There has been a resurgence of political interest in Canada in the rather old idea of a universal basic income, sometimes called a guaranteed annual income. Essentially, a basic income is a “no strings attached” transfer from government to individuals or families that can be simpler to administer and provide more dignity to recipients than welfare payments and other forms of social assistance. This report simulates various potential basic income models to determine which ones do better at reducing poverty in a cost-effective way.

This follow-up to the 2014 report, Making Sense of CETA, assesses the final text of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement as released in February 2016. The dozen or so European and Canadian contributors herein look at how CETA would, if ratified, have far-reaching and problematic impacts on public services, domestic regulation, intellectual property rights, and government measures implemented to address climate change or improve food security.

“Sharing economy” giants such as Airbnb — a multinational online short-term rental “home sharing” platform — have grown immensely in popularity over the past few years.

This short paper challenges the BC government's rhetoric that education funding is at "record levels", and shows that BC can afford to reinvest in public education. It originally appeared as a post on our Policy Note blog.