As Keynes said, ‘Look after unemployment and the budget will look after itself’
Re: “PBO projects ‘sluggish’ economic growth this year, with $11.5-billion increase in budgetary deficit in 2023-24,” (The Hill Times, March 7, by Mike Lapointe). For many economists, the current unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent is considered low. Unfortunately, this level translates to more than a million Canadians actively seeking work who are not earning […]
Fighting inflation can’t be left to central banks alone
Governments need to do more to support lasting affordability for housing, food, and energy.
Paying the price for a false promise of prosperity
The supply-side neoliberal economic thinking favoured by the likes of Brian Mulroney, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher is driving today’s shifting political winds towards left-wing populism.
Why we have a terribly imbalanced economy
Canadians now have the highest household debt relative to household income in the G7, and one of the poorest performances in innovation and productivity in its business sector. The two are linked.
Canadians’ economic anxieties have ‘blown past’ pandemic concern benchmark, according to Proof Strategies CanTrust Index
Millennials scored highest in the economic anxiety category at 71 per cent, with boomers coming in at 64 per cent. Women are feeling stress and anxiety more acutely than men.
Canada needs its own productivity commission
We need to build a new economy where innovation and productivity make real increases in per capita well-being in income and wealth generation to address the demands of health care, achieving net-zero emissions, education, and more defence spending.
AI could lead to a future of better possibilities, if we play our cards right
Leading economist David Autor argues that AI, if managed properly, could rebuild the middle class by opening up more workers to all kinds of jobs that are currently the preserve of the professional elites, creating new kinds of jobs in the process. AI is just a tool, he says, and it is how we use it that matters.
ArriveCan accountability remains top question as federal spending watchdog says she found ‘disappointing failures’ everywhere she looked
Canadians will lose faith in institutions if there are no consequences, says Aaron Wudrick. But it should be bureaucrats—not ministers—who wear the procurement failings, according to former PSPC ADM Alan Williams.
Lowering the interest rate of instalment loans is the right thing to do
As a result of being trapped in a high-interest debt loan, people report going without basic necessities, lapsing on other bills, losing retirement savings, skipping important medical visits, and more.
Procurement ombud’s report reveals discrepancies in ArriveCan’s $54-million contract
Mandatory criteria used in ArriveCan application procurement were ‘overly restrictive’ and ‘favoured’ GC Strategies Inc. as an existing CBSA supplier, which led to the awarding of a $25-million contract to the company in the centre of misconduct allegations.
