Helping Canadians get back to work: effective skills-training approaches for a post-pandemic recovery
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in widespread economic disruption and has thrown many Canadians out of work. While this unprecedented challenge has no quick-fix solutions, there is evidence that some skills training programs can ease the transition back into employment for those who have lost their jobs. Although government-sponsored training programs are sometimes viewed with […]
Keeping the bailiff from repossessing your car: the case for a basic income
A basic income for all Canadians, an unconditional, guaranteed income floor below which no one’s income can fall, is an idea that has been growing in refinement and acceptance since the early 1900s. It has some enthusiastic opponents, but unlike other policy ideas, the enemies of basic income come from both the right and the […]
Feds seek approval for another $24-billion in spending for 2021-22
The first supplementary estimates of the year were tabled on May 27, outlining another $41.2-billion in federal spending, of which $24-billion requires approval from Parliament. Employment and Social Development Canada is set to get the biggest boost, with almost $12.9-billion in additional statutory and voted funding set out, bringing the department to $95.3-billion so far […]
Canada’s foreign policy requires urgent, significant investment
Aptly named ‘A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience,’ the 2021 federal budget gives the lion’s share to domestic spending. Funds earmarked for foreign policy suggest continuity with pre-pandemic budgets at a time of profound changes at the international level. On April 28, The Hill Times ran a piece criticizing the low level of […]
Despite budget moves, EI changes not permanent, big enough: MPs, experts
Experts and advocates hoping that temporary employment insurance change would snowball into longer lasting, more permanent restructuring and reform say they’ve been left wanting and still waiting by the federal government. Changes to the employment insurance system were signalled in Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough’s (Delta, B.C.) supplemental mandate letter. In the Jan. 15, 2021 letter, […]
Federal budget includes commitment to explore employee ownership–and that’s a good thing
Hidden amongst the many newsworthy items in last month’s federal budget is a small, little-discussed section with the potential to reshape many Canadian industries. In it, the government committed to exploring options to remove barriers to employee ownership trusts in Canada. While that may sound pretty boring, we can look to the recent sale of […]
Urging Canada to do its fair share for international climate finance
“How can I use farming to get out of my desperation?” asks Mehsane Sahle, a small-scale farmer in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. A mother of three in her late 50s, Mehsane’s livelihood depends on the crops and livestock she can raise on her small plot of land, but with poor soil, erratic rainfall, and […]
Vaping group tops April outreach in record-breaking month for lobbying
Health Canada’s regulatory plan proposing to restrict flavoured vaping products that appeal to youth, released last month, helped make it the busiest April on record for lobbying. The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) reached out en masse to MPs, filing 258 communication reports as executive director Darryl Tempest attempted to secure one-on-one meetings with MPs to […]
Opposition MPs say they’re worried about lack of defence spending in budget, as experts to future of NORAD
A lack of defence spending in Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s first budget has some experts and MPs worried about the future of Canada’s military at a time when, they say, its responsibilities are getting bigger both at home and abroad and allied nations are beefing up their defence spending and reworking their strategies. The budget’s […]
How secure is defence funding in the future?
The Liberal government’s budget announcement on April 19 held little by way of new spending for defence beyond some very targeted incremental funding to deal with more recent issues not covered in the defence policy, like NORAD renewal, increased support to the NATO Alliance and sexual misconduct and gender-based violence. This should not be surprising […]
