Canada is marking Gender Equality Week for the first time this week—another sign that closing the gender gap is on the federal agenda. And yet while we have been making measured progress, women are still waiting for meaningful change. Years of effort to remove entrenched economic, cultural and social barriers…
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The Ontario government’s attempt to discredit the former Liberal government by ordering a line-by-line review of the books has yielded its desired consequence: framing the Liberals as out-of-control big spenders. The review, written by Ernst and Young, claims total real public spending in Ontario ballooned by 55%?over the past 15…
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It is a ritual in Canadian politics: a new government comes into power, it reviews the books, and then expresses outrage at how badly the finances were managed and how the public was misled. Conservative governments then use these shocking “discoveries” to double down on privatizing and reducing public services….
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Canada faces significant and unpredictable headwinds going into 2019. Their source, and what we should do about them, however, depends on who you ask. According to business lobby groups, the biggest threats to Canada come from uncertainty in our trade relationship with the United States, our relative tax competitiveness in…
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We spent five weeks on the picket line–100 hours–during the longest strike in the 50 year history of Ontario community colleges. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. For many educators, the calling to teach is strong. It…
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Not even three full months into his reign as Ontario premier, the battle lines between Doug Ford and the City of Toronto have been drawn and democracy is on trial. Premier Ford threw Toronto’s October 22nd municipal election campaign into chaos this summer by arbitrarily cutting the number of seats…
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Strong-arm tactics have always been an ugly feature of Canada-U.S. trade negotiations.? But in the current NAFTA renegotiation the Trump administration has taken bullying and brinkmanship to a whole new level. The Canadian government was thrown off balance by the U.S.-Mexico deal announced in late August and has been playing…
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