Do Canada’s public policies reflect the reality of today’s workers?
Many of the social programs Canadians rely on for economic security were designed in and for a very different era. Built around a mid-20th-century vision of work and family life, programs like Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan, and key parts of our tax system still assume a post-war era worker that is full-time, uninterrupted and unburdened by caregiving.
In this extended episode, Professors Tammy Schirle (Wilfrid Laurier University) and Jennifer Robson (Carleton University) join host Marwa Abdou to unpack how caregiving responsibilities, gender inequities and access barriers collide with outdated policy assumptions. From motherhood penalties to administrative red tape, this conversation examines the hidden gaps shaping Canadians’ financial stability — and what it will take to build a system that works for today’s workforce.
Links:
- Tammy Schirle, Wilfrid Laurier University
- Jennifer Robson, Carleton University
- Jennifer Robson, Policy Options, IRPP
- Food insecurity among Canadian adults with disabilities is shockingly high. Here’s what we could do about that.(Robson, 2024)
- State Capacity and Administrative Burdens on Citizens: Time for Export Controls and Transparency (Robson, 2024)
- Finances of the Nation: Federal and Provincial Income Support Programs for Seniors in Canada (Schirle, 2024)
- What Proportion of Tax Returns Could the Canada Revenue Agency Complete? (Genest-Grégoire, Robson et al., 2023)
