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Economics

The cancellation of Ontario’s basic income project is a tragedy

Some 4,000 recipients of benefits in the pilot are now without the financial support that was promised to them

James Mulvale

The cancellation of Ontario’s basic income project not only violates our obligation as a society to ensure economic security for all. It also breaches the ethical obligations we have to those participating in research, and underscores the need for a multi-faceted research methodology in designing better income security programs. The new Conservative government in Ontario […] More »
May-June 2018

Canadian taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill for sports stadiums

Calgary's NHL team could get a new hockey arena—on Canadians' dime

Mark Hill

The National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames need a new stadium. At least their owners say they do. The 35-year-old Scotiabank Saddledome is perfectly functional, but the team owners’ dream project was CalgaryNEXT, a new Bow-riverside complex home to the Flames and the Canadian Football League’s Stampeders that may also pull in more concert revenue. The […] More »
March-April 2018

Inside the push for pay transparency and equity among Canada’s freelancers

Discussing income openly could help end discriminatory practices against minority communities, argue many

Allison Baker

Last summer, freelance journalist Katie Jensen shared her 2016 net income with the Twittersphere. “If we knew exactly how much Canadian freelancers, columnists, copywriters, broadcasters, and journalists made,” she wrote, “how revelatory would that be?” This question resonates with the precariously employed, who don’t benefit from certain protections linked to full-time, permanent jobs. Many have […] More »
March-April 2018

Why can’t Canadians afford long-term sick leave?

Erica Mojzes found herself in trouble when she needed to take time off work for an illness. She's not alone—and many Canadians are sick, tired, and struggling just to get by

Erica Mojzes

I used to dream about owning a house someday. Nothing extravagant, just a roof over my head that belongs only to me—a millennial’s dream of a room of my own. In 2012, that dream was on the horizon. I had finished my education and was living at home with my mother. She owns a modest […] More »
March-April 2018

Is cryptocurrency our money of the future?

Its mavens say it will get you rich quick. Others say it’s the way of the future. The reality of Bitcoin remains to be seen

Mark Mann

In the 1951 animated film Alice in Wonderland, Alice was trying to find a party when she fell down the rabbit hole. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that this has become the favourite cliché for people struggling to explain what it’s like to enter the disorienting world of Bitcoin. We’ve all heard stories about the mad crypto-party, […] More »

Why don’t economists care about waste?

Richard Denniss's new book explores the world of "affluenza," or the ways we fill our lives with goods—or junk—in the search for ultimate happiness

Richard Denniss

“You can mine for gold, but you can sell pickaxes.” -Anonymous One of the biggest fortunes made in the Californian gold rush of the nineteenth century was that of Levi Strauss, who made his money selling everything from tents and buckets to the denim pants that still bear his name. He got paid whether his […] More »
September-October 2017

Trudeau performance review: Economy

Critics were skeptical of the PM's plans for a short-term deficit, but it's paying off

Amy van den Berg@vandenba

Trudeau’s majority win in 2015 promised many things, among them a strong economy and a happy middle class. Early on he revealed the party’s plans to run a “modest short-term” deficit of no more than $10 billion a year to achieve this, and hit the ground running with campaign promises of better infrastructure, innovation spending, […] More »
May-June 2017

Inside the search from hell Canadian millennials must undergo for affordable housing

Nadine Bachan—like many young Canadians—spent months trying to find an apartment she could afford in Vancouver's market

Nadine Bachan

Four strangers are congregating by my doorway. I cautiously step outside and the most well-dressed of them extends his hand and makes introductions. He’s the real-estate agent and the others are his team. I say hello then retreat back inside, listening to the muffled voices outside my window. I live in the garden suite—an elegant synonym for […] More »

Friday FTW: The crazy concept of happiness and progress

Catherine McIntyre

On Wednesday the UN asked us all to forget our misery; forget our stressful, routine, depressing lives and just cheer up. People all over the world listened and marked the first International Day of Happiness with events such as “laughter yoga” in Hong Kong, positive message posters at the London Liverpool train station, and free […] More »

Occupy Wall Street resists easy definition—and that’s exactly why it matters

Graham F. ScottWebsite@gfscott

[Note: this editorial appears in the November-December 2011 edition of This Magazine, which will be on newsstands and in subscribers’ mailboxes in early November.]  Looking back on autumn 2011, it seems increasingly clear that the movement known as “Occupy Wall Street” will be viewed as a genuinely important historical moment for the West. The idea, […] More »
July-August 2011

Calgary’s ambitious 10-year homelessness strategy shows some growing pains

Allison McNeelyWebsite@allisonmcneely

Three years ago, the City of Calgary adopted a 10-year plan to end homelessness. The much-lauded, and now much-copied, program was the first of its kind in Canada. Funded by the provincial government and led by the Calgary Homeless Foundation, the plan hinges on an ambitious “Housing First” strategy, which promises to move 1,800 of […] More »