Archive for the ‘Social Security Debates’ Category
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How a national disability benefit would improve my life — and the lives of so many others
Saturday, October 9th, 2021
I’m one of more than six million Canadians with a disability. More than 40 per cent of people who live below the poverty line in Canada have a disability… Poverty makes my life challenging. COVID-19 made it worse. A national disability benefit would improve my life in many ways. A national disability benefit would help people like me improve our living conditions and be less isolated. It would have a positive impact on our health and wellness. It would raise us out of poverty and allow us to live with dignity.
Tags: budget, disabilities, housing, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Instead of a universal basic income, governments should enrich existing social programs
Monday, February 15th, 2021
… while UBI is desirable in principle, it’s not a magic solution to the intricate and perennial problems of poverty and income inequality. Furthermore, its implementation in Canada is not financially, administratively, politically or constitutionally feasible.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Food banks don’t reduce food insecurity, so why did the federal government give them $200 million in emergency aid?
Wednesday, January 27th, 2021
… the emergency food sector… “started quite innocently and very thoughtfully and from a very caring and compassionate place, but … it has zero impact on the overall problem.” … their respective annual reports repeatedly call for policy changesto reduce poverty, from raising social assistance rates to implementing universal child care… While food charities can play a meaningful role in building community… it’s more important than ever to be clear that they’re not the answer.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, housing, ideology, mental Health, participation, poverty, rights, standard of living
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CERB controversy should spur basic income development
Tuesday, January 12th, 2021
Political leaders have the opportunity of a lifetime in 2021, and Canada has the brains, capacity, and experience it takes, to create a legacy of income security for all that is comparable to universal health care. Basic income will get us a faster, more inclusive recovery and lasting progress toward a healthier, happier society for everyone.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, housing, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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The Ford government says it’s committed to poverty reduction. That’s hard to believe
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020
… this is the government that killed the planned rise to $15 in the minimum wage as soon as it was elected. It also rolled back two-paid sick days for all workers, equal pay for exploited temporary agency workers and other measures to protect precarious workers from being misclassified and stripped of their labour rights… The government cut funding for specialized school programs that provided after-school jobs for needy teens, classroom tutors and supports for racialized youth, calling it “wasteful spending.” … Soon after coming to power in 2018, the government also cut in half a planned 3-per-cent increase to social assistance.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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People with disabilities deserve a basic income
Monday, October 26th, 2020
It’s time to treat people with disabilities with respect instead of paternalism and to address the inadequacies of the current system. The proposed federal Disability Benefit is an opportunity to do better. Will it measure up to a basic income? Let’s hope so.
Tags: disabilities, ideology, participation, pensions, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 2 Comments »
Canada needs a national income program for people with disabilities
Saturday, September 5th, 2020
With [CERB], imbalances and biases in income security decisions were starkly exposed. Governments clearly expected people with disabilities to live on disability income benefits (such as the Canada Pension Plan Disability and provincial social assistance) of an amount… of half or less than the $2,000 a month provided by the CERB… If anything, should those people not receive slightly more than their peers?
Tags: disabilities, economy, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, poverty
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Policy reflections about social assistance: Where we’ve been, and where we’re going
Wednesday, August 19th, 2020
We will need to think differently about social policy, so that our social safety net puts people and their social and economic rights at the centre. We need to rebuild our systems to promote equitable outcomes across race, gender, immigration status, disability, and for every person in Canada. Now’s the time to show that we truly are in all of this together.
Tags: budget, child care, disabilities, economy, featured, Health, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System, Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Poverty reduction central to building back better
Monday, August 17th, 2020
While the pandemic has laid bare many pre-existing inequities, it has also created an opportunity to reimagine and rebuild our social infrastructure… Given that unpaid care work is a source of women’s marginalization and poverty, we believe a basic income program will support women on low and fixed incomes in particular.
Tags: budget, child care, economy, ideology, Indigenous, participation, poverty, standard of living, women
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An extra $2,000 a month helped young people struggling during COVID-19. Now we need to support them with a guaranteed livable income
Wednesday, August 12th, 2020
A guaranteed livable income is one way to overcome the barrier of cost and better support those living with food insecurity as well as those living in unsafe and precarious housing conditions, facing mental health conditions, single income families, people with disabilities, seniors, and other Canadians.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living, youth
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