Should ‘gig’ Workers be Covered by the EI regime? The Challenges and Pitfalls
Providing Gig Workers with EI: No Easy Answer There is no easy solution to the challenge of including gig workers or self-employed workers in Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) system, according to a new report released by the C.D. Howe Institute. Author David Gray casts an evaluative lens on the case – especially as ‘gig workers’ […] Parisa Mahboubi – COVID Benefits are Ending. Will Workers Return?
From: Parisa Mahboubi To: Canadian labour force observers Date: October 4, 2021 Re: COVID Benefits are Ending. Will Workers Return? Canada’s COVID-related economic recovery measures are set to end soon. What are the likely outcomes and what are the potential steps the federal government can take to soften the blow? In the early days of the pandemic, the […] With pandemic benefits ending, will the unemployed return to the work force? – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
All COVID-related economic recovery measures in Canada are set to end soon. Employers who have been having trouble filling vacancies are hoping this will spur a flood of people back into the work force, but unfortunately for business owners, the situation isn’t quite that simple.
In the early days of the pandemic, the federal government introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to ensure that a broad range of Canadians affected by the pandemic stayed afloat. Government supports like this and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (which is scheduled to run until Oct. 23, 2021) sustained many people and businesses.
But the economy is in a different place now. The number of unemployed people was 1.4 million in…
Matt Malone – Non-competes Are Holding Canada Back – So Let’s Ban Them
From: Matt Malone To: Canadians Concerned about employment law Date: September 22, 2021 Re: Non-competes are holding Canada back – so let’s ban them Canadian political leaders often talk about unleashing innovation. California did it with just 24 words. “Every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is […] Tammy Schirle – When Markets Fail: The Case For Government Support For Childcare
From: Tammy Schirle To: Canadians Concerned about Childcare Date: September 8, 2021 Re: When Markets Fail: The Case for Government Support for Childcare It’s easy to find an economist who likes well-functioning, perfectly competitive markets. I’m one of them. Some markets for goods and services are best left to work on their own, with nothing more than the proverbial […] Payments to Parents for Childcare Can Spur Supply of New Spaces
A frequently repeated talking point is that sending daycare subsidies to parents, instead of daycare operators, is of no benefit because it doesn’t increase spaces. Is there merit to this claim? For many years, Quebec has offered families two options for making childcare more affordable: 1) subsidized spaces with a low universal flat fee, which […] Mackinnon, Laurin – Payments To Parents: The Better Childcare Answer
To: Canadians concerned about childcare From: Janice MacKinnon and Alexandre Laurin Date: September 7, 2021 Re: Payments to Parents: The Better Childcare Answer Providing parents with funding to access childcare has many advantages over a universal, government-run childcare system: the ability to link benefits to income, more inclusive access, simplicity and uniformity across Canada and affordability. As an example, […] Tammy Schirle – When Markets Fail: The Case For Government Intervention In Elcc Provision
From: Tammy Schirle To: Canadians Concerned about Childcare Date: August 19, 2021 Re: When Markets Fail: The Case for Government Intervention in ELCC Provision It’s easy to find an economist who likes well-functioning, perfectly competitive markets. I’m one of them. Some markets for goods and services are best left to work on their own, with nothing more than […] Messacar, Frenette, Handler – The Cost Of Graduating During Covid-19
From: Derek Messacar, Marc Frenette and Tomasz Handler To: Concerned Canadians Date: July 26, 2021 Re: The Cost of Graduating During COVID-19 Over the past year and a half, pandemic lockdowns have led to significant declines in economic activity across Canada and the effects have been particularly severe for young workers. The unemployment rate among 15 to 24 year […] Peter Glossop – A New Approach To Wage-fixing And Anti-poaching Employer Deals
From: Peter Glossop To: Canada’s competition law overseers Date: July 9, 2021 Re: A New Approach to Wage-Fixing and Anti-Poaching Employer Deals Canada is “out of sync” with the United States when it comes to punishing employers who agree to fix workers’ wages or agree not to poach employees from each other, Matthew Boswell, the Commissioner of Competition, told a […] Don Drummond – Breathing Life Into The Liberal Government’s Quality Of Life Index
From: Don Drummond To: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Date: June 9, 2021 Re: Breathing Life into the Liberal Government’s Quality of Life Index Following the lead of a number of other countries, the Department of Finance and Statistics Canada are engaged in an investigation of and consultations on how to inform policymaking better with information on Canadians’ quality of […] Philip Oreopoulos – High-dosage Tutoring Stems Pandemic Learning Loss. Canada Should Get Going
From: Philip Oreopoulos To: Canada’s Education Ministers Date: May 26, 2021 Re: High-dosage Tutoring Stems Pandemic Learning Loss. Canada Should Get Going Over a year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, student learning loss remains a pressing policy concern. Inconsistent learning environments, low attendance rates, and inequitable access to educational technologies and resources have created an unprecedented […]