In the Media

May 25, 2020

Long term recovery agenda for Ontario post COVID-19

Sean Speer, project director of Ontario 360, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss 60 policy recommendations for the province that include, fiscal policy, manufacturing and competitiveness, and health-care supply chains. The project will include COVID-19 concerns.

November 27, 2019

Bridging Ontario's Urban-Rural Divide

Included in the Ontario government's fall economic statement was a commitment to regional economic development. Two reports by Ontario 360, a project by the Munk School of Global Affairs, examine Ontario's rural-urban divide and what policy options exist to bridge the gap, including Opportunity Zones. The Agenda spoke with two of the authors, Sean Speer and Weseem Ahmed, about their findings.

November 18, 2019

Opportunity Zones are a US model that Canadian First Ministers consider, as a way to address the growing urban-rural economic divide.

The Council of the Federation meeting on December 2 will be an opportunity for provincial and territorial premiers to set aside their differences and coalesce around a set of shared priorities to advocate to the federal government. One key issue of common interest is Canada’s growing regional economic disparity in general and the urban-rural divide in particular. Developing a policy agenda to extend opportunity to rural and economically distressed communities ought to be an animating priority for first ministers.

November 15, 2019

Building a stronger employment, training system

Last week’s fall economic statement from the Ontario government highlighted the province’s efforts to transform its skills-training regime. The policy and programming changes are sweeping, and include the consolidation of hundreds of employment service contracts into a small number of regional arrangements.

November 12, 2019

Time for a reset on social assistance reform

Social assistance in Ontario is a waste of time and money. The goals of social assistance – providing financial assistance to people in great need and helping them find work – are among the most important things government can do. But the current system wastes countless hours on paperwork and red tape. And the government wastes precious resources on programs that don’t actually help people improve their lives.

May 3, 2018

Reducing the Education Gap

Ontario 360 is a University of Toronto initiative that offers policy advice to the province ahead of the upcoming election. Jennifer Robson joins The Agenda to outline ideas that could level the post-secondary education gap between wealthy and lower income families.

May 3, 2018

What to Do About Youth Unemployment

The unemployment rate among young people in Ontario is more than double the rate of the general population. Vass Bednar chaired the federal government's "Expert Panel on Youth Employment." and shares her advice on what it could take to get young people into the workforce.

May 3, 2018

Eliminating Homelessness in Ontario

As part of a University of Toronto initiative to offer policy advice to politicians, The Agenda welcomes Alison Smith, who has written about solving homelessness in Ontario, one of the biggest challenges facing the government.

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