Archive for the ‘Inclusion Policy Context’ Category
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Canadian bilingualism a blessing not a curse
Jan. 23, 2012
Canada, an officially bilingual country, is a leader in the promotion of second-language knowledge. Ottawa and the provinces together spend more than $2-billion a year offering government services in both French and English… learning a second language should be viewed as a gift society which confers significant global advantages, and bridges cultural divides… The ability to speak French, English – as well as Spanish or Mandarin – should be seen as a source of pride and as an investment in the future that will yield dividends over a person’s lifetime.
Tags: economy, immigration, multiculturalism, rights, standard of living, youth
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Canada has never had shared values
Dec. 22, 2011
Canada is a liberal democracy, and like similar societies, it is designed to allow us to get along despite widespread and non-negotiable disagreements over values – that is, over how people should live their lives. Our political institutions, underwritten by constitutional declarations such as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, don’t assume that citizens have shared values. Instead, they work by providing a framework that is neutral with respect to controversial questions of value. This neutrality is what underwrites our freedoms of expression, of religion, and of association.
Tags: ideology, multiculturalism
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Canadian researchers launch national index of well-being
Oct 21, 2011
… the new Canadian Index of Wellbeing, or CIW… is a national index that aims to measure and track the quality of life of Canadians… comprised of eight sub-indices: community vitality, democratic engagement, education, environment, healthy populations, leisure and culture, living standards and time use… The overall index will convert the indicators into a single number that, like GDP or the S&P/TSX Composite Index, will move up and down over time, indicating whether the Canadian quality of life is improving or deteriorating.
Tags: standard of living
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Help the First Nations move forward – with respect
Dec. 5, 2011
No longer can First Nation poverty in a First World country be used as political football, further driving wedges within our communities and between First Nations and other Canadians. Achieving this kind of real change and “smashing the status quo” is exactly the purpose of the Crown-First Nations Gathering. I encourage all Canadians to not judge us but join us with respect – help us move forward in dignity, recognizing our rights and responsibilities.
Tags: Native, participation, poverty, rights, standard of living
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New charity, same old cant
Nov 03 2011
The Globe say these methods “could revolutionize” social programs by creating “a world in which profit motives and the greater good move in tandem.” That would revolutionize us all the way back to Dickens’ time… As for Philanthropy, it literally means love of man, or humanity. You don’t sense much of that in the New version, though there’s lots of self-praise, and a sense of power through the ability to micromanage the effect of your donation.
Tags: economy, ideology, philanthropy, standard of living
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Expand the capital gains exemption to pre-empt a charitable crisis
Oct. 31, 2011
Our charities cannot expect significant funding increases from government. But they do have an opportunity to access additional financing from the private sector that is more tax effective than direct government support. The 2006 federal budget measure that eliminated the remaining capital gains tax on gifts of listed securities has been an enormous success. Every year since then, Canadian charities have received donations in the form of listed securities of more than $1-billion…
Tags: economy, ideology, philanthropy, standard of living, tax
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In Harper’s Canada, will we give more of ourselves to get lower taxes?
Oct. 29, 2011
Canadians will still enjoy universal public health care and near-universal public education. There will still be subsidized housing, welfare and unemployment insurance. The foundations of the social state will remain intact. But in an era where fiscally restrained governments confront rising need created by economic turmoil, the private sector must do more. And the private sector is each of us. Canadians don’t really give a lot to charity, compared to their U.S. counterparts… Tax cuts have consequences.
Tags: economy, ideology, philanthropy, standard of living
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Occupy movement: It’s about time
Oct. 16, 2011
In the 1930s, the last time capitalism failed so destructively, radical opposition movements won the day: Demanding both immediate aid for the Depression’s suffering, but also bigger structural changes in the economy… governments’ response went well beyond “stimulus.” Instead, government was given powerful, countervailing powers to offset the skewed dominance of business and wealth
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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We need to move away from public housing
September 24, 2011
Even those willing to trust the poor with a welfare cheque for other basics do not think it wise to hand them the down payment on a house, or even the monthly rent on a decent apartment. Hence the impulse to furnish housing more directly… if someone else owns your home you gain little from looking after it. Trash it and the state will find you another one; take care of it and you gain nothing… Living on the public dime teaches only helplessness, resentment and anger.
Tags: budget, economy, homelessness, housing, ideology, standard of living
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The sector that dares not speak its name
Sep 16 2011
We are a society that has largely lost sight of the fact that there is anything to debate in politics except how to save money… It’s been drummed into the public ear for decades by think-tanks, pundits and politicians… So Mayor Rob says… “If the private sector can deliver them more efficiently, then why not have them?” … he assumes services are the same no matter who delivers them. They aren’t. Take libraries… Take health care… We’re now mired in this profiteering, privatizing mentality. It cuts off every alternative viewpoint.
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