Posts Tagged ‘globalization’

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Will Canada’s Federal Budget meet the COVID-19 Challenge?

Friday, March 12th, 2021

Responding to an unprecedented crisis, the federal government mobilized billions in new support programs within weeks – an important “possibility proof” that rapid social policy change can happen. The fact that the sky did not fall when governments increased their deficits by billions of dollars also clearly demonstrated that the barriers to a better social safety net are political, not economic. The pandemic is the formative experience that will shape the lifetime political perspective of a generation.

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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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Canada will have a $1.6-trillion debt by the end of the year due to the pandemic. Here’s why some economists say we shouldn’t sweat it

Sunday, March 7th, 2021

Blessed with historically low interest rates, which show little sign of rising, and one of the healthiest debt-to-GDP ratios in the developed world, Canada cannot only service its pandemic bill, but thrive on the other side, many experts say… there’s little doubt that the country’s economy will bounce back to some extent in post-pandemic times and that the increased revenues produced by that rebound will help lessen the debt’s impact.

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Compulsory licensing would allow Ottawa to authorize generic copies of the COVID-19 vaccines

Friday, February 5th, 2021

compulsory licensing would eliminate the need for constant negotiation. The government would make its decision and that would be that. The drug giants would be furious. Pfizer and Moderna might refuse to honour their pledges. They might cut back promised shipments of the vaccine.
But they are doing that anyway. And the government has been unable to use the usual methods of contract compliance to stop them. Compulsory licensing provides government with a workable alternative…

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New Year, Same Work Anxiety.  How capitalism makes work-life ‘balance’ feel impossible

Monday, January 4th, 2021

Keeping us anxiously tethered to work ensures we’ll keep working, because, for a lot of people, is there really another option? We need a solid safety net… one that ensures that losing income or employment doesn’t have cascading effects on housing security or health security. The pandemic isn’t disappearing in 2021, and neither is the need to reconsider work policies and structures that don’t so tightly tie our time, worth and lives to our jobs. This is a problem that won’t be fixed by reminders to “make time for you.”

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Canada must reorient its immigration system for the 21st-century economy

Saturday, December 26th, 2020

If Canadian companies and postsecondary institutions are going to get the talent required to expand the Canadian economy, the government must shift to an aggressive, co-recruitment model of top talent globally… Our immigration officials will have to be less application processors and more head-hunters for the entrepreneurs, engineers, researchers, finance professionals, marketers, salespeople and other strategic vocations required to fuel Canada’s economy and vibrant society for generations to come.

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From sunny ways to icy reception: How the Liberals are handling issues involving Big Tech firms

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2020

“… we’ve come to the realization that this great, wonderful promise of the free internet… came at a pretty steep cost”… Ottawa’s more aggressive push also comes at a time of rising public distrust of the tech giants worldwide… they appear to have public opinion on their side… polls… showed broad support for policies such as more social-media regulation and requiring digital platforms to charge sales tax.

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Net-zero, Indigenous-led resource development is possible

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020

… 70 First Nations from across six provinces and territories collectively… signed an agreement that will advance an Indigenous-led, net-zero carbon-emissions policy framework, including nature-based solutions for carbon capture… our partnership highlights three important Canadian trends… investors are putting real dollars into energy projects that will charge the low-carbon economy of the future… Indigenous nations are increasingly involved in these major energy projects as partners and owners… [and] it demonstrates a new kind of collaboration that First Nations are pursuing with each other

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Ottawa has its hands all over the economy — and that’s just fine with business leaders

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020

“The concept is to bring a strong portfolio of public investments and private investment in a kind of renewed partnership between government, Canadian companies and pension funds and financial institutions in Canada to fully position our leadership in the world, (in areas) where we think Canada as a middle-sized country could make a difference”… they should have a strategy that pushes companies to be more competitive in the areas we are already good at.

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The die has been cast on Canada’s carbon tax. Now we just need the courage to implement it across the country

Wednesday, December 16th, 2020

… there are those who claim that our carbon-pricing policy is unfair, imposing higher costs on some… but Canada’s carbon pricing policy is obsessed with equity. It is revenue-neutral on a national basis, meaning that each province receives precisely the amount that carbon taxes would collect. It includes support mechanisms for the most vulnerable. And the carbon tax rebates received by most Canadians will exceed the carbon tax they pay. Only high polluters will be net losers

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