of living
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Mandated by the Liberal government: Conservative economics
a weak economy produces deficits and more debt, while a strong economy creates surpluses and reduced borrowing. In a stagnating economy like today, the vision for government should be more spending and investment to create employment for young people and the unemployed. With interest rates at rock-bottom lows, larger deficits to fund job creation are what is needed, not promises to pay down existing debt.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living
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Six actions G20 countries must take to grow the economy inclusively
If we are to grow inclusively, the G20 member countries must: – Combat tax havens; – Enforce the corruption of foreign officials act; – Prevent transfer pricing; – Ensure that royalty payments are transparent; – Require that impact-benefit agreements underpin business licensing; and – Fairly tax corporations in the countries where their activities take place and value is created… governments will lose their legitimacy if they fail to close the loopholes and enact preventative legislation… [But] the funds needed to implement inclusive growth are available.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, globalization, ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
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TPP is about many things, but free trade? Not so much
Simply put, calling the TPP a free-trade agreement overplays its benefits, plays down its problematic aspects and fundamentally misunderstands what the deal is actually about… The notion that free trade is good is grounded in the theory of comparative advantage… Instead, agreements such as the TPP are about implementing policies that have nothing to do with comparative advantage, policies that are often designed to lead to higher consumer costs and concentrated corporate power.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, privatization, standard of living
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Hiring portal aims to connect once-homeless youth with job opportunities
We asked ourselves how we could best use our combined assets to help more young people find employment… The result is HireUp – Canada’s first national hiring portal that connects employers with youth-serving organizations across Canada. Through the portal, Canadian employers gain access to the skills and talents of young people who have previously spent time on the streets and have now completed job skills training programs to fully prepare them for the workplace.
Tags: economy, homelessness, participation, poverty, standard of living, youth
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The age of unretirement
The notion of “retirement” is an entirely post-Second-World-War phenomenon, the product of rapidly increasing lifespans and the creation of the welfare state. It should be abolished. This doesn’t mean we’re interested in 60-hour workweeks and performance reviews from people 20 years our junior. Hell, no. We need flexibility, autonomy, and plenty of time to [insert passions here]. Fortunately, as the working-age population shrinks, the world is going to need us…
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, pensions, standard of living
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