Economy

Vatican Conference plots new paths for a just economy

Published

5 years ago

February 5, 2020

By Linda Bordoni

Promoted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the event aims to propose and map out rules for a new economic model in times of increasing social and economic inequality.

Entitled “New Forms of Solidarity Towards fraternal Inclusion, Integration and Innovation”, the Conference aims to propose new rules for a supportive, inclusive and sustainable world, to discuss the role and responsibilities of international finance and to propose new ways to restore the ethical foundations of economics.

Climate change and the displacement of peoples were central to the interventions, and Pope Francis’ teachings and the Church’s social doctrine provided the backbone to the debate.

Power, People, Values

Nobel laureate, the US economist Joseph Stiglitz, entitled his keynote address “Global Economic Transformation: Power, People and Values”.

He told Vatican Radio that he highlighted the fact that capitalism is in crisis and said that he described the many aspects of this crisis which range from inequality to climate change to a moral crisis.

“I attributed a major part of these crises to the belief in unfettered markets, new liberalism, and I suggested a way forward,” he said.

Stiglitz explained that there are ways to reform the market economy and capitalism and restore a greater balance between markets, governments, civil society by creating a broader ecology of institutional arrangements, “with more emphasis on NGOs, on cooperatives and trying to introduce more solidarity, bring about more equality.”

He said he suggested that we could address both the inequality crisis and the climate crisis together: “there are policies that could create more social justice and more environmental justice.”

Stiglitz also said he focused on various reforms that have to be implemented both domestically and internationally, in terms of tax expenditure and on tackling the debt crisis which is facing many countries today, like Argentina.

He expressed his conviction that austerity measures do not work and that there is a better way to restore economic growth.

Restoring economic growth

Stiglitz revealed that he also suggested a way forward in the effort to restore a greater balance between markets, governments and civil society.

“I think we have to do many things, there is no silver bullet: we have to rewrite the rules of national economy, of global economy to reduce corporate power, to reduce tax evasion and avoidance, to create more progressive taxation, to give workers more bargaining power, encourage collective bargaining, strengthening unions, make sure that corporations don’t just pay attention to their shareholders but to all the stake holders including their customers, their workers, the communities in which they work and the planet on which we live and we have to rethink our international agreements, not in the way that President Trump is talking about: “America First” or any other body first; it’s the planet first and people first is what it’s about.

Other speakers at the event included Bishop Sanchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, the American economist Jeffrey Sachs, as well as many Ministers of Finance and Cardinal Ladaria, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who reflected on how finance must be seen and used as a tool for an inclusive world.

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Economy

Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase

Published

2 days ago

October 21, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff.

Under the current program’s high-wage labour market impact assessment (LMIA) stream, an employer must pay at least the median income in their province to qualify for a permit. A government official, who The Canadian Press is not naming because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the change, said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault will announce Tuesday that the threshold will increase to 20 per cent above the provincial median hourly wage.

The change is scheduled to come into force on Nov. 8.

As with previous changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program, the government’s goal is to encourage employers to hire more Canadian workers. The Liberal government has faced criticism for increasing the number of temporary residents allowed into Canada, which many have linked to housing shortages and a higher cost of living.

The program has also come under fire for allegations of mistreatment of workers.

A LMIA is required for an employer to hire a temporary foreign worker, and is used to demonstrate there aren’t enough Canadian workers to fill the positions they are filling.

In Ontario, the median hourly wage is $28.39 for the high-wage bracket, so once the change takes effect an employer will need to pay at least $34.07 per hour.

The government official estimates this change will affect up to 34,000 workers under the LMIA high-wage stream. Existing work permits will not be affected, but the official said the planned change will affect their renewals.

According to public data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 183,820 temporary foreign worker permits became effective in 2023. That was up from 98,025 in 2019 — an 88 per cent increase.

The upcoming change is the latest in a series of moves to tighten eligibility rules in order to limit temporary residents, including international students and foreign workers. Those changes include imposing caps on the percentage of low-wage foreign workers in some sectors and ending permits in metropolitan areas with high unemployment rates.

Temporary foreign workers in the agriculture sector are not affected by past rule changes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees

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Economy

PBO projects deficit exceeded Liberals’ $40B pledge, economy to rebound in 2025

Published

6 days ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government likely failed to keep its deficit below its promised $40 billion cap in the last fiscal year.

However the PBO also projects in its latest economic and fiscal outlook today that weak economic growth this year will begin to rebound in 2025.

The budget watchdog estimates in its report that the federal government posted a $46.8 billion deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland pledged a year ago to keep the deficit capped at $40 billion and in her spring budget said the deficit for 2023-24 stayed in line with that promise.

The final tally of the last year’s deficit will be confirmed when the government publishes its annual public accounts report this fall.

The PBO says economic growth will remain tepid this year but will rebound in 2025 as the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts stimulate spending and business investment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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Economy

Statistics Canada says levels of food insecurity rose in 2022

Published

1 week ago

October 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the level of food insecurity increased in 2022 as inflation hit peak levels.

In a report using data from the Canadian community health survey, the agency says 15.6 per cent of households experienced some level of food insecurity in 2022 after being relatively stable from 2017 to 2021.

The reading was up from 9.6 per cent in 2017 and 11.6 per cent in 2018.

Statistics Canada says the prevalence of household food insecurity was slightly lower and stable during the pandemic years as it fell to 8.5 per cent in the fall of 2020 and 9.1 per cent in 2021.

In addition to an increase in the prevalence of food insecurity in 2022, the agency says there was an increase in the severity as more households reported moderate or severe food insecurity.

It also noted an increase in the number of Canadians living in moderately or severely food insecure households was also seen in the Canadian income survey data collected in the first half of 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct 16, 2024.

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