National Office

Today CCPA released a paper on sector development policy by Jim Stanford. The general goal of sector development policy is to attain a more desirable sectoral mix in the economy, winning a greater share of output and employment in identified high-value or “strategic” sectors than would otherwise be the case. Sector development policy has been historically important in Canada, given our ongoing national challenge to escape the “staples trap,” and become more than just a resource-supplier to other countries. We need more industries that add value to our resources (rather than exporting them in raw form); that generate more high-income, high-quality jobs; that embody technology and innovation; and that contribute to greater success in world markets. 

This report details the negative structural consequences of the mostly unregulated resource boom and proposes a set of measures which would help to minimize those negative side-effects of resource development, and contribute to a more balanced, successful, and sustainable industry mix in Canada’s economy in future generations.

Read the full report: A Cure for Dutch Disesase: Active Sector Strategies for Canada’s Economy.

The federal budget will leave Canadians peniless in more ways than one. Read CCPA's news release in reaction to the budget here.

The following CCPA staff and research associates have posted their budget analysis on our blog (watch this space—we'll be posting links as they come in):

• Marc Lee: A budget that screws the planet for short-term profits
• David Macdonald: Federal budget drags Canada into unnecessary austerity
• Canadian Labour Congress: CLC Analysis of the 2012 Federal Budget
• Andrew Jackson: OAS, the Budget, and the Baby Boomers
• Erin Weir: Budget 2012: Pennywise But Pound Foolish
• Bruce Campbell: Federal budget worsens inequality, high unemployment future

This week, three hundred thousand students from 178 associations are boycotting their classes in Quebec to protest the provincial government's decision to raise tuition fees $325 a year for the next five years. CBC radio in Quebec City interviewed Erika Shaker, director of the CCPA's Education Project, about the relationship between fees and accessibility to higher education, as well as the social and economic benefits of public investment in our colleges and universities. Click here to listen to the interview.

On March 15th, 2012, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives held a press conference to release its flagship report—the Alternative Federal Budget 2012: A Budget for the Rest of Us.

This year's Alternative Budget puts forward a public investment plan that promotes a better quality of life for all Canadians, not just an elite few. It shows we can invest in public programs, job creation, and infrastructure to the benefit of all Canadians and still balance the books.

For more information, visit: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/AFB2012

Watch the video from the press conference below.