Perspectives: A Canadian Journal of Political Economy and Social Democracy
The Perspectives Journal Podcast complements the journal and opinions content of Perspectives: A Canadian Journal of Political Economy and Social Democracy, to bring out left-wing ideas and strategy in a new and ever-evolving format. The podcast features interviews with policy experts, to dig deeper into the progressive angles of the issues affecting working-class, ordinary Canadians.
Hosted by editor-in-chief, Clement Nocos, the Perspectives Journal Podcast aims to bring forward timely analysis on issues from the multiple crises of the economy, cost-of-living and the environment, to the labour movement, as well as the state of Canadian democracy. The wide reaching breadth of this show aims to help inform policymakers and the public about approaches to today’s pressing problems that are rooted in Ed Broadbent’s Principles for Canadian Social Democracy.
Perspectives Journal also produces and features shows hosted by the Broadbent Institute’s friends and affiliates, providing a progressive platform for limited and irregular conversations that are still necessary to enliven Canada’s political discourse. The Perspectives Journal Podcast is a proud members of the Harbinger Media Network, Canada’s progressive podcast community.
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Activists Make History
Activists Make History with Peggy Nash is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal that finds the political underdogs and asks how they got started, against the odds, to fight for progressive change. Policymakers, activists and experts from underrepresented communities and backgrounds, that are typically pushed to the margins of Canadian political life, are front and centre in conversation with Peggy Nash, who has been a union activist, a feminist advocate, and a Member of Parliament in Canada’s House of Commons for nearly a decade.
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Social Democrats of the North
In Social Democrats of the North: Canadian Visions for Justice & Equality from Confederation to the Quiet Revolution, Dave McGrane, Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, explores the life, times, and ideas of Canada’s most influential social democrats. From Confederation at 1867, to the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, discover the people who shaped social democracy in Canada, the movements that fought for the working-class, and the legacies they’ve left for the wellbeing of all Canadians. There are lessons for activists, and forgotten struggles that apply to today’s wins. After all, the best teacher for a better world tomorrow, is the past.
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Class & Climate
Class & Climate: Perspectives on a Green Economy is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal and the Green Economy Network that explores how climate action can create good jobs, make life more affordable, and debunk the myth that workers and the environment are at odds. The Broadbent Institute is a member of the Green Economy Network. GEN brings together labour, environmental, faith, and social justice organizations. If you’re interested in getting involved, please get in touch.
Perspectives: A Canadian Journal of Political Economy and Social Democracy
Competition and Co-ops: MP Daniel Blaikie on Bill C-56, the Affordable Housing and Groceries Act
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Earlier this fall, the federal Liberal government tabled Bill C-56, the Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, with the aim of jump starting construction of purpose built rental homes with a GST rebate on these kinds of projects, and increasing competition in the grocery industry by strengthening the federal Competition Bureau, upgrading its ability to investigate companies and closing loopholes in the merger approval process that may contribute to rising prices and profits.
The federal NDP doesn't think this bill has gone far enough and have requested a number of amendments to the first draft to include more non-market housing and removing political influence on the Competition Bureau, among a list of other measures, in order to pass the House.
What will this amended piece of legislation do for ordinary, working-class Canadians to make groceries affordable again, and does it go far enough? How has market concentration contributed to higher grocery receipts? Why should incentives for building more co-op housing be included in the final version of the bill?
Social democratic commentator and columnist Tom Parkin spoke to Daniel Blaikie, Member of Parliament for Elmwood—Transcona and NDP finance critic, about Bill C-56, grocery competition, and building non-market housing.
Show Note Links
- Bill C-56, Affordable Housing and Groceries Act (Government House Bill)
- Bill C-352, Lowering Prices for Canadians Act (Private Member's Bill introduced by MP Jagmeet Singh)
- Beyond Simply Building More: Policy Options for Combatting the Financialization of Housing in Ontario, (March 2023) - Broadbent Institute analysis on the contributing factors behind the housing affordability crisis, by Tsahai Carter.
- Canadian Grocery Profitability: Inflation, Wages and Financialization, (September 2023) - Broadbent Institute analysis of the Canadian grocery retail industry in the context of the "seller's inflation" economic phenomena, by Alex Purdye.
- 'Growing Grocery Profits, Shrinking Pay Cheques', Opinion by Clement Nocos in Perspectives Journal from October 12, 2023.
