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  • New study reveals the most and least affordable Canadian cities for child care

    CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—A new study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) reveals the most and least affordable cities for child care in Canada. The study examines, for the first time, median unsubsidized child care fees in Canada’s biggest 22 cities for…

  • Labour Matters

    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.…

  • BC’s irresponsible budget

    As noted in many recent newspaper articles and editorials, posts on this blog, and social media posts, BC’s 2016 budget reflected the short-sighted and unnecessary priority of the current government to pay down debt and “balance” the budget over meeting the pressing needs of British Columbians, particularly those with developmental,…

  • Labour Matters

    Work Life: Reversing the Damage

    How the Federal Liberals can restore hope on the prairies By 2013 the Conservative government had cut overall federal taxes and other revenues to the lowest rate seen in more than 70 years. Between 2011 and March 2015, 25,000 to 30,000 federal public sector positions were eliminated. Between 2010 and…

  • November 2005: Cancer—The Price of Progress

    Industrial pollution cancer just another cost of doing business My concern about the rising incidence of cancer prompted me to start writing a book in the 1950s that I titled Cancer: The Price of Progress. Even then, half a century ago, it was clear to me that most cancers were…

  • 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…

  • September 2005: What’s Your Poison?

    Life in a toxic environment is getting ever more precarious Smog-alert days this past summer were more common than days when the air was marginally breathable. The death toll of people with respiratory problems soared. Ontario’s premier blamed the United States for this unwanted free-trade export, but, on a per-capita…

  • 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…