Tunney’s Pasture daycare closing after 32 years
Garderie Tunney’s Daycare, a non-for-profit Ottawa daycare centre with a long history of serving federal public servants, has closed its doors amid both falling enrolment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as skyrocketing rent that comes following the expiry of a series of rent subsidies that have kept the centre afloat for […]
Trudeau government says prorogation bought time to ‘build a robust’ response to pandemic, in new report
The Trudeau government rehashed its justifications for proroguing Parliament in a new report, saying it was “imperative” the House vote on its plan and that the weeks off bought it time to “build a robust” approach to addressing the pandemic’s challenges. In a 37-page report tabled with the House Affairs Committee on Thursday, the government […]
Feds inch closer to Phoenix replacement as Heritage Canada tapped for exploratory phase of Next Generation HR and pay system
The Department of Heritage has been selected for the first exploratory phase of the Next Generation HR and Pay project—or NextGen, for short—which is meant to eventually replace the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system that has left thousands of public servants overpaid, under paid, or not paid at all. Heritage was selected as the department for […]
Canadians are ready for real action on a green and just recovery
Last week, the Green Budget Coalition published its annual recommendations for federal investments to achieve priority environmental outcomes. While we are still in the midst of a public health emergency, Canadians are ready for real action on a green and just recovery from this pandemic that both improves their lives now and builds a better, […]
As hunger rises amidst pandemic, Canada can and should make an impact
“When we were home, we used to eat good things, now there is nowhere to farm—it is too dry,” said Martin, a refugee from South Sudan, living in Uganda’s Rhino Camp Settlement. By 2017, there were more than one million South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, forcibly displaced by violent conflict. Conflict, climate disasters, and economic […]
Pandemic risks undoing progress at achieving gender parity
Sunita is 16. She has been married for four years. At the age of 12, she became a child bride—forced into marriage and out of education by her parents in the Indian state of Bihar. “It felt terrible because I was still very young and was attending school with my friends,” says Sunita. “All my […]
Taxing wealth inequality key piece of Canada’s economic recovery
Canada’s minority Parliament has outlined major goals, from reforming the EI system for the 21st century to establishing a national child-care program. While some critics have called the plans reckless and excessive, the Liberals can afford these investments if they follow through on a key promise in the Throne Speech: to tax extreme wealth inequality. […]
Pandemic throws line-by-line approval of billions of dollars in spending off course
Billions of dollars in spending to keep government operations going have yet to be formally approved by the House after the pandemic forced MPs to defer scrutiny to December, throwing off the usual course of parliamentary business. This year’s main estimates, setting out $304.6-billion in federal spending, were first introduced in February but were never […]
Bold aspirations are not enough
TORONTO—It is quite a promise. But in its recent Throne Speech the Trudeau government pledged it would “ensure Canada is the most competitive jurisdiction in the world for clean technology companies.” It didn’t spell out how we would know it had kept its promise. Until we know, it’s just a boast. While promises come easy, […]
‘There needs to be real honesty from our leaders’: feds can’t falter on ‘once-in-a-decade’ investment opportunity in reshaping economy, say top experts
Confronting the immediate economic fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will be the primary focus of the federal government in the weeks and months to come, according to experts and economists, especially as the ‘second wave’ is likely to flatten any economic growth Canada has seen following the reopening of major parts of the economy […]
