Luc Turgeon: Reflections on Fair Taxes
Canadians can sometimes be smug. We pride ourselves on our supposed modesty, but we never miss a chance to stress all the ways in which we are better than our...
The upside of slow growth in the labour force
The Finance Department’s long-awaited study on the economic and fiscal implications of our aging population was finally released on Oct. 23. It’s a gloomy outlook that underpins the Harper government’s view that...
Are boomer kids really getting a raw deal?
We often hear that there is a large and unfair gap between the life-chances of the baby boomers – those persons now in their mid-50s to early 60s – and...
McGuinty should head back to school for a lesson in democracy
When Ontario’s Bill 115 was first proposed, and then made law, I was perplexed. Are these the kinds of lessons that we should be teaching our children? Preparing students for...
Tarnished anniversary: Why the free-trade deal didn’t deliver
Twenty-five years ago this week, the signing of the Canada – U.S. free-trade agreement (FTA) sparked one of the most passionate political debates in Canadian history. Reflecting on the debate,...
Carney and Mulcair going Dutch? Thoughts on the Bank of Canada Governor’s and “Dutch Disease”
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney recently delivered a widely-publicized major speech in Calgary on the economic phenomenon known as the “Dutch Disease.” This was more nuanced than much of...
Unions, equality, and democracy
Right-wing commentators like to claim that unions undermine good economic performance. But respected organizations such as the OECD, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have shown this isn’t...
Omnibus bill exposes ‘pragmatic’ Stephen Harper as a radical (Op-Ed)
12 June 2012, Toronto Star (Op-Ed) Stephen Harper is often portrayed by his supporters as a pragmatist, a man who simply wants to do what works. But the evidence suggests...