The Interplay of Happiness and Success: Insights From Positive Psychology

 By Teresa Greco “When I am successful in my personal and professional life, then I will be happy!" How many of us postpone our happiness because we are waiting to achieve a certain level of success in our lives so that we feel like we have earned our right to

People Need Less Money to Live As They Get Older? If Only.

 Pension plans for teachers, hospital workers and public servants target of study hype By Michael Wolfson Last week the C.D. Howe Institute released a short study just in time for the finance ministers’ meeting – rolling out the tired, old argument that as people age, they do not need as much money

It’s Time to Test a Basic Income

 Recently I tabled a motion in the Senate calling on the government to create a pilot project that would test a basic income in Canada, also known as a guaranteed annual income. Canadians face immense challenges. Many families struggle to pay the rent, and some can’t afford their children’s school

Why the Federal Government Needs to Keep its Promise to End Income-Splitting

 Children’s Health More About Good Social Policy than Medicine Alone. More of Canada’s children are living in poverty than ever before. A new report reveals that child poverty rates in Canada remain unconscionably high. Almost one-third of children in Toronto live in low-income households. Population measures of child health in Canada are also troubling,

Seniors Housing Can be Affordable

 Older adults living on low and fixed incomes need options It was recently reported that Calgary has some of the most expensive seniors’ housing in Canada, at $3,100 a month, some $1,000 over the national average. Headlines like these catch people’s attention, especially during an election. There’s no doubt that

Saskatoon’s housing crisis is a health emergency

 Recently, a disturbing photo of five people sleeping in a Saskatoon bank lobby became headline news and filled social media feeds. An earlier photo had contrasted the lush yards on the east side of the riverbank with tents in the bushes on the west side. A few days later, homelessness

The Digital Expert Will See You Now

 Why doctors and digital experts should work together to improve patient health  As a family doctor, I have seen a dramatic shift in the range of people I work alongside every day – all for the better. When I was in training, most family doctors worked only with other family doctors and

Is it Finally Time for a Guaranteed Annual Income?

 Could the Guaranteed Annual Income–once considered radical notion–now be an idea whose time has come? The Dutch city of Utrecht recently announced it is starting an experiment to determine whether introducing a basic income produces a more effective society. Closer to home, Joseph Ceci, Alberta’s new Finance Minister proposed a

What Do Canadians Need from Pension Reform?

 A gentle policy nudge to enhance coverage and pension contributions—here’s how.  Pension reform continues to hold interest across the country, especially given the willingness of the federal Conservatives to at least talk about expanding the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Pundits and politicos are weighing in now with blunt talk of

Silencing a Voice: The Closing Of Sun News

 Image: huffpost.com By Michael Coren It’s been a few weeks now since the Friday the 13th that I will never forget. That was the day – 5 a.m. to be precise – that Sun News closed down. I hosted a nightly show called The Arena on the network for almost

Five challenges for bending the health care cost curve in Canada

 By Greg Marchildon and Livio Di Matteo Why health reform remains a challenge Canadian economists received a pleasant surprise this year: expenditure growth on public healthcare in Canada finally appears to be slowing down. However, it is unclear if this slowdown is the result of explicit success in sustainably bending the cost-curve

Three Things We Can Do to End Poverty in Canada

 Poverty degrades our economy, changes the nature of our cities and the cohesion of our society “Time to end poverty in Canada” has been the message from the Salvation Army coming across our TV screens this holiday season. A great idea from an organization that fights poverty every day in

Oil: A High-Stakes Game of Chance

 Popular wisdom has it that the only certainty in life is death and taxes. Until a few short months ago, most economists, politicians, political pundits and journalists would have added to that short list a perpetual increase in the price of oil. But, in today’s interconnected world, much can happen

Ontario Spends More than $11 billion a Year on Prescription Drugs

 Why an income-based drug plan would not be good for Ontario’s economy or its seniors Ontario spends $11 billion per year on prescription drugs. Nearly half of this is spent on medicines used by senior citizens, a group that receives public subsidies for nearly all of their prescription drug costs