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Progressive news, views and ideas
EST/ÉTABLIE
1980
MAY/JUNE 2020
Contributors
Sheila Block is a senior Viveca Ellis is Interim Alyssa O’Dell is Media and
economist at the CCPA- Community Organizer with Public Relations Officer for
Ontario. the BC Poverty Reduction the CCPA’s national office.
Coalition and a co-founder of
Natasha Bulowski is James Robins is a second-
the Single Mothers' Alliance
Vol. 27, No. 1 apprenticing at the Monitor year history and statistics
ISSN 1198-497X
BC.
from Carleton University’s major at the University of
Canada Post Publication 40009942 School of Journalism and Cam Goff operates a grain Toronto.
Communication where she farm with his brothers near
The Monitor is published six times Ricardo Tranjan is a political
a year by the Canadian Centre for is completing her bachelor Hanley, Saskatchewan and
economist and senior
Policy Alternatives. of journalism with a minor in is a member of the National
researcher with the CCPA’s
human rights. Farmers Union.
The opinions expressed in the Ontario office.
Monitor are those of the authors Fathima Cader is a lawyer, Alex Hemingway is an
and do not necessarily reflect Paul Shaffer is a professor of
academic and writer, and economist and public finance
the views of the CCPA. international development
was co-counsel on the policy analyst at the CCPA’s
Please send feedback to studies at Trent University
unionization of delivery B.C. office.
monitor@policyalternatives.ca. who works on poverty in the
drivers servicing Amazon in
Iglika Ivanova is a senior Global South.
Toronto.
Editor: Stuart Trew economist and public interest
Senior Designer: Tim Scarth Jim Stanford is Economist
Ryan Campbell is an researcher at the CCPA-BC.
Layout: Susan Purtell and Director of the Centre
economist with the
Editorial Board: Alyssa O’Dell, Shoshana Magnet is an for Future Work. He sits on
Shannon Daub, Katie Raso, Erika
Professional Institute of the
associate professor of the Members Council of the
Shaker, Rick Telfer, Jason Moores Public Service of Canada.
feminist and gender studies CCPA.
Contributing Writers: James Clark is a socialist, and criminology at the
Asad Ismi, Elaine Hughes, Cynthia Paul Weinberg is a freelance
trade unionist and anti-war University of Ottawa.
Khoo, Anthony N. Morgan journalist and the recent
activist based in Toronto.
Linda McQuaig is a journalist author of When Poverty
CCPA National Office: Simran Dhunna is a CCPA and columnist, and the recent Mattered: Then and Now
141 Laurier Avenue W, Suite 1000 placement student, MPH author of The Sport and Prey (Fernwood).
Ottawa, ON K1P 5J3 epidemiology candidate at of Capitalists (Dundurn).
Tel: 613-563-1341 the University of Toronto, and
Fax: 613-233-1458
an organizer with Climate
ccpa@policyalternatives.ca
www.policyalternatives.ca
Justice Toronto and Peel.
CCPA BC Office:
520-700 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 1G8
Tel: 604-801-5121
Fax: 604-801-5122
ccpabc@policyalternatives.ca
CCPA Manitoba Office:
301-583 Ellice Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 1Z7
Tel: 204-927-3200
ccpamb@policyalternatives.ca
CCPA Nova Scotia Office:
P.O. Box 8355
Halifax, NS B3K 5M1
Tel: 902-240-0926
ccpans@policyalternatives.ca
CCPA Ontario Office: Maura Doyle has a studio
720 Bathurst Street, Room 307 practice in Ottawa/Algonquin
Toronto, ON M5S 2R4 Anishinaabeg Aki. Her
Tel: 416-598-5985 multidisciplinary practice
ccpaon@policyalternatives.ca
has included video, ceramics,
CCPA Saskatchewan Office: sculpture, printed matter
2nd Floor, 2138 McIntyre Street
and drawing. Her work has
Regina, SK S4P 2R7 been exhibited across Canada
Tel: 306-924-3372 in artist-run centres and
Fax: 306-586-5177 art institutions, as well as
ccpasask@sasktel.net internationally in New York,
Japan, Sweden and Vienna.
CONTENTS
ON THE COVER
20–27
PUTTING HOUSING
POVERTY ON NOTICE
Canada is spending massively
to support people and businesses
through the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is more than enough money to
make housing affordable for all.
STORIES BY NATASHA BULOWSKI
AND ALEX HEMINGWAY
HELP US SHED LIGHT ON THE
THE WAR ON COVID-19
ISSUES
6–11 THAT MATTER TO YOU.
The CCPA’s responsibility
ALYSSA O’DELL (we’ve got some bright ideas)
How do we care for frontline care workers?
SHEILA BLOCK AND SIMRAN DHUNNA
No time to worry about deficits
MAKE A DONATION RYAN CAMPBELL Tax receipts are issued for contributions of $15 or more.
Small relief for people
I would like to make a monthly contribution of: I would like to make a one-time donation of:
on income assistance
$25 $15 $10 Other ____ OR $300
IGLIKA IVANOVA AND VIVECA ELLIS $100 $75 Other ____
PAYMENT TYPE:
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I’ve enclosed a cheque (made payable to CCPA, or void cheque for monthly donation) subscription to The Monitor:
UP FRONT COLUMNS FEATURES
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THE PUBLIC by:
LAB THAT COULD VISA MASTERCARD
BELOW THE FOLD POLICINGByOFe-mail
DISSENT,
HAVE HELPED FIGHT COVID-19 When artificial intelligence FROM THE G20 TO
CREDIT CARD NUMBER:
Linda McQuaig / 14 becomes artificial intimacy Mailed DISPUTE
THE WET’SUWET’EN to my address
Cynthia Khoo / 17 Paul Weinberg / 29 thanks
No Monitor,
THE BANK OF CANADA
EXPIRY DATE: SIGNATURE:
LEARNS TO TAKE IT EASY COLOUR-CODED JUSTICE WORKERS ON THE EDGE
Jim Stanford / 15 The prison as petri dish IN BANGLADESH
Anthony N. Morgan / 13 Asad Ismi / 36
CONTACT INFORMATION
GIG WORKERS WIN
THE RIGHT TO UNIONIZE A MODEST PROPOSAL FOR
Name Fathima Cader / 16 REDUCING Return
POVERTY this form to:
Ricardo Tranjan and
WILL CANADA’S GRAIN FARMERS 500-251 BANK ST.
Address Paul Shaffer / 32
BE CUSMA COLLATERAL DAMAGE? OTTAWA, ON K2P 1X3
Cam Goff / 18
City Province Postal Code Or donate online at:
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Telephone (Required) Email
Editorial 2 | Letters 3 | New From the CCPA 5 | Good News Page 38 | Books 39
Yes, I prefer to receive my tax receipt Please do not trade my name with other
and updates by email. organizations.
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From the Editor
STUART TREW
Canada after the “Great Lockdown”
O
N APRIL 2, the North American obstructed a fair bailout for Greece had some role in their development,
hardware and lumber store Lowes five years ago and continues to spoil as our economists and researchers
announced it was raising wages EU-wide plans to help neighbouring were quoted regularly in the news on
for all its workers by $2 an hour for Italy avoid financial catastrophe, the gaps in our current EI system and
the month of April only—a way, said promised unlimited cash (an “econom- inadequacy of the first version of the
CEO Marvin Ellison, to thank them ic bazooka”) to support its struggling emergency benefit announced by the
for their “heroic actions in serving the businesses through the crisis. government in March (see page 6).
needs of our communities.” Canadian In Canada, the Trudeau government The CERB has sparked a debate
companies, including several grocery was projected to spend $100 billion on about a basic income level that should
chains and Maple Leaf Foods, made direct support for individuals, corpo- be guaranteed to Canadians in all
similar gestures to their workers in rations and small businesses. Where circumstances, not just temporary
March, in response to substantial pres- did all the money come from? Deficit unemployment. Provincial welfare
sure from their unions for danger pay spending and quantitative easing and disability payments are cruelly
and better workplace protections. by the Bank of Canada, of course. low. They make Canada look like a
News coverage played up the lar- Measures that were supposed to be backwater compared to many Euro-
gesse and foresight of these CEOs, unthinkable, or so we have been told pean countries. The CERB provides
but let’s be realistic. Full-time workers (forever it seems), to justify public more than double the income relief of
will see at most an extra $350 a month belt-tightening amidst private excess. the most generous provincial income
from the raise. That’s a pittance, when In 2008, we bailed out the banks but left assistance program, which is in New-
you think about it, for people who all the other contradictions of hyper- foundland and Labrador (see page 10).
are literally putting their lives on the globalized capitalism in place. In 2020, Surely with all the cheap money
line. (Contrast this with the $800,000 that’s not going to be a viable option. going around, the federal government
in “safety bonuses” paid to six CP ex- The rapidly designed and moder- can afford a new “dignity dividend,” or
ecutives in 2019, despite six employee ately generous (and, as the Monitor top-up to provincial income supports,
deaths over the previous two years.) went to print, still growing) Canada as recommended in the 2020 Alterna-
On April 8, Maple Leaf shut down a Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) tive Federal Budget. Some stimulus
chicken processing plant in Brampton, was necessary to make sure the Cana- money should go toward building and
Ontario after three employees tested dian economy didn’t collapse during maintaining public and not-for-profit
positive for COVID-19, followed short- the lockdown. CCPA economist David housing with rent geared to income,
ly after by two more cases. Macdonald estimates that between providing affordable shelter to those
The gross inadequacies in the income February and March, 3.1 million on modest incomes and creating what
and job security of legitimately essen- workers (16% of the workforce) were economists call an automatic stabilizer
tial workers—in the primary care, food, laid off or saw big reductions in their to weather future crises (see page 20).
hospitality, cleaning, transportation hours. In mid-April we found out that While the wallet is open, why don’t we
and other sectors—are just one of the nearly six million people — one in four start paying oil workers to stay home
capitalist hypocrisies underlined by Canadians aged 15 to 64 — had either as part of a just transition away from
the pandemic. Add the criminal neglect applied for the new CERB benefit or fossil fuels?
of people living in deregulated, largely had their new employment insurance The IMF predicts Canada’s economy
privatized long-term care homes, which (EI) application streamed through it will shrink by 6.2% this year due to
account for nearly half of all COVID-19 and were already getting cheques. the “Great Lockdown.” The shock of
deaths in Canada, and the disregard of Not everyone who applies for the the pandemic will be long-lasting and
frontline health workers deprived of CERB will get to keep the money, traumatic for many people. Rolling
adequate medical gear due to lack of but by including self-employed, self-quarantines and physical distanc-
planning and years of cuts. temporary, seasonal and other more ing are a possibility into 2021. This is
Topping it off is the sudden embar- precarious workers, the benefit is an a new world with new demands, and
rassment of riches among most OECD improvement on EI and should provide a new acceptance of wartime-like
governments. Federal debt in the U.S. a baseline for a more responsive and government spending to meet them.
is set to exceed GDP this year for the fair employment insurance system for We can do better than a $2 raise. In fact,
first time since the Second World War. the future. The CCPA has welcomed a true recovery depends on our doing
Fiscally prudent Germany, which these emergency measures and likely much more. M
2
home communities across does not call for the kind that I was ignoring all the
T Canada at risk. Mr. Horgan
is not as blatant as Jason
Kenney in his commitment
of sanctions imposed by
the U.S. on North Korea,
Iran, or previously on Iraq;
other misbehaviors, and
therefore they shouldn’t
be singled out. This is the
to oil and gas, but his such killing sanctions plaint of a scoundrel.
actions show he won’t let deprive ordinary people of The anti-BDS complain-
anything stand in their way. the necessities of life. They ants have no solution to
Given future prospects are atrocities and must the worsening situation
of B.C. making profits in not disappear through for the Palestinians
oil and gas, this makes moralizing about BDS. as Israel prospers and
Letters little sense. But then oil
extraction seems to render
Judith Deutsch,
Jewish immigrants take
over Palestinian land. The
Toronto, ON
some “leaders” senseless. so-called two-state solution
has been eschewed by
Dorothy Field,
Raffy Dotan is wrong about the Israeli government.
Victoria, BC
boycotts being applied only Palestinians have respond-
to Israel. Aside from the ed by a non-violent way of
Progressive news, views and ideas historic boycotts applied to drawing attention to their
In defence of South Africa and the grape otherwise ignored plight.
the BDS movement growers in California, there
Gord Doctorow,
are many boycotts and
Toronto, ON
The letter by Raffy Dotan embargoes in place today.
(“BDS’s questionable Canada embargoes
values,” January/February —or has embargoed— The reason for applying
GREEN
2020) concludes that Venezuela, Iran, the BDS to Israel and not to
anti-Semitism underlies Central African Republic, other countries is rather
NEW
meet the
DEAL
ALTERNATIVE
FEDERAL BUDGET
—how 25 YEARS of ALTERNATIVE
FEDERAL BUDGETING can
BDS. Not untypically, he the Democratic Republic simple: the oppressed
argues that Israel is being of Congo, Eritrea, Iraq, people in these countries
STRENGTHEN DEMANDS
for a SUSTAINABLE,
CARING and DEMOCRATIC
EST/ÉTABLIE
ECONOMY
1980
singled out and that other Lebanon, Libya, Mali, have not requested this
MARCH/APRIL 2020
countries are worse. That Myanmar, Nicaragua, North type of action. BDS of
Nothing’s gonna is arguable. Is there a scale Korea, Russia, Somalia, Israel, on the other hand,
stop the flow on which to rate brutality, South Sudan, Sudan, originated from July 9,
disproportionate violence, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen and 2005, when virtually every
Thank you for your impunity before laws on Zimbabwe, but fails to sector of Palestinian
editorial on the B.C. torture, the treatment of boycott Saudi Arabia (a rival Civic Society (well
government’s lack of justice children, the use of uncon- to Israel). The Canadian over a hundred unions,
for the Wet’suwet’en Nation ventional weapons and government cozies up to professional societies,
(“Inconvenience and indif- the possession of nuclear other repressive regimes political parties, community
ference,” Mar/Apr 2020). It weapons? I personally don’t while abrogating its associations, etc.) called
is painfully true. Since you think so. international responsibil- for BDS against Israel for
wrote it, things have gotten The persistent effort ities regarding commerce its “persistent violations of
worse. Premier Horgan to illegalize BDS might emanating from Israel’s international law.” The call
refuses to shut down the function to deflect Occupied Territories. stresses the non-violent
man camps building the attention from Israel itself, There is no denial of aspect of this opposition
Coastal GasLink pipeline or from the other states Israel’s repressive character to Israel’s oppression of the
across Wet’suwet’en land Dotan refers to: Saudi in dealing with the BDS Palestinian people.
and, as far as I know, at Site Arabia, Qatar, Syria, Iran, issue by pro-Israel types.
Norman Epstein,
C, another project being Turkey, Russia, Myanmar They don’t deny that Israel
Vancouver, BC
protested by several First and China. I would think is violating international
Nations. that rationality indicates laws or carrying out
With COVID-19 raging, that BDS ought to include abhorrent actions against
the situation is critical. all these states — and Palestinian citizens. No, BDS: A rebuttal
Sanitation is rudimentary certainly the United States, what they complain about
at best, men cannot keep Canada, Colombia, India, is that Israel has been The idea that a singled-out
the required distance for Brazil and Hungary. spotlighted doing these political entity should be
safety reasons, and the The BDS campaign things. It reminds me of judged by rules and moral
workers fly in and out brings attention to Israel’s when I was a teacher and codes not applied to others
every two weeks, putting history of racism and a student who got caught is unfortunately common.
northeastern B.C. and their military occupation. BDS misbehaving would tell me Branding this legal and
3
moral contradiction as an any time soon. Singling for the family. It is no
“apples to oranges” com- out Israel as the villain in benefit for the rich, since
parison (Letters, Mar/Apr this sad story is not only the split income would also
2020) is not only morally dishonest but yet another be at the highest marginal
wrong, but its adoption by form of chastisement rate for both partners, but
the BDS movement has that will not advance the it would help many middle
not and will not do the Palestinian cause one bit. class families and would
Palestinians any good. be a reward for the many
Raffy Dotan,
This misguided morality hours of unpaid labour,
St. Catharine’s, ON
makes it perfectly clear why which especially a family
the lives of thousands of with children performs.
Palestinians killed by the I do like the idea of
Al-Assad regime in Syria, or Splitting heirs an inheritance tax, but
the well-being of the tens I would structure it so
of thousands exploited in I find there is some twisted that if, as an example, an
Qatar or Saudi Arabia, do logic by including “pension inheritance of $1,000,000
not matter to the BDS. Yes, income-splitting” under is divided between five
because Israel could not be tax expenditures for men, people it would be taxed
blamed for them! inferring that this is a according to the recipient
The BDS movement benefit for men (“Close and therefore be tax free.
inflames hatred and these tax loopholes now,” This would break up the
possibly helps in venting November/December amassing of large fortunes
frustrations. However, offer- 2019). in too few people’s hands.
ing the Palestinian people In order to split the
Elisabeth Ecker,
no constructive support, benefit, there has to be a
Toronto, ON
BDS is leaving them with partner, which means the Send all letters to monitor@
neither apples nor oranges, benefit would be for the policyalternatives.ca, and
and regrettably, with no real family unit. Even income make sure to say if you
prospects of being able to splitting, which gets the would like to see your letter
escape their predicament same criticism, is a benefit included in a future issue.
— CCPAʼS SEVENTH ANNUAL —
TELEPHONE YOU’RE INVITED to a discussion
TOWN HALL
with CCPA economists and researchers on
the Covid-19 situation and its social and
economic impacts.
All you have to do is answer the phone on
May 26, at 7pm ET, and youʼll have the
opportunity to ask questions live and share
your thoughts on key issues.
If you donʼt want to miss out on your invitation
to our 2020 Telephone Town Hall, be sure to
make a donation today!
VISIT WWW.POLICYALTERNATIVES.CA/GIVE TO DONATE
MAY 26, 2020
4
they lost their jobs. CCPA As reported in the and labour market supports.
economist Katherine Scott Vancouver Sun: “Fees for “For too long, Nova Scotians
pointed out how the many infants and toddlers were have been told that real
COVID-related deaths in highest in Toronto, which solutions to poverty and
long-term care facilities topped the list at $1,774 inequality are unaffordable
exposed the lack of nation- and $1,457, respectively. and impractical. But we
al standards in the sector, For preschoolers, fees don’t have to accept that,”
while CCPA-Ontario’s Sheila were highest in Iqaluit, says lead author Tammy
Block and Simran Dhunna Nunavut, at $1,213 (before Findlay, associate professor
New from promoted higher wages and fee reductions), followed and chair of political and
the CCPA better working conditions by Oakville, Ontario ($1,210) Canadian studies at Mount
in Ontario care homes. and Toronto ($1,207). Saint Vincent University.
When the Monitor Across the board, fees
went to print, millions of were lowest in the five
CCPA responds Canadians were not sure cities surveyed in Quebec, Manitoba
to COVID-19 when, or if, they would get which has a provincially set Alternative Budget
back to work this year. The monthly fee of $179.”
Life changed dramatically fate of many companies Various governments On March 3, the CCPA-MB
for just about everybody and even whole sectors have attempted different launched the Alternative
when COVID-19 settled into was uncertain, as the child care fee interventions, Provincial Budget (APB),
North America. Health fears world stood at the edge some of which have been which promotes a number
and insecurities, which ebb of a possibly long-lasting more successful than of investments the province
and flow with the spread global recession. The CCPA others, claim Macdonald can easily make to fight
of the virus, have been will continue to advocate and Friendly. Yet by and poverty, climate change
compounded by the sheer for immediate emergency large, child care remains and improve the well-being
scale of the state-facilitated measures to support people unaffordable for many of Manitobans. With input
economic shutdown. As in this time of great need, people. “Families pay from public consultations
Alyssa O’Dell, CCPA media while also looking to how over $10,000 a year for an and volunteer experts
officer, writes on page 6, we can rebuild our economy infant space in 78% of the across many sectors,
it is hard to remember a in a more sustainable cities we examined,” notes Change Starts Here details
busier or more fateful time and inclusive way for the Macdonald. measures that would lift
to be working at the CCPA. post-pandemic world. close to 80,000 Manitobans
Between March 9 and out of poverty and create
April 2, the CCPA’s national How to transform thousands of good-paying
and provincial offices, Child care fees shock Nova Scotia’s jobs. “We outline steps
along with comrades at social policy toward a Green New Deal…
the IRIS research institute The March 12 Toronto that would dramatically
in Quebec and Parkland Star headline almost says In partnership with the Nova ramp up Manitoba’s efforts
Institute in Alberta, it all: “Child care sticker Scotia College of Social to transition from a fossil
published more than shock plagues parents in Workers, the CCPA–NS fuel economy,” says the
two dozen articles and Toronto and across the released a report in March, APB introduction. “We
several major reports that country.” The newspaper Creating the Future We All invest in health care,
looked at the pandemic was reporting on the Deserve, which lays out a post-secondary education
from various social policy CCPA’s latest survey of blueprint for transforming and K–12, in public
perspectives. child care fees in Canada, social policy to meet transportation, housing
CCPA economist David conducted in October 2019 everyone’s needs in the retrofits to lower energy
Macdonald found huge then analyzed by David province. “Evidence-based bills and lower greenhouse
gaps in the federal employ- Macdonald and Martha policy making is not gases. These are the sorts
ment insurance program Friendly in their report, something that only the of investments that restore
that would leave millions of In Progress. The sixth in wealthy or powerful can or the public services that all
people stranded, without an annual series from the should be doing…. We all Manitobans rely on.”
any income, if they were CCPA, In Progress provides can, and should, engage in
not plugged — preferably a snapshot of the median policy analysis,” emphasizes
for good. CCPA-Ontario child care fees parents pay the report, which makes For more reports,
researcher Ricardo Tranjan for full-time licensed child recommendations for commentary, videos and
found that more than 40% care of infants, toddlers and the public provision and podcasts from the CCPA’s
of renters in Canada had preschool-age children in democratization of services national and provincial
only a month’s worth of 37 cities across all provinc- across a number of areas, offices, visit www.
income saved in the event es and territories. including child care, housing policyalternatives.ca.
5
ICONEO
ALYSSA O’DELL | NATIONAL The report, which was widely picked up
The CCPA’s responsibility
by radio, television and print media, made
seven recommendations for amending
during the COVID-19 crisis
the federal employment insurance
system to make it more response to
coronavirus-related leave from work and
more inclusive of workers currently shut
A
out of EI benefits. Some of these ideas
s media and public relations On March 16, we published a report were incorporated into the Trudeau
officer for the CCPA’s national from David Macdonald, senior economist government’s Emergency Care Benefit
office in Ottawa, Mondays are al- at the CCPA, showing how many workers (later transformed into the Canada
ways busy: scanning the news, meeting in Canada have no access to paid time Emergency Response Benefit) when it
with our research team about the week off in the event of a forced quarantine. was announced two days later, along
ahead, letting journalists know about “Only 38% of sick leave and 23% of with an enhanced Canada Child Benefit
our next big report. By Monday, March family responsibility leave in Canada payment also supported by the CCPA.
9, things were starting to feel different. is paid,” noted Macdonald. “If they are We followed Macdonald’s report with
The COVID-19 pandemic, which had led lucky, lower-to-middle income workers one from Ricardo Tranjan, on March 23,
to near complete economic shutdowns will be able to use their paid vacation which found that of Canada’s 3.4 million
in several Asian and European countries, time in the event of quarantine, though renters, 46% only have enough savings
was just starting to grip Canada as well. of course this is not ideal. In contrast, to last them a month, while one-quarter
It quickly became clear, as physical dis- only 14% of the leave taken by Canada’s could only last a week without income.
tancing rules grew stricter in province lowest income workers was paid leave, “As the crisis worsens, the need to
after province, that the way Canadians vacation included, in 2019.” support low-income renters becomes
and their governments responded would
have both immediate and long-lasting
consequences.
From our ad hoc home offices, kitchen
tables and apartment corners, the entire
CCPA team shifted into rapid response
mode. While self-quarantine would be
tough for everyone, it was obvious some
people would be especially hard hit. We
considered it our first job to find out who
and where those people were in Canada,
and to propose ways our governments
could support them in their greatest
need.
CCPA economist David Macdonald
speaks to CTV News Ottawa about
his research on the government’s
COVID-19 income support programs.
6
even more urgent. Both the federal and provincial governments must work to
keep renters safe and solvent,” said Tranjan.
This work, which includes dozens of blogs and commentaries from CCPA
WORTH REPEATING
researchers across the organization, has been noticed. A steady stream of jour-
nalists and key policy-makers have sought CCPA expertise in every province on
critical questions about what the unfolding situation means for workers, small From chaos to quarantine
businesses, families and society’s most vulnerable — and how provincial and Excerpt from a March 2020 paper by
federal governments should respond. James Robins, second-year history and
Our expert analysis made headlines and drove public conversation in over 1,000 statistics major at the University of Toronto.
news stories. We shifted the discourse and without a doubt influenced federal
Starting on the feast-day of St. Sebastian,
and provincial government policy.
1631, all Florentines were ordered to stay at
“The depth of our analysis, our familiarity with government policy at all levels and
home for forty days. Enforcing the quarantine
the broader socioeconomic context, has never been more relevant,” said Erika Shaker,
required a massive expansion of the state’s
CCPA national office director. She noted how in times of crisis, when the “normal”
administrative capacity and the hiring of
course of action no longer makes sense, it is even more important to be ready with
1,100 people. These officials were tasked with
progressive ideas that have the potential to make long-term positive changes.
punishing quarantine breakers, carrying out
Events in Canada show how true this is. In just two weeks, the entire EI system
censuses to determine who required aid, and
was revamped to become a more modern emergency benefit that is faster to access,
then providing meals and firewood for 30,452
less bureaucratic and more inclusive. Upwards of $1,000 will end up in the bank
of the city’s 61,408 population. One pass was
accounts of lower income families by piggybacking payment increases on the GST
given to each household, allowing a male over
and Canada Child Benefit credits. And Tranjan’s research on the precarious situation
the age of 14 to go out for food, and rations
faced by renters helped spark a national conversation about banning evictions.
were delivered directly to households that
“Our work on these issues has heavily influenced policy development that is
didn’t have an adult male. These meals were
happening at warp speed,” Macdonald told me in early April. “We’re suggesting
deliberately more nutritious than the food
changes to policies on the fly and seeing those changes implemented a few days
normally eaten by the poor, since bad diet was
later. Without years of research on these issues, we wouldn’t be able to analyze
believed to corrupt the air. Taking care of the
and suggest changes this quickly or effectively.”
poor provided three clear benefits: improving
CCPA-Ontario Senior Economist Sheila Block told me something similar about
the air, appeasing God, and reducing civil
our work on a short break between media calls on a particularly heavy news day.
unrest.
“I really haven’t seen a policy window like this open up in my working life, and we
can’t not contribute to this discussion at this moment,” she said. “The immediacy Certain professions such as blacksmiths
and importance of our work feels very different, because we are in a national and wine vendors were allowed to work
emergency…. It places an added burden on a requirement, that we always have, for so long as they stayed in their workshops
accuracy — to be measured and to be thoughtful and timely about what we say. without returning home for the duration of
“I think what’s happened is that our relationship, both with government poli- the quarantine. Each neighbourhood was
cy-makers and with the media has become more of a collective problem-solving assigned an apothecary, a physician, and a
process.” surgeon, who were instructed to treat the
That sentiment has been echoed by reporters on the other side of breaking sick without payment from the poor. Doctors
news desks, several of whom have told me how much they appreciate the CCPA’s had to live alone and wear the iconic plague
expertise and willingness to be available, at any hour, as the situation unfolds. doctor costume, supposed to protect them
Jolson Lim, a reporter with the Ottawa-based online news publication iPolitics, from corrupted air. Despite these precautions,
told me the pandemic has highlighted the challenge of getting the most important, attrition among the medical profession
correct details to the public quickly, in an environment where initial government was high, and the Colleges of Physicians
responses usually have a lot of significant details missing. responded by issuing special licenses to
“People’s lives are depending on the right information.... In a time of crisis where people without formal training as surgeons.
things are moving fast, there’s not a lot of room for thorough scrutiny of public Makeshift altars were set up in the streets so
policy,” Lim said. He compared the relationships between journalists and econ- that Mass could be held as people watched
omists or other experts to an “ecosystem” able to create order out of complexity, from their windows. Punishments for breaking
and potentially produce better policy for everyone. the quarantine included fines, corporal
Our challenge leading into the summer will be to keep the momentum going, to punishment, and forced labour. Above all,
try to make the positive changes to social supports permanent while keeping an the health board was concerned with social
eye out for moves to scale back government programs under a banner of austerity. gatherings and people entering/exiting homes
“My hope is that supporting the unemployed and low-income Canadians doesn’t where someone had been sick, ultimately
end when we finally beat this virus, but stays with us for many years to come,” prosecuting 566 people for such crimes.
said Macdonald. Sources: John Henderson, Florence under Siege:
Indeed, the CCPA team will be here, putting research into the public conversation Surviving Plague in an Early Modern City, New
to help make sure that is the case. The only thing I’m certain of these days is how Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2019; Dean
much more work there is ahead. Phillip Bell, Plague in the Early Modern World: A
ALYSSA O’DELL IS SENIOR MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER FOR THE CCPA NATIONAL OFFICE. Documentary History, London: Routledge, 2019.
7
SHEILA BLOCK AND evident. Yet the Ontario government’s
SIMRAN DHUNNA | ONTARIO response has been further deregulation
How do we care for
of this critically important sector. Pre-
mier Ford’s COVID-19 emergency order
frontline care workers?
eliminates training requirements for
workers in long-term care, allows homes
to bring in volunteers and eliminates the
need for administrators to report some
T
complaints to the Ministry of Long-term
he failure of governments to Earnings in Care. (As the Monitor went to print, the
ensure adequate supplies of
personal protective equipment long-term care Ford government announced changes
would be coming to the regulation of
for health care workers was making and home care long-term care, but it was not clear what
headlines in early April. Sharleen
Stewart, health care president of the are far below they would look like — ed.)
The provincial government’s an-
Service Employees International Union average despite nouncement of $243 million for surge
(SEIU), likened it to “sending firefight-
ers into the fire with no equipment.” the essential capacity in the long-term care sector
is welcome, but it does not address the
Unfortunately, the lack of protective services they decade-long staffing shortages and
equipment— dangerous as it is — is
not the only problem long-term care provide. issues around quality of care. A further
$75 million announced for personal pro-
and home care workers face. tective equipment for frontline staff is
About 58% of long-term care homes also critical, but money alone does not
in Ontario are for-profit facilities, and address the immediate need for sup-
evidence shows that for-profit homes plies, especially for personal support
have poorer quality of care than not- workers, who are too often left out of
for-profit homes. Private care providers The data on employment and earn- the discussion about frontline workers.
must make profits, and to boost those ings by occupation paint an even clearer The B.C. government recently
profits they cut costs. Underfunding picture: 89% of nurse aides, orderlies implemented a policy ensuring that
by governments, even in not-for-profit and patient service associates are all workers in long-term care become
homes, has the same effect, with not- women, along with 91% of home sup- provincial employees, are hired as
for-profit care managers feeling the port workers, housekeepers and related full-time workers, are limited to work
pressure to cut costs too. occupations. Racialized women work in at one facility, and are paid a stand-
In frontline care, cutting costs mostly these occupations at nearly three times ardized wage that is equal to the pay
means cutting staff. A recent Ontario their share of the total labour force. that workers in public sector unionized
Health Coalition report attributed the Home support workers made half the facilities are paid.
shortages of personal support workers average income in Ontario, while nurse Ontario should do the same for its
in long-term care homes to low wages aides and orderlies make 65% of that long-term care workers, by returning
and poor working conditions. The onset amount. these essential services to the public
of the pandemic has only made things Labour force survey data gives a sector and improving wages and work-
worse. Simply put, when the people glimpse into the employment con- ing conditions. Better jobs mean better
caring for our most vulnerable are paid ditions facing these frontline health care for residents and clients, not only
poorly and must rush from patient to care workers. Workers in “assisting during this crisis, but also well into the
patient under unsafe conditions, the occupations in support of health ser- future.
likelihood of transmitting COVID-19 vices,” which includes a broader range SHEILA BLOCK IS A SENIOR ECONOMIST WITH
increases. of occupations than just nurse aides, THE CCPA-ONTARIO. SIMRAN DHUNNA IS A CCPA
PLACEMENT STUDENT AND MPH EPIDEMIOLOGY
The 2016 census data tells us 86% of orderlies, and other assisting occupa- CANDIDATE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, AND
workers in nursing and residential care tions (although the latter accounts for AN ORGANIZER WITH CLIMATE JUSTICE TORONTO
AND PEEL.
facilities are women, along with 89% of 77% of the total), worked in different
workers in home health care services. institutional settings including hospi-
Racialized women make up 13% of the tals as well as long-term care facilities.
total workforce but represent 25% In 2019, 24% of these workers had a
of workers in nursing and residential part-time job; 12% held multiple jobs;
care facilities and 27% of workers in 9% were temporary, term, contract or
home health care services. Workers in casual employees; and their average
long-term care and home care earn, on hourly wage was $21.40, or 76% of the
average, between 75% and 77% of the average Ontario wage.
average income in Ontario across all The impact of the pandemic on work-
industries ($51,105). ers and residents in long-term care is
8RYAN CAMPBELL | NATIONAL aggressively attacking the deficit and
How should we react
restricting growth at a time when the
economy needed investment. Esti-
to a $185 billion deficit?
mates show that austerity measures
in 2014-15 alone stunted GDP growth
by 0.84% and resulted in approximately
90,000 job losses across the public and
P
private sectors. All for the political goal
andemics are real. People are real. The threat to of balancing the budget before the 2015
Jobs are real. Federal deficits are
just a construct. Sometimes we the economy does election.
Recall that to combat the early 1980s
forget. Hopefully this time we remember. not come from recession federal deficits reached this
We are in the midst of a terrifying and
historically significant crisis. To meet spending, it comes same peak in the mid-‘80s (8.1% of GDP).
Mobilization during the Second World
the challenge, Canadians have made it from not spending War required deficits almost three times
clear they want the government to use
all resources at its disposal to protect enough. as large (22.5% of GDP). The Canadian
economy persevered.
them and reduce human suffering. After COVID-19 is contained there
Whether or not the cost fits into existing will be economic fallout. In response,
budget plans is irrelevant. we need to protect the people who
Containing COVID-19 and protect- lost their jobs for the sake of limiting
ing those on the frontlines is the top the spread of the virus. If we can’t
priority. But it also means shutting tolerate higher deficits these people
down entire industrial sectors. Doing will face very real hardship. We need
so resulted in four million people to prioritize the real impacts of higher
applying for employment insurance unemployment and poverty over the
within a few weeks. These people need would have seemed appropriate. If the intangible costs of increased debt.
to be protected. In the short run they finance minister had released a budget Collectively, we seem able to grasp
need income support so they can stay with a $185 billion deficit (8.5% of GDP) the irrelevance of deficit politics during
home, isolate themselves and prevent it would have caused an uproar from the the critical moments in history. But then
the spread of the virus. Eventually, when opposition. The 2015 federal election we forget. The job of the federal gov-
we come out the other end, it means was fought over which political parties ernment is to do everything within its
sustained economic stimulus for years would balance the budget and which power to mitigate the negative effects of
to come. would run a deficit in the range of 0.9% the impending downturn. Government
The immediate response from of GDP. But that was a different time. has fiscal capacity to spend as much as
policy-makers has been big, bold and Or was it? necessary. That means providing swift,
fast. Canada’s COVID-19 economic It was not. There’s only one reality broad and bold support right now and
response plan outlines measures to we live in, and in the last few weeks, prolonged stimulus spending in the
support individuals, big business and policy-makers have broadcast loud coming years.
everyone in between. There are flaws, and clear which one it is. We live in a RYAN CAMPBELL IS AN ECONOMIST WITH THE
naturally, but also an ongoing commit- world where the responsible policy PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE
OF CANADA. THIS ARTICLE APPEARED ON THE
ment to go further and keep people to meet the challenge is to spend NATIONAL NEWSWATCH WEBSITE ON APRIL 10.
from falling through the cracks. Price whatever’s necessary. “Conventional
tag be damned! wisdom” about debt and deficits is
Public discourse about debt and completely out of whack and seems
deficits has changed in step with the petty in hindsight. It may be tempting
development of these sweeping poli- to compartmentalize debates into two
cies. Questions about affordability are categories, before and after COVID-19,
rare and sound as if they were beamed but it would be wrong to do so.
in from a different universe. The threat It is crucial that we not return to
to the economy does not come from pre-existing deficit politics once the
spending, it comes from not spending crisis is contained. There will need to be
enough. The real human cost of inaction years of enhanced stimulus spending to
easily outweighs the cost of increased ensure people get back to work.
federal debt. The first phases of the During the 2008 financial crisis, Par-
response passed Parliament with unan- liament agreed on a substantial fiscal
imous support. stimulus package. However, shortly
In the alternate reality we all lived thereafter, the minority Conservative
in a few weeks ago, critical questions government began dismantling it,
9IGLIKA IVANOVA AND VIVECA ELLIS | B.C. Typically, welfare payments are
Small relief for
contingent on the recipient being able
to demonstrate they actively looked
people on income
for work or engaged in approved
training programs. This requirement
assistance
has been dropped for the duration of
the pandemic, as recommended by the
CCPA-BC, while disability assistance
recipients (who are already excluded
O
from the work-search requirement)
n April 2, the B.C. government It’s telling that people receiving these will receive the $52/month cash pay-
announced emergency finan- benefits have been largely forgotten in ment for transit for as long as bus fares
cial support for some of the this crisis so far, as they are hardly top are suspended in B.C.
province’s most vulnerable, including of mind during normal times as well.
an extra $300 per month (for three
months) for people receiving income Not so good
and disability assistance and some The good news The emergency support payments
very-low-income seniors. This nec- The good news is that the $300/month started on April 22, which left people in
essary and welcome measure can’t emergency crisis supplement in B.C. deep poverty stuck for too long trying
come fast enough. When the Monitor is automatic and will not require a to absorb the extra costs of living dur-
went to print, B.C. was only the second special application. Also welcome ing the pandemic. This delay could have
Canadian province to extend COVID-19 is that recipients of the provincial been avoided had the income assistance
financial relief measures to people on supplement who qualify for the fed- supports been announced a little earlier
income and disability assistance, after eral Canada Emergency Relief Benefit and paid at the end of March, as was
Nova Scotia launched a paltry $50/ (CERB) or regular employment insur- done in Nova Scotia (though with a
month supplement at the end of March. ance benefits will not have that money much smaller supplement amount).
Income and disability assistance, clawed back (as EI benefits are, dollar Fortunately, the federal government
also referred to as welfare, are the pro- for dollar, from monthly cheques). expedited its one-time GST credit
grams of last resort for people who find The federal CERB is available to top-up payment to April 9, providing
themselves without work, or who are people who have lost income due to some desperately needed funds in the
unable to work because of a disability, COVID-19, provided they earned a meantime. Income assistance recipi-
illness or caregiving responsibilities. In minimum of $5,000 in 2019. A small ents in B.C. who filed their taxes for
B.C. there are two streams of benefits: minority of welfare recipients in 2018 will qualify for a one-time extra
temporary income assistance (for B.C. — including an estimated 10,000 benefit of $290 for a single employable
people who are considered employ- households with disabilities and person and just over $700 for a single
able) and disability assistance. Both 1,000 households on temporary as- parent with one child (slightly more
are extremely difficult to access and sistance — will qualify for the CERB for families with more children), which
require the exhaustion of virtually all because, under provincial allowances, will not be clawed back.
savings before a person can even apply. they have been able to earn some The other federal and provincial
In nearly all provinces, income and income through paid work. It means emergency benefit top-ups that have
disability rates leave recipients with these people will be able to escape been announced (via the Canada Child
incomes far below the poverty line. poverty for a few months. Benefit and B.C.’s Climate Action Tax
Credit, which are also not clawed back
from welfare) are not expected to be
TOTAL B.C. WELFARE INCOMES COMPARED TO THE POVERTY LINE
disbursed until May. Also troubling is
$2,500
the discrepancy between what CERB
Monthly poverty line (2018 MBM for urban areas) recipients will take home in emer-
$2,028
$2,000 gency support (up to $8,000 over four
months) and the amount available for
those who cannot work due to complex
$1,500 health conditions and therefore do not
COVID-19 supplement qualify for the federal assistance ($900
$300
over three months). Income assistance
$1,000
COVID-19 supplement recipients will not be eligible for the
$300 provincial rent supplement of up to
Regular rate
Regular rate $1,183 $500 per month, or the one-time $1,000
$500
$760 B.C. Emergency Benefit for Workers,
SINGLE SINGLE PERSON even if they worked enough last year
$0 EMPLOYABLE WITH DISABILITY to qualify for the CERB.
10Deep poverty in B.C. rest of the way up to the poverty line. because of COVID-19, it’s likely that
The monthly assistance rate for a That way we can ensure people who even temporary assistance will be
single person considered to be “em- have fallen on hard times or are unable required for longer than usual.
ployable” is $760, and for them a $300 to work due to illness or disability can
crisis supplement will be significant. live with dignity. At $2,000 a month, the
However, even with this temporary federal CERB points to a standard— More income assistance
increase, the welfare income for a one that is remarkably close to the will be needed
single person amounts to half of the 2018 market basket measure poverty We should expect to see a surge in
poverty line as measured by Statistics line for urban areas—that Canadians welfare applications over the next few
Canada’s market basket measure (the consider the bare minimum needed to months. About a third of unemployed
official poverty line recognized by the live on. Why are people on provincial Canadians won’t qualify for the fed-
federal government). The monthly income and disability assistance forced eral relief benefits and some of those
poverty line for 2018 was around $2,000 to live on much less? will have to turn to provincial social
a month for a single person in large B.C. assistance. The provincial government
cities (populations over 100,000), and should be prepared to process these
between $1,730 and $1,785 for smaller Reality check on “temporary” new applications quickly.
towns and rural areas. income assistance The current application process is
People with disabilities receive Over 206,000 British Columbians re- burdensome due to barriers that dis-
a slightly higher benefit of $1,183 a ceived income assistance in February, courage applications or delay support
month, but they also face extra costs or about 4% of the provincial popu- to people who find themselves in crisis.
due to their disability. The chart on lation. The majority of these people Although some very positive changes
page 10 shows that even with the (64%) received disability assistance; to several of these rules were made
crisis supplement they will continue a quarter (26%) received temporary in the 2019 B.C. budget, asset limits
to live at least $500 below the poverty assistance in the “expected to work” remain low for people on temporary
line every month and remain in deep category; and one in 10 (10%) were assistance, forcing them to exhaust
poverty. receiving temporary assistance but most of their savings before receiving
These pitifully low welfare rates force were not expected to be able to work assistance even for a month or two.
many to live in substandard housing or (e.g., due to being the sole caregiver Often that means they have to leave
become homeless if they’re unable to get of young children). The temporary their housing or won’t be able to afford
a subsidized housing unit, waitlists for assistance recipients include 23,000 a phone or a data plan, among other
which are very long. Even single room families with children, the vast major- essentials.
occupancy units (a type of affordable ity of which are single-parent families. Waiving asset limits for the duration
housing) are too expensive for many Another 10,000 families with children of the pandemic and streamlining the
welfare recipients; in Vancouver’s live on disability assistance. application process would get support
Downtown Eastside the average unit The only way many welfare recipients out faster during this challenging time
was renting at $663 a month in 2018, can make ends meet is by supple- and cushion the longer-term human
according to the latest Carnegie Com- menting their income with formal or and economic costs of the pandemic.
munity Action Project housing report. informal work. However, much of this In the medium term, an overhaul of
Low rates also force people to spend has likely dried up with the pandemic, the application process, ending unfair
much of their time meeting their basic and most working social assistance clawbacks, and higher asset limits
needs; for example, by lining up for recipients would not qualify for the would ensure that all British Colum-
free food and relying on now-closed federal COVID-19 worker supports be- bians who find themselves in crisis can
public libraries and community cen- cause they earned less than $5,000 last receive income support without being
tres for essential services like internet year. Without these lifeline sources of forced into even deeper financial inse-
access, important for staying informed income, welfare recipients will be forced curity once life goes back to normal.
about the latest public health advice to try to survive on pitifully low regular IGLIKA IVANOVA IS A SENIOR ECONOMIST AND
and developments in the pandemic or assistance rates. PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCHER AT THE CCPA-BC.
VIVECA ELLIS IS INTERIM COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
accessing government services that According to B.C. government WITH THE BC POVERTY REDUCTION COALITION AND
are increasingly provided online. With data, the median length of time on A CO-FOUNDER OF THE SINGLE MOTHERS’ ALLIANCE
BC.
other community services also closed temporary assistance was 10 months
or operating with reduced capacity, last year, which means that half of
hunger and social isolation looms as recipients left income assistance soon-
a real problem for some of the most er but half needed benefits for more
vulnerable British Columbians. than 10 months. This is a very long
We have previously called on the time to be living on totally inadequate
province to immediately and perma- incomes. People with disabilities stay
nently raise welfare rates to at least on assistance much longer, frequently
75% of the poverty line, and for a for the rest of their lives. And with the
medium-term plan to bring rates the economic disruption we are seeing
11Mel Watkins, May 15, 1932–April 2, 2020
Mel Watkins as teacher, scholar and activist
HUGH GRANT AND DAVID WOLFE | IN MEMORIAM
F
OR ANYONE FIRST exposed to Ca- NAFTA in the 1980s and 1990s, political writings on the staple thesis; analysis
nadian political economy in the activism was, and remains, a central of foreign investment, the multina-
1960s and 1970s, Mel Watkins part of Mel’s contribution to Canadian tional corporation and international
was an iconic figure. Through his society and politics. trade; observations on the state of
strong association with the Wat- Along with his continuing engage- Canadian economics and political
kins Report, commissioned by Liberal ment in Canadian political life, Mel economy; commentaries on a range
cabinet minister Walter Gordon in the was always an active scholar, born of political issues; and reflections on
mid-1960s, and his critical role in the in the Innis tradition of Canadian technology. The themes addressed
drafting of the Waffle Manifesto in 1969 political economy, and shaped by the and the arguments made continue to
(documented in Dave Godfrey’s Gordon work of a contemporary generation resonate and offer important insights
to Watkins to You), he gained instant of economic historians and political into the nature of Canadian political
recognition among a generation of stu- economists, including Kari Levitt, Jim economy today.
dents and activists deeply concerned Laxer, Tom Naylor and Wallace Clem- His contribution to Canadian polit-
with the growing degree of foreign con- ent. Through his many contributions ical economy is, or will be, apparent
trol over the Canadian economy and to magazine columns, government to those who have an opportunity to
the inadequate response to the issue by reports and books and scholarly jour- read his work. Less well known, except
the mainstream political parties of the nals, Mel profoundly influenced the to those who had the good fortune
day. Through his subsequent involve- intellectual development of Canadian to enrol in one of his courses, is his
ment with the Berger Commission in political economy over the course of influence as a teacher and mentor to
the 1970s and his passionate opposition more than four decades. The scope undergraduate and graduate students
to the Free Trade Agreement and the of his work ranged from theoretical at the University of Toronto.
12Our association with Mel dates from the early 1970s at a As the opportunity to study political economy within
time when the Department of Political Economy was a rar- the Department of Economics slowly disintegrated,
efied if not rather strange place. In the politically charged Mel took refuge in the undergraduate Canadian studies
atmosphere of the Vietnam War period, it was not unusual program at University College and in teaching a graduate
for incoming undergraduates to be familiar with the Waffle course in Canadian political economy with colleagues
Movement, the Committee for an Independent Canada and David Wolfe and Stephen Clarkson in political science,
the findings of the Watkins and Gray Reports on foreign and distanced himself, both physically and intellectually,
ownership, or to read regularly Canadian Dimension and from his colleagues in economics. Just the same, his
The Canadian Forum. Eager first-year students in search courses —whether offered in economics, political science
of their lecture hall in Sidney Smith Hall ran the gamut of or Canadian studies — became a rite of passage for those
newspaper sellers from a wide range of political parties and concerned with political economy, drawing students from
factions of the day. Most of the writings of Marx, Lenin, every discipline and interdisciplinary program. One obser-
Mao and Tim Buck were available for purchase. Rare times vation was unavoidable for his students. Political economy
indeed. could be a strongly grounded theoretical discipline while
Once acclimatized to the University of Toronto, it was commenting on the immediate issues of the day. The former
possible to find a number of courses scattered through required an acute awareness of the intuition, or vision, that
various academic departments that dealt with the issues informed the theoretical model, while the latter demanded
pertaining to the New Left. This was less true in the De- a personal engagement in the current issues.
partment of Economics; however, Ian Parker was a source For his part, Mel was never far removed from the impor-
of inspiration and two faculty members had definite name tant political issues of the day, be it through his principal
recognition: Abraham Rotstein and Mel Watkins. authorship of the Watkins’ Report on Foreign Ownership,
Despite the presence of Parker, Rotstein, Watkins and his involvement in party politics (from the Waffle Group
others, pursuing an alternative program of study in to his candidacy in two federal elections under the NDP
economics grew more difficult as the neoclassical ortho- banner in the Woodbine riding), as an advisor to the Dene
doxy extended its grip on the former home of Innis and Nation during the Berger Commission hearings, as an
Easterbrook and the Keynesian consensus crumbled. The anti–free trade advocate for the Canadian Labour Congress
Political Economy Course Critique for 1973/74, published by during the FTA debates, as a columnist and contributing
the students’ association, observed that, “Numerous stu- editor at This magazine, and through his work for Science
dents emphasized the need for courses on the exploitation for Peace. Yet throughout these various activities, Mel could
of multi-national corporations or on Marxist economic almost always be found in his office and the lecture halls
theory.” Lest students’ criticisms be shrugged off by faculty at University College, University of Toronto where he
and administrators, they were accompanied by a warning: provided a guiding hand to the intellectual development
“We, the editors, sincerely hope that this course critique of successive generations of students until his retirement
will aid in pinpointing some of the inadequacies in each in the 1990s.
individual course. This, however, is not enough. Words must Throughout this period, he continued an active program
be followed by action.” of scholarship, contributing new papers to academic
In a curious act of pluralism, or perhaps product dif- conferences, participating in several versions of edited col-
ferentiation, the department responded by creating two lections on the development of Canadian political economy
versions of a course on Canadian economic issues, one and to academic journals. As scholarly trends evolved over
taught by Ed Safarian and the other, not recommended the course of these decades and the dominant academic
for commerce students, by Mel Watkins. Presumably de- issues of the day changed, Mel remained firmly committed
signed to assuage the small band of dissident students, the to two critical values: the seminal contribution of the Innis
department was doubtless surprised when the latter was tradition for an understanding of the development of the
consistently over-subscribed and was the overwhelming Canadian economy, society and the polity; and the need
choice of commerce majors seeking to complete their to analyze the factors contributing to, and the political
economics requirement. The Course Critique for “Eco 337: implications of, a growing loss of Canadian sovereignty.
Contemporary Issues in the Canadian Economy” reported His intellectual contribution to understanding these issues
that: “Professor Watkins’ course is one of the few, if not the remains as critical today as when he first started writing
only economics course to follow the Marxist viewpoint of about them in the 1960s. M
economics. Watkins is, in addition, not afraid to point out EXCERPTED FROM THE STAPLE THEORY @ 50: REFLECTIONS ON THE LASTING
the shortcomings of the Keynesian school of economics.” SIGNIFICANCE OF MEL WATKINS’ “A STAPLE THEORY OF ECONOMIC GROWTH”,
EDITED BY JIM STANFORD AND REPUBLISHED BY THE CCPA IN APRIL 2020. THIS
Despite this blessing, he did not escape criticism, “because CHAPTER WAS BASED ON MATERIAL ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHORS
he spoke for practically the entire two hours each lecture.” IN THEIR EDITED COLLECTION, STAPLES AND BEYOND: SELECTED WRITINGS OF
MEL WATKINS (MCGILL- QUEENS UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2006). MEL WATKINS PASSED
When Mel was seconded to work for the Dene during the AWAY PEACEFULLY, WITH FAMILY PRESENT, ON APRIL 2. A DEAR FRIEND TO THE
Berger Inquiry, the course’s popularity forced the depart- CCPA, WE WILL MISS HIM VERY MUCH.
ment to arrange a last-minute replacement. The best it
could come up with was the equally witty and urbane, yet
less renowned academic from the Hautes Études Commer-
ciales, Jacques Parizeau.
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