Stephen Harper’s stealth EI changes are a worry.
May 18 2012
The Harper cabinet intends to spring a new set of “stealth” rules on us by way of regulation, months from now, after it has amended the Employment Insurance Act to strip away existing rights to refuse lousy jobs… But hurrying skilled people into menial jobs out of some misplaced sense that any job will do is a waste of resources. They should have the time to canvass for jobs that make productive use of their know-how. The current rules reflect that reality.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Stephen Harper promised accountable government but hasn’t delivered
May 12 2012
Harper used the words “accountable” and “accountability” no fewer than 10 times on the first page of the manifesto…. This is political sleight-of-hand and message control, and it appears to be an accelerating trend. These shabby tactics keep Parliament in the dark, swamp MPs with so much legislation that they can’t absorb it all, and hobble scrutiny. This is not good, accountable, transparent government. It is not what Harper promised to deliver.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Focus on children first in tackling mental health
May 08 2012
… the Mental Health Commission of Canada released its blueprint for a national strategy to properly treat and support Canadians with mental illness. The comprehensive document covers every aspect of what needs to change – from how employers and schools handle mental illness to the need for more affordable housing and a reformed justice system that doesn’t criminalize illness. The danger now, though, is that rather than embracing the challenge, Harper may throw up his hands at the enormity of it all – and the seemingly high price-tag that comes with it.
Tags: mental Health, standard of living, youth
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Canada must actively recruit the best and brightest immigrants
May. 05, 2012
Ottawa must do more to ensure newcomers can convert their foreign credentials and job experience. It must address discrimination in the labour market, and gate-keeping by professional associations. But first and foremost, Canada needs to change its mentality around immigration. It should be designed as much around whom Canada wants, as who wants Canada… Canada must learn to compete. Educated professionals, entrepreneurs, leaders, will not waste their most productive years trying just to get through the door.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, immigration, multiculturalism, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Ontario’s child welfare system has failed 7-year-old Katelynn Sampson
May 02 2012
There is no point in simply recommending more rules if they are either unworkable or will be ignored. Years of court cases, inquests, pediatric death review committee reports and internal children’s aid reviews have led to an increasing number of laws, rules and procedures to follow. Yet, somehow, children like Katelynn are still dying… This government saw fit to appoint a commission to make child welfare more cost effective. How about a commission with a mandate to make it better?
Tags: child care, rights, youth
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Two-tiered wage system announced by Tories
Apr 28 2012
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has always vehemently denied bringing cheap foreign labour into Canada. Employers had to pay foreign temporary workers “the prevailing wage,” he pointed out. That indeed is what the rules said – until Wednesday, when Human Resources Minister Diane Finley quietly changed them. Employers will now be allowed to pay foreign temp workers 15 per cent less than the average wage… When Canada introduced its temporary foreign worker program in 2002, the governing Liberals vowed never to adopt the European model route in which “guest workers” are paid less than nationals and treated as second-class residents
Tags: immigration, rights, standard of living
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Dalton McGuinty and Andrea Horwath have cut a sensible deal to avert an election.
Apr 23 2012
The wealth surtax is projected to affect a mere 0.2 per cent of taxpayers and will raise $470 million next year. But the money won’t go to new programs as the NDP wanted. McGuinty plans to use it, conservatively, to pay down the deficit. “We all gave a little bit,” said McGuinty, calling the surtax a “sensible compromise” to make minority government work. It’s more than that; it’s good policy. But the only reason he’s agreeing to it now is that recent polling has shown it to be a popular idea. Support for higher taxes for the very wealthy runs in the 80 per cent range. There are few things that any government, anywhere can do to generate public support numbers like that.
Tags: budget, child care, disabilities, featured, Health, ideology, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
At 30, the Charter of Rights has reshaped our society, for the better
Apr 14 2012
[It] transformed us from being a parliamentary democracy to a constitutional one… At root, the Charter empowers the people… That is its great, enduring value… Under a series of vigilant judges who did not hesitate to strike down bad laws, or to “read in” rights when justice required, the Charter has come to affect most aspects of our lives. As Justice Claire L’Heureux-Dubé once put it, memorably, the Charter “stretched the cords of liberty” and enfranchised us all.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Toronto and Ottawa would benefit from supervised drug injection sites
Apr 11 2012
giving addicts a safer place to use drugs can help curb the health risks, public nuisance and other problems associated with addiction. That’s the upshot of a comprehensive four-year study into the merits of setting up publicly funded “consumption facilities” — a.k.a. supervised injection sites — for illegal drugs in Toronto and Ottawa. It’s an idea whose time has come.
Tags: crime prevention, Health, ideology, mental Health
Posted in Child & Family Debates | 1 Comment »
Punishing the rich with extra taxes not an answer to inequity
Apr. 12, 2012
… the day may come when it’s necessary to pay more tax – for everyone, not just $500,000-plus earners, who already pay at the highest marginal rate, making for high individual contributions. An extra two per cent is a form of punishment for success… Public hospital or university boards do need to show restraint and due diligence at the top – the top needs to be a model for the entire organization. The logic of restraint, applied fairly to all, is the most sensible policy, before any talk of raising taxes.
Tags: budget, ideology, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
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