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Stream of election gimmicks and promises will violate our human rights obligations

Friday, November 29th, 2024

All of these proposals rely on borrowing money so it can be sent to many people who don’t need it… Meanwhile, homelessness, food insecurity, and poverty are on the rise, and this comes with both immediate and long-term costs. Governments would be wise to invest every extra dollar they have in proven solutions, such as a stronger income security system and non-market housing sector… our governments [are] obligated to steer our society toward the fulfillment of everyone’s human rights…

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Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »


Why the Canada Disability Benefit won’t end disability poverty, and how it could

Thursday, November 28th, 2024

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.

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Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »


In search of political will: Strengthening Canada’s mechanisms for the domestic implementation of international human rights commitments

Monday, October 28th, 2024

The history of domestic implementation of Canada’s international human rights commitments is disappointing, particularly when it comes to economic and social rights… Over the past 75 years, Canada has neglected to build the necessary legal foundations, government structures, and political will at home to institutionalize human rights and provide accountability to rights holders. We need a new national framework for international human rights implementation.

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Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »


Warning signs: Poverty in 2022

Wednesday, May 1st, 2024

Pandemic-related modifications to EI, the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit and the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, all ended during 2022… Recent investments, such as the Canada Disability Benefit, may help when the money finally gets to those in need some time in 2025, but the size and reach of the benefit is too low to have a significant impact on poverty rates.   

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Posted in Social Security Delivery System | No Comments »


Ontario Budget 2024 should advance the right to an adequate standard of living

Thursday, February 29th, 2024

To advance the right to an adequate standard of living, Ontario’s Budget 2024 should bolster social assistance, help low-income workers, support rental housing, and work productively with other orders of government to achieve these goals… the government must address the systems acting counter to this goal — social assistance, employment-related supports, and housing services.  

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Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »


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