Mark Carney’s economic agenda misses something vital
Concentrated ownership of our economy, and the inequality and plutocracy that result from it, are causing deep distress among working and young people who feel — quite accurately — that the economy is rigged against them. Broad-based Canadian ownership of our businesses, resources and assets needs to be part of the growth agenda… Sovereignty isn’t just about control of our border. It’s also about control of our resources and assets. We can’t truly be masters of our own home if that home is owned by an American hedge fund.
Child & Family
Carney’s new nation-building plan lacks a vision for our social, educational and health needs
We all need good work, housing, education, health care, child care, clean water, safe food and environmental protection. These must be central to our idea of a transformed Canada. All require immediate government attention. They can’t be relegated to the background, in deference to corporate demands for a wide-open economy where regulations and taxes don’t hold things back. Our economic rethinking must extend to developing new guardrails on business entry into the care economy.
The push for a national caregiving strategy
A fundamental goal of a national caregiving strategy must be to change the narrative about care work and fully articulate the value it provides society and what we stand to lose in economic and human terms if we don’t support carers. A fundamental part of this work involves acknowledging and addressing the outsized burden of care carried by women and racialized people… a national caregiving strategy will make the issue of care politically and socially unignorable and will drive recognition that care work is skilled, dignified, necessary, and worthy of proper compensation.
Education
Rebuilding Canadian post-secondary education
Canada has a chance to lead the world in higher education, if it can fix its own long-neglected system first… Taking advantage of the brain-drain from the US, we could recruit the best and brightest to fill our labs, faculty lounges, and classrooms. By leading the world in research, we could build back up some credibility and soft power on the world stage that we have lost in recent decades. However, this would require new public investments in education.
Cuts at Ontario colleges leading to nearly 10,000 job losses, union says
… the suspended and cancelled programs are not only those primarily attended by international students. “It’s also programs we domestically need, programs like nursing, child and youth care, environmental technologies, specialized art training that is not offered anywhere else,” … the 10,000 reported layoffs represent a staff reduction of about 17 per cent in a workforce of more than 60,000… but is not proportional to the 45 per cent reduction in student enrolment,”
Employment
Mark Carney’s economic agenda misses something vital
Concentrated ownership of our economy, and the inequality and plutocracy that result from it, are causing deep distress among working and young people who feel — quite accurately — that the economy is rigged against them. Broad-based Canadian ownership of our businesses, resources and assets needs to be part of the growth agenda… Sovereignty isn’t just about control of our border. It’s also about control of our resources and assets. We can’t truly be masters of our own home if that home is owned by an American hedge fund.
Why the Capital Gains Tax Increase Should Not See the Light of Day
The planned measure to increase the capital gains inclusion rate… would create a triple threat: harming Canadian businesses, discouraging investment, and penalizing middle-income Canadians… – Canada’s capital stock would decline by $127 billion, GDP would fall by nearly $90 billion, and real per-capita GDP would drop by 3 percent. Further, employment would decline by 414,000 jobs, which would raise unemployment from 1.5 million to 1.9 million workers.
Equality
To solve Canada’s housing crisis, we need to change the way we think about wealth
… younger generations are uniquely burdened by Canada’s tax code and its outdated understanding of affluence, which is no longer primarily based on income but on assets. Canadian wealth today is about what you own, not what you make — and whether you own depends largely on when you were born…. younger workers are paying taxes at rates originally meant for the wealthiest Canadians, all while struggling to achieve the markers of even a historically lower-middle-class lifestyle.
There is no way this Ontario agency should have such a large surplus. Here’s what it needs to do
Legal Aid Ontario’s surplus offers a chance to address systemic issues by raising eligibility thresholds to reflect real living costs. Current thresholds barely align with poverty levels, excluding many in need. Setting realistic criteria would expand access to justice. Expanding legal aid coverage is crucial, especially in family, immigration and housing law, where representation can prevent crises like evictions, deportations and custody losses. A well-funded system must treat these as essential, not secondary, issues.
Health
Five examples of how hubris in public health could lead to repeated mistakes
Here are five examples: … The pandemic isn’t over when hospitalizations have temporarily slowed… Long COVID’s effects have been downplayed despite life-altering and long-lasting health effects… Ignoring uncomfortable truths is not a public health strategy… Public health should never be weaponized by political agendas… A transparent, national inquiry is essential to maintaining trust in public health.
Primary care in Canada is suffering and doctors want input on how to fix it
OurCare — the largest public conversation about primary care in Canadian history. Over 16 months, nearly 10,000 people across the country shared their experiences and hopes for the future through a national survey, citizen panels and community around tables. Despite differences in geography, age, and background, people largely agreed on what needs to change… six statements make up the OurCare Standard — a bold, people-powered vision for what primary care in Canada should look like.
Inclusion
Unpaid labour: Why volunteers can’t sustain essential services
ThePhilanthropist.ca – 2024/04 April 15, 2024. Joanne McKiernan There’s a shortage of meal-delivery volunteers, writes Volunteer Toronto’s Joanne McKiernan. The reality of prioritizing basic needs in challenging times, she says, means we cannot rely on volunteers for the same types of roles, time commitments, or skills exchange as in the past. There’s a shortage of […]
Doug Ford needs to follow the evidence on supervised consumption
… harm reduction doesn’t simply prevent overdoses and infectious diseases; it eases pressure on Emergency Response Services and our crowded ER’s… all residents deserve to live in peace and security… However, community safety is not a zero-sum game. It is possible to keep our neighbourhoods safe and clean while implementing comprehensive treatment services that save lives — even if it means moving those services to more appropriate locations and improving the way we deliver them.
Social Security
A basic income can be a strong investment in mental health
Research shows how poor mental health is a direct consequence of poverty. Money not only helps meet people’s material needs but also alleviates their worries. Reducing poverty translates into significant savings for the economy and the public purse. Canada could save $4 to $10 for every dollar spent on mental health supports. Poverty is not caused by personal failings. It is the social environment people live in that has the greatest impact on life trajectories.
Why the Canada Disability Benefit won’t end disability poverty, and how it could
It won’t be a game-changer, but it could help many if eligibility and access expand and clawbacks are not allowed to erode possibly its entire value… Though the benefit will not fill the poverty gap for hundreds of thousands of people, it could still reduce their depth of poverty… If it is intended to fill the poverty gaps in provincial and territorial social-assistance programs, the benefit amount should reflect that… Poverty is a policy choice – one that is inconsistent with Canada’s human-rights obligations.
Governance
Don’t be fooled by big numbers—Ontario budget fails to address years-long funding shortfalls
Underfunding trends persist in total program spending, education, post-secondary education, and health. Public services provide the support Ontarians need and good jobs that support the economy—investing in them is the best way to shield the province. But that’s not happening. On the job protection front, we expect more—much more—given the alarming job losses we’re already witnessing. The 2025 budget fails to grasp the importance of protecting workers, not only for their families’ sake, but also as a mitigating strategy that prevents a deep recession.
It’s time to talk about what COVID did to Toronto, and to us
The isolation, loss, distrust and disruption that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic continue to make their mark on us today… neither the heroism, collective sacrifice or loss, nor the mistakes… We can’t move forward without finding a way to talk about — and process — what went right, what went wrong and what we all suffered during COVID-19… There is still so much misinformation out there about what actually happened during the pandemic. We desperately need a collective airing of the facts.
Recent Comments