Jun 21 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Mon., June 21, 2021timer4 min. read First it was toilet paper, then it was masks and gowns, and lately, it’s lumber and computer chips. And of course, real estate — wow. Sudden, unpredictable shortages of the things we want most have been a hallmark of the pandemic economy, and a harbinger of inflationary pressure — […]
Jun 18 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — There’s a big idea afoot after last weekend’s G7 summit, an idea that is supposed to make the digital economy of the future just and fair. A global minimum tax is being touted as a tempting solution to so many problems — inequality, middle-class erosion, greedy corporations, and tech behemoths that have rolled all over […]
May 18 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Our Windsor — It was a bit ironic that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met virtually with Vaccine Hunters Canada on Tuesday. That’s the group of tech-savvy volunteers that is successfully bringing order to the chaos that has characterized the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, especially in Ontario, by searching out and posting crucial information about vaccine availability on Twitter. Ironic […]
May 14 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — There are a few things about Canadian culture that the internet doesn’t change. For starters, our stories, music, art and news have always been at risk of being swamped by larger forces. To fix the market failure, we’ve turned to public policy to help. So the history of Canadian culture has also been a history […]
Apr 19 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — The chatter in federal circles in the months leading up to the budget was all about the value of unconventional thinking in desperate times. Former business leader Michael Sabia was brought to Ottawa to become the deputy minister of finance (via a short detour at the Canada Infrastructure Bank) for his aggressive and creative approach […]
Apr 18 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Child care will be the big, shiny headline, but the environment will be the subplot. Chrystia Freeland’s first budget will be historic, by definition, if only just because of the sheer size of it. After a full year of unbridled federal spending to underpin the pandemic economy, Freeland will show deficits that are far larger […]
Apr 15 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — The federal Liberals are poised to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40 per cent by 2030, the Star has learned — a major ramping up of their climate ambition as the politics around their current target heats up. That’s easier said than done — especially since Canada has managed to lower […]
Apr 14 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — When former senior government official Paul Boothe negotiated the $13.7-billion bailout of the auto sector just over a decade ago, Ottawa felt it didn’t have much of a choice but to pump public money into General Motors and Chrysler. The companies couldn’t go to the markets for financing because the markets were dry. The U.S. […]
Apr 8 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Read through the list of resolutions bubbling up at this weekend’s Liberal policy convention, and you’ll realize there’s a subtext: big spending is a virtue. The party’s grassroots are looking for public transit, regional development, affordable housing, onshoring of manufacturing, high-speed internet, clean energy, infrastructure, high-speed rail and high-speed internet. And then there are the […]
Apr 1 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Peterborough Examiner — A year ago now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was calling MPs back from isolation to quickly pass what was mind-boggling at the time: a $71-billion package to subsidize companies to keep employees on their payroll — even if they couldn’t go to work. We were plunging headlong into the deepest recession of our time, and […]
Mar 31 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — To hear Facebook executives in Canada tell it, their relationship with Canadian content is all about benevolence. Not only do they give publishers an enormous, free platform for their news and articles, they also give millions of dollars to the journalism industry in Canada and indeed around the world. And they’re in the midst of […]
Mar 25 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Welland Tribune — The Supreme Court was watching. As the justices prepared on Wednesday night to deliver a historic ruling on federal power over climate policy, the skies opened with an unseasonal fury of thunder and lightning over Parliament Hill — as if to give us all fair warning about the consequences of messing with the climate. The […]
Mar 23 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Niagara Falls Review — When Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland talk about the budget and the economic recovery, they frequently make a point of saying they’ll make sure fiscal policy is “sustainable”, hoping to calm the naysayers who fear for the long term. Sustainability was part of Freeland’s mandate letter as minister of finance, it was a central message […]
Mar 17 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Emily Dyck could have been a victim of the pandemic “scarring” that so many experts fear will hurt the Canadian workforce permanently. The mother of school-age children was working in the casino and event-planning industry when her job evaporated, and her kids are in and out of school and demanding her attention. But she is […]
Mar 14 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Let’s take the good news where we can get it. Friday’s employment numbers were a big relief to those wondering if Canada’s labour market would be able to bounce back from the repeated rounds of closures and lockdowns. With 259,000 new jobs in February, many of them in the sectors that have been hit repeatedly […]