« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Hope or hardship for native Canadians?
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Apr 14 2010
The income gap study shows that aboriginal people with university degrees are doing as well as their non-aboriginal counterparts, in the case of women even better. But they constitute a minority of the population. The Environics survey shows post-secondary education is the highest priority for urban aboriginal people, but many can’t afford to go to university or have to quit for financial reasons… Both studies identify discrimination as a barrier to equality.
Tags: Indigenous, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Poverty stalks the nation’s big cities
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
Apr 07 2010
Mending Canada’s Frayed Social Safety Net is the sixth in the federation’s quality of life series… In its 2010 report, the proportion of low-income families in the big cities stood at 13.5 per cent, compared to 9.1 per cent in the smaller communities… It’s not hard to identify the reasons.
What is most troubling about this retrogression – which affects 18 million Canadians – is that no one is talking about it at any level of government.
Tags: poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
From Scarborough women’s shelter to career path
Saturday, April 3rd, 2010
Apr 02 2010
Homeward Bound is a one of Toronto’s lesser-known miracles. The four-year program, developed by Woodgreen Community Services, offers the city’s most vulnerable women a chance to earn a college diploma, get a job with a future and become self-sufficient… The success rate so far: 100 per cent… Homeward Bound is not cheap. It costs $65,000 per participant. But four years of welfare for Dorsay and her daughter would have cost $48,240. And they’d still be living in poverty, they’d need social housing and they’d still feel like victims.
Tags: standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
What happened to Ontario’s mental health strategy?
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Mar 31 2010
…concerns are rising that the government will offer a collection of fine-sounding objectives with no funding to back them up… There was no mention of mental health in last week’s budget. But the government did set a direction for overall health spending. Growth will be capped at 3 per cent, despite rising demand, rising costs for drugs and medical technology and an aging population. That doesn’t leave much room for mental health.
Tags: mental Health
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Tories earn mixed grades at best from disabled
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Mar 24 2010
Harper’s hands-off approach to social issues rules out the kind of federal-provincial programs used by the Liberals to tackle disability issues. The Conservatives rely primarily on the tax system. That’s fine for those who pay taxes and can afford to set aside money. But millions of Canadians with disabilities don’t.
Tags: disabilities
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Tough on crime but soft on logic
Friday, March 19th, 2010
Mar 19 2010
In 2010-11, the government expects to spend $329.4 million on prison infrastructure. Last year’s jail-building budget was $230.8 million. To put these numbers in perspective, Correctional Service Canada spent $88.5 million on prison construction when Harper took office four years ago… All this is happening at a time when Canada’s crime rate is at a 26-year-low; when a dozen cash-strapped U.S. states are closing jails, reducing sentences and diverting drug addicts from prison; and when there’s a growing body of evidence – including a government-financed report released last month – that the anti-crime policies Harper has embraced produce little public benefit.
Tags: crime prevention
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Historic moment for nation’s disabled
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Mar 17 2010
Last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in New York. “This is a historic moment,” said Laurie Beachell, national coordinator of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. “We believe it turns a new page in the history of equality of Canadians with disabilities.”
Tags: featured
Posted in Equality Debates | 4 Comments »
Have the poor fallen off the agenda?
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Mar 15 2010
As budget day approaches, anti-poverty groups aren’t expecting much. They know times are tough. They know education, not poverty reduction, is McGuinty’s priority. They know the poor are always told to wait when there is a deficit. They’d like to trust the premier. But all the harbingers look bleak.
Tags: poverty
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Jim Flaherty the latest to leap into ‘innovation gap’
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Mar 10 2010
Five Canadian finance ministers have tried to crack the productivity puzzle. All failed. Now Jim Flaherty is taking a stab at it…. unless business leaders do their part, it makes little sense to go on spending billions of dollars on research and development. “In an era of fiscal constraint, there has to be a compelling narrative to justify new public investments when other areas are being constrained”…
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
We view immigration in a positive light
Monday, March 8th, 2010
Mar 08 2010
The Harper government’s shift from permanent immigrants to temporary foreign workers is starkly at odds with public opinion. An overwhelming majority of Canadians – 76 per cent – want immigrants who come here to stay, build a life here and become contributing citizens…
Despite our own economic troubles, we remain a welcoming people. We recognize the need to shore up our aging workforce with newcomers. We continue to see immigrants as an asset, diversity as a source of strength and language training as a sensible investment.
Posted in Equality Debates, Inclusion Debates | Comments Off on We view immigration in a positive light