“The measure of any society is reflected in the degree to which it is willing to help the most vulnerable.” Mike de Jong in the BC Budget 2016 Speech If this is the measure we apply to Budget 2016, then BC is failing miserably. What this budget offers to BC’s most vulnerable is…
Crime rates in Canada have been steadily declining for more than a decade, yet prison populations have been increasing in recent years. Commentators have attributed this disconnection between dropping crime rates and rising incarceration numbers to the Harper government’s tough on crime strategy. Since 2006 the Harper Conservatives have implemented…
Health accord flawed by poor accountability and enforcement The health care accord reached last September by the federal, provincial, and territorial first ministers is a better deal than those signed in 2000 and 2003, but suffers from the same flaws: poor accountability, reporting, and enforcement. Despite this agreement, Medicare is…
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—The federal budget’s claims regarding who would benefit from doubling the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) annual contribution ceiling exclude key contextual data thereby leading to erroneous conclusions, says an analysis released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The analysis,…
Alternative Federal Budget advocates for stimulus to boost economic growth CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—The 2015 Alternative Federal Budget (AFB), released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), demonstrates that the federal government’s continued obsession with austerity and balancing the budget comes at the cost…
Download 1.54 MB Click the button above to download this issue of The Monitor or click to read a selection of articles below: Bill C-51: A Legal Primer, by Clayton Ruby and Nader R. Hasan How small towns are driving Canada’s digital future, by Cynthia Khoo and Steve Anderson The misuses…
Under pressure from Canadian and U.S. mining companies, the Ghanaian government seems ready to pass legislation in June 2003 which will open the country’s protected forest reserves to mining. The companies’ bulldozers are ready to rip apart thousands of hectares of rainforest in the Ashanti, Eastern and Western Regions if…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…