The Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) is an annual exercise whose working group consists of researchers, economists, and members of civil society (full disclosure: I’m the Editor). Our general mandate is to create a progressive vision for Alberta to boost economic growth and reduce income inequality. This year’s document was released
Continue readingTag: employment standards
The Progressive Economics Forum: MEDIA RELEASE: Alberta should increase social spending; cuts are not the way to go
(June 24, 2019-Calgary) With Alberta’s economy still facing challenges and vulnerabilities, the Alberta government should not be doling out tax cuts or cutting social spending, according to the Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) released today. “Alberta still has, by far, the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio of any province,” says Nick Falvo, editor
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Precarious work, Federal government edition
There was a recent article in the Hill Times about temporary workers in the federal public service, noting that this number is growing even under Trudeau’s sunny ways (that’s not entirely fair, the report only covered the first 5 months of the Liberal’s tenure). The numbers come from the Privy
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: How do you solve a problem like precarious work?
Finance Minister Bill Morneau has taken quite a bit of heat for his tone deaf comments about the reality of precarious work, specifically saying that we should just “get used to job churn”. But his policy prescription, an improved social safety net, is a quite valid part of the solution. But
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Who earns minimum wage?
Minimum wages have been getting a lot of attention lately. And for good reason. Workers earning minimum wage often struggle to get enough hours, don’t have predictable schedules or advance notice of shifts, and many don’t even have access to unpaid sick days. Alberta’s current government was elected on a plan to raise the minimum […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Workers Link $15 Minimum Wage to Decent Work
Wednesday April 15th is a global day of action on a $15 minimum wage and decent work. Actions are happening across the U.S., and in BC, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. Both in the US and in Canada, workers are making links between decent wages and other employment standards. The Ontario
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Transforming Precarious Work
The Ontario government has launched a review of their Labour Relations Act and Employment Standards Act. The premise is that the workplace has changed, and Ontario labour law no longer does as much as it should to protect vulnerable workers. The Workers’ Action Centre in Toronto took this opportunity to
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Re-making markets with unpaid internships
From political proposals to street protests, unpaid internships have been making news in Canada. Rightfully so, as there is a litany of problems with unpaid internships. For individuals, unpaid internships can not only be a form of outright wage theft, they also help entrench class-based privilege that allows some the
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Temporary Foreign Workers Program: RBC pledges not to outsource Canadian jobs
Stung by the Temporary Foreign Workers Program scandal, the Royal Bank of Canada says it’s no longer in the deplorable business of outsourcing Canadian jobs to foreign workers. But only, it seems, when “a worker eligible to work in Canada is available and able to perform the service.” The post
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Looking upstream: Law Commission report a step in the right direction
If Ontario really wants to look at upstream investments to improve population health, it may want to pay attention to an unlikely source – the Law Commission of Ontario. In August the LCO issued an interim report on vulnerable workers … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The Right Response to “No Job Is A Bad Job”
Last May federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said there was no such thing as a bad job. The Law Commission of Ontario may disagree. This week it put out a report about the rise in vulnerable workers and precarious jobs. Now that he’s heard from executives who think Canadians are
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Severance Pay and Public Servants
I am an economist, not a lawyer or expert on the collective agreements in the federal public service, but I can still detect a hatchet job. The CBC have given a lot of play to a Greg Weston story that allegedly generous severance payments to public servants amounting to as
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Severance Pay and Public Servants
I am an economist, not a lawyer or expert on the collective agreements in the federal public service, but I can still detect a hatchet job. The CBC have given a lot of play to a Greg Weston story that allegedly generous”severance payments to public servants amounting to as much
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