A new report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba office finds Manitoba’s $11.65 hourly minimum wage is insufficient to bring all household types out of poverty, even when government transfers and subsidy programs are included. One of the purposes of minimum wage laws is to…
As deadline looms, thousands of BC groundwater users risk losing access to water, but not most water bottling, fracking and mining companies In February 2018, the head of a little-known Surrey-based company asked the BC government for a licence to withdraw 864 cubic metres of water per day from a…
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT (Vancouver) A major study released today finds that BC’s welfare system is systematically discouraging, delaying and denying assistance to many of the people most in need of help, with harmful consequences for some of the province’s most vulnerable residents. “Denied Assistance: Closing the…
Mike Dotta /Shutterstock” style=”border-radius:0px;–objectFit:cover;–imagePosX:50%;–imagePosY:50%” decoding=”async” srcset=”https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pn_jul2020_impossible-becomes-possible-300×133.jpg 300w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pn_jul2020_impossible-becomes-possible-768×341.jpg 768w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pn_jul2020_impossible-becomes-possible.jpg 900w” sizes=”(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px” />“Canada hasn’t seen this type of civic mobilization since the Second World War. These are the biggest economic measures in our lifetimes, to defeat a threat to our health… We all need to answer the call.”—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, April 1, 2020, during one of his daily pandemic briefings outside…
As we celebrate National Aboriginal Day this year, we must also take the opportunity to consider the unacceptable conditions so many Canadian Aboriginal people struggle with. This reality is sadly reflected in a newly released report on Indigenous Children in Canada. This CCPA National report finds that Canada cannot and…
In the bigger COVID picture, rent arrears of $350 million is a small sum that could easily be cancelled with the will of governments and landlords. One year ago, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote an article for Options Politiques calling for a national discussion on rent forgiveness. The discussion never…
Rescue the economy, protect people, and plan for the future Many items in the Canadian federal government’s economic stimulus package depend on how individual decisions are made on the market, and how (or if) people will choose to spend the latest tax cuts or take advantage of the home renovation…
The recent killing of unarmed Black Americans George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police officers sparked a new wave of Black Lives Matter protests around the world. In the seven short years since its inception, the Black Lives Matter movement has fought to protect Black lives against police brutality. This message…
Joe Brusky / Flickr” style=”border-radius:0px;–objectFit:cover;–imagePosX:50%;–imagePosY:50%” decoding=”async” srcset=”https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pn_jun2020_divest-300×133.jpg 300w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pn_jun2020_divest-768×341.jpg 768w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pn_jun2020_divest.jpg 900w” sizes=”(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px” />The death and disruption wrought by COVID-19 is calamitous. The bad news is that climate change will be worse. It is easy to forget that 2020 began with Australia burning in a brutal wildfire season. Like the current pandemic, Australia’s disaster was predicted years in advance by ecological science. As…
A year into the pandemic, there is a near-universal realization across Canada that the recovery must include large-scale public investments to build a quality, affordable child care system. This would enable parents with young children, in particular mothers, to return to work or pursue educational opportunities to support children’s healthy…
Canada’s child care sector struggling under weight of COVID-19 VANCOUVER — Like in many Canadian cities, full-time licensed child care in BC is struggling under the financial burden of COVID-19—registering a dramatic drop in enrolment while revenue-generating parent fees remain unaffordably high, a new study by the Canadian Centre for…
First published in the Winnipeg Free Press April 23, 2021 A teacher hands a child his report card in the morning, and intervenes in a child’s bullying in the afternoon — a few hours later, their parents tell the principal if that teacher’s career should continue. Bill 64 creates that…