Poverty, inequality & welfare

BC throne speech rhetoric doesn’t match reality

Feb 10, 2016
Yesterday’s throne speech paints a rosy picture of BC as an “island of prosperity.” It acknowledges that “all British Columbians deserve to share in the benefits of a growing economy” but it glosses over the fact that many currently don’t. What is worse, the provincial government’s own inaction in key policy areas is what’s causing tremendous hardship… View Article

We have a new federal government. What now?

Oct 22, 2015
Monday’s election results brought a palpable sense of relief to Canadians who had tired of the divisive and nasty politics of the Harper Conservatives, and they point to important lessons for progressives (which we outlined in this previous post). But a majority government is certainly a lost opportunity. A minority outcome would have been far… View Article

Closing small business tax loopholes

Oct 2, 2015
The NDP, Liberals, Conservatives and Greens are now all proposing to cut the small business tax rate from 11% to 9% (albeit on slightly differing timelines), an unnecessary and unwise policy, as outlined in previous CCPA posts. It may make for good politics, but it’s a policy with no economic merit. It’s not all bad… View Article

Some strengths and weaknesses in the Green Party platform

Sep 18, 2015
My recent post comparing the NDP and Liberal election positions to date drew some criticism for leaving out the Green Party. So hoping to rectify that with this post on what I see as some strengths and weaknesses of the Green plan. On Sept. 9, The Green Party became the first of the major parties… View Article

The best of all policies: my wish for the ideal platform

Sep 2, 2015
I’m often asked which opposition party, with a potential to win the election, has the better platform when it comes to tackling climate change and inequality – the two great inconvenient truths of our time, and the focus of much of our work at CCPA. (I’m leaving out from this comparison the Conservatives, who have thus… View Article