Today the libertarian Montreal Economic Institute think tank released a short report claiming that Ontario’s $14 minimum wage is costing thousands of young workers their jobs and raising prices for everyone else. These overblown claims, based on skewed and cherry-picked data, came out—purely coincidentally to be sure—on the same day
Continue readingTag: Youth Unemployment
Northern Reflections: Generation Y Gets The Short End
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/Yesterday, the Guardian reported on a study w…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Rigged Against The Young
Newly released research has revealed that the Harper government’s job creation record — put in historical perspective — is nothing to brag about. But its record of job creation for young people is undeniably dismal. Armine Yalnizyan writes: If you look at the proportion of people working by age group,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Mighty (Pol)Oz Speaks
But his message is not being well-received. No, not at all. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: An Initial Reaction To The Budget
To paraphrase the Soup Nazi, young people, “No job for you!” This message brought to you by the Harper government, not hard at work for you. H/t PressProgress Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Coffee Workers Unionizing
Many of us are abundantly aware, as both parents and citizens, of how hard it is for young people to establish meaningful career paths these days. Part-time and contract work abounds, as do minimum wage jobs, despite the fact that we have a very educated population. Corporations continue to sit
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Legend of Brian Mulroney
Actually, our former Prime Minister is more a legend in his own mind, but then, confronting harsh reality has never been one of Mr. Mulroney’s strong suits. His litigious past serves as ample testament to that fact. But myth is always much more exciting than truth, and what better myth
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Yet Another Failure of The Corporate Community
We hear everyday about the grim prospects that our young people face – protracted periods of unemployment, underemployment and contract work have become the norm, rather than the exception, even for those with extensive education. Even going back to school to pursue graduate studies or certificate programs offers no guarantee
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Honey, I Abandoned The Kids
Judith Maxwell, former chair of the Economic Council of Canada, tells the Globe and Mail: “People over their forties in Canada have no idea what it’s like for a young person trying to find a pathway to adulthood right now.” Our present political masters, focused entirely on the next quarter’s
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Thomas Walkom: Harper’s Strategy Behind The Foreign Workers Program
Yesterday, over at Northern Reflections, Owen Gray wrote a post entitled A Lost Generation, a reflection on the discouraging prospects our young people face in establishing themselves in gainful employment, and the fact that their plight does not seem to be a factor in the Harper regime’s decision-making. I left
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Lost Generation
While the Harper government touts its record for job creation, it never mentions youth unemployment. That’s because it focuses on its core constituency — baby boomers, like me, who have retired. For the Harperites, the young don’t matter. Indeed, they are a lost generation. Carol Goar, in the Toronto Star,
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