Change takes time

By Lynne Fernandez Did you happen to read the editorial in June 12’s Winnipeg Free Press – the one about plastic bags? It explains that Glen Laubenstein – the City’s past chief administrative officer – had been tasked …

Community Economies and Jobs to Suffer with Federal Cuts to Co-operative Development

PDF version by Brendan Reimer On April 13, 2012, the Canadian Co-operative Association was informed by the Government of Canada about the termination of the Co-op Development Initiatives along with significant cuts to the Rural and Co-operatives Secretariat. …

Inequalities, Trade Unions and Virtuous Circles: The Scandinavian Example

PDF version by Errol Black and Jim Silver In a recent post on this site, Thinking Alternatives, we suggested that the Scandinavian countries – Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden – provided examples of more collective, egalitarian and inclusive societies that …

Federal Budget 2012: We’ve Heard this Song Before

by Shauna MacKinnon and Lynne Fernandez Although there seems to be a collective sigh of relief that the Conservative’s first majority-government budget was not as bad as those that came down in the 1990s, it is important to …

2012 Winnipeg Preliminary Operating Budget goes Madly Off in All Directions

Unfortunately this year’s preliminary operating budget does not set a clear course that will help the city realize the goals stated in OurWinnipeg. Instead, it pits the private sector against the public, businesses against property owners, transit against …

Canadians Deserve “A Budget for the Rest of Us”

PDF version Read the full Alternative Federal Budget. Lire l’Alternative Budgétaire Pour le Gouvernement Fédéral by Shauna MacKinnon As the federal government begins to reveal tidbits about what Canadians can expect in the 2012 federal budget, many of us …

“Radicals” need to turn up the heat.

By Lynne Fernandez I was listening to the CBC Radio business reporter explaining what was happening at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He was impressed by the number of billionaires who were present (I don’t remember …

CCPA Mb./Manitoba Research Alliance Release New Report

Community transformation from an economic costing perspective: The link between area of residence and places of employment in a disadvantaged community, by Dr. Linda DeRiviere and Jeffrey Brojges is our latest report. This report, funded by the Manitoba …

Moving Manitoba Forward Post-election 2011

by Shauna MacKinnon On October 4th Manitobans gave Greg Selinger’s NDP a mandate to govern for the next four years. The NDP ran on a Doer-esque steady-as-she-goes platform with the slogan Let’s keep building. Don’t turn back. Now …

Measuring Economic Well-Being in Canada and the Provinces

This note, written by Errol Black, shows how Manitoba’s economic well-being has changed over the last 30 years, compared with Canada and the other western provinces. For many years now, a group of scholars in Canada have been …