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Canada and the new world disorder
It has been almost 40 years since there was major debate in Canada about our relations with the United States. While the FTA was implemented after the 1988 election, a majority of voters supported a more active role by governments in shaping economic development. Today we are confronted with the very serious probability that the free trade era has come to an end.
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Neoliberalism is Canada’s real productivity problem
It is rare for the Bank of Canada to say that we face a national economic emergency. But that is exactly what Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers did on March 26. She was referring to Canada’s dismal record on labour productivity, which is indeed a major, albeit long-standing issue. Her widely publicized speech put a sharper focus on very weak Canadian economic performance, especially relative to the US.
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The left, inflation and monetary policy
The return of high inflation poses a major political and analytical challenge for labour and the left. On top of cuts to real wages resulting from the wide gap between inflation and pay, inflation has led central banks to hike interest rates sharply. This is raising the debt servicing costs of households, businesses and governments and making new borrowing more expensive.
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Prospects for the NDP
While we should guard against illusions, there are reasons to be optimistic about the current prospects for the federal NDP and what I have called a “rekindling of democratic socialism.” The NDP seem set to offer a clear left alternative to the Liberals. That is good news indeed, not just in electoral terms, but also in terms of rekindling democratic socialism.
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Mel Watkins: A life well lived
Mel Watkins, who passed on April 2, was a wonderful human being, a friend and mentor, the leading left economist of his or indeed any generation in Canada, and, not least, a committed democratic socialist and political activist. He will be greatly missed. But his life leaves behind an inspiring legacy.