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Canadian-born visible minorities earn less
Sunday, February 27th, 2011
Feb. 25, 2011
One of the cherished notions of Canadian multiculturalism is that the children of immigrants succeed economically in a way that makes them indistinguishable from other Canadians. But since Canada opened up its immigration policy in the late 1960s, those children are much more likely to belong to a visible minority. Now that the eldest are in their 40s and have established themselves in the work force, it’s evident that Canadian-born visible minorities (and those who came to Canada as young children) earn less than their similarly qualified white counterparts.
Tags: immigration, multiculturalism, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
The rise of the grassroots movements
Friday, February 25th, 2011
February 24, 2011
… movements… can mobilize public opinion and support in such a way as to raise specific issues higher on the public agenda – high enough that parties are obliged to respond… modern parties… have become primarily marketing mechanisms for fighting elections. They do very little development of their own intellectual capital; they’re dependent on others to do so – think tanks, academics, interest groups and the civil service, if they’re a governing party… despite the fact that “people” are really their only major asset besides money.
Tags: ideology, participation
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Playing the politics of slogans and fear
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
Feb. 23, 2011
… what we have, sadly, is the politics of sloganeering about crime, rather than serious measures. About a dozen bills have been presented to Parliament by the Harper government as part of a “tough on crime” agenda… Almost the entire expert community – corrections experts, lawyers, judges, criminologists – opposes most of these measures. Many of them have trooped before parliamentary committees to say the measures either will do nothing to deter crime or will make things worse. To no avail, of course, because we’re not talking about rational policy-making – we’re talking about the politics of fear.
Tags: ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
If we are a northern nation, support our northern peoples
Monday, February 21st, 2011
Feb. 21, 2011
The isolation and sparse population of many communities in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut make it more difficult to deliver health and educational services. And yet Ottawa has a responsibility to ensure a minimum standard of self-governance exists, and that residents of the North can experience a quality of life that is at least comparable to that in the South. Unfortunately, this is not the case – especially in the eastern Arctic, where people have abysmal high-school graduation rates, high unemployment and some of the world’s worst health outcomes.
Tags: economy, Health, Indigenous, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Canada holds a losing hand in the arbitration game
Monday, February 21st, 2011
Feb. 21, 2011
The London Court of International Arbitration… Unlike a traditional court, there are fewer built-in safeguards to protect the organization’s independence… Its judges are paid by the parties who use the court, and they’re assigned at the discretion of the court, rather than by lottery or rotation… Critics say the court’s structure serves the interests of the international arbitration business first and defendants such as Canada second. As a result, the court might not be the friendliest venue in which to duke it out with the United States, which accounts for roughly half of all arbitration cases.
Tags: economy, globalization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Debates, Policy Context | 3 Comments »
Canada’s immigration policy: Who is on the guest list?
Monday, February 21st, 2011
February 18, 2011
In 2010, there were 283,096 temporary foreign workers in Canada, doing work that employers asserted there was no Canadian available to do… In 2000, 11 per cent of temporary foreign workers performed basic labour or unspecified skills; now 34 per cent of them do. They used to primarily fall into the categories of nannies and caregivers, or seasonal agricultural workers. Employers are now using the temporary work permit program to bring in workers for hotels, fast food outlets, janitorial services and factories — typical Canadian jobs, albeit low-paying.
Tags: economy, globalization, immigration, rights, standard of living
Posted in Debates | 1 Comment »
Am radio or YouTube? How parties reach their supporters
Monday, February 21st, 2011
Feb. 21, 2011
Roughly 56 per cent of Tory voters are male and 41 per cent are over the age of 55. Another 34 per cent are between the ages of 35 and 55 while only a quarter of Conservative supporters are under the age of 34… The television ads featuring the Prime Minister working late into the night were not aimed at young voters, just as the Liberal “Pucapab” YouTube video was not meant for grandma and grandpa. In politics as in business, finding the right audience for an advertisement can be just as important as hitting the right tune.
Tags: ideology, participation, women, youth
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Let’s build opportunity, not prisons
Sunday, February 20th, 2011
Feb. 18, 2011
Even if all of the government’s criminal justice bills were sensible, taken individually (and frankly, we have no philosophical objection to Truth in Sentencing), the costs need to be known and weighed, on their own merits and against other uses for that money. If Canada has money for an expansion of the jails, which is doubtful, it should think instead about ambitious ways of investing in productivity and people.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Stephen Harper’s worst enemy
Friday, February 18th, 2011
Feb. 18, 2011
Look at Stephen Harper’s record. He silences whistle-blowers and punishes dissenters. He treats Parliament with open contempt and brazenly lies when found out. He suspends Parliament at the first sign of political risk. He makes a mockery of the accountability and transparency he loudly demands of everyone else. He makes lying to parliament just another tactical device. He fakes his budgets by refusing to cost new initiatives…
Tags: ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Tricky politics for Canada as junior partner in international tie-ups
Thursday, February 17th, 2011
Feb. 16, 2011
The negotiation of a continental perimeter border and security deal with the United States, the proposed merger of the Toronto and London stock exchanges, and the possible free trade and investment treaty with the European Union all dilute Canada’s ability to act alone; that is, to exercise its sovereignty. In exchange, in theory, the Canadian economy will benefit.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
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