Over the last 30 years, the CCPA has provided alternative research and analysis that have been indispensable in exposing the corporate agenda. I don’t know what I’d have done without them.
— Judy Rebick

Hennessy's Index is a monthly listing of numbers, written by the CCPA's Trish Hennessy, about Canada and its place in the world. For other months, visit: http://policyalternatives.ca/index
For some old arguments in a new format, check out this Orwellian video, compliments of Target, for this season's newest line of anti-union propaganda. Two exemplary Target "team members" explain why we no longer need unions because we have laws prohibiting child labour. According to them, unions are businesses that need your dues to stay in business, but the only ones who benefit from unions are...unions. Not only that, bad unions picket nice Target stores and make Target's "guests" feel uncomfortable.
More and more we’re starting to hear how groups of precariously-employed workers are responding to the vagaries of the “new normal” labour market. From lower-skilled workers to professionals of all stripes, an increasing number of workers are classified as independent contractors, temporary workers, contract employees, part-time and freelancers.
Three stories have caught our attention: one in the US, one in Canada and one from Europe. Putting the three together forces some interesting observations and questions. Read more in this commentary piece by Lynne Fernandez, CCPA-MB's Errol Black Chair in Labour Issues.
Between two-thirds and four-fifths of known fossil fuel reserves have been deemed to be "unburnable carbon" that cannot safely be combusted without leading to catastrophic climate change.
A new study by CCPA economist Marc Lee and SFU graduate student Brock Ellis looks at the implications of unburnable carbon for the Canadian fossil fuel industry and in particular for financial markets and pension funds. The authors argue that Canada is experiencing a "carbon bubble" that must be strategically deflated in the move to a clean energy economy. The study estimates Canada's share of a global carbon budget and finds that, at least 78% of Canada’s proven oil, bitumen, gas, and coal reserves, and 89% of proven-plus-probable reserves would need to remain underground.
Read more about the “carbon bubble” and the authors' recommendations to green Canada’s financial markets in the report, Canada's Carbon Liabilities: The Implications of Stranded Fossil Fuel Assets for Financial Markets and Pension Funds.
The following CCPA staff, research associates, and Alternative Federal Budget partners have posted their budget analysis on our blog (watch this space—we'll be posting links as they come in):
You can read the CCPA news release in reaction to the federal budget here.
Over the last 30 years, the CCPA has provided alternative research and analysis that have been indispensable in exposing the corporate agenda. I don’t know what I’d have done without them.
— Judy Rebick