In my discussion of Chapter 3 of Ryan Meili’s A Healthy Society, I mused that social housing might be an area where public-sector purchasing power could be put to its best possible use in securing better value than individuals can afford in a purely market-based system. And in his discussion
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Accidental Deliberations: A Healthy Society – Chapter 3 Discussion
Chapter 3 of Ryan Meili’s A Healthy Society focuses on the effect of income – both in total and in distribution – as a determinant of health. But while there’s plenty of material deserving of further discussion, I’ll point to his comments on the place of taxation and government spending
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Rex Murphy’s Naive Take on the Quebec Student Protests
On CBC’s The National last night, Rex Murphy weighed in on Quebec’s student protests; the transcript can be found here, and the three-minute video here. He calls the protests “short sighted,” points out that Quebec already has the lowest tuition fees in Canada, and suggests the students’ actions are “crude attempts
Continue readingknitnut.net: Heartwarming goodbyes
CCOC (Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation) wasn’t just a nice place to work. It turned out to be a nice place to leave, too. On my last day of work, they took me out for a lovely lunch and presented me with a swap box (!) filled with goodies like antique
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Alison nicely debunks the Cons’ latest Robocon talking points. Paula Boutis offers her own suggestions to strengthen Elections Canada in investigating vote suppression. And Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher report that the Cons have been working on funneling federal money through a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 15, 2011
Thursday, December 15 was the final day in the House of Commons before the winter break. The Big Issue Once again, debate focused primarily on Bill C-26 to clarify the availability of self-defence under the Criminal Code. And the opposition parties started proceedings by granting unanimous consent to an effort
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
A quick survey of what’s happened in the NDP leadership campaign over the past couple of days… – Niki Ashton has rightly criticized other candidates’ operatives who seem to be working to push her out of the race. But the behind-the-scenes maneuvering may only backfire it if gives Ashton and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 8, 2011
Thursday, December 8 saw debate on four separate bills – though once again, the Harper Cons were most conspicuous by their silence on a bill they were in the process of ramming through Parliament. The Big Issue That would be the Senate patch job which was being debated at second
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – The CCPA offers up a handy infographic on the diverging economic paths of the ever-wealthier 1% and the rest of Canadians. – Once again, the Cons are claiming that nobody should take their own internal documents seriously – this time when it comes
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 22, 2011
Tuesday, November 22 saw the Cons’ refusal to debate their own government bills reach absurd levels, as Con MPs spent more time arguing against a single opposition private member’s bill than they did defending some of their supposed key priorities. The Big Issue But then, one can hardly blame the
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Lower Inflation Frees Carney’s Hand
Statistics Canada reported today that consumer prices decreased in December, lowering the annual inflation rate to 2.3%. The Bank of Canada’s core inflation rate declined to 1.9%. Tame inflation leaves room to lower interest rates. If unemployment continues to rise, the Bank of Canada should reduce interest rates to boost
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
December marked the three-year anniversary of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. While I believe there is much to celebrate, much remains to be done. The Strategy surprised a lot of observers, especially in light of the fact that it was announced in December 2008, just as Ontario was entering a recession.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Tips on Recruiting International Students
It’s no secret that a major priority of Canadian universities is to recruit substantial numbers of international students, who in turn pay very high tuition fees once they arrive in Canada. Recent evidence suggests that insofar as Canadian universities want to continue doing so, they should work with senior levels of government to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Jeffrey Simpson manages to write an entire column on important political developments he managed to miss in 2011 without uttering the words “NDP” (or any member thereof). Which surely looks like an early nominee as a continued blind spot in 2012. – Peter
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On developing reputations
Yes, there’s room to quibble about the credit Heather Scoffield gives the Cons for the At Home pilot program. But in the spirit of encouraging better policy from each possible corner, let’s not focus on that for now. Instead, the real question is whether the current pilot project will lead
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how both the city and the province are only exacerbating the Regina rental housing crisis that’s been festering for years. For further reading, see recent stories on the near-zero vacancy rate and skyrocketing prices in the rental market, as well as the City’s response in focusing instead on
Continue readingknitnut.net: Sustainability, Ikea style
Chandler's dog, Willy We went to Ikea on the way home from Chandler Swain’s house, where I had just purchased two lovely hand-crafted pottery bowls. Chandler Swain is my favourite potter. She lives and works out of a charming little house near Almonte. It is my dream to go stay
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Housing in the Northwest Territories
Last week, I was in Yellowknife, where I released results of new research on affordable housing in the Northwest Territories (NWT). The research project was sponsored by the Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada, and was a collaboration with the Centre for Northern Families. Research findings include the following:
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 26, 2011
Wednesday, October 26 saw a rare opportunity for the opposition parties to set the agenda. And as a result, the big issue was one which the Cons prefer to discuss as little as possible – even if it’s far more relevant to more Canadians than most of the Harper government’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.- Dan Gardner highlights how Stephen Harper is imposing exactly the kind of costly, top-down policies on Canada’s provinces that he once railed against:This week, at least five provincial governments, starting …
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