I've been reading a lot about poverty, hunger and massive income inequality in the GTA, in Ontario and in Canada in general.
There's the ongoing fight for the $10 minimum wage in Ontario (as of February 1, it is $8.00), an increasing income gap between immigrants and those born in Canada, and reports of hunger and malnutrition among people still suffering from Mike Harris's draconian cuts to public assistance and housing, which have never been restored. Meanwhile, the Bank of Montreal lays off 1,000 workers while posting record profits ($2.7 billion in 2006, up 11% from 2005) and paying out an $8.1 million compensation package to CEO Tony Comper.
Many Canadians like to imagine that only American corporations use such irresponsible, short-sighted business strategies. Many Canadians imagine their country to be a just, compassionate, and humane society. Canada shouldn't be a good place to live only relative to the United States. It should just be.
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