Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives / Centre canadien depolitiques alternatives
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Mission Statement
The CCPA is one of Canada’s leading sources of progressive policy ideas. Our work is rooted in the values of social justice and environmental sustainability. As non corporate-funded policy think tanks continue to be silenced, the importance of the Centre has never been greater. The CCPA’s National Office was established in 1980 when the Centre was founded. Located in Ottawa, it coordinates the CCPA’s national research agenda and publishes reports, studies, books and commentary on a wide range of public policy issues. The office publishes its national magazine, the Monitor (six times a year) and Our Schools/Our Selves, a quarterly education journal. We have regional offices in Ontario, BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, PEI and Nova Scotia.
About This Cause
Some of the projects CCPA has underway are: Alternative Federal Budget: The CCPA has been coordinating the Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) since 1994 with the participation and support of researchers, activists and leadership from a broad spectrum of civil society organizations representing millions of Canadians. The Alternative Federal Budget is a "what if" exercise — what a government could do if it were truly committed to an economic, social, and environmental agenda that reflects the values of the large majority of Canadians — as opposed to the interests of a privileged minority. It demonstrates in a concrete and compelling way that another world really is possible. The AFB starts from a set of social justice values—human dignity and freedom, fairness, equality, environmental sustainability, and the public good. AFB participants collectively develop a set of taxation and spending measures that reflect these values, and create a sophisticated and workable budgetary framework within which they are met. This framework acknowledges political and economic realities but nevertheless produces a dramatically different result than the federal government's budget. The AFB is a "what if" exercise—what a government could do if it were truly committed to an economic, social, and environmental agenda that reflects the values of the large majority of Canadians—as opposed to the interests of a privileged minority. It demonstrates in a concrete and compelling way that another world really is possible. The AFB is an exercise in economic literacy—to demythologize budget making. It is an exercise in public accountability. And finally, it is a vehicle for building policy concensus amongst progressive civil society organizations and providing the policy fuel for popular mobilization. Climate Justice Project: An initiative of our BC Office, this project looks at climate change from a social justice perspective, asking how we can tackle global warming with fairness and equality. It is a partnership between the CCPA, the University of British Columbia, a multi-disciplinary team of academics from three BC universities, and more than 40 trade unions, environmental organizations, First Nations, social justice groups, and other research institutes. The Climate Justice Project, a partnership between the CCPA and UBC, addresses climate policy from a social justice perspective: we consider the social and economic effects of climate change, and we acknowledge that climate change affects people differently, depending on their position in society. We aim to develop policy solutions that will enable BC to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change, in a way that is fair and that benefits all members of society. Economic Security Project: The Economic Security Project, completed in 2009, examined the impacts of policy changes in BC on "vulnerable" groups such as seniors, people living in poverty, recent immigrants, and children and youth. The project was led by the CCPA and Simon Fraser University, and brought together a network of more than 20 academic researchers and 25 community organizations. The Climate Justice Project, a partnership between the CCPA and UBC, addresses climate policy from a social justice perspective: we consider the social and economic effects of climate change, and we acknowledge that climate change affects people differently, depending on their position in society. Education Project: The CCPA Education Project was established in 1996 to monitor corporate intrusion in public education. With a wide circle of research associates representing all aspects of the education sector, accessible research, case studies and thoughtful commentary and analysis, the CCPA Education Project provides a welcome — and often humorous — balance to the rhetoric of market-based education reform that continues to erode our public education system. In 2000 the CCPA began publishing Our Schools / Our Selves, the popular quarterly education journal established in 1988. Our Schools / Our Selves continues to be a lively forum for debates and discussion on a number of topics such as Aboriginal education, anti-racism classroom programs, sex education, peace studies, commercialism, environmental education, child care, and authentic classroom assessment. Additionally, the OS/OS book series was established in 2008. Good Economy Project: The Good Economy Project was created to propose an alternative economic vision for British Columbia — one that puts public investment, tax fairness and the creation of good, sustainable jobs at the core of economic policymaking. The Growing Gap: Canada's income gap between the rich and the rest of us has been growing, unchecked, over the past generation. The Growing Gap team works with economists and researchers across Canada to document the problem and put forward solutions for a fairer, more equal society. Labour Matters: Labour Matters is a product of the Trade Union Research Collective. Its goal is to promote greater understanding of the positive role unions play in the workplace, in the labour market, in the community, and in wider society — and to provide a platform for sharing research of interest to unions and the broader community. Making Women Count: Making Women Count is a new project from the CCPA. It measures the size of Canada's gender gap and offers solutions to the inequalities that persist between women and men in Canada. Closing the gender gap in Canada will provide a significant engine for long-term economic growth, as well as an immediate increase in the social and economic well-being of women and girls in Canada. Manitoba Research Alliance: The Manitoba Research Alliance is a closely-knit group of academic researchers and community and government partners who have undertaken a number of multi-year research projects. While the focus is on Manitoba, in order to build on previous research and to ensure an in-depth analysis, this research has broad importance and will interest academics, policy makers and community organizations at local, national and international levels. Public Interest Research Project: The BC Office's Public Interest Project is a special research desk staffed by economist Iglika Ivanova, who investigates issues and trends in areas such as health care, education, social programs, and crown corporations. She also examines the relationship between taxation and government spending on public services, and the impact of public services on quality of life. “An effective and well-resourced government is not a barrier to a healthy economy. In fact, it is often government spending that creates the conditions for businesses and communities to thrive — for example, spending on staff who create and enforce appropriate regulations, and who protect the health and improve the education of all citizens.” Resource Economics Project: The BC Office's Resource Economics Project is a special research desk staffed by award-winning journalist and researcher Ben Parfitt. This environmental justice initiative looks into the causes of economic and social insecurity in BC’s resource-dependent communities. It offers policy solutions aimed at meeting the joint challenges of environmental sustainability, jobs and social justice. In a province with so many natural resources, the environment or jobs is a false dichotomy. Seniors Care Project: The Seniors Project works for policy changes to ensure that BC seniors can age and die with dignity, and to improve conditions for family members and health care workers. We believe that seniors should be at the centre of decisions about their own care, as well as the public policy decisions that affect them. Trade and Investment Research Project: The Trade and Investment Research Project (TIRP) is an independently funded project administered by the CCPA. TIRP pools the trade policy research resources and expertise of Canadian non-governmental organizations from a variety of sectors. It produces expert research on a wide range of important trade and investment policy issues. TIRP’s research assists member organizations in participating in public debate and decision-making about the impacts of Canada’s international trade and investment obligations, ongoing international negotiations and alternatives. TIRP research also supports members in engaging with the Canadian government on trade and investment policy issues. TIRP has gained a national and international reputation for rigorous, accessible studies critical of corporate-driven globalization and for its commitment to exploring practical alternatives.