Inequality-redistribution in Canada update
Two years ago I posted my first guest blog focused on income inequality, specifically how changes in Canada’s redistribution over the last three decades have increased after-tax income inequality, and…
Canada
I’ve Got an Idea to Rescue Justin From His Slump
Unfair or not, Justin Trudeau has taken a hit in the public’s mind over his pretty clumsy trip to India. With JT et famille sporting an elaborate wardrobe of Bollywood’s…
Ten proposals from the 2018 Alternative Federal Budget
I’ve written a blog post about this year’s Alternative Federal Budget (AFB). Points raised in the blog post include the following: -This year’s AFB would create 470,000 (full-time equivalent) jobs…
On Energy & First Nations, politicians want to have their cake and eat it too
Jonathan Ramos cartoon Canada can fight climate change and build more climate-ravaging pipelines. First Nations’ rights should be respected – just not at the expense of these pipelines, dams and…
The problems with progressive free trade and a divided labour movement
…And we’re back to regularly-scheduled programming. Apologies for the podcasting hiatus to (now really faithful) listeners; I hope to be back to regular episodes once again. I’m restarting the show…
On Media Piracy and "FairPlay Canada"
This is a new development to me, but then I haven’t been following the issue of piracy all that closely for some time. The upshot is that a group of…
Panel discussion at federal NDP policy convention
Yesterday I spoke on a panel discussion on economic inequality, along with Andrew Jackson and Armine Yalnizyan. We were guests at the federal NDP’s policy convention in Ottawa. The panel…
Horgan’s right on Kinder Morgan, even if he got Site C wrong
On Kinder Morgan, John Horgan is standing up for British Columbians — as he should (BCNDP/Flickr) Dear Premier Horgan, I’m still mad at you for carrying on with Site C…
Canada Banning the Capture of Dolphins & Whales
Increased coverage in media about the inhumane treatments of marine animals by entertainment facilities are impacting Canadian laws. Thanks to the efforts of documentarians, like in Blackfish, and concerned citizens…
Canada to Monitor Behaviour of Corporations Aboard
Canada announced yesterday that, like other nations, the country will be monitoring how Canadian corporations behave beyond its borders. Over the years there have been too many accounts of corporations…
Whose side should Canada take if two NATO states start shooting at each other? Don’t laugh … it could happen
PHOTOS: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. If he looks ticked off, it’s probably because he is. (Photo: Kremlin.ru via Wikimedia Commons.) Hey! Don’t blame me if the only good royalty-free…
New Year, New Wage, New Me
Happy New Year to everyone! You may be wondering where I have been for the past five months, since The Political Road Map has become quite lonely. I decided that…
New Year, New Wage, New Me
Happy New Year to everyone! You may be wondering where I have been for the past five months, since The Political Road Map has become quite lonely. I decided that…
I Didn’t Blog in December
I was distracted by things more awesome than blogging. What could that be? I’ll tell you some day. For now, I’m back, complaining about litter. Everyone is focusing on a…
Media get it wrong on Bank of Canada minimum wage study
Over a million workers in Ontario just got a big raise thanks to tireless, bottom-up orgainizing, but if you look to the media it’s a bad news story. The same,…
Impact of growing opioid crisis on life expectancy in the United States is more evidence that neoliberal austerity kills
PHOTOS: This scene is in Paris. It could be anywhere in our “globalized,” that is, neoliberalized world. (Photo: Eric Poulhier, Wikimedia Commons.) Below: Rundown but dignified Havana, high-profile U.S. economist…
Trump may have emboldened hate in Canada, but it was already here
While many Canadians often associate the continuing rise in white supremacist hate in Canada to US President Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric, the right-wing extremist movement was already “alive and well”…
We’ve Done a Good Job at Pretending. Now We Have to Figure Out If the Liberals Deserve to Be Called "Liberal"?
It’s a safe bet that Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem as Israeli capital will likely bring a motion to the floor of the United Nations General Assembly. The Harper/Trudeau machine has…
Maxime Bernier should walk in other people’s shoes before he accuses anyone of racism
In the 1970s, Lincoln Alexander fought the caucus of the Progressive Conservative Party. Mr. Alexander fought them because as a Black man, he wanted to support anti-hate speech legislation. His…