It’s been over a decade since the previous Conservative government began to implement the now-infamous Phoenix pay system for public servants. What was initially supposed to be a cost-saving measure for future governments has now ballooned completely out of control.

The cost of basic shelter is a hot-button issue for many people these days, particularly for youth. Housing prices are at a peak never experienced in Canada before, and along with it, rent costs have exploded. The cost of a one bedroom in Toronto is over $2,500 a month. In Vancouver, it’s even higher at about $3,000 per month. Average rental costs for a one-bedroom apartment this past June were $1,780 across the country, up 10.2 percent from a year ago. It is a nightmare scenario for...

Small businesses are the engine that drives Canada’s economy. As of December 2021, there were 1.21 million employer businesses in Canada, and of those, the vast majority (1.19 million, or 98 percent) were small businesses. They employ two-thirds of the labour force across the country and contribute over one-third of our GDP.

The opioid crisis has continued to have a destructive effect on people and families across Canada. Opioid-related deaths and hospitalizations remain very high, with 7,328 people having died from apparent opioid toxicity deaths (overdoses) in 2022, an average of 20 per day. This rate is double the number of deaths per year than in 2019, pre-Covid-19, to provide a standard year comparison. British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario accounted for the vast majority, 87 percent, of these deaths. It is...

At the end of July, the Prime Minister made some significant changes to his cabinet.  While cabinet shuffles are a fairly normal part of governing, this particular shuffle has felt a little different. It’s clear that there are several big files important to Canadians that need to be focused on, such as the cost of food and housing, climate change and the transition to a clean energy economy, as well as the challenges in health care. It’s obvious that these issues have not...

Late in 2022, a Winnipeg man was charged with four counts of first-degree murder for the killings of Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, and a fourth unidentified woman who is being referred to as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, a name given to her by local Elders, and adopted by local police. The remains of three of these women have not been recovered. Contois’ partial remains were located in Winnipeg’s Prairie Green landfill.

It’s been almost a year since the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario first submitted their proposal to change the electoral map, proposing to eliminate Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, and reducing the total number of ridings across Northern Ontario, from ten to nine. The Constitution of Canada requires this process of redrawing electoral maps every ten years, and while a large part of the process is focused on changing population demographics, the decision to remove a...

This week, Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index examination shows that inflation is finally starting to decelerate, with costs rising 2.8 percent, among the slowest growth in over a year-and-a-half, and near where target inflation generally should be. Many goods, including transportation and telecommunications costs, have slowed significantly. However, it likely doesn’t feel like prices are coming down if you’ve recently left the grocery store checkout. This is because,...

It’s summer, and for many people, that means a trip on the open road to visit friends, family, or just spending some time at the cottage. For many of us, the distance travelling across this part of the country has become a feature of the north, and, aside from the constantly fluctuating cost of gas, it’s a fairly simple way to take in the beauty of our own back yard. However, those driving electric vehicles have found themselves struggling to find active charging stations,...