August, 2009

In an article from 1971, Gerald Vandezande talks about the astonishing new unemployment rate, which has just skyrocketed to 6.5%.

6.5% - astonishing? Currently, we congratulate ourselves if unemployment goes anywhere near that number. So what changed? When did any level of unemployment become normal and even acceptable? Read more »

Every year we welcome an eager young person to our policy team, and every year we have to go through the pain of saying goodbye. Yesterday was Mariel’s last day at CPJ – she’s off for a well-deserved vacation before starting an MA in public policy at Concordia University in Montreal. We’re really going to miss Mariel! Read more »

Last May, the Ontario Legislature passed a bill meant to enhance the protections for temporary foreign workers.

But protections for temporary foreign workers have been few and far between. And with the numbers of such workers rising, these protections are even more important. Read more »

In 2002, Quebec became the first province in Canada to introduce a poverty reduction strategy. Now, New Brunswick is one step closer to establishing its own strategy to reduce poverty for the approximately 100,740 people in the province living on low income. Read more »

3 years ago, the annual “Memorial of the Montreal Massacre” hosted by Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter included a session on guaranteed livable income.

Kathleen Poiresan of Vancouver Rape Relief and Barbara Cameron of York University spoke about the correlation between women’s economic insecurity and violence against women, and how guaranteed income would provide economic security for women. Read more »

In thinking about the upcoming web feature I'm writing about immigration, temporary foreign workers and other newcomer issues, I suddenly became overwhelmed. So much has been going on in this area of public policy - too much of it below the radar - that I need to sort out my thoughts around this a bit.

And I figured the blog could be a good place to start a bit of a discussion on this! Read more »

Here’s a question for you. Which of the following increases your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer or respiratory illnesses the most?

a) a sedentary lifestyle
b) a poor diet
c) smoking
d) poverty

  Read more »

There’s been some debate lately on both sides of the border about unemployment insurance and its impact on unemployment. The argument centers on whether the generosity of unemployment insurance benefits creates unemployment.

Here’s how the argument works. You are an average working person. You have two choices. You can continue to work for income, despite the fact that work is boring and cuts into your free time. Or, you can opt to be unemployed, collecting insurance income and enjoying all of your leisure time. Read more »

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has a new video which does a good job of explaining the growing gap in Canada between the rich and poor: Read more »