Richards, Mahboubi – Let’s Get Serious About Indigenous Student Outcomes
From: John Richards and Parisa Mahboubi To: Provincial Ministers of Education Date: March 16, 2018 Re: Let’s Get Serious about Indigenous student outcomes As education ministers, you realize that Indigenous students present the largest ethnic group facing serious academic gaps – in terms of failure to complete high school and in terms of learning outcomes. […] Rosalie Wyonch – An International Comparison Of Gender Balance
From: Rosalie Wyonch To: Concerned Canadians Date: March 8, 2018 Re: International Comparison of Gender Balance for International Women’s Day Recently there has been a strong public and political focus on greater equality of women. Government policies and social awareness movements, such as #MeToo, #HeForShe and Catalyst, can help improve equality between men and women, […] Alexandre Laurin – Employment and Pay (In)equality: The Big Childcare Issue Unaddressed in the Budget
From: Alexandre Laurin To: Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance Date: March 1, 2018 Re: Employment and Pay (In)equality: The Big Childcare Issue Unaddressed in the Budget This week’s federal budget contains a host of initiatives, mostly small, to improve labour market outcomes of women. Those include federal pay equity legislation, a national roundtable for gender-based […] The Ripple Effect Of Ontario’s Minimum-wage Increase – Globe And Mail Op-ed
The economic impact of Ontario’s minimum-wage hike on the province’s lowest earners has received a great deal of attention, but the effect is felt more broadly by employers who face labour cost increases.
Ontario increased its minimum wage to $14 from $11.60 on Jan. 1 and plans another hike – to $15 an hour – next year. As predicted, some businesses responded immediately by reducing hiring, cutting employee work hours, reducing benefits and charging higher prices. Further, Ontario experienced a decline of more than 59,000 part-time jobs in January, as highlighted by Statistics Canada. While it is too early to attribute this decline to any specific factor, the sharp wage hike is unlikely to have…
Measuring Student Outcomes: The Case for Identifying Indigenous Students in Canada’s PISA Sample
Collection of data on academic outcomes among Indigenous students is a necessary step towards bridging the education gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous students, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Measuring Student Outcomes: The Case for Identifying Indigenous Students in Canada’s PISA Sample,” authors John Richards and Parisa Mahboubi encourage provinces […] Colin Busby – Canada Should Strengthen the Safety Net under Workers in Precarious Jobs
From: Colin Busby To: Canada’s Employment Policymakers Date: February 5, 2018 Re: Canada Should Strengthen the Safety Net under Workers in Precarious Jobs In a report for the C.D Howe Institute I investigated trends in jobs with heightened employment risks and offer policy solutions to support insecure workers. The report focused on one type of job classification that […] Hold On – The Canadian Labour Market Has Not Fully Recovered Yet – Globe And Mail Op-ed
The Canadian labour market beat expectations and performed strongly in 2017 based on various indicators, specifically job creation and the unemployment rate. At the same time, however, hourly-wage growth shows no sign that the labour market is approaching maximum employment.
An economy reaches maximum employment when all available workers have jobs except those who are between jobs or are new entrants into the labour market. Usually, this results in stronger wage growth as firms struggle to fill vacant positions.
Canada generated more than 420,000 new jobs in 2017, while the average annual unemployment rate fell to 6.4 per cent – the lowest rate since 2008. More importantly, the vast majority of job gains (93 per cent)…
Risk and Readiness: The Impact of Automation on Provincial Labour Markets
Some provinces, with more economic diversification or a concentration of workers in areas that are not very susceptible to automation, appear to be better situated for technological change than others, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Risk and Readiness: The Impact of Automation on Provincial Labour Markets,” author Rosalie Wyonch […] Parisa Mahboubi – Dissecting Income Inequality
From: Parisa Mahboubi To: Concerned Canadians Date: January 4, 2018 Re: Dissecting Income Inequality Canadians today are richer than ever, but the gap between average and median household wealth has also grown. The main drivers of wealth inequality between Canadian households between 2005 and 2016 have been rising real estate prices and an aging population, according to Statistics Canada’s […] John Richards – Look to B.C. for a Glimmer of Hope in Indigenous Education
From: John Richards To: Canadian Ministers of Education Date: December 21, 2017 Re: Look to B.C. for a Glimmer of Hope in Indigenous Education Statistics Canada recently released its final batch of results from the 2016 census, which included education statistics for Canadians – including Indigenous Canadians. Indigenous education outcomes are perhaps the most important findings, and among those […] Census 2016: Where is the discussion about Indigenous education? – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Recently, Statistics Canada released the final batch of results from the 2016 census. It included education statistics for Canadians – including Indigenous Canadians.
Perhaps Indigenous education outcomes are the most important findings in this final batch, and among Indigenous education outcomes, perhaps the most important are high school completion results among young adults. They provide a snapshot of how Canada’s K-12 school systems are performing. For the record, among non-Indigenous young adults (20-24) in 2016, 92 per cent have at least a high school certificate. (Canada is above the overall OECD average.) Among Métis, 84 per cent have completed high school. Among First Nations young adults living off reserve, 75 per cent…
Canada’s Troubling Downward Trend In Work-force Skills – Globe And Mail Op-ed
Canada faces a troubling trend in the skills levels of its work force. Despite more Canadians obtaining a postsecondary education between 2003 and 2012, literacy and numeracy skills have slid. What gives?
According to OECD international surveys of adult skills in seven participating countries, including the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Italy and the United States, the problem with declining numeracy scores is widespread. But Canada and Norway were the only countries with a drop in literacy skills. For Canada, this is a paradox: We have the largest share of the working-age population with tertiary education among these Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
Earning a…