Search

The job market for Canadian earth scientists is significantly driven by the country's strong resource industry. Enrolment in earth science degree programs is growing, but the demand from the job market is expected to outpace the projected supply from domestic programs. If the job market will indeed need as many workers as predicted, it will be necessary to change tactics for recruitment into Canadian university geosciences programs, to provide the market with the necessary workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canadian Geoscience Council (CGC) was reorganized into the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences/ Fédération Canadienne des Sciences de la Terre (CFES/FCST) in the fall of 2006. This article highlights the activities of the new organization in 2008, the first year that real progress and renewal could be demonstrated. The organization aims to be the unified voice of earth science in Canada, using a multi-pronged approach along three lines: defragmentation of the Earth Science sector, outreach (to K-12 and the general public) and lobbying (to decision makers). We also published a Human Resources snapshot of our sector and are making progress toward creating one Canadian Geoscience Literature database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the 1989 Canadian Labour Market Activity Survey and, for Australia, the 1989-90 Income Distribution Survey, the authors investigate the reasons for the significantly lower gender wage gap in Australia than in Canada. Key similarities and differences between these two countries, the authors argue, make them a good basis for a "natural experiment" to investigate the effects of different labor market institutions. In particular, Australia has a' stronger union movement and a greater degree of centralization in wage determination than Canada, and most of its workers are covered by legally binding minimum working conditions. The authors conclude that several differences between the countries in labor market structure-notably, a lower rate of return to education, a lower rate of return to labor market experience, and a lower level of wage inequality in Australia than in Canada - are largely responsible for the smaller gender wage gap in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the exception of Canada, all countries with universal health insurance systems provide universal coverage of prescription drugs. Progress toward universal public drug coverage in Canada has been slow, in part because of concerns about the potential costs. We sought to estimate the cost of implementing universal public coverage of prescription drugs in Canada. Methods: We used published data on prescribing patterns and costs by drug type, as well as source of funding (i.e., private drug plans, public drug plans and out-of-pocket expenses), in each province to estimate the cost of universal public coverage of prescription drugs from the perspectives of government, private payers and society as a whole. We estimated the cost of universal public drug coverage based on its anticipated effects on the volume of prescriptions filled, products selected and prices paid. We selected these parameters based on current policies and practices seen either in a Canadian province or in an international comparator. Results: Universal public drug coverage would reduce total spending on prescription drugs in Canada by $7.3 billion (worst-case scenario $4.2 billion, best-case scenario $9.4 billion). The private sector would save $8.2 billion (worst-case scenario $6.6 billion, best-case scenario $9.6 billion), whereas costs to government would increase by about $1.0 billion (worst-case scenario $5.4 billion net increase, best-case scenario $2.9 billion net savings). Most of the projected increase in government costs would arise from a small number of drug classes. Interpretation: The long-term barrier to the implementation of universal pharmacare owing to its perceived costs appears to be unjustified. Universal public drug coverage would likely yield substantial savings to the private sector with comparatively little increase in costs to government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores cost-related barriers in the use of prescription drug in Canada, where prescription drugs are not considered essential therapy by the country's medicare. Topics discussed include the price regulation work of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board of Canada, the limitations in bargaining power of provincial and territorial entities and the possible remedies for the prescription drug access in the country.

Several recent studies have suggested that the distribution of income (earnings, jobs) is becoming more polarized. Much of the evidence presented in support of this view consists of demonstrating that the population share in an arbitrarily chosen middle income class has fallen. However, such evidence can be criticized as being range-specific—depending on the particular cutoffs selected. In this paper we propose a range-free approach to measuring the middle class and polarization, based on partial orderings. The approach yields two polarization curves which, like the Lorenz curve in inequality analysis, signal unambiguous increases in polarization. It also leads to an intuitive new index of polarization that is shown to be closely related to the Gini coefficient. We apply the new methodology to income and earnings data from the U.S. and Canada, and find that polarization is on the rise in the U.S. but is stable or declining in Canada. A cross-country comparison reveals the U.S. to be unambiguously more polarized than Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes wage and trade trends in Canada. Simulation of possible future trends; Increase of Canadian imports from low-income countries; Worsening of labor market position of low-skilled workers; Impact of international trade on Canada's economic situation.

The early Stephanian Bonar Cyclothem of the Sydney Basin. Nova Scotia, contains an erosional surface cut through coastal plain strata with economic coals and distributary channel bodies. The erosion surface is interpreted as a palaeovalley 20 m deep and at least 7 km wide that marks a sequence boundary formed during relative fall in sea level. The palaeovalley is filled with stacked alluvial channel bodies which become more isolated as the valley fill passes upward into red, alluvial plain deposits, probably laid down in an anastomosed river system. In an adjacent, interfluve, area, calcretes and red, vertic palaeosols cap coastal strat. Assemblage analysis of agglutinated foraminifera and the camoebians indicates that the palaeovaleey was filled with freshwater sediments before an initial marine transgression flooded the alluvial surface and adjacent interfluve. Valley incision probably reflects glacioeustatic sea level fall. However, the alluvial nature of the valley deposits suggests that valley filling reflects an abundant sediment supply during lowstand and/or transgressive stages and was not a direct consequence of sea level rise. During the subsequent transgression phase, aggradation was rapid as sediment supply apparently kept pace with rising sea level. Features of both channel and extra-channel facies suggest that seasonality intensified during the transition from coastal plain to palaeovalley and alluvial plan deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]