Labour
We suggest:
- When labour relations are more cooperative and less adversarial, it benefits employers, workers, and the economy as a whole.
- Citizens and consumers are best served when a wide diversity of organizations, including labour unions, compete and cooperate with one another in markets governed by the rule of law.
Supporting Research
Start Here
Brian Dijkema
December 19, 2013
This policy paper presents the case for a new framework of understanding labour relations in Canada. Taking insights which move debates about labour beyond the pendulum of pro-union and anti-union policies, it proposes a new policy within a new framework.
Sean Speer,
Sosina Bezu,
Renze Nauta
September 29, 2022
Canada’s New Working Class offers leaders a contemporary, modern understanding of the 6.5 million Canadians who are in the working class. One key finding is that members of Canada’s working class are as likely to be women or recent immigrants in sales or service jobs as they are to be men doing blue-collar, mostly unionized, manufacturing work. Canada's New Working Class busts stereotypes and outlines a true, inclusive working-class agenda.
Johanna Lewis,
N.T. Khuong Truong
September 15, 2022
We examine the nature and extent of the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians on various economic measures.
Explorations
Peter Menzies
August 14, 2019
Whether it’s air travel or Internet, the time-honoured Canuck reflex is to boldly pacify the masses with the security blanket of quasi-monopolies, contends Convivium contributor Peter Menzies.
Peter Stockland,
Brian Dijkema
July 27, 2018
Cardus’ director of Work and Economics made waves on Canada’s West Coast this month with a report critiquing the B.C. government’s move to let only unionized construction companies bid for major infrastructure projects. But, Brian Dijkema tells Convivum, the policy will cost taxpayers billions, punish workers, and risk damage to democracy itself.
Brian Dijkema
July 5, 2016
Cardus Work and Economics Program Director Brian Dijkema reflects on the opportunity that construction season provides us to celebrate the "vast array of talents and skills that it takes to keep a country and its economy functioning."
Media Coverage
May 25, 2023
In Toronto, an estimated $1.65 billion in construction is reserved for companies whose workers belong to a group of favoured unions. A 21 percent discount in Toronto would mean the city would have $347 million dollars more available to invest in police, mental health, and housing.
Photo by Marcin Skalij on Unsplash
May 24, 2023
"New research from Cardus shows the City of Toronto could save $347 million by opening up bidding on its public projects," reports the Daily Commercial News. "Toronto currently has collective agreements with 10 building trades that limits bids on projects to contractors affiliated with those unions, shutting out alternative unions and their contractors, such as the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA)."
Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash
May 19, 2023
Toronto's cushy deals with some construction unions mean the city is paying too much for its construction projects. If it opened up those contracts to fair and open competitive bidding, it could save an estimated $347 million dollars. That's enough to fund 400 new police officers, two new police stations, 400 mental health managers, and a doubling of the city's homelessness and shelter construction budget, write Cardus's Brian Dijkema and Renze Nauta in the Toronto Sun.
Photo by Conor Samuel on Unsplash
Labour
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What else are we working toward?
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects
Strong Family Projects
Human Dignity Projects
Religious Freedom Projects
Healthy Community Projects
Formative Education Projects
Recent Projects