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From Keynesian Consensus to Neo-Liberalism to the Green New Deal: 75 years of income inequality in Canada

Friday, March 12th, 2021

… slowing growth and the concentration of income gains at the top produced widening income gaps, increasing discontent and political instability—even before COVID-19 hit. In the post-COVID-19 era, the Green New Deal emphasizes social and environmental sustainability, and is reflective of the economic policy changes that likely lie ahead. 

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A broader vision of public health

Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

If we learn anything from COVID-19, it should be that we need a more comprehensive version of public health that acts on what we know about the social determinants of well-being… Here’s our three-step plan. 1. Identify the contours of an integrated, coherent vision of public health… 2. Co-ordinate the wider public health vision across political jurisdictions… 3. Work from the ground up to uncouple “health” from “health care.” 

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A broader vision of public health

Thursday, December 31st, 2020

Lying beneath the weakening of public health practice, which one can think of as the tip of the iceberg, is an erosion of these deeper values and priorities… [collectivity / social justice / upstream thinking] … The erosion manifests as cuts to the public sector, solutions packaged in individualized terms, and a deepening political polarization that erodes societal assets such as trust. 

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A just recovery

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020

… a basic income standard for the unemployed and people receiving social and disability assistance… [would improve]… their standard of living, their hope and trust in the future would grow, and their ability to participate… would increase… we need a basic services guarantee that helps every Canadian secure affordable housing, nutritious food, pharmacare, dental care, mental health care, and specialized support for people with complex needs.

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Alternative Federal Budget Recovery Plan

Thursday, July 23rd, 2020

Among the key issues in the AFB Recovery Plan requiring immediate action: implement universal public child care so people can get back to work, reform employment insurance, strengthen safeguards for public health, decarbonize the economy, and tackle the gender, racial, and income inequality that COVID-19 has further exposed.

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AFB meet GND: What role might the Alternative Federal Budget play in fleshing out the details of a Green New Deal for Canada?

Friday, March 6th, 2020

Advocates need a clear and practical agenda to make the most of this opportunity without sacrificing either environmental or social prerogatives. The AFB can help in this respect.  Adopting all the AFB 2020 actions would mark an important shift in government policy-making and put the Canadian economy on more inclusive and sustainable foundations. It would do so without significantly adding to Canada’s debt at a time when public debt is truly the least of our problems.

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How many teachers is your school set to lose? Calculate it here.

Tuesday, February 11th, 2020

As the Ontario government continues to promote educational reforms that increase class size, reduce course selection, underfund special needs and implement mandatory e-learning, I wanted to share with you some resources that help demonstrate the impact of these changes on our kids’ classrooms.

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Setting the stage for the 2020 Ontario budget

Wednesday, December 18th, 2019

Ontarians can expect the government’s talking points to feature prominently in the 2020 Ontario budget. Claims of high spending and unsustainable debt and deficit are being used to excuse cuts to public services. But how many of these claims are true? Watch our new video to find out more.

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How Not to Engage Parents: Lessons from the Ontario Ministry of Education

Monday, December 2nd, 2019

Policymaking deals with complex issues for which government officials have to develop timely, effective, efficient and sensitive responses. A consensus has formed in the past decades that officials are more likely to get it right if they ask input from the people who will be affected by the policy in question. The public shares their input in good faith, hoping it will lead to better results. But public trust is undermined when government use the input from a consultation to justify any and all policy changes.

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Should billionaires continue to exist?

Friday, November 1st, 2019

A bold tax policy package is sorely needed to address this kind of wealth hoarding, which contributes to soaring inequality. Along with a host of other progressive measures, the wealth tax in particular sits in the enviable position of being at the nexus of both good policy and good politics.

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