● Number of Canadian newspapers that officially endorsed the Conservative Party during the 2011 federal election: 28
● Number that officially endorsed the NDP, Liberal Party, Green Party and Bloc Quebecois combined: 3
● Percentage of Canadians aged 18 to 29 who have downloaded music without paying for it: 78
● Percentage of Canadians over the age of 45 who have: 32
● Estimated global worth of music and movies that were downloaded illegally last year: $42 billion
● Percentage of minimum wage workers in Ontario who report being paid less than the minimum wage: 22
● Percentage of them who work overtime yet don’t receive overtime pay: 39
● Amount of wealth Americans spend on bottled water each year: $21 billion
● Amount of wealth it would take to provide safe drinking water and sanitation to everyone on the planet: $20 billion
● Percentage of British airline pilots who have admitted to falling asleep while in mid air: 20
● Percentage decline in full-time Air Canada staff during the last ten years: 47
● Average number of complaints received by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council each year: 2,000
● Number of complaints received by the Council about a Sun TV interview with dance artist Margie Gillis in June 2011: 4,100
● Date on which the Council asked people to stop sending complaints because it “exceeds the Council’s resources”: 6/8/2011
● Amount of taxes paid by each Canadian to the Canada Council for the Arts every year: $5.43
● Amount of subsidies given by each Canadian to the oil industry every year: $64.51
● Amount of grant seed money given to Cirque du Soleil by the Provincial Government of Quebec in 1983: $1.5 million
● Global revenues of Cirque du Soleil in 2010: $850 million
● Rank of work as the biggest reason why people fail to obtain the proper eight hours of sleep at night: 1
● Number of U.S. states which have a lower combined corporate tax rate than that of Canada: 46
● Chance that a U.S. grade or high school teacher will leave the profession within the first five years: 1 in 2
● Percentage of Denmark citizens who “express a high level of trust in others”: 89
● Percentage of Americans who do: 49
● Current life expectancy of an average citizen in the low-income area of northern Hamilton, Ontario, in years: 65.5
● Current life expectancy of an average citizen in North Korea: 67.3
● International life expectancy ranking of the low-income regions of Hamilton, Ontario: 165
● Average employment income in Canada: $36,300
● Average income of actors and visual artists in Canada: $17,866, $13,976
● Percentage of Canadians who believe taxes should be raised on banks and financial institutions to reduce the deficit: 65
● Percentage who agree with the statement “lower corporate tax rates encourage investment in Canada and create jobs”: 21
● Minimum number of Ontario public sector workers who are scheduled to lose their jobs over the next three years: 5,000
● Percentage increase in the number of workplace deaths in Ontario since last year: 16
● Annual economic output of Canada’s culture sector as a percentage of GDP: 7.4
● Number of jobs currently held by cultural workers in Canada: 1.1 million
● Increase in compensation for the world’s top 50 CEOs during the last twelve years: 444
● Percentage of total U.S. wealth owned by the richest 20% of individuals: 84
● Percentage of wealth that most Americans believe is owned by the richest 20% of individuals: 59
● Percentage of wealth that most Americans believe should be owned by the richest 20% of individuals: 32
● Minimum number of executives convicted of illegal activity during the Savings and Loans scandals of the 1980s: 1,000
● Number of Wall Street traders or executives who have been convicted of illegal activity since the 2008 financial collapse: 0
● Percentage of Ontario citizens who support cutting the wages and benefits of public sector workers: 52
● Percentage of Alberta citizens who do: 34
Our Times Tally, inspired by Harpers Index, is compiled by freelance writer Sean Cain (www.seanc60.sg-host.com).
