Over the last 30 years, the CCPA has provided alternative research and analysis that have been indispensable in exposing the corporate agenda. I don’t know what I’d have done without them.
— Judy Rebick
Today CCPA released a paper on sector development policy by Jim Stanford. The general goal of sector development policy is to attain a more desirable sectoral mix in the economy, winning a greater share of output and employment in identified high-value or “strategic” sectors than would otherwise be the case. Sector development policy has been historically important in Canada, given our ongoing national challenge to escape the “staples trap,” and become more than just a resource-supplier to other countries. We need more industries that add value to our resources (rather than exporting them in raw form); that generate more high-income, high-quality jobs; that embody technology and innovation; and that contribute to greater success in world markets.
This report details the negative structural consequences of the mostly unregulated resource boom and proposes a set of measures which would help to minimize those negative side-effects of resource development, and contribute to a more balanced, successful, and sustainable industry mix in Canada’s economy in future generations.
Read the full report: A Cure for Dutch Disesase: Active Sector Strategies for Canada’s Economy.
This Technical Paper reports on the negative structural consequences of the mostly unregulated resource boom which has been remaking Canada’s economy since the turn of the century. The paper also proposes a set of measures which would help to minimize those negative side-effects of resource development, and contribute to a more balanced, successful, and sustainable industry mix in Canada’s economy in future generations.
These policies, and the fiscal tools proposed to fund these measures, formed part of the 2012 Alternative Federal Budget (published in March by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives). However, given the overarching historical challenges posed by the current resource boom, and the need to spark a broader policy debate among Canadians about its costs and benefits, we are issuing these proposals in this more comprehensive standalone Technical Paper.
The federal budget will leave Canadians peniless in more ways than one. Read CCPA's news release in reaction to the budget here.
The following CCPA staff and research associates have posted their budget analysis on our blog (watch this space—we'll be posting links as they come in):
Saskatchewan Director Simon Enoch discusses the upcoming federal budget and the CCPA's Alternative Budget with Prairie Dog's Gregory Beatty. Read more here.
On March 15th, 2012, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives held a press conference to release its flagship report—the Alternative Federal Budget 2012: A Budget for the Rest of Us.
This year's Alternative Budget puts forward a public investment plan that promotes a better quality of life for all Canadians, not just an elite few. It shows we can invest in public programs, job creation, and infrastructure to the benefit of all Canadians and still balance the books.
For more information, visit: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/AFB2012
Watch the video from the press conference below.
Over the last 30 years, the CCPA has provided alternative research and analysis that have been indispensable in exposing the corporate agenda. I don’t know what I’d have done without them.
— Judy Rebick