Governments have been under investing in youth for decades
Since 1976… Had public investments in younger Canadians kept pace with investments in retirees, governments would invest over $19 billion more per year on younger residents. That’s enough to pay for a national child-care program twice; or increase post-secondary spending by 50 per cent; or rapidly accelerate the national housing strategy in response to the growing gap between rents, home prices and young people’s earnings.
Child & Family
Ontarians need a bolder new approach to home care
… here are four simple yet transformative ways to make it work better for patients, families, and those providing care: Return nurses to home care… Allow direct referrals… Focus on patient needs, not patient time… Create a “long-term care at home” option… It means changing the way our organizations are paid… and holding providers accountable for costs as well as results for those receiving care.
Governments have been under investing in youth for decades
Since 1976… Had public investments in younger Canadians kept pace with investments in retirees, governments would invest over $19 billion more per year on younger residents. That’s enough to pay for a national child-care program twice; or increase post-secondary spending by 50 per cent; or rapidly accelerate the national housing strategy in response to the growing gap between rents, home prices and young people’s earnings.
Education
This Is How Scandinavia Got Great
The idea was to create in the mind of the student a sense of wider circles of belonging — from family to town to nation — and an eagerness to assume shared responsibility for the whole. The Nordic educators also worked hard to develop the student’s internal awareness… If you have a thin educational system that does not help students see the webs of significance between people… you’re going to wind up with a society in which people can’t see through each other’s lenses.
OUSA looks to expand “outdated” Women’s Campus Safety grant
… the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is seeking to modernize the 1991 Women’s Campus Safety grant… “It’s about larger programs aimed at changing the culture and programs that are meant to evaluate those programs… expanding initiatives eligible for the grant could lead to evaluating programs like Flip the Script or providing salaries for prevention and response trainers… This is a non-partisan issue to keep students safe…”
Employment
On the surface, Canada looks healthy – but don’t be fooled
The characteristics that defined a trusted institution in the past are not the ones that make a trusted institution today. Today’s leaders are expected to lead with purpose and to address the issues that affect their communities and stakeholders, not just shareholders. For our institutions to build and maintain trust, we must embrace a new leadership model that prioritizes these behaviours.
Employers complain about a ‘skills gap’ in Canada. But employers are part of the problem
… It’s time for employers to rediscover the value of investing in their own training programs. Government must play a role, of course, but by prodding employers to do a better job, rather than letting them off the hook entirely… And aggressive training plans should be a core feature of any government-supported industrial programs, technology grants or infrastructure projects.
Equality
The federal government needs to tax our inheritances
We are demanding the federal government establish a progressive inheritance tax that hits the top 10 per cent of estates, increasing to a marginal rate of 55 per cent on estates over $7.5 million… We’re also calling for a wealth tax that hits the top 10 per cent of Canadians, increasing to a marginal rate of 10 per cent on each dollar of wealth over $20 million, exempting principal residences… These two policies affect only individuals in the top 10 per cent
It’s time to rethink the social contract for our rapidly changing world
… lifetimes are getting longer but… households are saving ever less to cover their retirement years … in 2017, more than… 41 per cent did not save for retirement; 20 per cent did not save at all; and 12 per cent do not have a six-month savings buffer… the labour market is changing in a way that some are being left behind, income polarization is only growing and it appears that every generation feels they are being denied access to the economic party.
Health
Canadians with mental illness deserve access to medical assistance in dying
There is no evidence vulnerable patients are being pushed into assisted death against their will. If anything, the contrary is true. MAID has become an option for the elite, while people with physical and mental disabilities have repeatedly had to turn to the courts to have their right to choose respected… We don’t insist that patients with terminal cancer content themselves with hopes and prayers, and we shouldn’t expect people with intractable mental illness to do so either.
Canada lags behind peers in number of doctors per capita: report
Canada lags well behind all but the United States among 11 of the wealthiest countries when it comes to the number of doctors per capita, a new report indicates… Canadians have 2.7 practising physicians for every 1,000 people, compared with 2.6 for the U.S. Norway has the most at 4.8. At the same time, Canadians are average in terms of their physician visits each year… [with] higher than average hospital stays combined with a lower than average per capita number of hospital beds
Inclusion
Corporate/employee giving campaigns key to future donation growth
In 2017, the index notes, only 20% of Canadians reported having made a donation the previous year, down from 26% in 1997. The trend underscores a looming problem: as demand for services rises, the social deficit grows… but a new report points to the significant power workplace giving programs have to both raise charitable giving rates and bolster companies’ recruitment efforts, retention rates, and bottom lines.
Solving homelessness will require infringing on individual rights
We are stuck between two fundamental tenets of a fair and just society: a person’s right to freedom and personal agency, versus the duty authorities have to protect a person from self-harm and any attempts to harm others. If one of those was to trump the other, it would be the government’s responsibility to stop someone from harming oneself or harming others.
Social Security
Canada’s poverty rate declines, but strides less apparent for single people
Canada’s poverty rate declined to a new low in 2018 as the number of low-income people has fallen by more than one million over a three-year period… The percentage of Canadians in poverty was 8.7 per cent, down from 9.5 per cent in 2017 and the lowest under the current formula, which is soon to be replaced… Statscan pointed to gains in market income – that is, income from employment, private pensions and investments – with making an impact… a government focus on child benefits – both at the federal and provincial levels – has also helped
To fight crime, Canada has to fight poverty, inequality and despair
Liberal politicians want to talk about locking up guns and Conservatives want to talk about locking up people… both approaches are reasonable. But they are narrow in focus. They’re designed to appeal to each party’s base, and as such do not come close to addressing the complex issues behind gun and gang violence… How hard is it for politicians to understand that the most effective policies for reducing youth violence are ones that cut poverty
Governance
Ontarians deserve proper oversight of their government
You need at least two ingredients for oversight offices to operate effectively. First, you need to have the right person in the job, who is not afraid to speak truth to power and be models of transparency. The person needs to fearlessly flash the spotlight on problems… The second ingredient to the Ombudsman’s success is having a properly constituted infrastructure and the resources to fulfil its mandate.
Liberal tax cut will cost $1.2-billion more annually than promised: PBO
Canadians with incomes between $103,018 and $159,694 will receive the largest benefit, with a $347 tax cut. Canadians earning $159,695 to $227,504 are next with a $257 tax cut. Individuals with incomes between $51,510 and $103,017 will receive $337. Those with incomes between $15,001 and $51,509 will receive $211 and individuals with income below $15,000 will save one dollar, on average, compared to the status quo.
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