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Search results for: “site/economics of childcare”
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Merger mania
Hardly a day passes without an item in the business pages announcing yet another merger or takeover. The tone of coverage is typically upbeat: bigger is better, we are told, and the winners will be consumers. But even though these announcements are met with praise on Bay Street and Wall…
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New CCPA study calls for increase in the minimum wage
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT As the last labour day of the millennium approaches, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is calling for a substantial increase in the minimum wage. In a major new study released today, the Centre dispels numerous myths about minimum wages, and argues that…
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Subsidizing dirty industries with expensive clean electricity is a recipe for major rate hikes
Premier Clark’s recent decision to cap the BC Hydro rate increases next year may have ratepayers breathing a sigh of relief. But it’s a short term fix that will only delay addressing the major financial challenges now facing our Crown utility. Once the 2013 election is over, whoever forms BC’s…
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Few jobs, massive emissions from oil and gas: look to green investments for stronger economy, says report
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—Accelerated oil and gas extraction will boost profits but won’t drive major employment gains, says a report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Instead, embracing a “green industrial revolution” will allow Canada to meet its climate change commitments while…
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Managing Oil Wealth
The Alberta/Canada Model vs. the Norwegian model The post-2000 petroleum-led resource boom is substantially reshaping the Canadian economy. It has driven up the dollar exchange rate from 62 cents to parity with the U.S. dollar, squeezing out other export sectors: traded services, tourism, forestry, and most notably manufacturing, where it…
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Think tank calls on feds to scrap spending cut plans
Alternative Budget promotes a budget for the rest of us CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) urges the federal government to table a detailed budget that restores Canadians’ trust in the economy, public institutions, and democracy. With the release of its annual…
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A Tale of Two Austerity Hardliners
Conservative soul mates, Stephen Harper and British Prime Minister David Cameron, were in Davos, Switzerland a month ago lecturing Eurozone leaders on how to get their collective act together. As they have done since the G-20 meeting in Toronto, both were preaching fiscal austerity as the solution to Europe’s, and…
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Slow and easy will win energy race
It is hard not to detect a note of desperation in the provincial government’s recently unveiled natural gas strategy. In announcing it, BC Energy Minister Rich Coleman notes that we are “in a foot race” with Australia, Qatar and the United States to push as much of our natural gas…
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Paid in full
Who pays for university education in BC? Who pays for BC’s universities? The usual answer is the taxpayer since tuition fees amount to only one third of university teaching costs. This answer, however, is incomplete since it ignores a second way that students pay, namely, through higher taxes after they…
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Federal spending cuts will cost more than 60,000 jobs: study
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—Federal cutbacks announced in the 2010 and 2011 budgets will result in more than 60,000 job losses, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Any additional cuts in the upcoming federal budget would result in even more…
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Contrived deficit from tax cuts excuses Harper program cuts
The economy is cleverly being used to trump the environment in both Canada and the United States, largely by exploiting people’s ignorance of economic matters. As part of deficit reduction, the Harper government has announced cuts of 776 jobs at Environment Canada; the Federal Fisheries’ budget has been cut by…
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Challenging capitalism: a 12-step program
Over a year ago, I posted “What are the Game Changers?“, an attempt at sparking some strategic thinking for the broader left. Now that we’ve had a month of Occupation, building on the original Occupy Wall Street action, I’ve been wanting to put these ideas back on the table, so…