Archive for the ‘Inclusion Debates’ Category
Real cost of poverty
May 19, 2012
The real cost of poverty to Ontario is immense. According to the Ontario Association of Food Banks, the cost of poverty to Ontarians amounts to 5.5 to 6.6 per cent of Ontario’s GDP. In real terms that equals $2,299 to $2,895 annually for every Ontario household… Poverty-induced health care costs alone amount to $2.9 billion each year… If a concerted effort is made to eliminate poverty, the savings can be passed along to taxpayers, used to reduce our debt and also to improve our health care and education system.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, poverty, rights, standard of living
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Childhood hunger is a Canadian public health crisis
May. 14, 2012
”We admit proportionately more children from high poverty neighbourhoods to hospital than from other neighbourhoods, and the children from poorer neighbourhoods stay longer at the hospital… childhood hunger – which of course is linked to poverty – has long-term impacts on physical and mental health… “Children who live in food-insecure households are more likely to have growth and developmental problems, be susceptible to illness and perform poorly in school, compared to children who are food-secure.” Adequate nutrition is also a key issue when it comes to mental health among youth.
Tags: disabilities, Health, mental Health, poverty, rights, youth
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Which charities get the most foreign cash? Not those on Tory hit list
May. 10, 2012
The CRA database shows only 1,998 of the 85,000 or so registered charities now active in Canada have reported any foreign income. Most are aid organizations, religious groups or schools. All of their foreign funding over the years amounts to a combined total of $811,467,808… Canadian charities do not have to disclose on their tax returns which foreign groups gave them money. But the recent federal budget promised to impose new penalties on charities that fail to provide full disclosure of funding and activities.
Tags: ideology, philanthropy, rights, tax
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Migrants need protection from Bill C-31
Apr 26 2012
At best, these policies are misguided and driven by ideology. At worst, they are intentionally cruel and inhumane. Bill C-31 proposes automatic detention of refugee claimants for up to one year without review if deemed unilaterally to be an “irregular arrival” by the Minister of Public Safety… The health consequences of the policies proposed by C-31 cannot be underestimated. In Australia, where the policies that Kenney proposes have been tried and discarded, studies show that detention increases risk of suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress disorder and self-harm in refugee claimants.
Tags: budget, Health, immigration, poverty, rights, standard of living
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The uphill battle to save democracy in Canada
Apr 18 2012
“People blame Parliament for being dysfunctional, but I think it’s really our political parties that are the issue”… Loat says individuals should take full advantage of today’s social media, which has made it easier to engage like-minded citizens. Loat says it is critical to understand that politicians are now starting to pay far greater attention to Twitter and Facebook than just about any other media outlet. By themselves, these suggestions won’t change the status quo. Neither will individuals working in isolation.
Tags: participation, rights, standard of living
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Funding cuts could unshackle Canadian civil society
Apr 14 2012
… the Conservatives may have done Canada a favour. Deprived of federal funding, independently-minded activists will have to learn new ways of ethically raising money from individuals, communities, and businesses. By multiplying their revenue sources, social justice groups will reduce their vulnerability to single-source arm-twisting. By going private, they will no longer have to worry about offending government ministers. This new, American-style approach to promoting social justice could be a good thing.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights
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Broadbent poll uncovers public desire to close inequality gap
Apr 09 2012
The biggest worry among Canadians is that it will lead to declining living standards, followed by concern about increased crime, and the erosion of public health care and other public services. The majority of Canadians are also worried that income inequality leads to fewer opportunities for young Canadians to do as well or better than their parents… Perhaps most alarming in the long run is that a majority believe that the growing gap can erode the quality of our democracy. No matter where you live or how much you make, our public opinion research shows that the growing gap is viewed as decidedly un-Canadian.
Tags: budget, ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Canadians open to tax hikes to create more equal society, poll finds
Apr. 10, 2012
… talk of raising taxes has been considered political suicide for more than a decade. But the survey commissioned by the Broadbent Institute suggests that most Canadians would not be opposed to paying a little more to preserve social programs and prevent the poor from falling even further behind… More than three-quarters of the respondents (77 per cent) said they viewed the gap between the very rich and the rest of Canadians to be a serious problem with long-term negative consequences for society… a clear majority of Conservative voters (59 per cent) also felt that way.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Ontario budget is a requiem for a caring province
Mar 27 2012
Most Ontarians accept the need for belt-tightening. What they don’t accept — at least not yet — is that this province can no longer afford to support the vulnerable. That is the premise on which Tuesday’s budget… is built… It is the small items – cutbacks imposed on those eking out a precarious existence – that raise questions about McGuinty’s values. Although the premier enacted a poverty reduction plan in 2009, he has now effectively renounced it.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, Health, homelessness, ideology, mental Health, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Do Canadians need more direct democracy?
March 6, 2012
… voting is a critical component of any functioning democracy, but it is certainly not the only one. Equally important is the presence of political discourse, public debate and consultation, and accommodating citizen demands. The problem with this, though, is that so few opportunities exist for ordinary citizens to participate directly in the political process – especially when it comes to actually influencing or shaping public policy and political decisions.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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