Emily Turk | CUPE Communications
In September, CUPE welcomed Angella MacEwen as our new economist and said “see you soon” – but not goodbye – to Toby Sanger.
Angella comes to us from the Canadian Labour Congress, where she worked as the economist for 6 years. A leader in her field in the progressive community, Angella’s also well-known in the national media for her insightful analysis and ability to put right-wing pundits in their place on programs like CBC’s Power and Politics.
Her second day on the job, Angella was on Parliament Hill representing CUPE and our members at the Commons Finance Committee’s pre-budget hearings. In November, she delivered the opening keynote to delegates at CUPE’s National Sector Council Conference. Her talk focused on building an economy that respects all workers.
She told delegates how a university course helped her reframe economics through a feminist lens, and gave her the language she needed to challenge mainstream economic theory. Her speech busted some key myths about economics, including that it’s a neutral science.
“If you use the wrong model of the economy to look at an issue, you’re going to get the wrong answer,” she says. Instead, Angella described how she takes an intersectional approach to economics that recognizes and analyzes the impacts of intersecting forms of discrimination.
A research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives since 2006, Angella is a regular contributor to the Alternative Federal Budget. She’s also a policy fellow with the Broadbent Institute, and sits on the steering committee of the Progressive Economics Forum, as well as the Trade Justice Network. She holds a Masters in Economics from Dalhousie University, and an undergraduate degree in International Development Studies from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.
You can follow Angella on Twitter at @AMacEwen. As for Toby, he’s gone from CUPE, but not from our movement. You can expect to hear regularly from him in his new role as executive director of Canadians for Tax Fairness.