Op-Eds
Published in the Globe and Mail on Mail on May 8, 2013
By John Richards
The most important social policy agenda facing Canada is to relieve the poverty and social distress among Aboriginals. And the old joke remains relevant: If you don’t know where you are, you’re not likely to get where you want to go. The census is crucial in learning “where we are.”
According to the National Household Survey (NHS) data released Wednesday, 1.4 million Canadians identified in 2011 as Aboriginal, 61 per cent as Indian/First Nation, 32 per cent as Métis and 4 per cent as Inuit.
The Aboriginal population is much younger than the non-Aboriginal population and its fertility is higher. Forty-six percent of the Aboriginal…
Published in the Huffington Post on March 8, 2013
By Philippe Bergevin
According to numbers released Friday by Statistics Canada, employment rose by 51,000 in February across Canada. This is more than most economists predicted, and a confirmation of the strength of the Canadian labour market. Since the recovery from the last recession began in summer 2009, there are almost a million more Canadians with a job, and at 7%, the unemployment rate is close to its long-term average.
That strength is in sharp contrast to what has been happening in other countries — the United States, for instance, has yet to simply recoup jobs lost during the recession. And we're in much better shape coming out of this…
Published in the Financial Post on December 7, 2012
By Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson
Provincial business property taxes are a major tax cost for businesses — especially in Ontario. If Ontario’s government included its business property tax in its measures of tax competitiveness, it would be powerfully motivated to extend business property tax relief more deeply than it has to date.
Ontario’s business property tax is called the business education tax (BET). It became a provincial tax 15 years ago when the province took over taxing power from school boards. Since then, the provincial government has implemented modest BET relief, partially equalizing a wide range of legacy tax rates left by school boards.
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Published in the Toronto Star on November 8, 2011
By Colin Busby and David Gray
Ontario lost 75,000 full-time jobs last month — by far the biggest loss among the provinces. As many of these laid-off workers now turn to the employment insurance (EI) program for help, can they count on a program adequate for Ontario’s tough times? The evidence says no.
Under the current system, EI benefits are more easily available, and for longer, in regions with high unemployment rates, such as rural New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, than in regions with low ones, such as Ontario’s urban centres. For example, a manufacturing worker who loses his or her job in Oshawa would need to have worked for 630 hours to qualify for between 18 and…
Published in the National Post on National Post on Jan 17, 2011
By John Richards
Dropping out of high school foretells a life marred by lengthy bouts of unemployment and poverty. For Canadians without a high-school certificate, the average employment rate is under 40%; for those with high school, the rate jumps by roughly 25% points.
So, how is Canada doing in terms of lowering dropout rates? Three major reports on Canada’s K-12 school performance released in late 2010 give us an idea of the strength of our education system.
First, according to the OECD’s latest education-indicators report, only 8% of Canadian adults aged 25-34 lack a high-school certificate — compared with the OECD average of 20%.
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