Canada is suffering a care economy crisis

Canada is suffering a care economy crisisCanada’s governments must apply the lessons of COVID-19 to create a more gender-just future International Women’s Day, March 8th, is the annual commemoration that invites Canadians to take stock of the progress made toward gender equality in our country and beyond. But in 2023, more than three years after the COVID-19 crisis was declared, this…

A provincial remedy to the excesses of medical assisted suicide

A provincial remedy to the excesses of medical assisted suicideMAiD is changing our health system to one designed to bury us at the lowest possible cost Decriminalizing “Medical Assistance in Dying” (MAiD) in 2016 apparently confirmed a powerful social bias in favour of personal freedom. Presented as a free choice – affecting no one else – euthanasia seemed acceptable to most Canadians. However, this…

Canada’s health-care system desperately needs creative leadership

Canada’s health-care system desperately needs creative leadershipToo bad there’s none on offer When the Premiers were first called to a sit-down lunch to talk about health care with Prime Minister Trudeau, there was plenty of talk about the potential for systemic change, innovation and accountability. It seemed that Canadians and their leaders were finally on the same page in recognizing that…

Rents are out of control, but let’s not blame ‘the market’ for our woes

Rents are out of control, but let’s not blame ‘the market’ for our woesGradually, entire cities are becoming unaffordable for working families A new report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) shows that rents are skyrocketing in many, if not most, Canadian cities. No surprise there. But this year’s annual report also documents, for the first time, rent increases in vacant units. It shows rents going…

Private facilities bring much needed competition to health care system

Private facilities bring much needed competition to health care systemThe competition will pressure governments to improve the public system Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s proposal to use private health centres to alleviate long wait lists has faced opposition from many quarters. It may seem counterintuitive, but Ford’s plan will actually ease the shortages of doctors and nurses. It was B.C.’s NDP government of the early…

Canada’s health-care system is a disaster

Canada’s health-care system is a disasterForeign-trained health professionals could help alleviate the strain Canada’s medical system is fast becoming a disaster area and a tragedy. There are not nearly enough family doctors to provide primary health care. Walk-in clinics were supposed to backfill this need, but many now do not take walk-ins as their registered patient load is already beyond…

Higgs leaving New Brunswick taxpayers out in the cold

Why has the premier shied away from delivering tax relief?

Higgs leaving New Brunswick taxpayers out in the coldNew Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is leaving the middle class behind. Until this year’s cost of living crisis, Higgs was one of the best premiers in the country when it came to managing his province’s finances. Unlike any other province, Higgs managed to keep New Brunswick’s books balanced throughout the pandemic. Thanks to Higgs’ prudence,…

The forgotten legacy Claudette Bradshaw left to New Brunswickers

The Bradshaw Report attempted to look at the working conditions and benefits levels in non-profits

The forgotten legacy Claudette Bradshaw left to New BrunswickersThe recent death of former federal cabinet minister, and community activist, Claudette Bradshaw provides us with the opportunity to re-examine one of the very rare attempts at looking at the working conditions and benefits levels in the non-profit sector in New Brunswick. The Bradshaw report is a forgotten legacy left to the people of New…

Responding to the pandemic doesn’t have to mean a mountain of debt

The contrast between how New Brunswick and Ontario handled the pandemic is stark

Responding to the pandemic doesn’t have to mean a mountain of debtAs Ontario Premier Doug Ford continues to drive the province speeding toward the edge of a gigantic debt cliff, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is showing taxpayers that governments can tap the brakes on spending while still dealing with a pandemic. The contrast between the two premiers is stark. As Ford adds tens of billions…

New Brunswick charts a bold new economic path

The age of internetization has arrived in the province

New Brunswick charts a bold new economic pathThe launch of the McKenna Institute at the University of New Brunswick is confirmation that the age of internetization has arrived in the province. Internetization is a new word I’ve coined to describe the global outreach and electronic connectivity that empowers the 21st century. COVID-19 underlined that internetization has become foundational to our existence. Millions…
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