Miles Corak – Employment Insurance Reform That Promotes Agency
From: Miles Corak To: Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough Date: October 19, 2020 Re: Employment Insurance Reform That Promotes Agency More than one out of every three dollars distributed through the Employment Insurance (EI) program are for so-called Special Benefits, those parts of the program associated with maternity and parental leave, with caregiving, and with sickness. The fact that […] Gig workers need more than temporary government relief programs – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Since the previous recession in 2008-09, the so-called gig economy and platform work have been growing globally and in Canada. The growth is mainly due to technological and economic changes and the desire for greater flexibility by workers and employers.
However, the legal employment framework remains outdated. The COVID-19 crisis has a strong potential to exacerbate the trend by shifting more working-age Canadians into temporary or contracted employment, rather than traditional stable and permanent employment.
There is still limited consensus on what the gig economy is, how to classify gig workers and, consequently, how to address concerns about protections for gig workers. There are three approaches to…
Mahboubi, Maqbool – Canada Will Benefit From Opening Its Border To International Students
From: Parisa Mahboubi and Sana Maqbool To: Canadian Businesses and Governments Date: October 14, 2020 Re: Canada Will Benefit from Opening Its Border to International Students COVID-19 travel restrictions have had a significant impact on Canada’s permanent and temporary immigration. The plan to re-open the border to international students next week will help the recovery in the short-term […] Canadian Expats Are A Valuable Resource. So Why Isn’t The Country Putting Them To Use? – Globe And Mail Op-ed
In the years leading up to the pandemic, Canada’s place on the world stage was fading.
We told ourselves we were a special nation – the country that works in a world that does not. And domestically, we were indeed always stable, mostly prosperous and sometimes even cool.
But to the rest of the world, what value did Canada bring?
We struggled to attract foreign investment, and foreign buyers for our goods. In peacekeeping, we were a shadow of our former selves. In sports, we claimed the podium less often than we hoped. And in science, our victories often proved episodic.
In June, when we lost the vote for a Security Council seat at the United Nations, the rebuke was a shock only to Canadians who didn’t fully…
Peter Hicks – The Pandemic Opportunity For Better Well-being Data
From: Peter Hicks To: The Office of the Prime Minister Date: October 9, 2020 Subject: The Pandemic Opportunity for Better Well-being Data The federal government agenda during this parliamentary session will be focused on managing the pandemic and putting ‘new normal’ programs in place. There should also be a place for lower profile action to […] Alberta can help jump-start its economy with three simple words: Come on in – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Governments across Canada are still coming to grips with the COVID-19 pandemic, but looking toward recovery all the same. For Alberta, this is a uniquely challenging endeavour. Oil prices remain low, and may stay there for some time. But there are options, and one stands out: making it easier for skilled individuals to move in.
Ensuring Alberta is as open as possible to the best talent from across Canada and abroad to exercise their profession, ply their trade or conduct their business can help boost the province’s economy. Not all moves make sense, but there are artificial regulatory barriers currently deterring some potential migrants from helping build Alberta’s economy. Those should be lifted.
It may seem strange, at a…
Tammy Schirle – Unemployment In The 21st Century
From: Tammy Schirle To: Employment Insurance Policymakers Date: October 7, 2020 Re: Unemployment in the 21st Century “This pandemic has shown that Canada needs an EI system for the 21st century, including for the self-employed and those in the gig economy.” – Speech from the Throne, September 23, 2020 The fact that a large number of Canadians lack a […] The Ins And Outs Of Interprovincial Flows
Trevor Tombe and Daniel Schwanen’s new paper outlined the ways in which Alberta (and Canada generally) could benefit by reducing obstacles to internal migration and labour mobility. Along the way, they included these two fascinating charts that portray the movement of people into and out of Alberta and the interprovincial flows for the whole nation. Alberta’s Opportunity: The Ins, Outs and Benefits of Greater Job Mobility
Alberta Should Fight Downturn with Greater Job Mobility Alberta should open its doors to job seekers with labour mobility reforms that will boost its economic fortunes post-COVID. Authors Trevor Tombe and Daniel Schwanen quantify the potential gains of easing labour mobility barriers across occupations, sectors and regions, and explore how making it easier for people […] Stéphanie Lluis – Consequences Of The High Ei Benefits Floor (ii)
From: Stéphanie Lluis To: Canadians Concerned about the State of the Labour Market Date: September 18, 2020 Re: Consequences of the high EI benefits floor (II) My memo yesterday showed that Ottawa’s recently expanded Employment Insurance (EI) program with a benefit floor of $400 per week will mean replacement income of more than 200 percent for some part-time […] Jennifer Robson – Is This As Good As It Gets Until We Get Back To “normal”?
From: Jennifer Robson To: Canadians concerned about the recovery Date: September 11, 2020 Re: Is this as good as it gets until we get back to “normal”? Like most countries battling COVID-19, Canada went from the economic equivalent of a medically induced coma to a transitional phase. We have tried to regain as many economic […] Morley Gunderson – Labour Policies For Novel Shocks Such As Covid-19
From: Morley Gunderson To: Canadian Policymakers Date: September 9, 2020 Re: Labour Policies for Novel Shocks such as COVID-19 Novel and one-off shocks like COVID-19 generally involve uncharted terrain with little or no precedence or evaluation studies to guide policymaking. Policymakers must decide quickly the balance between using existing policies with modifications (such as exemptions for eligibility and […]