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  • Ten things to know about social assistance in Alberta

    This is part two of a two-part blog series on social assistance. Part one, which looks at social assistance across Canada, can be accessed here. As recently noted by my colleague Rachel Campbell, last fall’s Point-in-Time (PiT) Count of persons experiencing homelessness across Alberta yielded interesting findings pertaining to social assistance.…

  • Canadian productivity declines for third consecutive quarter

    Harper government first in Canada to oversee negative productivity growth READ THE FULL REPORT HERE. OTTAWA—The Harper government has become the first elected federal administration to experience a decline in average national productivity during its entire term in office since Statistics Canada began gathering productivity data in 1961, says a…

  • Public Interest Research Project (BC)

    BC government pay raise highlights the growing income gap

    The recent steep pay hikes for BC’s senior bureaucrats triggered quite a controversy. Handing out raises in the 20 to 43% range at the top end does seem a bit rich coming from a government that refuses to increase the minimum wage even by a few cents. BC’s minimum wage…

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    Getting big money out of BC politics: 5 ways to do this right

    With the provincial election behind us, there’s at least one thing that the overwhelming majority of British Columbians seem to clearly agree on: we need big money out of our politics. The corrupting influence of vast sums of cash from (primarily) corporations and the wealthy in BC’s political system has…

  • The introduction and evolution of child benefits in Canada

    Child benefits have significant potential to reduce homelessness and the need for emergency shelter beds by putting more money into the hands of low-income parents. They also can (and do) reduce child poverty, though not always as much as governments claim. And because they do not carry the same stigma…

  • You must be kidding: Confronting key myths about Quebec’s child care system

    Eighteen months into the federal government’s mandate, with several provincial elections approaching, child care is once again a topic of debate. And, inevitably, Quebec’s system of providing and paying for child care (European-inspired and unique in North America) comes up in the discussion. While Quebec’s program is by no means…

  • Budget 2017/18 A step back on social housing in Manitoba

    Budget 2017 provides $150M less for the development and maintenance of social and affordable housing compared to last year’s budget. Groups like the Right to Housing Coalition are concerned that this will increase homelessness and perpetuate the poverty experienced by the thousands of Manitobans who cannot get ahead and enjoy…

  • Ten things to know about the 2017 Alberta Budget

    On 16 March 2017, the Alberta NDP government tabled its budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year. Whereas last year’s budget announced major new initiatives (such as the Alberta Child Benefit, a carbon tax and the nearly doubling of annual provincial spending on housing), this year’s budget was more status quo. Here are 10 things to know: Alberta…

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    Time to raise welfare rates: Debunking the BC government’s sorry excuses for inaction

    April 1st marks the 10th anniversary since basic welfare benefit rates (also known as social assistance rates) were last increased in British Columbia. For a single person on basic assistance the benefit rate remains $610 per month, and for a single parent with one child it is $946 a month. That…

  • Education vs. groceries

    University student food insecurity in Manitoba For full citations and figures read PDF A recent study conducted at the University of Manitoba (U of M) found that over 35 percent of students surveyed were food insecure. The pilot study, conducted in 2015/16, found that U of M undergraduate and graduate…

  • Le CELI, une aberration fiscale

    Dans ses documents, Statistique Canada qualifie le Compte d’épargne libre d’impôt (CELI) de « nouveau mécanisme d’épargne fiscalement avantageux »[1]. Le terme d’abri fiscal conviendrait mieux que cet euphémisme et aurait le mérite d’être plus clair et intelligible. Parce que c’est de cela qu’il s’agit. Les cotisations dans ce compte enregistré auprès…

  • Prairie Update: Doing Austerity in Saskatchewan and Manitoba

    In the Fall 2016 Monitor, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives  (CCPA)Saskatchewan’s Simon Enoch penned Getting to Know Brad, introducing Canada’s most popular premier – Brad Wall – to the country. He ran down Wall’s list of “accomplishments”. What made Simon’s analysis so interesting (and at the same time, disheartening) was…