Archive for the ‘Policy Context’ Category
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Stop importing temporary workers into Canada
Apr 21 2013
… with 1.33 million jobless, there’s no shortage of labour for the 250,000 job vacancies. That’s nearly six jobless Canadians for every available job… The real issue is that Canadians don’t want those jobs, certainly not at the wages on offer. So the skills shortages mantra is a bit of a scam… High-tech jobs are shipped overseas or contracted to a Canadian company that gets the job done overseas. Costs go down, profits go up and up, as do CEO compensations… Ottawa should end the temporary worker program — forthwith — and forbid businesses from paying 15 per cent less to those already here.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, immigration, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
RBC offers lesson in how to curb job outsourcing
Apr 17 2013
… as fast as we graduate people capable of doing valuable and productive jobs, those jobs disappear. Some are simply degraded. These are the full-time jobs transformed into fragile and part-time contract employment. Some, including many that are highly skilled, are outsourced overseas. Some are given to foreign temporary workers legally permitted by Ottawa to be paid less than the going wage. This attack on wages, while not entirely new, has been accelerated by the global slump… in order to, successfully, create jobs at home. Perhaps the time to curb unfettered trade has arrived again.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Ontario Liberals must act to protect most vulnerable workers
Apr 08 2013
… the Law Commission of Ontario(‘s)… report called “Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work” has made 42 recommendations that would better the lives of the 22 per cent of Ontario workers living with low wages and unstable employment… the report calls for a commission to study the rate of minimum wage increases and tougher enforcement against employers who break existing rules in the Employment Standards Act.
Tags: ideology, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
EI cuts are another blow to the jobless
Apr 10 2013
Ironically, Flaherty’s objective was to make the EI system more equitable, a goal shared by Canadians and the Ontario government. They envisaged a uniform rate structure that would boost benefits for everyone. What the minister delivered was a plan to lower them… No doubt these measures will sharpen the private sector’s competitive edge. But they will drive down wages and make it harder for workers who lose their jobs to recover.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Workers with unstable jobs left behind by outdated social programs
Feb 26 2013
… a new study showing that nearly half of working adults in the GTA have unstable employment without benefits or pensions is an eye-opener. It’s a surprise to see just how many are now affected by so-called “precarious” employment.. the study does bring into focus some very real issues with social assistance programs that could ease the lives of many affected by insecure jobs.
Tags: disabilities, pensions, poverty, standard of living, youth
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Ontario’s failed approach to poverty
Jan 24, 2013
So why are Liberal leadership hopefuls pledging to continue — or even expand — a policy that has clearly failed to meet its goals? Because it’s easier than facing the truth, which is that increased income redistribution won’t reduce poverty — more jobs will.
Tags: budget, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
The Big Fail [austerity]
January 6, 2013
The premature turn to austerity, it turns out, was a terrible mistake… European leaders, having created Depression-level suffering in debtor countries without restoring financial confidence, still insist that the answer is even more pain… The truth is that we’ve just experienced a colossal failure of economic policy — and far too many of those responsible for that failure both retain power and refuse to learn from experience.
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
The Invisibles: Migrant Workers in Canada
Jan 7, 2013
In 2010, the government accepted one and a half times more migrant workers than permanent Canadian residents… in 2012… the Conservatives introduced changes for high-skilled workers such as dropping application times from 12 weeks to 10 days and permitting employers to pay them 15 per cent less than the average Canadian salary for the same work.
Tags: economy, globalization, immigration, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Ontario’s future Ontario’s Jobs and Prosperity Council calls for investing in the future, today
Dec. 19, 2012
Governments, both federal and provincial, have helped over the past decade by cutting red tape and corporate taxes, creating space for business to thrive. While government can provide additional incentives to innovate, within current spending restraints, the focus must now shift to the leaders of industry, whose companies are hoarding massive cash reserves instead of reinvesting profits into the research, new software and high-tech machinery that’s needed to improve productivity.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Recent Comments