« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
COVID-19 will make the global baby bust even worse – but Canada stands to benefit
Monday, August 10th, 2020
In a future darkened by societal aging and the economic fallout from COVID-19, immigrants aren’t just the best solution; they’re our only solution… The median age of a Canadian… is 41 and rising. We don’t have the young people to pay taxes that we used to… the strong support for diversity among young people as an encouraging long-term trend… in the years to come, we’ll need all the young people we can get.
Tags: economy, featured, immigration, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Here’s a tip: It’s time to discuss how we pay workers in the service industry
Monday, August 10th, 2020
Embedding tips can solve some problems. First off, tipping clearly contributes to pay disparities among restaurant staff. Waiters often earn double what cooks earn, and hiring for back-of-house positions has been problematic for many restaurateurs. Studies have shown that tipping also promotes bias based on age, race, and gender…
Tags: economy, ideology
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
It’s time to unify the disability movement
Wednesday, August 5th, 2020
A decision to issue one-time, $600 federal payments to Canadians with disabilities, in order to cover the extraordinary expenses they have incurred because of COVID-19, has finally received royal assent. But it’s too little, too late, and reaches too few… To move forward on disability rights in Canada, we must first unify the disability movement.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, participation, poverty
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
We must do more to protect people with dementia
Tuesday, August 4th, 2020
… 40 per cent of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by targeting a dozen modifiable risk factors, ranging from making sure every child gets an education through to controlling high blood pressure… preventing dementia begins in childhood, not at retirement… countless lifestyle choices and public health measures can have a dramatic impact on our brains, and the health of individuals and societies more broadly.
Tags: disabilities, Health, mental Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
It won’t be popular, but we should scrap the homeowner tax break
Friday, July 31st, 2020
Sell your principal residence for more than you paid for it, and in most cases you will pay no tax on the gain at all. Indeed, until 2016 you didn’t even have to report the transaction on your tax return. Neither is there any limit on the exemption – as there is, for example, in the United States. The bigger the gain, the bigger the tax benefit. You can guess which income groups benefit the most.
Tags: economy, housing, ideology, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Dare we broach the subject of higher taxes?
Thursday, July 30th, 2020
Current interest rates are so low that… with long-term bonds, debt-servicing costs will remain manageable for decades to come… When the economy is back on its feet, taxes are something Canadians are going to have to talk about. Canadians can have a future of stronger health care, better education, less poverty, less inequality and more opportunity. These are good things, but they’re not free. They’re going to have to be paid for.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
During the pandemic, one prison crisis was eased – but another one got worse
Monday, July 27th, 2020
Right now, the reintegration process begins six weeks prior to release, and there is no continuum of services and support before or after that point… Families must learn all of this on their own, often on the fly. If they stumble or fail, the risks of homelessness, mental-health crises, addiction and reoffending significantly increase. Relationships with an incarcerated person are challenging… reintegration is a process that must consider the entire family unit.
Tags: corrections, participation
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
Austerity wasn’t the right path before the pandemic, and it can’t be the road chosen after it
Sunday, July 26th, 2020
The need to shrink government, and by implication social programs, will be pitched as inevitable math and unarguable morality… because Canadians think they have no other options, it will be a missed opportunity, and a great mistake… Canada needs more of some things that only government can do. And it needs these not to end the free market, but to bolster its best qualities by ameliorating its worst.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
How Canada won its first debt war
Friday, July 24th, 2020
[Post WW2] … North American manufacturing was in its heyday, trade liberalization was boosting exports and productivity, and the baby boom fuelled consumption. Today, protectionism is on the rise, and the aging of the baby boomers poses significant long-term problems for labour productivity… Stepped-up enforcement against tax evasion, an annual wealth tax and higher corporate income tax rates are needed…
Tags: economy, tax
Posted in History | No Comments »
Canadian court says Safe Third Country Agreement with U.S. violates charter
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2020
“The ‘sharing of responsibility’ objective of the STCA should entail some guarantee of access to a fair refugee process.” The court said the fact that STCA returnees are jailed by U.S. authorities, does not immunize the actions of Canadian officials from consideration… critics have long argued that the U.S. asylum system is cruel and inhumane, especially under the Trump administration.
Tags: immigration, jurisdiction, rights
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Recent Comments