Media
Good Jobs Debate, October 3, 2014
The Good Jobs Debaters Unifor Economist Jim Stanford, ATB Financial Chief Economist Todd Hirsch, personal finance columnist Preet Banerjee and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Ontario Senior Economist Kaylie Tiessen all took on the issue of ‘what is a good job anyway?’ Creativity, fulfillment, paid sick days, meaningful work, an opportunity for continuous learning, good pay and benefits, room for improvement and growth and stability were all some of the ideas that came up. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Ontario Director Trish Hennessy moderated the panel, posing questions about whether good jobs are declining, if it’s a cyclical issue, how to find opportunities in a difficult economy, economic diversity and advice to young people.
SKilling Up
The Agenda with Steve Paikin, February 10, 2016Television
URL: http://tvo.org/video/programs/the-agenda-with-steve-paikin/skilling-up
For years, a funny dynamic has been taking place between post-secondary institutions and employers. Employers are calling for higher education to providing more concrete job skills, while on the job training has flatlined. The Agenda looks at how employers' willingness to train on the job impacts employers, employees, and those looking for work.
Ontario the Indebted
The Agenda with Steve Paikin, September 20, 2015Television
URL: http://tvo.org/video/programs/the-agenda-with-steve-paikin/ontario-the-indebted
What does it mean to have the largest sub-national debt in the world? How does owing almost $330 billion affect the average Ontarian? Should the province be spending a record number of taxpayer dollars on infrastructure projects while being committed to balancing the budget by 2017-18? The Agenda discusses Ontario's billions of dollars of debt.
Making the Case for a $15 Minimum Wage in Ontario
Waterloo Record, October 5, 2015Print
URL: http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/5940875-making-the-case-for-a-15-minimum-wage-in-ontario/
Ontario's minimum wage is increasing by 25 cents this month — from $11 an hour to $11.25 — as part of the provincial government's commitment to index the minimum wage to inflation every October. While raising the minimum wage to reflect the rising cost of living is a win for workers, it isn't a raise that will increase purchasing power for these low-wage workers. It simply absorbs the rising cost of housing, food, transportation and other basics.
Five lessons from the failing fight against child poverty
Toronto Star, November 27, 2015Print
The Ontario government has been calling for the federal government to step up to the plate on poverty reduction for years, writes Kaylie Tiessen. With the election of Justin Trudeau (left) as prime minister, Kathleen Wynne may have finally got her wish.
Ontario's Social Assistance Poverty Gap
by Kaylie Tiessen
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
This report drills down on one key but complex policy file that is essential to the province meeting its commitment to reduce poverty and to improve income security for both children and adults: social assistance. The poverty gap for single individuals who qualify for Ontario Works or its equivalent has increased by almost 200% since 1993, and people receiving benefits from Ontario’s social assistance programs are living in a greater depth of poverty now than a generation ago. - See more at: h
Raising the Bar
Published by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
October 1, 2015
The Ontario government has also been under steady pressure to raise the minimum wage. It responded to that pressure by striking the Minimum Wage Advisory Panel in June 2013. The panel was tasked with reviewing Ontario’s current approach to setting the minimum wage and providing advice on how it should be set and adjusted moving forward. This paper outlines the panel’s consultation process and final report, and finds that the panel’s recommendations sidestepped a very important question in the minimum wage discussion: What is an appropriate benchmark for setting the minimum wage?
URL: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/raising-bar
Ontario's Social Assistance Poverty Gap
Published by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
May 9, 2016
This report drills down on one key but complex policy file that is essential to the province meeting its commitment to reduce poverty and to improve income security for both children and adults: social assistance. The poverty gap for single individuals who qualify for Ontario Works or its equivalent has increased by almost 200% since 1993, and people receiving benefits from Ontario’s social assistance programs are living in a greater depth of poverty now than a generation ago.
URL: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/ontarios-social-assistance-poverty-gap
Biography
Kaylie Tiessen is an economist and a Researcher at Unifor. She focuses on labour markets, employment quality, social progress and the value of Public Services. She is an active member of the Canadian Economics Association, Canadian Women Economists Network and the Progressive Economics Forum. Tiessen is also a member of the Young Scholars Initiative at the Institute for New Economic Thinking and a research associate at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Recognition/Reconnaissance
Top 20 under 35 Young Professionals Changing the World | Professional
2015 Recipient
Additional Titles and Affiliations
Young Scholars Initiative, Institute for New Economic Thinking
Toronto Sector Skills Academy, Advisory Committee
Progressive Economics Forum
Canadian Women Economists Network
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Research Associate
Canadian Economics Association
Past Talks
Labour Market Insecurity in Canada
Piecing Together a Paradigm, Institute for New Economic Thinking Young Scholars Initiative
Budapest, Hungary, October 15, 2015
Good Jobs Debate
Good Jobs Summit
Toronto, Ontario, October 3, 2014