Erika Shaker

Cuts to IRCC set to download asylum housing costs onto cities like Ottawa The federal government plans to stop giving cities like Ottawa the money to house asylum seekers as funding cuts continue.

ottawacitizen.com/public-servi... ‘In total, cuts to health benefits and the settlement program will amount to around two thirds of the cuts at IRCC, while around a tenth of the cuts will come from the housing program off-load.’

Critics say Ottawa's sustainable jobs plan offers no new support for energy workers | CBC News The Carney government's plan to protect jobs in the energy sector amounts to a report that critics say offers no new actions for workers who are at risk of losing work.

www.cbc.ca/news/politic... “A glorified press release…There are no targets, there are no timelines, there is no way to evaluate progress, there is no way to evaluate whether it's consistent with the climate agenda and net-zero” @policyalternatives.ca @hadrianmk.bsky.social

I will also say that it’s a bit wild to me that no press freedom organization or professional journalistic association has tried to contact me or even put out a statement here.

I mean Jesus Christ. A little solidarity from institutions would be nice here!

Episode 364 – Canada supports bombing Iran; feels bad about it In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about Canada’s bizarre support for bombing Iran, and how despite all Mark Carney’s rhetoric, the old order (Canada’s full support for US imperialism) remains in ta...

New episode of Sandy and Nora! We watch Mark Carney sorrily apologize for suport the US and Israel-coordinated war on Iran and ask --- seriously?

sandyandnora.com/episode-364-...

Will Canada govern AI for the public good? - CCPA Beyond the AI race, Canada must take real steps to create a sovereign and democratic AI—and do so in coordination with other middle powers

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘The tools to regulate AI exist, and they are also precisely what is being targeted. What is missing is the political will to apply them and the coordination to make that will count.’ @policyalternatives.ca

There’s a long way to go to closing the gender pay gap in Canada - CCPA On International Women's Day, a reminder of the work that remains to be done

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘The gender pay gap has narrowed by 20 percentage points since 1977 … But it remains unacceptably wide—in fact it is one of the largest in the OECD, ranking 26th among 31 peer countries’ @policyalternatives.ca @kjscott.bsky.social

Ontario students need smaller classes, not another EQAO review - CCPA Instead of chasing explanations for low test scores the government should reduce and cap class sizes in Ontario

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘We don’t need EQAO reviews or long-winded consultation processes. We need the Ontario government to stop making excuses and invest in schools.’ @policyalternatives.ca @ricardotranjan.bsky.social

Unpacking Alberta’s anti-immigrant and anti-constitutional referendums - CCPA Alberta is aiming to use anti-migrant xenophobia to promote an agenda of deregulation and privatization

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘Alberta’s immigration referendum appears to be a strategic maneuver to consolidate power and advance neoliberal policies under the guise of democratic decision-making, while using immigrants as a scapegoat.’ @policyalternatives.ca

This is very bad.

Seeing the world as it is, not as it should be.

Doug Ford government tasks think-tank experts with reviewing EQAO The head of C.D. Howe institute and an economics professor will lead the review after results in literacy and numeracy stalled last year.

We all see where this is going, right? www.thestar.com/news/ontario...

Yanar lived in Canada since 1995 and was a stalwart of the Canadian women’s rights community

I haven’t seen a single acknowledgement from the Canadian government of her assassination. But perhaps they’re busy with trade deals in India and they’ll get to the values bit of foreign policy later

The case for a wealth tax is stronger than ever in Canada - CCPA An excerpt from “Cancelling Billionaires Before They Cancel Us: The Urgent Case for a Wealth Tax” by Linda McQuaig & Neil Brooks

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'If we consider the top 1% as the “treeline” on a mountain, then the real story of the phenomenal wealth growth in the last few decades has taken place almost completely above the treeline' @policyalternatives.ca @lindamcquaig.bsky.social

Leftist Israeli lawmaker Ofer Cassif says the war is "imperialist aggression against the Iranian people" launched under false pretenses.

"It's not against the regime. They want us to believe it's against the regime. It is against the people of Iran."

Canada ‘abandoning’ international law with support for U.S. strikes on Iran, say former diplomats Though Canada's approach to Iran has been 'well-aligned' with the United States for many years, Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has been reluctant to condemn any suspected violations of intern...

www.hilltimes.com/story/2026/0... “We may have entered a phase where international law is background noise and hauled out when necessary and desired, and shoved in the back drawer when inconvenient”

Confusion and questions surround proposed AI data centre near Regina | CBC News One expert said some councils are now being asked to consider and approve data centres when they have limited understanding of what is in front of them.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... ‘the answers to specific questions Enoch and many others have — like the size of the data centre, how much energy it will consume, its water usage and how many jobs it might create — remain unclear’ @simonenoch.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca

US AND ISRAEL ATTACK IRAN; TEHRAN FIRES BACK, EXPLOSIONS ACROSS REGION Explosions heard in Tehran, elsewhere, as Israel and US launches attacks; Iran retaliates, blasts across region.

www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo... JFC

Masters in our own house: Foreign ownership and investment trends in Canada - CCPA How much does foreign capital own in the Canadian economy—and how much Canadian capital do we export abroad?

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'As we look to define what we mean by “elbows up” and “maitres chez nous” there is a robust policy agenda awaiting to build Canada and turn its vast physical and human resources into collective well being.' @marclee.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca

Pay equity: why HR must move from compliance to talent strategy Aligning pay with value of work fundamental to retention, recruitment, maximizing skills: experts

“The conversation [about pay equity] is more difficult today than it was even a year ago,” says @kjscott.bsky.social. “You've seen...the vilification of diversity, employment, equity initiatives... in Canada, [and] certainly we've seen a step back from them.” #canfem www.hcamag.com/ca/specializ...

Opinion: Put fairness at centre of Manitoba budget The thousands of Manitobans struggling to pay their rent and put food on the table are looking for relief in Manitoba’s upcoming spring budget. The wealthy are benefiting from the status quo; politica...

"The #Manitoba government must rise to the occasion and deliver strong policy responses to provide help and relief [to Manitobans struggling with affordability]. Inaction will only let the income gap widen further." @mollymccracken.bsky.social #MBbudget2026 www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/anal...

NDP calls for affordability measures as child poverty persists in Saskatchewan A recent report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is shedding light on Saskatchewan's child pov...

A recent report from @policyalternatives.ca is shedding light on #Saskatchewan’s child poverty situation...the highest child poverty rate of all the provinces. @simonenoch.bsky.social www.cjwwradio.com/2026/02/25/2...

Provincial budget does little to address Alberta health care chaos - CCPA Following decade of hospital cuts and privatization, Alberta is blaming the system’s failures on immigrants

Our take on the Alberta budget by @alonghurst.bsky.social:

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Provincial budget does little to address Alberta health care chaos - CCPA Following decade of hospital cuts and privatization, Alberta is blaming the system’s failures on immigrants

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘Also unclear is whether Alberta will prioritize the lowest complexity surgeries over more complex care….The budget also does not explain what Alberta’s new two-tier system will mean for timely surgical care’ @policyalternatives.ca @alonghurst.bsky.social

The feds quietly released the 2030 #SustainableJobs Action Plan this week as required under the Sustainable Jobs Act. At a glance it reads like a press release for the government's current economic agenda, hoping to find some genuine new policies for advancing pro-worker climate action...

The fight over data centres is just getting started - CCPA Shift Storm newsletter—January 2026 edition

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'The promise and peril of data centres in Canada is a subject the CCPA will be diving into more this year, so stay tuned for that research.' @hadrianmk.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca

Growing and Deepening Child Poverty in Saskatchewan - CCPA The Saskatchewan government’s long record of neglect has left it with some of the worst economic outcomes for children in the country.

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'Over 78k children under the age of 18 in Saskatchewan were in poverty in 2023, a child poverty rate of 27.1%. This is well above Canada’s national child poverty rate of 18.3% and is the highest child poverty rate of all the provinces' @policyalternatives.ca

YouTube video by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives U.S. Health Care Comes to Canada: What to Know and How to Fight It

ICYMI, this @policyalternatives.ca webinar is worth your time

Drs. Woolhandler & Himmelstein—international experts on for-profit health care & insurance—in conversation w/ me about the grave risk of US health care coming to Canada via Alberta, and how we fight back

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqQn...

B.C. budget’s hidden austerity and tax increases put fiscal burden on low-income households - CCPA BC's Finance Minister says "this is not an austerity budget." Let's look at the numbers and see for ourselves.

B.C. budget’s hidden austerity and tax increases put fiscal burden on low-income households

BC's Finance Minister says "this is not an austerity budget." Let's look at the numbers and see for ourselves.

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

#bcpoli

So it sounds as if Starbucks is changing its policy and they can now kick you out if you're not a customer, which is inevitably reigniting public discourse about the need for third spaces, and you guys...libraries. Libraries. Patronize your library. Support your library. Tell your legislators to fund your library. This is one of many, many, many reasons libraries are crucial to a thriving community.

Support your local library

'Instead, the Secretary of State (International Development) spent the week giving speeches about how Canadian development programs are “creating a stable supply of cinnamon for Canada for all our Canadian cinnamon lovers.”'