Hugh Mackenzie and Trish Hennessy talk about the conversation Ontarians should be having about austerity measures. They indicate that there are plenty of revenue options for the province to rebuild its fiscal capacity while protecting the services we all count on. Read about the options here published in the Toronto Star.
TORONTO – Ontario’s experiment with austerity in 2012 is contributing to an economic slowdown that demands a different course of action in 2013, says a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Ontario office (CCPA-Ontario).
The report, by CCPA-Ontario Director Trish Hennessy and CAW economist Jim Stanford, shows the province has not returned to pre-recession economic health. Austerity measures are compounding the problem, creating a “fiscal drag” effect that is slowing economic growth and undermining budgetary progress.
“The combination of federal, provincial and municipal program spending cuts is creating a fiscal drag on Ontario’s economy, reducing the province’s GDP growth by three per cent over the next couple of years,” says Stanford, who is also the CCPA-Ontario Advisory Board chairperson.
Stanford pointed out that Canadian GDP growth slowed almost to zero at the end of 2012. More spending cuts, combined with anemic private sector growth, could well create another recession.
Among the report’s findings:
“Ontario’s economy remains on fragile ground and there is growing evidence that government spending cuts are doing more harm than good,” says CCPA-Ontario Director Trish Hennessy. “It’s time to step down from the austerity ledge and make job creation a top priority.”
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Download the report, More Harm Than Good, at www.policyalternatives.ca/ontario.
For more information please contact: Trish Hennessy (416) 525-4927.
A new report from CCPA-Ontario shows that Ontario hasn't returned to pre-recession economic health, and finds that austerity measures are compounding the problem by effectively slowing economic growth. The report authors, Trish Hennessy and CAW economist Jim Stanford note that the province's deficit predictions were wildly overstated and that the employment rate hasn't returned to the pre-recession rates. They maintain that creating jobs, not austerity measures, should be Ontario's top priority.
Find out more in this news release, or the full report, More Harm Than Good: Austerity's Impact in Ontario, and in this article in the Toronto Star.
It's an apples to oranges comparison, of course, but the Fraser Institute's attempt to frame Ontario as the next Greece because of debt level is flawed for other reasons too. CCPA Director Trish Hennessy assesses the report's conclusions and says it's time we shift the conversation beyond austerity and the outdated policy proposals of the 1990s. Read the full blog post here.
Trish Hennessy suggests in this blog that moving from austerity to finding income inequality solutions in this province could be the ideal way to address growing social unrest while helping to grow the economy.
The CCPA-Ontario office hosted a full-day session at Ryerson University in Toronto on January 9, 2013. The session focused on countering the austerity agenda in this province and beginning the conversation about what a post-austerity agenda could look like.
Alex Himelfarb asked Canadians to imagine an alternative to austerity budgets in his keynote address, transcribed here.
CCPA economist Hugh Mackenzie schooled the room on the manufactured deficit crisis. Watch the video here, and click below to view the slides from Hugh's presentation:
CAW economist Jim Stanford, the CCPA-Ontario's Advisory Board chair, showed how the austerity response to the 2008 recession has negative side effects on the economy and contributes to the weakness in Ontario's labour market. Watch the video of Jim's presentation here, and click below to view his PowerPoint slides:
Addressing the Deficit's Root Cause and Putting Ontario Back to Work
Finally, CCPA-Ontario Director Trish Hennessy summarized the day's core message in a two-minute video blog (originally posted on ontarionewswatch.com). Watch the video here.
CAW economist Jim Stanford, the CCPA-Ontario's Advisory Board chair, showed how the austerity response to the 2008 recession has negative side effects on the economy and contributes to the weakness in Ontario's labour market at the "Ontario 2013: Toward a Post-Austerity Vision" session.
CCPA economist Hugh Mackenzie schooled the room on the manufactured deficit crisis at the "Ontario 2013: Toward a Post-Austerity Vision" session.
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