Search results for: “site/Pat Armstrong”

  • May 2003: West Paupans Oppressed by U.S. Multinational

    An interview with John Rumbiak John Rumbiak is a supervisor for West Papua Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (ELSHAM) based in Jayapura, the capital of West Papua province in Indonesia. He toured Canada in November 2002 to promote awareness of the oppression and exploitation of the Papuan people…

  • Gender equality in Canada going nowhere fast: study

    CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—Progress towards gender equality in Canada has stalled, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The study, a shadow report on Canada’s Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, provides a detailed view of Canada’s progress…

  • Work Life: “We asked for workers; we got people instead”

    The above quote, by one of Swiss author Max Frisch’s characters, succinctly captures the inherent conflict between employers and workers. Employers want results; they want productivity, machine-perfect timing and energy for the lowest wage possible. Workers want a living wage, benefits, a pleasant workplace, some say over the work process.…

  • July 2007: Our Less Than Stellar Foreign Relations

    Canada plays sordid role in suppression of democracy in Haiti Canadians generally have a very positive impression of their country’s role in world affairs, but Canada’s relations with Haiti challenge that perception. It would be wrong to say that Canada has done nothing positive on the world stage, but we…

  • June 2007: Whose Canada?

    Who’ll shape our future? All Canadians or just the élites? The CCPA has been for more than two decades at the forefront of analysis on the threats to Canadian society from deepening integration with the United States–perhaps better described as the gradual Americanization of Canada. This integration, which took shape…

  • No magic wand to deal with health care strikes

    After the recent 15-hour strike at the IWK Hospital (the first there since 1981), the Nova Scotia government is once again considering legislation to “deal with” strikes in health care. But Premier Rodney MacDonald will look in vain for a magic wand to wield. Health care, full of skilled and…

  • Ten areas of regulatory failure that contributed, directly or indirectly, to the Lac-Mégantic disaster

    My report, Willful Blindness?, released today, summarizes the regulatory failures behind the Lac-Mégantic tragedy. The federal government has so far not acknowledged any culpability or responsi My report, Willful Blindness?, released today, summarizes the regulatory failures behind the Lac-Mégantic tragedy. The federal government has so far not acknowledged any culpability or…

  • New report chronicles regulatory failures behind Lac-Mégantic

    CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—In advance of tomorrow’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) final report into why a train loaded with crude oil crashed and killed 47 people in Lac-Mégantic, Québec just over a year ago, a new Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) report details eight key…

  • Piqued by Piketty

    It seems rather clear that the main theories in French economist Thomas Piketty’s best-seller Capital in the Twenty-First Century are irritating a number of people. Recommendations to increase taxes on wealth seem to be the most disconcerting to many. First, the British Financial Times did its utmost to point out calculation errors in a…

  • July 1st: Tenants Have No Reason To Celebrate

    Each year, Canada Day coincides with Moving Day in Quebec. For the luckiest in the lot, the celebrations include heat and sweat, heavy boxes, cumbersome household appliances, laughs with pals, beer and pizza. However, still too often, when leases expire families end up on the street, unable to find adequate and…

  • Temporary Foreign Worker Program changes – who do they help?

    The Conservative Government’s Minister of Employment and Social Development, Jason Kenney, announced on June 20th 2014 a raft of changes to the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The program has attracted controversy since at least 2006, most recently when the CBC reported that MacDonald’s outlets in Victoria were favoring temporary foreign workers…

  • Why You Should Care About Austerity

    Québec’s government has radically reduced its spending growth because it has decided that we need to tighten our belts collectively. Since spending growth in some areas of healthcare and education is inevitable in order to maintain certain services, drastic cuts must be made elsewhere. The government maintains that it will not impact…