Deepening COVID-19 impact raises the stakes for Canada’s future choices
OTTAWA—It’s kind of ironically amusing now to think back to March, when people were wondering if the warmer summer weather might do away with the coronavirus. Or to think about how, just several months ago, there was a speculative feel to predictions that COVID-19 would change everything. Given that there’s been nothing quite like this […]
Migrant workers have paid their dues and should be given a path to permanent residency
Canada has expanded its temporary migration system to bring in a steady supply of exploitable and interchangeable migrant workers who are coerced into accepting low wages and miserable working conditions below standards that Canadians would accept. Now, exposure to COVID-19 has been added to the terms of the bargain. As scholars, researchers, and teachers of […]
Potential privacy threat to Android owners using COVID exposure notification app won’t be fixed until ‘later in the third quarter’
Despite its Canadian launch, Google says it still doesn’t have a fix ready for a national COVID-19 exposure notification app that could force some Android phone users to reveal their location data to the company and other third-party apps. However, the company says its updated Android 11 operating system, set for release sometime before the […]
‘No preferential treatment’: Trudeau says government did its ‘due diligence’ in assessing WE
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there was a delay in rolling out the student-grant program over his concerns that “due diligence” was necessary before proceeding with WE Charity as its partner. In a rare appearance before the House Finance Committee on Thursday, Mr. Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) said he “pushed back” against the recommendation that WE […]
Funding pledged by feds for child care ‘woefully inadequate,’ say experts, as costs expected to rise
Even as some families remain on the fence over whether to send their children to daycare, experts say governments need to spend more money on child care to help centres adapt to public health regulations. In a crowdsourced study released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday, almost one-quarter of respondents indicated they would not be sending […]
Trudeau should make ‘special effort’ to rebuild ties with U.S. after election, says Mulroney
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney says the Trudeau government should make a “special effort to re-establish” the “position of priority” Canada once had with the United States, regardless of who wins the presidential election in November. “Justin Trudeau has a much more difficult job than I had in dealing with this bilateral relationship, but I […]
Pining for outside during an indoor summer
One of the many ironies of life in this pandemic is that, while nature is probably the safest place for us, our default retreat into quarantine has us pining for it. If every summer has a Beach Boys theme song, this year’s is the oddly aberrant hermit lament, In My Room. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness […]
Acceleration of digital economy is central to Canada’s future
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused financial hardship for nations around the world, and despite quick actions by all orders of government to assist businesses, families, and individuals, Canada is no exception. Our economy is in recession, unemployment rates have touched record highs, and the federal government’s finances are under such strain that the national public […]
Next CPC leader likely to be announced in virtual event, bringing challenges and potential benefits, say strategists
Plans are still being finalized, but thanks to COVID-19, the next leader of the federal Conservative Party will likely be announced in a virtual event, a forced reality strategists say creates the risk of a “lost opportunity” for the party and more impetus for the race winner to hit the ground running. “The concern is […]
Rebuilding our way out of COVID-19 pandemic won’t be easy
TORONTO—Rebuilding our way out of the COVID-19 pandemic will not be easy. We will need an economy that can deliver good jobs, produce high-value products and services the rest of the world wants to buy and we will need to create the wealth to pay down pandemic deficits while sustaining investments in health, education, and […]
