Archive for the ‘Policy Context’ Category
Only the United States benefits from renegotiating the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal
Monday, September 30th, 2024
Ideologically, the U.S. is no longer the free-trade champion it was… concessions are highly unlikely to convince the U.S. — regardless of which party is in power — to surrender the most potent weapon it has in its arsenal to pressure its neighbours to adopt its preferred policies. Policy reform, simply put, leads to U.S. market access… The 2018 CUSMA didn’t preserve free trade in North America. It signalled its demise and the return of power politics to our most important economic relationship.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction
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Out of work? You may be out of luck. Why getting EI is harder than it’s ever been
Saturday, August 10th, 2024
The program is running a honking great cumulative deficit because of the pandemic and improving access would mean hiking premiums or adding federal funding. Both options are no-fly zones for politicians these days… They have doubled EI sickness benefits, from 15 to 26 weeks; introduced extensions in EI caregiving and parental benefits; and added EI funding for training. But changes to regular jobless benefits have been temporary and targeted, despite repeated promises for deeper reforms. They’ve neither addressed workers’ needs in the 21st century, nor EI’s core purpose.
Tags: economy, participation, standard of living
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Years of corporate handouts achieved nothing. It’s time for something different
Thursday, June 13th, 2024
… corporate subsidies – either through tax incentives or direct funding and loans – now equal about $50-billion per year. That is slightly over one-half of the total amount of corporate taxes collected by the federal government and almost as much as they spend on health care. only 20 per cent of these business subsidies aimed at increasing productivity actually boost real income for Canadians. The other 80 per cent are not only ineffective but have to be paid for by either more taxes or by decreasing spending on other priorities.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology
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Liberal budget hits a home run on housing, but plays small ball on care economy
Wednesday, April 17th, 2024
Here are three ways federal small ball could deliver big results without big spends in the coming months: Child care Workforce Deals… with a focus on workforce attraction and retention… tracking trends in the investments occurring in our long-term care, child care and health-care sectors… examining ways of putting new guardrails on public funding… Care services such as child care, long-term care, medical or dental community clinics can be a built-in feature of new housing and infrastructure developments.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, housing, jurisdiction, standard of living, tax
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Carbon pricing is good for the climate and affordability
Saturday, April 6th, 2024
To keep the planet livable for humans and most other life forms, we can’t keep burning fossil fuels, which are becoming scarce and costly… Climate-related damage to everything from agriculture to human health also drives up costs for everyone… This is no time to get rid of effective policies, or even water them down. Those attacking the carbon levy with false and misleading information offer no alternatives, especially ones as cost-effective as carbon pricing.
Tags: economy, Health, standard of living
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Canada unveils new restrictions on work permits for international students, spouses
Monday, January 22nd, 2024
Starting on Sept. 1, the federal government will stop issuing postgraduate work permits to international students who graduate from programs provided under so-called Public College-Private Partnerships, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said… “I’m not the minister of post-secondary education underfunding. I’m the minister of immigration. Clearly in the last decade or so or even longer, post-secondary institutions in Canada have been underfunded by provinces.”
Tags: economy, featured, immigration, jurisdiction, standard of living
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Federal government’s new fiscal guardrails ‘helpful’ for monetary policy: Macklem
Thursday, November 23rd, 2023
The fall economic statement made new commitments on how the federal government will approach its finances, including setting a goal to keep deficits below 1 per cent of the GDP beginning in 2026-27… The governor said Canada has two advantages today compared with the 1970s. The first is that people expect inflation to come back down in the long run; the second, that the Bank of Canada responded forcefully this time with aggressive rate hikes.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
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Canada poised to create public company registry to curb financial secrecy
Monday, November 20th, 2023
The new registry will require companies to publicly disclose beneficial ownership information of federally registered companies — a move experts say will help expose criminals and tax cheats who anonymously create companies or purchase property… Panama Papers dataset, revealed how Canada had emerged as a popular tax haven, touted by corporate service providers as a “reputable” destination to hide wealth.
Tags: economy, globalization, jurisdiction, rights, tax
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Levelling the playing field: The case for a federal ‘anti-scab’ law
Tuesday, November 14th, 2023
Despite corporate objections to the contrary, anti-scab laws can play an integral role in improving union-management relations… it would force employers to focus on reaching negotiated settlements rather than strategizing over how to best undermine and antagonize union members exercising their right to strike.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, rights
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New Canadians have valuable work experience. A new law will knock down a barrier to putting those skills to work
Tuesday, November 14th, 2023
Studies have suggested that only about a quarter of internationally-trained immigrants in Ontario were working in regulated professions aligned with their training… Banning Canadian experience requirements from job postings and ads is another step toward eliminating systemic barriers newcomers face, creating a more inclusive work force, and addressing labour shortages.
Tags: economy, immigration, jurisdiction, participation
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