Toronto’s community crisis plan is a welcome shift away from policing mental-health care
When people slip through the cracks of our broken mental health care system, they fall right to the police. And then it falls to police to deal with the situation, even though they’re ill-equipped to do so. A functioning community framework, on the other hand, would provide people with the necessary support right in their communities — not locked away in isolated institutions — and from people they know and trust.
Child & Family
Toronto’s community crisis plan is a welcome shift away from policing mental-health care
When people slip through the cracks of our broken mental health care system, they fall right to the police. And then it falls to police to deal with the situation, even though they’re ill-equipped to do so. A functioning community framework, on the other hand, would provide people with the necessary support right in their communities — not locked away in isolated institutions — and from people they know and trust.
After decades of delay, national child-care plan proves an ambitious social agenda is possible
… now that it’s clear a national child-care system is politically viable, it will be up to the Trudeau government to ensure that the one it’s started to build is strong — and public. The success of Scandinavian-style child care stems from the fact that it is a truly public system — like our school system — with no place for private profit-making, which leads to cutting corners on staff and resources.
Education
Laurentian battle suggests fight for Canada’s rural higher education
… the hardship created by that lost public investment has fallen heaviest on northern institutions such as Laurentian. That’s because the northern population is less able to afford higher tuition… and its remote location makes its institutions relatively less attractive to outsiders – including the foreign students whose tuition increasingly subsidises Canadian higher education…
Why in-person learning matters: A dispatch from the front lines
As pediatricians working in school-based clinics in Toronto, we have witnessed the deterioration of students’ well-being with school closures… As we confront the next wave of the pandemic, we must focus on strategies to keep schools safely open, including: supporting pediatric vaccine equity and uptake, advocating for small class sizes, and access to high-quality masks and ventilation.
Employment
Israel capped CEO pay for banking execs at $1 million. Its unique experiment could work here, too
Over the years, the ratio between those who hold the top jobs and regular employees has gone up tremendously. Justifications for this were always based on arguments that CEO pay is set in a competitive market. The reality, however, is different. CEO pay has no equilibrium and continues to ratchet up endlessly… For too long we’ve been brainwashed by free-market myths about CEO pay. The natural experiment in Israel has refuted them.
Riches for top CEOs come at a cost to everyone else
the federal government should review rules on how much executive compensation companies can deduct (the United States already caps it at $1 million per employee), capital gains and stock options, as well as instituting a wealth tax for the richest Canadians. “Higher taxation levels can reduce inequality and help to refill government coffers following the impact of the pandemic,” the report says.
Equality
… here’s what you need to know about the $40B child welfare agreements
… these legal victories would not have been possible without the support of Canadians. After the graves of children who died in Indian Residential Schools were found, countless Canadians stood in solidarity with Indigenous communities and demanded the government not repeat mistakes of the past. public support will be needed more than ever to ensure that the spirit of the agreement is respected and translated into meaningful change for First Nations children.
Ottawa releases early details of landmark $40B First Nations child welfare agreement
The non-binding agreement sets aside $20 billion for compensation and $20 billion for long-term reform of the on-reserve child welfare system… The parties have until March 31 to finalize the agreement… The $20 billion dedicated to long-term reform of the child welfare system will be distributed over a period of five years… “Today is about a plan for the future, with First Nations defining and determining a path forward grounded in our rights and the common goal to have our children succeed,”
Health
Lower drug prices are a priority for Canadians, but not for the federal government
While the federal government has been bowing to the pharmaceutical industry, the amount that Canadians spend on medicines has continued to rise. In 2020, Canadians spent an estimated $32.7 billion, 4.3 per cent more than the previous year. Meanwhile, more than two-in-five Canadians are concerned about their ability to afford prescription drugs in 10 years.
Digital Health Tools Must Remain a Core Part of Canada’s Post-pandemic Health Care Delivery System
Doctors couldn’t access patient records, some systems were only available in facilities that were themselves not physically accessible, large data systems didn’t work, telemedicine networks didn’t scale. The health-care system itself hadn’t adequately planned for a pandemic! This broken system must end now… We can start with three: labs, drugs, and patient record summaries.
Inclusion
Warehousing disabled people in long-termcare homes needs to stop. Instead, nationalize home care.
It is clear that regardless of ownership — by private corporations or public agencies — the warehousing, caging and incarcerating of older and younger disabled people is an act of violence… We must support disabled people’s call to abolish LTC and develop a national home care, palliative care and pharmacare system that robustly funds and prioritizes disabled older and younger people’s desire to live in community.
… living with a disability is one minority group that anyone can join. Disability Without Poverty is led by people with disabilities and came about around the end of 2020 in response to gaps in how the government served their communities during the pandemic and to push for a national disability benefit, which has been slowly moving through Parliament and would provide support besides existing provincial programs.
Social Security
For each province and territory, this report provides data and analysis on the total welfare income that households receiving social assistance would have qualified for in 2020, including COVID-19 pandemic-related supports… The reports look at four different household types for each province and territory.
Food banks are a blessing, but they’re no fix for poverty
“Until we address the systemic chronic stressors that are producing and reproducing vast inequalities in our communities, we will never be resilient to the acute shocks that occasionally arise,” the report said. “The time to act is now. We urgently need to protect low-income households who continue to struggle with job losses, reduced employment hours and precarious housing.”
Governance
Budget outlook: $5 billion in annual tax cuts weaken Ontario’s case for federal dollars
“In the months ahead, we can expect Premier Ford to ramp up his calls for more federal funding, especially for health care. He is not strengthening his case by giving away $5 billion each year.” … A better approach would be to chart a course to restore provincial revenues through an ambitious program of progressive taxation
With child-care program Trudeau finds a model for influencing provincial policy
… the success of Trudeau’s child-care program has given the federal government a means to mould provincial policy from Ottawa and he said it’s one he could use again… The agreements vary fairly drastically from province to province — a strategy that allows the federal government to push its agenda while maintaining the autonomy and regional differences of its provincial counterparts. Essentially, the government put the money on the table and invited provinces to come and negotiate for their slice.
Recent Comments