ed broadbent

Ed Broadbent speaks out against income inequality

In a recent feature interview with Amanda Lang, host of CBC's The Exchange with Amanda Lang, Broadbent Institute Chair Ed Broadbent spoke about inequality, politics, government, social democracy and more.

Here is the interview:

How the Conservatives have failed on child poverty

Twenty-five years ago, the House of Commons unanimously passed Ed Broadbent's resolution to abolish child poverty by the year 2000. We are far from that goal.

Child poverty as measured by the Statistics Canada Low Income Cut Off has fallen since 1989, meaning that the proportion of families forced to spend a well above average share of their budgets on food, clothing and shelter has diminished somewhat. 

But it is a different story if we use the low income measure, which looks at the gap between poor children and the middle class, calculating the number of children who live...

Canada has failed to create equality of opportunity: Broadbent

Ed Broadbent / The Globe and Mail

Twenty-five years ago, on Nov. 24, 1989, I stood in the House of Commons and moved a motion to abolish the scourge of child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.

I was optimistic. The 11-year timetable was realistic, the goal reachable. And politicians seemed prepared to act. Prime minister Brian Mulroney and Liberal leader John Turner strongly supported the resolution and it passed unanimously.

...

Ed Broadbent reflects on the child-poverty pledge of 1989

By Marco Chown Oved / The Toronto Star

It was the twilight of his storied political career and Ed Broadbent wanted to send Canada on a historic mission: to eradicate child poverty by 2000.
 
After days of backroom negotiations in November 1989, he rose in the House of Commons to deliver his last speech as leader of the NDP. It
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Child poverty and the case for national child care

With a national child care program back on the front burner, it’s time we talk about the links between child care and child poverty. 

Here’s the bottom line: affordable and reliable child care in Canada could help lift 300,000 children under six, and their low and modest income families, out of poverty. 

Today, very few such families have access to regulated, high-quality and affordable child care. Instead, these families compete for regulated daycare spaces accessible to only about one in five children under six years old, most of...

North-South Institute: We've lost a Canadian asset

Ed Broadbent, Paul Martin, Joe Clark and Joseph Ingram / The Globe and Mail

The recent closing of the North-South Institute as a result of discontinued federal government funding is a loss both for Canada and for the global community.

The daily dose of news – Ebola in West Africa, the rising incidence of terrorism in the Middle East and Africa, the millions of immigrants and refugees fleeing bad governance and poverty – is...

Kathleen Monk: we've built "a solid foundation" for progressive voices to be heard

As an idealistic young girl I always played the role of Ed Broadbent during our school yard political debates. Yes, that’s right, as a school girl I followed the 1984 campaign more closely than many of the double-dutch contests in my school yard. But that won’t surprise anyone who knows me well. 

Flash forward over two decades and that same idealistic girl, who believed passionately in what Ed Broadbent represented, was honoured to become the first employee of the Broadbent Institute. 

We met on a coffee shop patio in July 2011. I was filled

...

Ed Broadbent adds 'democracy' to issues defining left versus right

Canadian Press

Left and right-wing politicians have traditionally clashed over economic, social and environmental policy.

Now Ed Broadbent is adding democracy to the list of issues that differentiate so-called progressives from conservatives — at least in Canada.

The former NDP leader says the Harper government's proposed overhaul of national election laws has turned what used to be a shared value...

Progressive think-tank gears up to take on conservatives

Mark Kennedy / Postmedia 

For years, Ed Broadbent fought his battles on the front lines of Canadian politics as leader of the federal NDP.

These days, he’s taking his fight to a different plain — to the battle of ideas, of influence and of political relevance.

He is chair of a think-tank — the Broadbent Institute — that champions “progressive change,” trains activists and confronts some of the long-term issues...

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