Employment & labour

Employment rights justice denied to thousands of BC Workers

Apr 14, 2022
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For decades, the BC Employment Standards Branch has not effectively enforced the Employment Standards Act, meaning thousands of workers are denied their legal rights, a new report that we co-wrote with the BC Employment Standards Coalition shows. Complaints take between 18 months to three years to resolve; the Branch doesn’t proactively investigate employers, industries and… View Article

Why increasing government spending makes economic sense

Feb 14, 2022
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Author’s note: The latest BC government throne speech promised “to help solve big challenges – like inequality and climate change – with growth that is inclusive and sustainable.” CCPA-BC will closely analyze the upcoming BC Budget to determine whether the government’s intention is backed by the increased levels of public investment needed to meet the… View Article

BC should look to zero waste solutions to reduce GHG emissions and create jobs

Jan 24, 2022
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British Columbia is ahead of most North American jurisdictions in implementing composting and recycling programs. Yet, we are systemically burdened by endless amounts of packaging, especially the mass proliferation of plastic, which is an environmental tragedy of our times. BC shares the core problem with other jurisdictions: a culture of consumption and an extraction-oriented economic… View Article

COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for a living wage

Jan 11, 2022
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With the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, news stories sounding the alarm over worker shortages are once again on the rise. And, like previous waves, these news stories are focused almost exclusively on workers in low-wage, precarious jobs. These jobs service large parts of the Canadian economy that are now being recognized as… View Article

The great tree robbery

Dec 2, 2021
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As more old-growth trees topple and forest industry jobs plummet, an obscure government subsidy scheme fuels the collapse For more than 15 years, the BC government has rewarded logging companies with millions of additional old-growth trees to chop down thanks to an obscure “credit” program that allows companies to log bonus trees that don’t count… View Article

Old-growth deferrals and the elephant in the room: we’re out of trees to cut thanks to failed provincial policies

Nov 12, 2021
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No one should be surprised that the British Columbia government’s decision to potentially defer logging in 26,000 square kilometres of old-growth forest angered many and pleased few. First Nation leaders were highly critical of the incredibly short, 30-day turnaround that the government imposed on them to respond to the deferral proposals, the paltry funding provided… View Article

84 doctors, health experts & economists across Canada call on BC government to show national leadership with 10 days paid sick leave

Oct 21, 2021
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As economists and health experts from across Canada, we urge the BC government to implement a robust employer-paid sick leave program that includes at least 10 paid sick days for workers. Employer-paid sick days are already a right of workers in most developed countries around the world, including a majority of OECD countries, because they… View Article

Legislated Paid Sick Leave – A Historic Moment for Worker Rights

Oct 6, 2021
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The BC government will implement the right for all employees to have a minimum number of employer-paid sick days on January 1, 2022. BC will become just the third province in Canada to do so—and has an opportunity to make history by bringing in the strongest, most well-designed program in the country. Last May, the provincial government established… View Article