The "Swedish model" of social democracy.

The "Swedish model" of social democracy.

Work organization in the public sector in Quebec has long been hindered by various forms of rigidity. Over the past decade, a few timid reforms have been adopted in order to tackle this lack of flexibility, including the decentralization of certain elements of collective bargaining agreements in the health care system. Most of the working conditions of government employees nonetheless continue to be negotiated centrally for the province as a whole. The principle of seniority still occupies a prominent place in collective bargaining agreements.

Parliamentary hearings will soon begin on Bill C-377.

Compulsory union membership in Canada.

Do tax increases discourage the wealthy from working hard?

When a public administration takes charge of services for citizens, it has a responsibility to provide them at the lowest possible cost. It is taxpayers, after all, who pay for these costs, which include in particular the working conditions governed by the collective agreements of the public sector employees who provide these services. In the case of the City of Montreal, $2.9 billion will be collected this year in municipal taxes, while the overall remuneration of its employees will total $2.4 billion.

The minimum wage increase.

The "Occupy Wall Street" movement, which spread to many cities around the world last fall, once again brought the never-ending question of income inequality to the forefront of public debate. Concerns about this issue have also been fed by studies that have appeared over the past year, especially those from the Conference Board of Canada and the OECD. However, even though these studies present data showing that income inequality in Canada has been tending to increase, the interpretation of their conclusions is not as obvious as it might appear at first glance.

In its 2012-2013 Budget, the Canadian government announced its intention to gradually raise the age of eligibility for Old Age Security benefits from 65 to 67. Future generations will surely come to see this as a timid adjustment measure. If life expectancy keeps rising as expected, government policies in this area will need to be guided by a new paradigm for retirement.