Tag Archives: Trish Hennessy

Ontario’s austerity policies self-defeating — Hennessy

Ontario CCPA Director Trish Hennessy speaks in Whitby last night.

Ontario CCPA Director Trish Hennessy speaks in Whitby last night.

There are many ways to tell a story.

For Trish Hennessy, Ontario director at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, one way is to look at the most searched word annually for the on-line Mirriam-Webster dictionary.

Speaking last night at the Whitby Courthouse Theatre to a group of Durham-region New Democrats, Hennessy noted that in 2010 the most searched word was “austerity.” A year later it was “pragmatism.” In 2012 there was a tie between “socialism” and “capitalism.”

“Clearly something is shifting,” she said.

Many young people are being left out of the post-recession recovery and are now questioning the economic and political system that is denying them their place in society.

Hennessy says Ontario is practicing a self-defeating logic with its austerity policies. While the Wynne government cuts jobs and freezes wages, they simultaneously expect there to be a consumer-driven economic recovery. How does that take place when for the majority wages are stagnant or in decline?

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Ontario Health Coalition forums head north this week

The Ontario Health Coalition heads north this week, hosting community forums in Matheson (Monday), Sault Ste. Marie (Wednesday), Thunder Bay (Thursday) and Kenora (Saturday).

The forums discuss the impact of the provincial spring budget on the future of health care delivery in Ontario.

Trish Hennessy

Trish Hennessy

Trish Hennessy, a director with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, joins OPSEU’s Mary Cory, ONA’s Diane Parker, CAW’s Kari Jefford and OHC Director Natalie Mehra Thursday night in Thunder Bay.

A former journalist, Hennessy is director of the CCPA’s income inequality project, which specializes in research on the growing gap between the rich and the rest of us. She has a BSW from Carleton University and a Master’s degree in Sociology from OISE/University of Toronto.

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