Andrew Jackson
Canadian Labour Congress (From December, 2004)

quote:

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The experience of Scandinavian social democracy in the 1990s suggests a combination of high employment, relatively equal wages, and real opportunities for workers in traditionally low-wage, dead-end jobs is possible. The International Labour Organization and the European Commission both recently highlighted the experience of Denmark as suggestive of a labour market model which promotes high levels of socially inclusive employment, undermining the dismal view of many orthodox economists that there is an inevitable trade-off between job creation and higher quality jobs (Auer, 2000; ILO, 2003; EC, 2002). Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands all had good records of job creation and economic growth in the 1990s, with a very low incidence of low-wage work compared to North America. This suggests a different model is possible, even if it is not necessarily easy to create.

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Andrew Jackson, CLC

"Canadians expect our country to provide equality of rights and opportunities to all Canadians. Equality and equity are basic pillars of our society. But the reality of today’s Canada is different. Not everyone is enjoying the social and economic opportunities our country offers.

• More than 1 million Canadian children live in poverty (2001 figure). Canada’s child poverty rate has hovered between 15 and 17 percent for 30 years.
• Work is no longer a guaranteed escape from poverty. Average two-parent, low-wage working families subsist at $10,200 below the poverty line.
• Access does not equal outcome. Canadian-born Blacks, for example, are as likely as other Canadians to have attended university (21 %), but they have higher rates of unemployment (7.9% vs. 6%) and lower average incomes ($32,000 vs. $37,200).