Posts Tagged ‘economy’

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With deadline looming, why hasn’t Ontario signed a child-care deal yet?

Monday, March 7th, 2022

Morna Ballantyne, executive director of Child Care Now, said Ontario’s funding of full-day junior kindergarten is irrelevant. “The idea is to use this federal money to build on what already exists,” she said. “If Ontario wants to argue that the federal government should pay a share of public education, then they should make that proposal.”… Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said the $27.2 billion the Liberals have budgeted for the Canada-wide program would not be enough to meet expected demand.

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Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »


Ontario’s new gig-work bill might as well be written on DoorDash letterhead

Monday, March 7th, 2022

The Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act may look as if it’s intended to bring app-based employers in line — but it’s not the change we need… Changing the law to define these workers as employees would obviate the need for any of these proposed changes. It would enshrine the rights of these workers along with those of everyone else.  

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Don’t be fooled by Ontario’s ‘minimum wage’ for gig workers

Friday, March 4th, 2022

Ontario’s manipulative ‘minimum wage’ is an attempt to forestall genuine legislative and regulatory changes… workers at gig platforms already have the right to unionize through normal channels, and achieve genuine collective bargaining rights—they don’t need any special ‘law’, just clarification that they are indeed workers (whether employees or dependent contractors) not independent businesses.

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Ottawa can strike a blow against precarity with stronger protections for gig workers

Monday, February 28th, 2022

What is really needed to stop the spread of misclassification is to start with the presumption that a worker is an employee, unless a case can be made that they are a bona fide independent contractor. A clear and relatively simple test can be established to determine whether someone is a legitimate contractor — i.e., do they set their own prices, perform work that is not the company’s “core” business, and have their own business doing the same work that they market independently? — or a misclassified employee. 

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How authorities are targeting the ‘freedom convoy’ money via the Emergencies Act

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022

The Canadian government gave itself extraordinary powers for a 30-day period to end the “freedom convoy” occupation of Ottawa by invoking the Emergencies Act… The backbone of the convoy’s activities was its access to a steady flow of financing from donors both domestic and foreign. By deterring convoy supporters and participants, the federal government made it easier for law enforcement to bring a relatively peaceful end to an unprecedented crisis in Canada.

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Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »


Why Not 75 Years Old?

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022

… since the creation of the RRSP in 1957, the age limit of 71 has never been raised… Given the sharp increase in life expectancy, the age limit of 71 years for converting an RRSP into a RRIF needs to be lifted… this type of change would optimize the mechanics of pension plans, and also encourage Canadians to remain in the workforce, which improves health and also helps with Canada’s looming labour shortage.

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No good reason for Ontario to delay signing child-care agreement

Friday, February 11th, 2022

… a small minority is trying to weaken the pan-Canadian policy. They are trying to undermine the national approach, for reasons that include skepticism, financial self-interest and old-fashioned nostalgia for the 1950s family… There is no reason to cave to those who seek to weaken child-care policy. For more than 838,000 children five and under years – and for everyone who relies on someone who relies on child care – a solid Ontario child-care agreement can’t come soon enough.

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Ontario’s ‘affordable housing’ task force report does not address the real problems

Friday, February 11th, 2022

… the report reads like a blueprint for how to build more market-rate housing. Unfortunately, there is little empirical evidence to indicate that on its own, market-driven upzoning, laneway housing or mixed-use zoning produces the kind of housing that is accessible to households on low and moderate incomes… We talk a lot about housing today… because it has now become a middle-class problem.

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Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »


Ontario’s ‘affordable housing’ task force report does not address the real problems

Friday, February 11th, 2022

The tasks force’s recommendations are squarely aimed at this middle-class interpretation of the housing crisis… these measures will do very little for those on low and moderate incomes… Instead, a range of policies are needed to curb speculation, increase the supply of non-market, genuinely affordable housing and ensure tenants have adequate protections through strong rent-control policies.

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Could a $10-a-day deal hurt Ontario’s thousands of child-care businesses?

Wednesday, February 9th, 2022

… nobody is worse off, and more are better off. The new federal funding expands and improves the quality of care, helping licensed businesses stay afloat and focus on the business of care. It creates more better-paid job opportunities… And it reduces uncertainty for parents and providers in tandem, instead of waiting for markets to deliver what they haven’t — quality care where and when it is needed. 

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Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »


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