Pollsters tell us that Ontario’s New Democrats may double their seat total in next month’s provincial election. It’s also entirely conceivable that they could be part of a coalition government at Queen’s Park. But what’s actually in the party’s election platform? One central feature of the NDP’s proposals is to implement a tax credit for companies that hire new workers. The tax […]
Continue readingTag: Housing
Slap Upside The Head: Vancouver’s Gay Housing Discrimination Problem
Housing discrimination has always been a little difficult to measure. Yet, even in a city as diverse and vibrant as Vancouver, it’s reported to happen. While it’s illegal to deny a gay couple housing simply because of their sexual orientation anywhere in Canada, proving this kind of discrimination is not easy; landlords don’t normally admit […]
Continue readingArt Threat: The deserted but beautiful homes of Detroit – A look at Kevin Bauman’s "100 Abandoned Houses" collection
Detroit has been the poster child of the American recession for number of years. While many Detroit organizations and residents are taking a “do-it-yourself” approach to rebuilding their city, their work is cut out for them, particularly when it comes to fixing up abandoned buildings. Yards need to be mowed, debris collected, seeds planted and […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Recession Ahead?
TD Economics yesterday released a rather gloomy report, putting the odds of a US recession at 40%, and arguing that that Canadian economy is more vulnerable to recession than it was in 2008. It highlights reduced capacity for governments to respond given that interest rates are already very low, and given that that household and […]
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Selected text for your weekend reading.
– Edmund Pries points out how the right sees wasted public money and gratuitous tax slashing as tools to force cuts to programs which actually serve a valuable purpose:
During the Reagan era, a friend and former…
Accidental Deliberations: Deep thought
I can think of a few appropriate introductions to a plan belatedly acknowledging the existence of a housing crisis. But proudly pointing to past programs which have evidently accomplished nothing isn’t one of them.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Tuition Increases by Stealth
On Tuesday night, Peterborough City Council approved a plan for a for-profit corporation to own and operate a new student residence at Trent University. I’m concerned that this may signal a new trend at Canadian universities; about a year ago, I blogged about a similar plan at the University of Toronto. I am not opposed […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Decarbonizing homes and the price of gas
Our climate justice framework for BC is to eliminate fossil fuels by 2040. In the household sector, this poses a significant challenge, not so much in terms of technology and knowledge, but because natural gas is much cheaper than electricity per unit of energy. Even though BC has among the lowest prices in North America, […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Is Social Assistance a “Poverty Pariah?”
An article in the current edition of NOW Magazine looks at social assistance in Ontario. The article is aptly entitled “Poverty Pariah,” in light of how apparently unpopular Ontario’s welfare system has become over the past 20 years. As can be seen at the National Council of Welfare’s Interactive Welfare Incomes Map, a single adult […]
Continue readingknitnut.net: Creating the right places
Yesterday we spent the afternoon filtering another 4,000 bottles of wine at The Oaks, for the Managed Alcohol Program. I learn a lot there, and it’s not just about winemaking. One of the managers is the chief winemaker while the original chief winemaker travels the world. Since filtering wine involves about 20 minutes of waiting […]
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.- Ian Welsh serves up some tough commentary as to whether Canadian voters saddled with unrepresentative and downright destructive governments are merely getting what we deserve:(W)e have selected, to rule our soci…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: How Rob Ford Can Fix Social Housing
I have an opinion piece in today’s Toronto Star regarding Toronto’s Mayor, Rob Ford, and the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC). Mr. Ford would like to see a considerable number of units from TCHC’s existing stock sold off. For background on the issue, please my blog post of April 13, which can be found here. In today’s piece, I […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Homelessness in Yellowknife
I’m in Yellowknife all week attending events relating to the launch of a policy report on homelessness. The report is one of several articles coming out of a multi-year research project looking at affordable housing and homelessness in the Northwest Territories. The project is being supervised by Dr. Frances Abele (Carleton University) and our community partner […]
Continue readingChallenging the Commonplace: Of Decades Past and Future
As 2010 comes to a close, my hope for the coming decade is for an overhauled Canadian Parliament and similar changes to the BC Legislative Assembly. I doubt anything substantive will change in terms of policy or direction – for this country, this provi…
Continue readingOn cooperatives and housing.
I’ll get back to my electoral series eventually, I swear. But I had this weird idea today and I wanted to spell it out. It’s not an argument; more just thinking out loud. (Well, so to speak. “Speak”.)We don’t have enough housing going to the people who…
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