2016 PEF Student Essay Contest: Deadline Extended

The 2016 Student Essay Contest deadline has been extended to Monday, May 9. Please use this submission form. You can download a poster (English, French) here  please help us out and circulate the word to students. ====================== 2016 PEF ESSAY CONTEST RULES Deadline: 9 May, 2016 All entrants receive a complimentary 1-year membership in the Progressive Economics Forum. ELIGIBLE ENTRANTS […]

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Equal Pay Day

Every year, women around the world celebrate (angrily) the day their average full-time full-year earnings have caught up to men’s average full-time full-year earnings from the year before. This year in the United States that day fell on April 12th. In Germany it was March 19th. In Switzerland it was February 24th. In Ontario? Equal Pay Day** comes on April […]

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“Signing Trade Deals” is NOT Synonymous with “Promoting Trade”

The fine folks at the Institute for Research on Public Policy have undertaken an important and eclectic review of Canadian trade policy. They have marshaled 30 contributions from researchers addressing all aspects of Canada’s recent trade performance, and how we can improve it. The contributions will eventually be published in a single volume, Redesigning Canadian Trade Policies for New Global […]

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Corporate rights masquerading as trade (again)

Anti-democratic investor rights deals are in the news again, thanks partly to a Communications Workers of America & Trade Justice Network event that brought Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz to Canada. Professor Stiglitz pronounced the Trans-Pacific Partnership the “worst trade deal ever”, adding that provisions allowing multi-nationals to sue governments are particularly toxic. Professor Gus van Harten pointed out […]

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Comparing Fiscal Federalism in Canada and Australia

One interesting topic for a Canadian living in Australia is the manner in which fiscal and social responsibilities are divided between the levels of government.  Both countries are big, regionally diverse, and resource-rich (with all the pluses and minuses that entails).  As in Canada, Australian states are largely responsible for the big-ticket social programs: including health care, hospitals, and education. […]

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