Defend Public Healthcare

Four of the big Canadian banks have come out with new forecasts for the Ontario economy and they all indicate the economy is improving.   The fall in the price of oil (and, with it, the Canadian dollar) is paying off for Ontario.    All four banks predict that Ontario will have the fastest growing provincial economy in 2015.  And all implicitly suggest that the Ontario government's Fall Economic and Fiscal Review is now out of date. (See the chart  below comparing bank and government forecasts.) On average the banks predict that the economy will grow 0.3% more more quickly in 2014 than the Ontario government predicted in its Fall Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review . Nominal growth (real growth and changes in market prices due to inflation) is predicted to grow half a percent faster.  Similarly, growth is predicted to exceed the government's forecast for 2015 as well, with real growth reaching 2.7% and nominal growth reaching 4.7%.   By 2015, the new bank f

Have broader public sector workers received larger than average wage settlements than private sector workers?  Have broader public sector settlements exceeded inflation?   The Ontario Ministry of Labour has just released its report on settlements in August , so we now have data for most of 2014.  The data sheds some light on these questions.     Broader public sector wage settlements within the provincial government’s domain (i.e. public sector settlements excluding federal and municipal settlements) have significantly increased since last year’s stingy 0.3% average annual settlement.   Click here for NEW UPDATE: Collective Bargaining In Ontario: New Trends, New possibilities, May 2015 Provincial broader public sector settlements average 1.3% so far in 2014.  Nevertheless, they are on track to be lower than private sector settlements for the fifth year in a row , as private sector settlements have averaged 1.8% in 2014, half a percent higher. %