PRPPs riskier, costlier than CPP expansion.
August 2, 2012: The Canadian Bankers Association has written provincial premiers, urging them to implement the federal government's Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs) in order to help Canadians save for retirement.
That's rich: for years, Canadian banks have raked in millions of dollars in high fees on the $800 billion Canadians have invested in mutual funds. Canadian mutual funds carry among the highest management fees in the world, charges that can easily wipe out half of an individual's retirement savings.
TORONTO, ON, August 8, 2012: The 
OTTAWA, ON, July 27, 2012: July 28th marked the two-year anniversary of the historic United Nations General Assembly resolution recognizing the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. This human right has yet to be fully implemented, however, prompting water justice activists from around the world to release an open letter demanding action from governments.
August 7, 2012: As the City of Toronto handed over the collection of solid waste west of Yonge Street to a private firm, officials from the Toronto Civic Employees Union (CUPE Local 416) announced August 7 that the union has set-up a special hotline for people to call if they have concerns or complaints about the reduced quality of service they will receive.
by Ricardo Acuña for Vue Weekly
ST. ANDREWS, NB, July 18, 2012: Leaders of the largest federal public sector unions were in St. Andrews, New Brunswick to join a groundswell of opposition to federal cuts at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans's St. Andrews Biological Station. The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada's (PIPSC) National President Gary Corbett, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) National Vice-President Chris Aylward and the Union of Environment Workers (UEW) National President Todd Panas joined politicians and experts in marine science at a town hall event at the Fundy Discovery Aquarium. The station's Contaminants and Toxicology Department has been eliminated, its library is being moved and some of its employees have received "affected" letters. And the community is fighting back.
July 23, 2012: Higher universal costs will result from permitting extra-billing by medical practitioners, writes David Schreck in The Tyee. Schreck explains how extra-billing affects patients and their access to health care, countering arguments that spending private dollars to reach the front of the line is harmless by demonstrating the value of fee negotiations.
July 30, 2012: Paul Buchheit reports for Nation of Change that privatization usually has poor payoffs for the general public, raising costs for consumers and reducing revenue streams for public coffers. He notes that privatization can only work in the context of strict regulation, but goes on to say that it rarely benefits the delivery of essential public services. Buchheit demonstrates that in the US, privatization has adversely affected education, health care, banking, prisons, military, water and other utilities.
HALIFAX, NS, July 26, 2012: Public health care advocates from across the country are paying close attention to the Council of the Federation meeting in Halifax. The Nova Scotia Citizen's Health Care Network, of which the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU/NUPGE) and the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) are major supporters, held a press conference and a series of public events to outline their vision to improve Canada's public health care system.