Avi Lewis’ rent control plan
I’ve just written a ‘top 10′ overview of Avi Lewis’ plan to impose federal rent control. Here’s the link to the post:
economic history
Homelessness among racialized persons
Chapter 7 of my open access textbook has just been released. This chapter focuses on homelessness experienced by racialized persons. A ‘top 10’ summary of the chapter can be found…
Electrification and Climate I: Scale of the Challenge
Many elements have to come together if Canada is to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. There is now a technical consensus that “electrification” – the replacement of fossil…
The Anthropocene and the New World
In recent decades all but the wilfully ignorant have had to face two facts: that climate change is taking place and that it is the result of what we humans…
Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World
Book Review Adam Tooze. Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World. Viking. New York. 2018 The global economic crisis is now more than a decade old, and…
An Analysis of Financial Flows in the Canadian Economy
An essential but perhaps overlooked way of looking at the economy is a sector financial balance approach. Pioneered by the late UK economist Wynne Godley, this approach starts with National…
Rethinking the economics of extreme events
Review of Worst-Case Economics: Extreme Events in Climate and Finance by Frank Ackerman *** Long ago economics was termed “the dismal science,” but in recent years that title has arguably…
Rethinking the economics of extreme events
I was asked to review Frank Ackerman’s Worst-Case Economics: Extreme Events in Climate and Finance. I’ve learned a lot from his writing over the years so it was a pleasure…
New book on Indigenous homelessness
I’ve recently reviewed a new book on homelessness among Indigenous peoples. The book, published by the University of Manitoba Press, was edited by Evelyn Peters and Julia Christensen. My review…
Ten things to know about social assistance in Canada
I’ve just written a blog post about social assistance in Canada. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Social assistance has two contradictory objectives: 1) to give people…
The introduction and evolution of child benefits in Canada
Allan Moscovitch and I have co-authored a blog post that looks at the history of child benefits in Canada. Points made in the blog post include the following: -Child benefits…
New book on the history of Canadian social housing policy
One of Canada’s foremost authorities on Canadian social housing, Dr. Greg Suttor, has just authored a book on the history of Canadian social housing policy. Titled Still renovating: A history…
The Alternative Federal Budget 2017
This year’s Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) was released on March 9. I was proud to be the primary author of its housing chapter (that chapter is available in English here…
Public Policy and Homelessness: The Case of Calgary
Over at the web site of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’ve written a blog post titled “Public Policy and Homelessness: The Case of Calgary.” Points raised in the blog post…
Social Housing in BC, AB and QC (1975-2015)
Over at the web site of the Calgary Homeless Foundation is a transcript of a recent discussion I had with Dr. Maroine Bendaoud. His recently-defended PhD thesis looks at social…
How Housing Policy Benefits from a Socioeconomic Perspective
Over at the web site of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’ve written a blog post titled “How Housing Policy Benefits from a Socioeconomic Perspective.” Points raised in the blog post…
Do Calgary and Edmonton need more power and resources?
Over at the web site of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’ve written a blog post titled “Do Calgary and Edmonton need more power and resources?” The blog post comes as…
Federal Income Support for Low-Income Seniors
Over at the Behind the Numbers web site, Allan Moscovitch, David Macdonald and I have a blog post titled “Ten Things to Know About Federal Income Support for Low-Income Seniors…
L’itinérance au Canada: Sa croissance, les réponses politiques, et le plaidoyer
Le 1er février, j’ai fait une présentation sur l’itinérance adressée aux étudiants du séminaire d’études supérieures de monsieur Steve Pomeroy à la School of Public Policy and Administration à l’Université…
Homelessness in Canada: Its Growth, Policy Responses, and Advocacy
On February 1, I gave a guest presentation on homelessness to a graduate seminar class on housing policy taught by Steve Pomeroy at Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and…