An industrial strategy represents the best opportunity to make the shift to the zero carbon economy needed to avoid the risks and disruptions expected as climate change gets worse. That’s the conclusion of environmental campaigner Andrew Simms in an op-ed in the Guardian this week.
A recently released research paper from the United Steelworkers (USW), The Case for Canada’s Steel Industry, raises a couple of concerns that need to be part of any decision around supporting the steel industry in Canada.
As the Green Economy Network’s proposal for one million climate jobs shows, it is possible to take action on the economy and climate change at the same time.
Successive Canadian governments have claimed that trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership were necessary to build Canada’s economy. Long-standing concerns about the impact on labour standards, environmental regulations and the ability of federal and provincial governments to engage in economic development have been dismissed.
Recently, however, a new concern has emerged.
A National Observer article suggests that a root cause of the Valeant scandal was a focus on what was happening to the price of shares in the short term. According to the article, the decision to cut R&D and borrow heavily to finance takeovers led to a revenue increase, which in turn caused a significant increase in share prices.
An entire province facing gas shortages for as much as a week is yet another reminder that when things are left to the markets, we have no control over how fuel and other commodities are supplied to us. And when there are shortages of commodities we depend on, we can suddenly be very vulnerable.
Last week RBC announced that its Canadian Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) had hit a new low in September. The index, based on a survey of manufacturers, found employment and new business were both falling.
A recent article in the International Productivity Monitor calls into question the assumption that higher productivity means higher wages.
Since 1981, gains in productivity have not been matched by wage gains. Had wages kept pace with productivity, the average worker would be taking home an extra $9,540 a year.
Based on evidence presented in a recent article in the Edmonton Journal claims about job losses when the minimum wage is increased are exaggerated.
While the focus was on changes to employment standards legislation, a recent CCPA study and Toronto Star article showed how Ontario is losing middle income jobs.