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  • Fiscal Debate in Québec: Myth busting and flak

    Some myths are just so hard to debunk. For instance, people in Québec generally assume that they are the most taxed in North America. IRIS tackled the well-rehearsed allegation in a recently published socio-economic notice. The reply resounded of what Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky have presented in Manufacturing Consent as flak.…

  • Austerity Through Infrastructure Cuts: Budget 2013

    One of the most amazing things about this budget is that one of its three focuses is actually the opposite of what it’s touting. You’ll likely hear that $14 billion will be spent on infrastructure over the next 10 years (actually, you may hear much bigger numbers, but they’re just…

  • Women On Top, By The Numbers

    On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we ask: Are more women making it to the top in Canada? And what does that mean for the 100 per cent? The 2013 edition, by the numbers. (All data are most recently available statistics.) 1 out of 5: 21 per cent of…

  • The “Big Business Bang” Theory

    Social, economic, environmental ills all have the same cause  [An earlier version of the following essay was written seven years ago, but this updated version is just as topical and even more relevant.] After nearly 19 years of editing and writing articles for The CCPA Monitor, I’ve come to divide…

  • Idle No More: History Catching Up

    First Nations honoured treaties, Canadian governments didn’t  The immediate impact of the “Idle No More” protests has been, if nothing else, a rare, sustained focus on First Nations and their role in and relationship with Canada. The ensuing dialogue, however, has not on the whole been an ennobling one. Too…

  • Labour Matters
    Trade Union Research Collective

    Fast Facts: First a ripple, then a wave

    There was a ripple in the waters of public service provision late last year that has left some people perplexed. The Manitoba government announced that it would be selling The Property Registry to Ontario-based Teranet, a private firm. In the last provincial election, the government was adamantly committed to keeping…

  • Québec’s Budget: the only option available

    Some present the new PQ government’s first budget as a necessary first step before truly plunging into more liberal measures. In fact, it was out of obligation, they say, that the new Finance Minister, Nicolas Marceau, presented a budget so unexciting, in keeping with its PLQ predecessors. And yet, one…

  • The High Cost of Learning

    There’s no excuse for the soaring tuition fees in Canada It might have been my imagination (or perhaps wishful thinking), but in the midst of this year’s back-to-school media coverage, the issue of student debt seemed a little more prominent than usual. At least two surveys identified the high levels…

  • There’s Nothing Inevitable About Eduflation

    It might have been my imagination (or perhaps wishful thinking), but in the midst of this year’s back-to-school media coverage, the issue of student debt seemed a little more prominent than usual. At least two surveys identified high levels of debt ($28k on average), and the stress—more than that of finding a job…

  • Education Project

    Eduflation and the High Cost of Learning

    Download 1.52 MB42 pages This study looks at trends in tuition and compulsory fees in Canada since 1990, projects fees for each province for the next four years, and examines the impact on affordability for median- and low-income families using a Cost of Learning Index. View our Take a Hike!…

  • Elections in Québec: Where Do We Stand After September 4?

    On September 4, the people of Québec elected a new National Assembly. They demonstrated a surprising level of interest in the 35-day campaign, full of twists and turns, despite it being held in the summertime. This blog post will draw a quick picture of the current state of Québec politics…

  • Cost of Learning Growing Faster than Incomes

    A new report by the CCPA, Eduflation and the High Cost of Learning, shows that average university tuition bill in Canada has grown three times faster than inflation over the last 20 years. It’s also outpaced the growth of family incomes, making university considerably less affordable for the average Canadian…