Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) is a non-partisan research institute based in Canada that produces research and analysis on economic and social policy issues, publishing reports and commentary on topics such as taxation, labour, public services, and inequality for policy-makers, activists, and the public.www.policyalternatives.ca
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Search complete. 40 mentions across 28 episodes found for "Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives".
Oct 6, 2026
Simi SaraHOST
That's coming up.
Simi SaraHOST
But right now, Mark Lee is a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and joins us now.
Simi SaraHOST
Thank you so much for being here.
Mark LeeGUEST
Hi.
Saroja CoelhoHOST
Amy Janzwood is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the Buehler School of Environment at McGill University.
Saroja CoelhoHOST
Hadrian Mertens Kirkwood is a senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Saroja CoelhoHOST
You can call with your questions 1-888-416-8333.
Saroja CoelhoHOST
I'll be giving you that number over and over again over this next hour.
22 MINS LATER
Saroja CoelhoHOST
You just heard the voice of Amy Janzwood, who's an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the Beeler School of Environment at McGill University.
Saroja CoelhoHOST
Hadrian Mertens Kirkwood is also in this conversation.
Saroja CoelhoHOST
He is a senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Saroja CoelhoHOST
We are talking about fast-tracking infrastructure projects.
Eric WickhamHOST
Considering the impacts and the massive pushback this industry is seeing, one might wonder why any government would want this technology in their backyard.
Eric WickhamHOST
Simon Enoch from the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives told me there's a pretty simple explanation, actually.
Eric WickhamHOST
Money.
Martin ReidGUEST
I think what you have now amongst particularly municipal governments and even provincial governments is this fear of missing out, this fear unless they sort of green light these data center investments right now, they'll go somewhere else.
Jayme PoissonHOST
According to RBC, roughly 40% of attendees were from the US.
Jayme PoissonHOST
That had us wondering, who owns Canada already, and could that change now that the government is courting more outside investment? Mark Lee is a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a progressive research institute, and earlier this year, he wrote a piece called "Masters in Our Own House" where he looked at how much of our economy is owned by foreign entities.
Jayme PoissonHOST
The prime minister has famously told Donald Trump that Canada is not for sale, but now he's asking investors-
speaker_2UNKNOWN
To peer in our shop window
Evan BrayHOST
So what goes into calculating a living wage? What drives that number? And at $15.70 an hour, is Saskatchewan's minimum wage still too low? Dr.
Evan BrayHOST
Simon Enoch is a senior researcher for Saskatchewan issues and policies at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and we welcome Dr. Enoch to the show.
Evan BrayHOST
Simon, thank you so much for taking some time.
Evan BrayHOST
Thank you so much for having me today.
Simon EnochGUEST
Ironically, one of the reasons for the higher living wage this year was the end of the carbon tax rebate, which for low-income families could be substantial, about $1,500 a year, which they no longer receive.
Simon EnochGUEST
So any ways that governments can get more money into families' pockets, Tax cuts are a way to do that, but I think a much more effective way is via sort of transfer programs.
Evan BrayHOST
Dr. Simon Enoch is my guest at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Evan BrayHOST
What I've also heard, and we've done this discussion on the program a number of times, I will hear from business owners that say in many, I mean, I guess it depends on the job that you're hiring them for, but in many cases you can't get an employee for minimum wage, right? Many jobs right now are saying, if I'm trying to get an entry-level worker, I can't post now in today's wage increase $15.70 an hour and get someone.
Mary RoeHOST
One of our best lives just down the road in Ottawa.
Mary RoeHOST
Armine Yalnizyan is, among many other things, the 2023 recipient of the Galbraith Prize in Economics, a former senior economic policy advisor to the Federal Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development, columnist on business for the Toronto Star, and a longtime driving force at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and currently a fellow with the Atkinson Foundation.
Mary RoeHOST
Like many of us, she keeps an ear to the ground and her gaze on the horizon.
Mary RoeHOST
Armine, welcome to City Talk.
Nora LoretoHOST
And the federal government is looking for ways to get around that erraticness by allowing private investment across everything that they can within our society.
Nora LoretoHOST
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives just released a report that looks specifically at Ontario and shows that as billions of dollars have been poured in, public dollars have been poured into private health care, which is often for profit.
Nora LoretoHOST
Wait times have actually gotten worse.
Nora LoretoHOST
And so we are sold a bill of goods that tells us that one thing is good is going to help us while actually the exact opposite thing continues to happen.
Nora LoretoHOST
The Conservatives now have 19 seats out of 57, with the next election scheduled for next, not this...
Nora LoretoHOST
Next, a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that the Ontario government has increasingly sent medical procedures to be done to the private sector, and wait times have continued to grow.
Nora LoretoHOST
Senior health researcher Andrew Longhurst found that the median wait times for 8 of 12 procedures increased from 2017 to 2025.
Nora LoretoHOST
Cataract surgeries went from a 67-day wait to 68 days.
Nora LoretoHOST
They claim that their investment increased the number of MRIs performed in Ontario, but didn't comment on the fact that the wait times still grew.
Nora LoretoHOST
Longhurst recommends this, quote, unquote.
Nora LoretoHOST
And just a reminder that I am the president of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Nora LoretoHOST
I had nothing to do with the report other than just, you know, being, I guess, the legal official head of the organization.
Libby ZnaimerHOST
Also, I am very keen to get the doctor's take on a report that we reported on on Monday and sent out.
Libby ZnaimerHOST
And this was a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Libby ZnaimerHOST
It is a left-leaning think tank, but they do good work.
Libby ZnaimerHOST
And their report says that procedures that were outsourced to these private clinics have actually resulted in longer wait times, not shorter wait times.
Jim RichardsHOST
But your talkbacks, the red microphone, the iHeartRadio app.
Jim RichardsHOST
Two conversations on this radio station from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Jim RichardsHOST
The first part of this story was told on the More in the Morning show, where the people from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives have suggested that Eight of the 12 medical procedures that the province has kind of outsourced, but still pay for by your OHIP card, that there's not necessarily a quicker response, meaning that the wait times haven't sped up.
Jim RichardsHOST
Yesterday, we talked to the health minister.
Jim RichardsHOST
And she had said, Sylvia Jones, she had said, that's mostly because there are more people now using and taking advantage of these procedures and that there are more people getting these procedures, but because there are more people getting the procedures that the wait times are about the same.
5 MINS LATER
Andrew LonghurstGUEST
Thanks so much, Jim.
Andrew LonghurstGUEST
Really appreciate the conversation.
Jim RichardsHOST
Andrew Longhurst is the senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, answering what we heard yesterday from Health Minister Sylvia Jones.
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