Archive for the ‘Child & Family Policy Context’ Category

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Pierre Poilievre’s proposed mandatory minimum penalties will not reduce crime

Tuesday, March 5th, 2024

… with MMPs [mandatory minimum penalties], Parliament removes judicial discretion for any sentencing option other than imprisonment and imposes a minimum term of incarceration, regardless of the facts of the case… The evidence shows that MMPs are ineffective at reducing crime, may actually increase recidivism, are highly vulnerable to being struck down by the courts as unconstitutional, can increase delays in an overburdened system, and perpetuate systemic racism.

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Indigenous child welfare Act is constitutional, says Supreme Court of Canada

Monday, February 19th, 2024

Canada’s highest court has unanimously ruled that First Nations, Métis, and Inuit rights to self-government include jurisdiction over child and family services, throwing out the attorney general of Quebec’s 2022 appeal… Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution affirms and recognizes Indigenous peoples’ right to self-govern. Bill C-92 additionally affirmed that the right to self-govern included “jurisdiction in relation to child and family services,” meaning Indigenous communities have sole authority over the care of their children.

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From ‘tough on crime’ to a new transformative vision for Canada’s justice system

Friday, September 29th, 2023

… compassionate, evidence-based policies… make us safer at a fraction of the cost of ineffective “tough on crime” approaches. We don’t have to let fear win. We don’t have to tolerate an ineffective status quo. There’s a better way and it involves a new transformative justice vision: to transform the trauma in our society, rather than continue to transmit it.

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Shortcomings in Seniors’ Care: How Canada Compares to its Peers and the Paths to Improvement

Thursday, September 28th, 2023

Overall, Canada ranks 8th out of 11 countries included in the survey… While Canada generally performs well in the care process category, it performs poorly in terms of access to care and equity, with no provinces reaching the international average in either category. Addressing access challenges for seniors through improved continuity of care, affordability and reducing wait times would improve Canada’s rank.

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Ontario needs to remove barriers to child-care subsidies for low-income families

Saturday, September 16th, 2023

Ontario’s current implementation plan for child care and early learning agreements runs the risk of leaving disadvantaged families further behind… Inclusivity is explicitly stated as an important goal of the federal government’s Canada-wide early learning and child care initiative… The ultimate solution is publicly funded child care with enough spaces for everyone.

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What we can learn from 20 years of the Youth Criminal Justice Act

Wednesday, May 24th, 2023

The passage of the YCJA has resulted in a 95-per-cent decline in youth custodial sentences, while youth carceral facilities have closed across the country… This incredible transformation happened because the YCJA emphasizes restraint at all levels of the criminal justice system, from police intervention to charging, detaining and sentencing, and by using “extrajudicial measures” to divert young people away from the traditional court system.

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Troubled life reveals gaps that led to murder

Thursday, April 13th, 2023

Failures of the health care system become problems the criminal justice system is expected to solve, even though it’s ill suited to do so. That said, the criminal justice system does play a role in issuing and enforcing orders for treatment and counselling… The only way we will solve these problems is by making a full-throated commitment to repair our frayed social safety net, to mend the gaps… and protect innocent people.

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A plan to end partner violence

Tuesday, April 11th, 2023

… far from protecting women and other innocent individuals, our over reliance on criminal justice might actually be increasing the risks for survivors of intimate partner violence… Given the control often exerted over survivors, the reports emphasize the need for economic security, housing, safe spaces and social and mental health services for survivors. And that in turn means ensuring consistent, stable funding for organizations that provide such assistance.

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Ontario reforming process for kids aging out of child welfare system

Friday, February 24th, 2023

Youth in Ontario’s child welfare system will soon see a new support network with more services and money to help them better prepare for life outside the system.  They’ll also be able to stay in the system until they’re 23, up from 21… Direct payments to young adults, which are based on age and start at 18, will also go up.

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Ontario should live up to child care deal

Tuesday, October 11th, 2022

… within months of pledging to partner with the federal government, the province was already stripping a series of checks on funding rules that guarded against “undue profits” and “ineligible expenditures” by operators… The federal government, meanwhile, must make clear that Ontario must live up to the deal it signed, in both detail and spirit.

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