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A new Canadian survey on the rich/poor gap and taxes should spark debate
Apr 10 2012
“The option of raising taxes to protect the social programs we cherish and to address income inequality has been absent from public debate for too long,” says… Ed Broadbent. “Our research shows Canadians are prepared to do their part and they expect the wealthy, corporate Canada, and their own governments to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.”… Fully 89 per cent think addressing income inequality should be a government priority and 77 per cent think it’s a serious problem… As Broadbent argues, “gross inequality isn’t inevitable, it’s a political choice.” One that has distorted the public agenda for too long.
Tags: ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
The wrong answer to aboriginal overincarceration
Apr. 05, 2012
Handing young aboriginal men and women a stay-out-of-jail card in cases of serious violence is a mistaken answer to the problem of overincarceration of aboriginal people in Canada. It puts one wrong in place of another… There is no doubt that the overrepresentation of aboriginal people in provincial and federal jails is a calamity for the country, for aboriginals and for the individuals behind bars… In the Louie case, having an aboriginal mother protected him from being held fully accountable for committing a violent crime.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, Native
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
Protecting seniors from elder abuse takes more than justice legislation
Mar 18 2012
… the Conservatives introduced legislation they say would lead to tougher sentences for those convicted of elder abuse. “Elder abuse is a serious issue and we must do whatever we can to fight it,” says Justice Minister Rob Nicholson… He’s right about the need to protect vulnerable seniors. But it will take more than a tweaking of the Criminal Code to do it. Here’s an idea: let’s protect seniors by making them less physically and financially vulnerable, thereby preventing much of the abuse from ever occurring.
Tags: crime prevention, disabilities, rights
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Robocall affair vaults Canada into big leagues of political scandal
Mar 12 2012
Deliberate voter suppression would have seemed inconceivable in a Conservative party headed by Joe Clark or Robert Stanfield. But the gloves-off Harper partisans have shown such a taste for American-style electoral hardball… Certainly the Harperites have demonstrated what could be charitably described as a casualness about obeying Canada’s election laws, and an antagonism toward Elections Canada for trying to hold them accountable for violations.
Tags: crime prevention, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Native education must be funded equally with public schools
Mar 01 2012
… to actually improve the situation the upcoming federal budget needs to include new, dedicated funding. Right now, Ottawa provides thousands of dollars less per student than provinces spend to educate non-native kids. Fewer than 40 per cent of native students – half the rate for non-natives – graduate from high school. It’s a tragedy for them and a terrible waste of potential for the country.
Tags: budget, Native, participation, standard of living
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
Supreme Court ruling in case of disabled woman admirable
Feb. 13, 2012
Not all testimony is equal; a judge decides how much weight to give it. But to cut off the possibility of testimony from disabled adults because they have trouble verbalizing what they understand of truth and lies is an arbitrary approach. It doesn’t get at what they know, just at what they can explain about what they know… mentally disabled adults should not be arbitrarily denied…
Tags: crime prevention, disabilities, mental Health, rights, youth
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
National panel on native education gives Ottawa a failing grade
Feb 10 2012
… this government, the one before it, and so on, know everything that’s in this report. Native education is a disaster and always has been. Ottawa basically hands off far too little money to hundreds of reserves (regardless of their capabilities) to operate individual schools and pays no attention at all to the terrible outcomes for children. Less than 40 per cent of native students — half the rate for non-natives — graduate from high school. It’s a tragedy for them and a terrible waste of potential for the country.
Tags: budget, Native, participation, rights, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
Canada’s Charter of Rights: a global model
Feb. 10, 2012
As Canada was founded on compromise and dialogue, so are those qualities woven into its rights charter. And so it offers a structure for working through the competing interests found in any sophisticated, multicultural nation… The structure for balancing opposed interests is found in three key sections. Section 1 sets out that rights are not absolute; governments may limit them, as long as they have evidence to justify those limits… Section 15, the equality-rights section, is open-ended, and new groups, such as gays and lesbians, have been brought under its umbrella by the Supreme Court…
Tags: disabilities, featured, multiculturalism, rights, standard of living, women, youth
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
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