Nearly eight in 10 Canadians want the G-G entitlement policy scrapped
Julie Payette must feel like she won the lottery. Despite resigning in shame from her posting as governor general amidst allegations of creating a toxic workplace, she is still entitled to the Cadillac of all retirement packages, courtesy of all of us taxpayers. First off, there’s the pension. At $150,000 per year, it’s generous enough…
Teenagers have one of the highest rates of depression in Canada
Canadian teenagers who attend schools in areas with high-income inequality are more likely to suffer from depression than those in areas with low-income inequality, according to the first study of its kind in Canada. It is already well understood that being poor can negatively affect mental health, said co-author Roman Pabayo, an epidemiologist and associate professor…
Many powerful people have become rich by exploiting workers
Many people seem to have forgotten a basic principle of life. Broadcaster and writer Earl Nightingale called it “the law of mutual exchange.” He explained further: “We’ve got to be of service before we can expect money.” Many powerful people over the last several centuries have acted as though this principle didn’t apply to them.…
Ever-higher minimum wages are pricing more people out of the job market and reducing economic opportunity
Minimum wages are on the rise again in Ontario. As of Oct. 1, the province’s incessant central planners have not one but six higher price controls for labour. These hurt the most vulnerable Canadians and do the bidding of unions. However, vociferous proponents delude themselves into thinking they have the moral high ground and are…
Balancing physical and social needs key to ensuring equity in affected communities
As our world adapts to climate change, a renewed focus on social vulnerability is critical to supporting affected communities, according to a study by University of Alberta urban planning experts. “Our research shows we must expand our thinking beyond solely the physical aspects of climate change, and to instead design for the social effects of…
COVID-19 has made us realize that many people whose jobs are too important to be interrupted are the ones earning the least money
Almost everyone agrees that grocery store workers should earn better wages, especially during a pandemic. In Canada, their hourly rate hovers around $15 an hour. New hires get about $13 an hour, while the highest paid earn almost $50,000 annually, or about $25 an hour. In a high-volume, low-margin world, salaries are what they are.…
Someone said, ‘Greed is good’ and we repeated it. But the only thing that matters when you die is your legacy
I have to apologize to the youth of the world for the state we find ourselves in. Yes, great things have happened in my lifetime. We watched the fall of the Berlin Wall and we have taken some steps in the progress of human rights. But the legacy of the baby boomer generation leaves little…
The world’s problems are many, and the solutions require abrupt shifts and great sacrifice. But change is essential
The world is in crisis. After touching on some of the problems, I’ll list possible policy responses and suggest why humanity so far has failed to implement them. Time is short but I believe that at root, our obstacles are political, not lack of scientific knowledge. Problems Global warming and related extreme weather events, rising…
First we need to deal with our own problems, starting with the huge inequities among our Indigenous peoples
Despite our best efforts towards eliminating poverty and inequality, large segments of society remain left behind. Problems seem to outpace rhetoric. Worse, governments face huge challenges in meeting their obligations and commitments. We face two tragedies: our domestic challenge with poverty and inequality, and the estimated 828 million people globally living in slums (expected to…
Corporate Democrats don’t seem to realize they’ve lost the trust of American people disillusioned by the lack of progress
Pierre Trudeau once said to an American audience, “Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant … one is affected by every twitch and grunt.” The United States has built one of the most powerful empires the world has ever known. The founders created an ingenious system to allow for…
CEO pay has increased over the last decade but the increase is perfectly related to the value of their skills
In debates about inequality, some people – including some economists – claim the salaries and compensation of chief executive officers aren’t linked to performance. Essentially, they don’t really earn their money. This claim, repeated ad nauseam in recent years, is misleading to say the least. As noted in my recent study published by the Fraser…
Life in an air-conditioned bunker, drinking vodka sodas and binge-watching Netflix may not be enough to stimulate the privileged climate-change survivors
The actions of the Donald Trump presidency and the many global populist governments that follow suit (Brazil, the Philippines, and arguably Saudi Arabia and even Australia) reveal a line of thought about the climate crisis: it doesn’t really exist. Climate change is basically viewed as an externality determined by God, nature or whimsy. When it’s…
The rise in economic inequality is one of the most potent 21st century memes. You could even call it pervasive. It dominates the debate in the Democratic presidential contest and has a material echo in our current federal election. The rich – particularly the notorious one per cent – must be made to “pay their…
Cynicism and class divisions are leading to cultural insecurity, reducing tolerance and compassion. Something must change
The international landscape is in unprecedented flux, challenging assumptions of social, political and economic progress for youth everywhere. Globalization, technological advances, demographic pressures from global migration, sectarian and ideological conflicts, and economic disparities have all affected the cohesiveness of societies. Shifting unemployment patterns and doubts about the sustainability of social security systems and the environment…
U.S. households not only live with higher income inequality than in Canada but more than half are worse off in terms of purchasing power
Regardless of whether America is great, or about to be great again, a new analysis shows that Canadians outrank Americans on household income. The Economist magazine recently devoted a long section to a profile of Canada with frequent comparisons to the United States. Among the statistics highlighted were that Canadians’ life expectancy was three years…