Archive for the ‘Policy Context’ Category
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Oh! What a Lovely Trade War
Rapid growth in globalization has hurt some American workers, and an import surge after 2000 disrupted industries and communities… globalization has already happened, and U.S. industries are now embedded in a web of international transactions. So a trade war would disrupt communities the same way that rising trade did in the past… Also, the tariffs now being proposed would boost capital-intensive industries that employ relatively few workers per dollar of sales… [and] further tilt the distribution of income against labor.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living
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New Ontario legislation ensures workers can take at least 10 sick days a year without a doctor’s note
Bosses will be banned from asking employees for sick notes if they take 10 or fewer days a year under proposed legislation that would take effect next January 1. The measure… means fewer wasted appointments for doctors and allows workers to stay home and get well instead of spreading their germs around… the law will ensure all workers are entitled to at least 10 personal emergency leave days annually — two of which must be paid.
Tags: Health, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
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How business also benefits from the Liberals’ latest labour reforms
Our unemployment rate of 5.8 per cent can’t get much lower; our economic growth leads the country. These are boom times for employers; but also precarious times for many employees… The beneficiaries of these reforms will be precarious employees for whom unionization has long been a remote possibility, and for whom legal protections have recently become more theoretical than practical.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living
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Kathleen Wynne shows there’s nothing inevitable about precarious labour
In Ontario, about 22 per cent of workers are now employed in some form of precarious labour, many in low-wage, temporary jobs. In the GTA, that number is around 53 per cent. Yet as the traditional perks of full-time employment – predictable hours, benefits, pensions, even the guarantee of minimum wage – have become increasingly elusive, the province has failed until now to intervene.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living
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Kathleen Wynne’s modest blueprint for attacking precarious work
Precarious work makes life chaotic. It also contributes to income inequality. While the ultimate cause of precarious work lies in the globalized economy, governments can take mitigating measures to ease the pain… the report recommends that those allegedly self-employed persons who rely on one firm for their livelihood be granted all employee benefits… Some of the report’s recommendations, such as requiring employers to pay equivalent full- and part-time workers the same wage, reflect basic notions of fairness.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction, pensions, standard of living
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Electricity policy: What went wrong in Ontario
There is no way of de-risking long-term projects. Political acceptability – mutable as it may be – is an essential planning requirement… Do lead the narrative on needs, alternatives, outcome. Do allow time for people to come to the right conclusion. Do offer choices. Do model solutions. Do make the right choice easy, safe and cheap as possible.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization, standard of living
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Innovations in Healthcare Should Focus More on Cost-Effectiveness
Provincial governments, with support from Ottawa, should experiment with new models of provider payment that strengthen their incentive to adopt cost-effective drugs, treatment methods, and diagnostic tests… Patients should be empowered with information… Governments should also work on creating a system of Health Technology Assessment…
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
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Impacts of income volatility should be wake up call for policy-makers
The median household that suffered a loss saw its income decrease by 49 per cent year over year. That’s almost beyond comprehension… The main causes of income fluctuation… include ebbing and flowing work hours, self-employment and multiple sources of income. In other words, the new world of work. The main effects are obvious: financial stress, the inability to plan and save for emergencies let alone retirement, the relentless reality of falling further and further behind.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, pensions, poverty, standard of living
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Ontario should seize chance to lead on labour reform
Critics have been even more vocal in insisting that increasing the minimum wage will kill too many jobs. But while some studies have shown these hikes can have an impact on employment, the effect is marginal. And while some of the costs to business are no doubt passed on to consumers, the overwhelming balance of evidence indicates the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, rights, standard of living
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Ontario plans big boost to minimum wage, update of labour laws
Cabinet will soon decide on the biggest overhaul to Ontario’s labour law in a generation — raising minimum wage up to $15 an hour, boosting private sector unionization and targeting companies that rely unfairly on part-time or contract work… it could have far-reaching effects for people of all ages and all walks of life who worry about vacation time, job security and wage transparency as temporary workers are increasingly treated like second-class citizens.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, rights, standard of living
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