Search results for “site/Pat Armstrong”

  • CETA’s Harmful Constraints on Ontario

    Trade deal with Europe threatens many costly ill-effects The governments of Canada and the European Union (EU) are in the final stages of negotiating a sweeping agreement that would impose unprecedented constraints on federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments’ capacity to put public interests ahead of corporate interests. The agreement…

  • glass of beer on a table

    Making it easier for Ontarians to drink more isn’t a good idea

    As 7-Eleven applies to serve beer and wine in 61 stores across Ontario, spare a thought for alcohol policy experts. Around the world, scholars have done extensive research into drinking and its effects. It’s important work: Alcohol, while often enjoyable, is not good for us. It’s addictive. It’s linked to…

  • Now is the time for BC to double down on commitment to $10-a-day child care

    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

    Preschool-age fees rise in 27 of 37 large Canadian cities while many sites face existential crisis READ THE FULL REPORT HERE. Full-time licensed child care in most Canadian cities is struggling under the financial burden of COVID-19—registering a dramatic drop in enrolment while revenue-generating parent fees remain unaffordably high, according…

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    Big transportation investments needed now in Metro Vancouver: Budget 2018

    In Metro Vancouver, as the region’s population has grown so has its congestion problems. Whether enduring a long wait to cross a bridge or get on a bus, everyone can relate to the additional time and stress caused by a transportation system under strain. Metro Vancouver is, for all intents…

  • Trade and Investment Research Project

    Will CETA Help Tories…Or Hurt Them?

    With Prime Minister Harper making the diplomatic rounds in Europe, media interest has heightened this week regarding the potential free trade agreement which his government is trying to negotiate with the European Union. Several deadlines to reach that deal have come and gone, but the Conservatives are still heavily committed…

  • Beyond speed: Who is talking about access to e-government this election?

    The problem of equitable access to high speed Internet in Canada entered the election campaign on Wednesday, August 26, when Stephen Harper promised that a re-elected Conservative government would spend an additional $200 million to promote high speed access in rural and remote communities. Although the promise is short on…

  • A New Book that Challenges Racist ‘British Columbia’

    In light of a surge in anti-racist uprisings, provincial legislators may want to take a moment to reflect upon what their predecessors did in taking “British Columbia” into Canada 150 years ago in 1871. When the legislature recently reconvened, we hope that MLAs paused and listened to the stories that…

  • BC’s health care system can only get stronger with the right investments: Budget 2018

    Provincial health spending as a share of our economy has been relatively steady in recent years, and is projected to fall from 7.8 per cent of GDP in 2009 to 7.4 per cent in 2019 according to the government’s September budget update. If, however, we want to tackle the opioid…

  • Five steps BC needs to take to begin building a universal, affordable, quality child care system

    There’s no question that BC’s fragmented patchwork of child care programs with exorbitant prices, inadequate spaces and inconsistent quality fails to meet the needs of BC families. It was great to see that the 2017 Confidence and Supply Agreement between the BC New Democrat Caucus and BC Green Caucus included…

  • Legal Aid Denied: A 20th Anniversary retrospective

    Legal Aid Denied: Women and the Cuts to Legal Services in BC was written in 2004 shortly after the election of a neo-conservative Liberal government in BC. The report outlined the nature of the changes this government quickly introduced to the provision of Legal Aid in BC including slashing funding…

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    Tracking the gender gap in Canada’s big cities: How’s BC doing?

    A new report released today uncovers important gaps in the experiences of men and women across Canada. The CCPA’s annual study of the Best and Worst Places to be a Woman in Canada by Kate McInturff ranks the country’s largest cities according to the gaps between men’s and women’s access…