Canada is addicted to oil. Like all addictions, ours is debilitating. It has erased the line between state and private industry (thin as that line is in most countries), stifles our politics, and is holding back local, provincial and national preparations for a world without fossil fuels. Curing our addiction to oil and gas will take time and money, and historic levels of Indigenous–federal–provincial co-operation. But it absolutely has to happen—starting now.
Children and youth
On May 1, the Living Wage for Families Campaign released new living wage rates for 12 BC communities. Even though costs are increasing steeply for rent and other basic necessities, the cost of living for families with children is lower this year thanks to the provincial government’s new child care policies.
Meeting the Needs of Sexually Exploited Youth The Sexually Exploited Youth Community Coalition (SEYCC) is a grassroots, cross-sector community group that is dedicated to finding solutions to the issue of sexual exploitation of youth in Winnipeg.
For more than a decade, the group has advocated for and informed the development of supports and services for vulnerable youth in the city (Winnipeg) — especially Indigenous girls, who are among the most vulnerable to experiencing sexual exploitation.
Google (Alphabet), Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon. They are among the world's most valuable and most trusted companies, but increasingly the most scrutinized for their data-hoarding practices, monopolist tendencies, poor treatment of workers and willingness to bend or even break privacy laws in the pursuit of growth. More data gives these and other tech firms a more accurate picture of individual tastes and broader societal trends.
Photo by Spencer Tweedy (Flickr Creative Commons)
Ontario’s back-to-school season is going to be especially disruptive for families later this year. Those of us with an interest in the state of our schools, and the well-being of children and the people who help support them, need to get ready—and get to work.
VICTORIA—A new, more generous child benefit for children under 18, funding the CleanBC climate plan and capital investments in infrastructure around the province are positive elements of BC Budget 2019, but more ambitious action is still needed for middle and low income British Columbians, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – BC Office.
First published in the Winnipeg Free Press February 13, 2019
A new report by CCPA National (Developmental Milestones: Child Care fees in Canada’s Big Cities) on childcare fees contains very mixed reviews of Manitoba and raises important questions about public policy. A closer look complicates the congratulatory confidence that Manitoba’s fees are among the lowest in Canada (“City second in daycare affordability,” Winnipeg Free Press, February 8).
Last year, the BC government made a landmark investment to begin addressing the affordability crisis in child care. A new report released by CCPA this week shows just how urgently needed those measures were (and continue to be).
OTTAWA – Une nouvelle étude publiée aujourd’hui par le Centre canadien de politiques alternatives (CCPA) met à jour le classement des villes, de la plus chère à la moins chère au Canada, pour les services de garde à l’enfance. Les frais de garde ont augmenté plus rapidement que l’inflation dans 61 pour cent des villes depuis l’an passé, et ce, même si en 2018 le nombre de provinces qui ont mis en œuvre des politiques visant à réduire les frais de garde a doublé.
OTTAWA —A new study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) updates the ranking of most and least expensive cities for child care in Canada. Fees have risen faster than inflation in 61% of cities since 2017, although in 2018, the number of provinces with policies directly targeting fee affordability has doubled.