Informed views on some complex socio-economic issues
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The source of populism isn’t necessarily economics
(Published in the Globe and Mail on January 8th, 2025) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation this week, was pushed out for the same reason Donald Trump was again elected as U.S. president: growing populist discontent. And this goes beyond North America. Populist forces have recently had electoral successes in many other countries,
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One does not simply gut the public service. Here’s the proper way to make cuts
This article was published in the Globe and Mail on Dec. 19, 2024 In the United States, Tesla’s Elon Musk will soon be co-heading the new Department of Government Efficiency with the goal of slashing federal spending. While we likely won’t have a flashy tycoon in such a role in Canada, similar cuts loom here.
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The federal government did not meet a fiscal guardrail. So what?
This article was published in the Globe and Mail on Dec. 16th, 2024 Monday’s fall economic statement put the federal deficit for the last fiscal year at $61.9-billion. As a result, the federal government did not meet one of its fiscal guardrails. So what? Why are so many people up in arms that the government
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Trump is an opportunity for Ottawa to push politically difficult, but vital, policies
(This article was published in the Globe and Mail on Nov. 21st, 2024 Most analysts are concerned about the negative impact U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s economic policies, especially those on trade, could have on Canada. But there are also opportunities. We can turn the Trump election and the 2026 renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
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A new immigration challenge for Canada
This article was published in the Globe and Mail on November 6, 2024 Immigration was a key issue in the U.S. election campaign, and with both Democrats and Republicans campaigning on taking a tougher stand at the border, we should expect the United States to clamp down on the number of immigrants it allows in.
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Beware the punishing costs of isolationism
This article was published in the Globe&Mail on Oct. 13, 2024 A large majority of Canadians support imposing tariffs on some Chinese products, reducing the number of temporary foreign workers and scaling down immigration. We need to recognize that closing our borders to foreign products and workers will raise our cost of living. We cannot logically applaud policies aimed
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There are better ways to fund universities
This article was published in the Globe and Mail on September 18th under a different title: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-university-should-be-more-expensive-taxpayers-are-overly-subsidizing/ In response to concerns about declining university affordability, many provinces have limited tuition fee increases to below-inflation levels over the past few years, while Ontario has frozen them. This has forced universities to depend more on government funding
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Ottawa embraces Luddite thinking in forcing civil servants back to the office
This article was published in the Globea and Mail:https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-ottawa-embraces-luddite-thinking-in-forcing-civil-servants-back-to-the/ Obviously, there are cases where adopting remote work will not be possible or beneficial, even with complementary organizational changes, and employers have the power to dictate where and how employees complete their work. But the problem with the federal government’s decision to force employees back to the office
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We need paid sick days
This article was published in the Globe and Mail on November 18, 2023:https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-for-the-sake-of-the-wider-economy-we-need-paid-sick-days/ It’s flu season and too many workers in Canada will have to choose between their health and their capacity to pay for groceries and rent. You may be surprised that this is a choice many Canadians have to make – close to
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We can fix our productivity problem
This article was published in the Globe and Mail on Dec 12, 2023; https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-a-harsh-truth-real-fixes-to-canadas-economy-are-difficult-and/ Workers in Canada are less productive than those in many other countries. In the time a Canadian worker produces $1 worth of goods and services, a French worker produces $1.20, and an American $1.30 – a 30-per-cent advantage. And it’s getting worse –
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