Anti-union bill shows Conservative disregard for evidence, democratic institutions
Canadians like their labour law the way they like their touques – sturdy and designed to protect. As a result, Canadian lawmakers have a long history of consulting with labour and business...
Statement on the passage of Bill C-525
The Conservative government ended the 2014 Parliamentary session with another attack on Canada’s democratic institutions with Tuesday’s passage of Bill C-525 in the Senate. The intention of the private member’s bill by...
Polluter-pay policy: a debate worth having
Earlier this week, Andrew Jackson, senior policy advisor to the Broadbent Institute, wrote a thoughtful and constructively critical analysis of the Ecofiscal Commission’s first report. My first response is: thank you,...
Key income data goes missing
Understanding what has been happening in recent years with income inequality in Canada is vitally important. What do we know, for example, about the incidence of low income and poverty,...
Markets can’t tackle climate change on their own
Canada’s new Ecofiscal Commission, chaired by McGill University macroeconomics professor Chris Ragan, has a mandate to propose reforms to the fiscal system that reduce pollution and environmental damage while also...
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 rise and fall of the Economic Council and a new way forward
Some 50 years ago, an Act of Parliament created a new permanent institution, the Economic Council of Canada. The general economic climate was considerably different back in 1963. Economics had...
Youth unemployment and Canada's jobless non-recovery
When Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz commented recently that unemployed youth can advance their careers by volunteering their services instead of expecting to be paid, he inadvertently unleashed a firestorm of...
Corporate Canada needs to pony up to reduce youth unemployment
One of the perks of the position of the Governor of the Bank of Canada, going back to at least the days of David Dodge, is that it provides a...
With U.S.-China climate deal, Canada's isolation deepens
Tuesday’s U.S.-China climate deal has been hailed widely as an “historic deal” that dramatically changes the dynamics of international climate politics as countries search for a new global agreement by...
