Top 8 progressive changes coming to Alberta
The historic results of the Alberta election on Tuesday represent a resounding win for progressives. After more than four decades of conservative rule, here’s a primer on the top eight progressive...
A tribute to Abe Rotstein: a giant of Canadian political economy
Mel Watkins delivered this eulogy for Abe Rotstein (1929 - 2015) on April 30th 2015 My dear friend Abe had lived so long. He kept teaching after his contemporaries...
The common sense proposition of phasing out Alberta's coal plants
Right across Canada and around the world, jurisdictions are moving away from coal-fired electricity generation in favour of cleaner options, and this critical debate has finally come to the mainstream...
Budget 2015: Not as balanced as it looks
Budget 2015 is, surprise, primarily a political document that extolls the government’s record and highlights tax cuts, but does almost nothing to deal with rising inequality or to shape the...
Budget 2015-16 preview: Top 10 ways the Harper government has boosted inequality (11 actually)
1. Family Income Splitting The federal government plans to spend about $2-billion per year on family income splitting that will mainly benefit high-income, traditional families with a stay at home...
Investment should be the federal budget priority
The federal Budget to be introduced on April 21 should have one clear priority – to boost public and private investment so as to create jobs now and a more...
Fifteen dollar an hour minimum wage fight comes to Canada
Over the past 20 years, income inequality has been growing faster in Canada than in other similar countries. During this period about one third of all income growth has gone...
The Harper Record on Jobs, 2006-2014
There are many factors other than federal government policy that strongly influence the quantity and quality of Canadian jobs including resource prices, business decisions, the state of the American and...
Harper Government Continues Attack on Labour Rights
In a series of recent landmark decisions, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that basic trade union rights, including the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike,...
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...