Opinions

Are National Standards Necessary?

Jennifer Wallner

There is a tension between federalism and the welfare state. Federalism, which preserves diversity by allowing provinces to pursue alternative policies, may compromise the achievement of the shared social citizenship fostered in a federation when the welfare state offers comparable programs and benefits accessible to all citizens. The fear is...

Goodbye to "National Unity" -- It's Time for a New National Policy

When the global economic crisis hit last fall, Canadian politicians were consumed with debates about separatists under the bed. Now when the world is tottering towards the edge of the climate change cliff, the Canadian response is to worry about the costs to Alberta of shifts in policy, or about how Hydro Québec might get too big for its britches....

Speaking Truth to Academics: The Wisdom of the Practitioners

Ken Kernaghan

Governments are paying increasing attention to the inter-generational transfer of knowledge within the public service and to the threat posed by what has been termed “institutional amnesia” or “organizational Alzheimer’s.” The large number of impending retirements from the public service and the consequent loss of organizational...

Non-citizen Voting in Toronto: A Case of Too Little, Too Soon?

Phil Triadafilopoulos

Should non-citizens be given the right to vote in municipal elections? A good many people, including the Mayor of Toronto, think they should. There are strong arguments for expanding the municipal franchise to include non-citizen permanent residents, drawing as they do on deep democratic traditions. It is hard to deny the logic of “no taxation...

The Three Ghosts of Poverty

Sherri Torjman

The Three Ghosts of Christmas Past are a familiar holiday image, and they ask us to think about what kind of lives we’d like to live and what we owe our fellow citizens. But there are also three ghosts that haunt millions of Canadians every day. These ghosts of poverty stalk far too many households that provide support to sick and aging parents,...

The Insurmountable Problem of Cities

Andrew Sancton

It is no secret that cities are becoming increasingly important as sources of innovation and wealth in our society. This is particularly true in Canada, where six large city-regions are expected to account for 80% of our country’s future economic and population growth. Does this mean that the governments of our urban centres will eventually grow...

Pour un Ontario fort

Matthew Mendelsohn

Le Québec a longtemps souhaité que le fédéralisme devienne plus souple et que le principe même du fédéralisme soit davantage respecté, c'est-à-dire que tous les gouvernements respectent les juridictions constitutionnelles de chacun. Bien que l'autonomie du Québec se soit immensément...

Why Just Focus on Quebec-Windsor When Talking About High Speed Rail?

Chris Kennedy

It’s rare that an opportunity presents itself to simultaneously tackle some of our country’s biggest challenges: pollution and climate change, slow economic growth, the need for more private-sector-driven innovation and the requirement to deliver people quickly and efficiently to and from home, work and play. But that opportunity is here....

Will the Federal Government Listen to Ontario, BC and Alberta -- and Visible Minorities?

In Canada, the worth of one's vote depends on where one lives. The situation is especially unfair for Canada’s visible minority population, who are seeing their voting power diluted, even as their population expands. Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms gives all adult Canadian citizens the right to vote, but wide variations...

A Bold Proposal to Renew Confidence in our Retirement Income System

Tom Kent

Last winter, governments and central banks rediscovered John Maynard Keynes and saved us from a depression like that of the 1930s. Even so, restoring employment will be slow. And the great financial meltdown of 2008 has left other troubles. Among the worst is shattered confidence in retirement incomes. But correcting it is complicated by the imminent...

Why is Our Immigration System Delivering Short-Term, Ad Hoc Responses?

Naomi Alboim

Immigration to Canada is fundamental to the nation's social and economic well-being. Immigration can fill jobs, promote trade and innovation, generate investment and grow our population. It is particularly important in Ontario, where nearly half of the immigrants to Canada settle. But the system is in trouble. Upon arrival, too many immigrants have...