Our trade situation was a serious problem long before the election of Donald Trump and new realities will demand a serious re-thinking of the liberal trade and industrial policies of the “free trade” era and not just more of the same.
At this moment of deep political convulsion throughout the West, the fight against privatization is part of a broader struggle against the economic logic that has led to corrosive inequality and underpinned the bankrupt neoliberal economic paradigm.
What we need to spark a meaningful recovery is a big boost to the demand side of the economy in the form of higher wages and more public investment.
Will white progressives struggle for anti-racism alongside people of colour, and make it a central strategy and analytical tool in organizing change?
“If a blind faith in unfettered markets continues to prevail, I believe the social foundation for our democracies will continue to be shaken.”
Acquisitions by foreign corporations of Canadian companies may be in the interests of shareholders and corporate executives, but harmful from the perspective of workers and local communities.
Only a legislated framework will ensure that everyone’s Charter rights are respected once the light cast by the Adam Capay case on this abusive practice dims.
History is replete with examples of botched public-private projects which left governments on the hook for high costs and for losses, and public agencies do have the capacity to make good decisions.
This is the kind of bold leadership needed in the rest of Canada to make headway on combatting inequality, poverty and to create the conditions for a growing economy that benefits everyone.
