Subject: NEW FROM THE CANADIAN CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES
WHY THE BIG IDEA IS A BAD IDEA, By Andrew Jackson, June 26, 2003
According to this study the "Big Idea" (a bargain that would see Canada giving
the U.S. a strong North American security perimeter and greater access to our
energy resources in return for supposedly secure access to the
U.S. market) threatens the space we need to pursue needed economic,
environmental and social policies. The study critiques proposals for still
deeper economic integration with the U.S., discusses the economic costs and
benefits of economic integration to date, and argues that Canada needs to retain
room to maneuver in terms of economic policy if we are to build a more
sophisticated and environmentally sustainable economy.
Why the "Big Idea" is a Bad Idea is available from the CCPA web site at
http://www.policyalternatives.ca
MONEY ON THE LINE: WORKERS
¹ CAPITAL IN CANADA, By Isla Carmichael and Jack
Quarter (Eds), June 24, 2003
This book examines the growing involvement of labour organizations in the
management
ļand more often the co-management
ļof pension funds. It looks at the
duties and rights of union trustees on pension boards, at their
"fiduciary responsibility,¹ at the crucial issue of social and ethical
investment
ļand it also explains the success of progressive labour-sponsored
investment funds. According to the authors, Canadian unions and their pension
funds are on the threshold of developing more innovative investment practices
that will benefit their members and the whole country with their emphasis on job
creation, community development, corporate accountability and long term
sustainable growth.
Money on the Line may be purchased from the CCPA for $19.95. See web site for
details, and for more information about this book:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: IMPLICATIONS OF TRADE AND INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS FOR
NON-PROFIT SOCIAL SERVICES, Andrew Jackson and Matthew Sanger, June 16, 2003
This book concludes that government support for non-profit social services
could be at risk despite Canadian government assurances that social policies
will not be adversely affected by international trade obligations. They
explain that there are dangerous loopholes built into trade agreements such as
NAFTA and the GATS. Safeguards for the non-profit sector tend to apply only to
sectors, which do not include any for-profit actors - not the case
in health and other social service sectors in Canada, where for-profit delivery
and private-public partnerships proliferate. The federal government must
maintain, clarify and strengthen the current reservations and exclusions for
social policy to ensure these two worlds do not collide and domestic social
policy priorities take precedence."
When Worlds Collide may be purchased from the CCPA for $19.95. See web site for
details and for more information about this book:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca
ABORIGINAL LEARNERS IN ADULT LEARNING CENTRES IN MANITOBA By Jim Silver, Darlene
Klyne, and Freeman Simard, June 25, 2003
Adult Learning Centres, which began to emerge in an unplanned way seven years
ago, have become a powerful and effective new approach to education in Manitoba,
particularly as regards Aboriginal people. The authors attribute
the success of the ALCs to the strong social, emotional and practical supports
provided to learners, among other factors. In addition, where Aboriginal
cultural practices are part of the educational strategy at an ALC, they are much
appreciated by Aboriginal learners, and where such practices are not present
they are desired by many Aboriginal learners.
This report is available from the CCPA web site at:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) AND THE CANADIAN PHARMACEUTICAL MARKETPLACE:
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?, By Joel Lexchin, June 9, 2003
The pharmaceutical industry is pushing for stronger IPR protection, saying it
will allow it to afford the R&D costs for new, more effective and safer drugs.
However, according to this study, profit levels in the pharmaceutical industry
have been substantial. Furthermore, most new drugs do not offer any significant
improvement over existing therapies. Out of 455 new patented drugs introduced
into Canada from 1996 to 2000 only 25 were major improvements or breakthroughs.
According to the author, industry largely engages in R&D of products that are
aimed at carving out a share of a
lucrative market. Gaining a competitive edge on rival firms leads to a
restriction in sharing of research results and delays in publication of findings
because of commercial concerns. Significantly, R&D by multinationals has
declined as a percentage of total sales since 1997, leaving Canada behind not
just the U.S. and the U.K. but smaller European
countries as well. Between 1987 and 2001, spending on prescription medications
rose from 7.0% of the health care dollar to 12.0%--a rise of 71% a year.
This report is available from the CCPA web site at:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca
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