-
New Research Documents Vital Skills of Harm Reduction Workers
Harm reduction services and nonprofit supportive housing play a vital role in addressing the overlapping crises of opioid overdose, mental health, and homelessness that are causing so much hardship in many parts of Canada. These services have been widely debated and researched, but this discourse often overlooks the workforce that provides these services, whose skills and knowledge are often taken for granted.
-
The Build-Big Agenda in B.C. Should Include Long-Term Care Homes
British Columbia should make long-term care part of its big-project building agenda and commit to a construction timetable for seven deferred public care projects, says a new report from the Centre for Future Work. The report examines the economic benefits of building public long-term care facilities, and the dangers and costs of relying on for-profit operators. It argues that full accounting of the costs and benefits of long-term care construction needs to include financing charges (which are much lower for public builds), broader economic spin-offs from new construction, and a range of savings resulting from superior health outcomes demonstrated in public facilities.
-
Health Care is an Economic Engine, not Just a Cost Item
Canada’s public health care system, which provides essential health services without regard to ability to pay, is one of our most cherished social achievements. Indeed, public opinion polls consistently show that medicare is the single feature Canadians most associate with our national identity. Support for universal public health care is thus an important element of Canadians’ response to the challenges to our economy and sovereignty posed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
-
New Research Shows National Child Care Plan Already Driving Economic Benefits In Ontario
The Centre for Future Work has co-published new research quantifying the economic and fiscal benefits being generated in Ontario from the new Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Cre program. The expansion of affordable child care services in Ontario resulting from that new program has delivered a substantial economic boost to the province. That boost would have been even stronger, if the provincial government had not lagged behind other provinces in implementing the new national program.
-
Federal Budget 2025: Unpacking the New Capital Budgeting Framework
Leading into this budget, the Carney government made much of a new distinction between operational spending and capital spending: between “spending” and “investing”. However, in practice this distinction was mostly optics – and did not reflect any meaningful change in budget accounting and reporting.
-
This Is Not An Ordinary Federal Budget
As the federal government prepares to table its next budget on November 4, most of the public debate has centred on how big the deficit will be – as if that is the only metric of significance to Canadians. This is predictable and disappointing. At a moment when Canada as a country faces unprecedented challenges to our prosperity and sovereignty arising from Donald Trump’s trade war and other threats, a much more important question is how will the budget equip Canada to protect itself against Trump’s attacks, reorient away from so much dependence on the U.S. market, and invest in the things (including physical and social infrastructure) necessary to a…
-
The Economic Benefits of Expanded Child Care in British Columbia
The Centre for Future Work has released a new report documenting the widespread economic benefits resulting from the ongoing expansion of early learning and child care services (ELCC) in British Columbia, as part of the roll-out of the new Canada-wide $10-per-day child care system.
-
Public Health Care Is Not Just a ‘Cost’… It’s an Economic Driver
Spending on Canada’s medicare system is typically understood simply as a major ‘cost’ item for government budgets. Seldom do Canadians consider the other side of the coin: public health care is also a pillar of Canada’s economy, and a powerful driver of growth, job-creation, and innovation.
-
$10-per-Day Child Care Plan Already Boosting Canada’s Economy
In 2021, Canada’s federal government announced a new $10-per-day national early learning and child care (ELCC) program, which began rolling out in 2022. It has increased the number of regulated child care spaces in Canada, and significantly reduced (by over 50%) average fees paid by parents.
-
Yes, Public Sector Jobs Count, Too
B.C.’s unemployment has been among the lowest in Canada for several years, economic growth and business investment have been among the strongest, and the province now has the highest hourly wages for employees of any province. Yet some business commentators try to debunk that record, claiming it’s all due to public sector spending and hiring.