Opinion
A green and just recovery would benefit all Canadians
By Kyla Tienhaara and Ronald Labonté September 21, 2020
Canada, with its own sovereign currency, can create billions in new money simply by selling bonds to its central bank, something the government has been doing at the rate of $5-billion/week since March. As long as inflation remains low there is little risk in the government continuing to do so. If there ever was a time to take that slight risk and to spend big, it is now.
Canada's federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, pictured. Mega-investing in green technologies is imperative and will bring employment opportunities, although it is not a panacea in economic or environmental terms. Particular attention must be paid to the equity dimension of a green industrial strategy, write Kyla Tienhaara and Ronald Labonté. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Earlier this month, Prime Minister JustinTrudeau indicated that he would unveil an ambitious green spending plan in the Speech from the Throne on Sept. 23. But by mid-month, the Liberals had started backtracking on this messaging. A $100-billion proposal was reportedly shelved out of concern that the government might be viewed as “hijacking” or “taking advantage” of the pandemic to pursue an “agenda.” This is terribly short-sighted.
Sponsored Content
Supporting a Digital Public Sector
By Schneider Electric’s Secure Power Division - Canada
Related Stories
Politics This Morning
Your email has been added. An email has been sent to your address, please click the link inside of it to confirm your subscription.
PMO’s Canada-U.S. relations team gearing up for transition to Biden administration
Brian Clow, executive director of issues management, parliamentary affairs and Canada-U.S. relations remains at the helm, and works closely with Elise Wagner, adviser for issues and Canada-U.S. relations within the PMO.Trump’s unprecedented failure to concede expected to have ‘very little’ impact on Canada-U.S. relations, says Heyman
'It's clear that everybody's already tilting in toward the next president,' said Mr. Heyman, who served as the U.S. envoy to Canada from 2014 to 2017.When it comes to dissenting female MPs and dissenting white male MPs, Trudeau’s got a double standard, says former Grit MP Caesar-Chavannes
One-term former Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes talks to The Hill Times about her life in federal politics and about her upcoming book, Can You Hear Me Now?, and she says she's not ruling out a return to the Hill. ‘Always a rolling target to bring about big change’: Fergus says he’s optimistic in feds’ anti-racism strategy progress, ‘but we’re not there yet’
But NDP MP Matthew Green says 'there just seems to be ongoing reluctance for this government to go beyond the aesthetics of big ticket announcements.' ‘Massive overhaul’ of privacy law leaves political parties off the hook
The bill leaves unanswered questions, including why the government wants consumer data, and how much businesses will be able to do with that data without consumers' permission, says John Lawford.As COVID-19 runs ‘around unchecked,’ Trudeau urges renewed adherence to public health measures
Canada could be on track to hit upwards of 60,000 new infections in December, unless individuals modify their behaviour and restrictions are tightened. Feds could receive 6 million vaccine doses by March 2021, but details around distribution in works
The possibility of Canada receiving six million vaccine doses by the end of March 2021 comes with a 'big if,' says Iain Stewart, the newly named president of the Public Health Agency of Canada.No system in place to verify if mail-in ballots counted in official tally, says Elections Canada
Elections Canada is exploring the idea of installing secure drop-off boxes for mail-in ballots.What can Canadian pollsters learn from mistakes in American presidential polling?
'The methods they are using aren't capturing a certain segment of the population,' Abacus Data's David Coletto says of U.S. pollsters.Trending Stories
