Poverty, inequality & welfare

Tax the rich

Robust wealth tax could raise $363B over 10 years

Sep 14, 2021
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Amid a rise in extreme inequality, the idea of an annual tax on the wealth of the super-rich has risen to prominence in recent years in many countries. New analysis shows that a robust wealth tax in Canada—one that goes further than those currently on the table in the federal election—could raise well over a… View Article

BC Budget 2021: Stay-the-course budget misses the mark on key areas of urgency outside health

Apr 20, 2021
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The BC government tabled a surprisingly stay-the-course budget today, making some improvements on the margins but missing the opportunity to shift BC towards a more inclusive and sustainable economy. While it appropriately includes large sums of time-limited spending relating to the pandemic (and indeed BC has led other provinces on pandemic spending), it is scarce… View Article

One year later: Canadian billionaire wealth up by $78 billion

Apr 14, 2021
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One year into the COVID-19 pandemic that has upended the lives of millions of people in this country, Canadian billionaires have increased their wealth by $78 billion. Data from Forbes’ “real-time billionaires” listing on April 7 compared with a snapshot provided by their annual billionaires report last year shows this massive increase in wealth. Together,… View Article

Basic income panel calls for major reforms to income security in BC

Mar 29, 2021
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When the final report of BC’s Basic Income Panel came out in January, the media coverage was largely reduced to a few dismissive headlines that the panel had rejected basic income. Behind the headlines, however, is a comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of the state of poverty in BC and the large number of existing programs,… View Article

Wealth tax would raise far more money than previously thought

Mar 11, 2021
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While the lives of millions of working people have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, the wealth of the richest few has continued to balloon in Canada. A wealth tax on the super rich is an important policy needed to address extreme inequality and help raise revenue for sustained, long-term increases in public investment in… View Article

Massive public investment, not austerity, is the answer

Aug 18, 2020
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A depression is still around the corner if the Canadian government does not continue to radically intervene in the economy. We have all encountered the dark outlines of the crisis facing us by now. Everywhere there are warnings of mass unemployment unseen in decades, already vulnerable workers—young, racialized, women—hit hardest, entire industries at risk, a… View Article