November 15, 2012
- Ontario Human Rights Review: Pinto Report
- Our Heritage Discontinued: No More Canada Year Book
- Open Access Ontario
- Calgary Dreamin’?
- Academic Labour
- Tackling the Economy: Webinar from Cornell’s IRL School
- U.S. Trojan Horse of Corporate Tax Breaks
- Google Transparency Report Shows Rise in Surveillance
- Connecting Temporary Workers to Training Opportunities
- U.S. Affordable Care Act Back on Track
- Women Offered Fewer “Hot Jobs” Leading to Advancement
- European Action Day on Austerity
- Free Trade and Transnational Labour Solidarity
- OECD Report on Global Growth
- Book of the Week
Ontario Human Rights Review: Pinto Report
On August 12, 2011, the Honourable Chris Bentley, Attorney General of Ontario, appointed Andrew Pinto to conduct a review of the Ontario Human Rights system as required under section 57 of the Ontario Human Rights Code. The Ontario Human Rights Review 2011-12 has now concluded. The Final Report is available below.
Ministry of the Attorney General, November 8, 2012: "Report of the Ontario Human Rights Review 2012,” Andrew Pinto (233 pages, PDF)
Ontario Human Rights Review 2012-2012 website
Ontario’s Human Rights Code Review Task Force Report, 1992: Achieving Equality: a Report on Human Rights Reform, Chair: Mary Cornish (276 pages, PDF) Ms. Cornish headed the Ontario Human Rights Code Review Task Force which laid the basis for Ontario’s 2006 legislated human rights reforms.
Our Heritage Discontinued: No More Canada Year Book
Another irreplaceable Statistics Canada publication ceases publication both in print and electronically. Here is a description of what will no longer be available to Canadians: “Presented in almanac style, the 2011 Canada Year Book contains more than 500 pages of tables, charts and succinct analytical articles on every major area of Statistics Canada's expertise. The Canada Year Book is the premier reference on the social and economic life of Canada and its citizens.” It was also available in both HTML and PDF files.
If you have ever attempted to browse or simply access CANSIM tables you know that the Canada Year Book's comparative data and analyses will be lost to most of us.
Statistics Canada, November 13, 2012: Canada Year Book 2011 (PDF)
While browsing the online Canada Year Book Historical Collection, you will learn about the historical development of Canada's population, transportation, occupations, economy, culture and more. The digitized collection is available in PDF (portable document format) here: Historical Collection Canada Yearbook: explores Canada’s statistical history in text, tables, charts, maps and multimedia features from 1867 to 1967.
The Globe and Mail, November 13, 2012: “The Canada Year Book is history,” by Tavia Grant
Open Access Ontario
The Ontario government has just launched its open data portal – still a work in progress but a step forward…
Ontario Economic Accounts: Provides an overall assessment of the current state of the Ontario economy.
MaRS Data Catalyst: brings together data and analysis from a variety of partners to track, quantify and grow Ontario’s innovation economy using data and insight to support the province’s entrepreneurs, researchers, policy-makers and innovators.
Calgary Dreamin’?
“In its quest to increase oil production, Canada is lobbying job fairs and air waves for laborers. California has become a prime target…U.S. workers, Canada wants you.”
Los Angeles Times, November 10, 2012: Canada looks to lure energy workers from the U.S.:
“One company has launched a defined benefits pension, reviving the kind of iron-clad retirement package much of the corporate world has abandoned.”
The Globe and Mail, November 5, 2012: “At Calgary's oil HQs, hot labour market propels a benefits bonanza,” by Nathan Vanderklippe
Academic Labour
Workplace: a journal of Academic Labour is a refereed, open access journal published by a collective of scholars in critical higher education promoting a new dignity in academic work. Contributions are aimed at higher education workplace activism and dialogue on all issues of academic labor. The recent Special Issue is available online. (Click on title of article and then PDF)
Workplace: a Journal of Academic Labour Special Issue #21, 2012: In/stability, In/security & In/visibility: tensions at work for tenured & tenure stream faculty in the neoliberal academy.
Introduction to the Special Issue (2 pages, PDF)
Tackling the Economy: Webinar from Cornell’s IRL School
Cornell’s Industrial and Labour Relations (ILR) School offers a series of free webcasts and webinars throughout the year. The ILR Online features expert insight and the latest research on today's world-of-work issues. The next webcast is titles “What Happens Next? : Tackling Tough Economic Questions, scheduled for Wednesday December 12, 2012 at 12 p.m. (EST). Registration is free and will be closed captioned.
As the Obama administration prepares for a second term in office, it will be faced with strengthening an ailing economy and addressing some major challenges. What should we do to reduce the deficit and avoid another recession? How do we create good, new long-term jobs and get unemployed people back to work? How will volatile European markets impact the U.S economy? The discussion will include Harry Katz, Francine Blau, and Robert Frank.
ILR Online: What Happens Next? : Tackling Tough Economic Questions
ILR Online: Past Webcasts (Archive)
U.S. Trojan Horse of Corporate Tax Breaks
“The ‘Fix the Debt’ CEOs are trying to pass themselves off as noble leaders who are willing to compromise in order the save America from financial ruin,” says report co-author Scott Klinger. “In reality, the campaign is a Trojan horse concealing massive corporate tax breaks that would make our debt situation much worse.” [Sarah Anderson and Scott Klinger]
Institute for Policy Studies, November 13, 2012: “The CEO Campaign to ‘Fix’ the Debt: A Trojan Horse for Massive Corporate Tax Breaks,” by Sarah Anderson and Scott Klinger. (download report using link in upper right corner of page) link Found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Google Transparency Report Shows Rise in Surveillance
Google’s biannual transparency report releases how many government agencies have requests user data or the removal of content. The latest report reveals that Google received 20, 938 inquiries from government entities for user data in the first half of 2012. This constitutes a 55% increase in requests from the same period in 2010. The United States ranks first for the most requests for user data, followed by India and Brazil.
Google’s report comes on the heels of an Environics Institute poll showing that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is among the least trusted national leaders among the 26 country survey.
Google: Transparency Report (Canada)
The Huffington Post, Nov 14, 2012: Google Transparency Report Shows Government Surveillance On The Rise In 2012 by Britney Fitzgerald
Slate Magazine, Nov 14, 2012: Google: Government Surveillance Requests Are Way Up—and the U.S. Is the Leader by Ryan Gallagher
The Globe and Mail, Nov 12, 2012: Harper among least trusted leaders, poll shows
Connecting Temporary Workers to Training Opportunities
A recent paper suggests that an alternative model of temporary staffing programs—one that provides low-income workers and employers with careful job matching and support services—not only helps workers obtain jobs, but also offers them important pathways to gaining the skills that employers are seeking.
Center for Social Policy, November 14, 2012: CSP Study Highlights Strategies for Linking Temporary Workers with Skills Training.
Center for Social Policy, November 14, 2012: Alternative Staffing: Finding Ways to Combine Job Brokering and Job Training, by University of Massachusetts Boston (12 pages PDF)
U.S. Affordable Care Act Back on Track
After the election the “Affordable Care Act is back on a fast track. What is clear is that the law will have sweeping ramifications for consumers, state officials, employers and health care providers, including hospitals and doctors. While some of the key features don't kick in until 2014, the law has already altered the health care industry and established a number of consumer benefits. Here's a primer on parts of the law already up and running, what's to come and ways that provisions could still be altered.”
Kaiser Health News, November 8, 2012: After the Election: A Consumer's Guide to The Health Law
Women Offered Fewer “Hot Jobs” Leading to Advancement
According to a new Catalyst report not all leadership opportunities are created equal. Women are getting fewer of the high visibility, mission-critical roles and international experiences—the so-called “hot jobs”— that are critical to getting ahead. The report includes a series of questions for the reader to reflect upon about why disparities in career advancement persist. The goal is to help identify opportunities for effecting change in your organization, as well as in your career.
Catalyst, 2012: Good Intentions, Imperfect Execution? Women Get Fewer of the “Hot Jobs” Needed to Advance by Christine Silva, Nancy M. Carter, Anna Beninger (26 pages, PDF) (Abstract, HTML) (Introduction, YouTube)
European Action Day on Austerity
In one of the biggest coordinated protests, hundreds of thousands of workers and unemployed turned out across the EU to demonstrate against austerity measures. While northern countries such Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria held smaller protests in solidarity, the largest turnout was among the more hard hit southern countries, such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. Some of the protests in Spain turned violent, with riot police unleashing rubber bullets on protesters. About one in every eight people in the eurozone is unemployed, and figures to be released Thursday are expected to show the continent tipping back into recession.
War on Want, Nov 13, 2012: Join the European Day of Action on Austerity
The Guardian, November 14, 2012: Europe unites in austerity protests against cuts and job losses by Tom Kington, Helena Smith, Kim Willsher, and Martin Roberts
The Globe and Mail, November 14, 2012: Anti-austerity strikes sweep across Europe by Carlos Ruano and Andrei Khalip
Free Trade and Transnational Labour Solidarity
Andreas Bieler speaks of the problems of transnational solidarity between unions. He argues that while workers all over the world face similar struggles, the difference in economic environments between developed and developing countries means that workers’ opinions about economic policies, in this case free trade, will not necessarily be the same. Thus, transnational solidarity is not something that will happen automatically.
Global Labour Column: Trade unions, free trade and the problem of transnational solidarity by Andreas Bieler
OECD Report on Global Growth
“Canada gets a cautious, middle-of-the-road, not that exciting (dare I say ‘Canadian-style?’) rating from the OECD.”[G&M]
“Essentially, it shows that the right policy choices could lead to a better outcome – especially for Canada.” [G&M]
“Demographics also explains why China, the growth darling of the past few years and the great hope in the wake of a weak U.S. and Europe, is not such a sure bet after all.” [G&M]
The Globe and Mail, November 9, 2012: “Canada in 2060: Why good policy now matters,” by Linda Nazareth (30 pages, PDF)
OECD Economic Policy Papers, no. 3, November 2012: Economic Policy Reforms: Looking to 2060: Long-term global growth prospects: a going for growth (30 pages, PDF)
OECD Economics Department Policy Notes, No. 15, November 2012: Looking to 2060: A Global Vision of Long-Term Growth (16 pages, PDF)
Book of the Week
The Right and Labor in America: Politics, Ideology, and Imagination, edited by Nelson Lichtenstein and Elizabeth Tandy Shermer. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. 422 p. ISBN 9780812244144 (hardcover)
UTLibraries link to catalogue record: http://go.utlib.ca/cat/8430249
The Right and Labor in America explores the multifaceted history and range of conservative hostility toward unionism, opening the door to a fascinating set of individuals, movements, and institutions that help explain why, in much of the popular imagination, union leaders are always "bosses" and trade union organizers are nothing short of "thugs." The contributors to this volume explore conservative thought about unions, in particular the ideological impulses, rhetorical strategies, and political efforts that conservatives have deployed to challenge unions as a force in U.S. economic and political life over the century. Among the many contemporary books on American parties, personalities, and elections that try to explain why political disputes are so divisive, this collection of original and innovative essays is essential reading.
About the Authors:
Nelson Lichtenstein is MacArthur Foundation Chair in History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the editor of American Capitalism: Social Thought and Political Economy in the Twentieth Century, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Elizabeth Tandy Shermer teaches history at Loyola University Chicago and is Paul Mellon Fellow of American History at the University of Cambridge.
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