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What became of the plan for aging at home?
Wednesday, September 28th, 2011
Sep 27 2011
Asked what happened to his government’s Aging at Home Strategy, McGuinty looked uncomfortable but told the truth. The health ministry had diverted some of the money to hospitals. (Although they had signed “accountability agreements” guaranteeing balanced budgets, many hospitals ran multi-million-dollar deficits.) It won’t happen again, McGuinty stressed. “This time, it (home-care funding) won’t be gobbled up by the health system.”
Tags: budget, Health, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | 1 Comment »
Modest new thinking on health care
Saturday, September 24th, 2011
Sep 22 2011
If health means having enough to eat, a decent place to live, safe drinking water, an income that allows wholesome choices, a non-toxic environment and the opportunity to be a productive member of society, medical spending is the wrong yardstick. Ontario does a relatively good job of patching people up after they get sick. If does a relatively poor job of keeping people — especially disadvantaged people — out of hospitals and long-term care institutions.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Our self-image needs a reality check
Friday, September 16th, 2011
Sep 15 2011
Since the mid-1990s, income inequality has been rising faster in Canada than the U.S… Since 2005, our tax system has become more regressive, our social services have shrunk, our manufacturing base has deteriorated and we’ve gone through a painful recession that hit the poor hardest… There are two policy levers Canada could use to counter the trend of the last decade: We could make our tax system more progressive… We could strengthen our social programs. But both options are non-starters in Ottawa… The provinces are dismantling their disparity-fighting mechanisms. And there is no public pressure for a change of direction.
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
What happened to the priorities of Ontarians?
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
Sep 13 2011
The invisible election, which would make Ontarians feel better if they knew about it, is a discussion among concerned citizens about how to fix what’s broken and strengthen what works… here are some of the ideas bubbling up in the health profession, the universities, the think-tanks, the private sector and the non-profit agencies. They are the result of evidence gathering, analysis, experience and face-to-face consultations. All are fiscally responsible. • Open 50 clinics led by nurse practitioners by 2015… • Move people with severe disabilities out of provincially subsidized homeless shelters…
Tags: disabilities, featured, Health, homelessness, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | 2 Comments »
Timely warning for Canada about prisons
Friday, September 9th, 2011
Sep 08 2011
Between 1980 and 2009, America’s prison population quintupled. It now has the highest rate of incarceration in the world (715 inmates per 100,000 people). What makes all this relevant to Canadians in September of 2011 is that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is poised to embark on the same path the U.S. took a generation ago… here is what Canadians can expect: • An exponential growth in prisons… • A deterioration of the social structures that communities need to prevent crime… • A disproportionate increase in the number of poor, non-white people behind bars…
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, featured, ideology, rights, tax
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Did we learn nothing from the recession? [Employment Insurance]
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Sep 01 2011
Our budget is $30 billion in deficit, our employment insurance account has a $10.4 billion shortfall and we have the highest level of household debt in our history. If Canada falls back into a recession — or if we’re already in one that hasn’t shown up in the statistics — millions of families will have no cushion… here are some of the [Mowat Centre] report’s major thrusts: • Treat all laid-off Canadians equally… • Extend EI coverage to everybody who pays into the fund… • Change the rate-setting mechanism… • Allow older workers to job share and reduce their hours gradually…
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
How the mayor could save $100 million
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Aug 31 2011
The scheme was drafted by a coalition of mental health activists… It calls on the city to move people with mental illness and addiction problems out of its homeless shelters. Civic workers would help them to apply for provincial disability support ($1,053 a month). This income would allow them to rent a private apartment… The beauty of this proposal is that the benefits outweigh the costs tenfold.
Tags: budget, disabilities, homelessness, housing, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Ageism: it is real and it is wrong
Monday, August 15th, 2011
Aug 14 2011
Until November, [the Law Reform Commission] will hold public consultations for the next three months to make sure nothing is missing or misconceived. A final draft will be released in early 2012.the Law Commission of Ontario… Caregivers routinely assume seniors can’t make their own decisions. Policymakers don’t bother to consult them on issues affecting them. Health-care and social service providers withhold supports to which are entitled. People patronize them, ignore them or exclude them the life of the community.
Tags: disabilities, ideology, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | 1 Comment »
Dream of affordable justice fades
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Aug 09 2011
Government cutbacks have forced legal aid providers to restrict their services to all but the abjectly poor… The lion’s share of the money — 75 per cent in Ontario — is earmarked for criminal cases. That means there is little to no help available to deal with family breakups, child custody wrangles, eviction orders, mortgage foreclosures and the aftermath of natural disasters.
Tags: budget, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
Reprieve for mental health guardian
Friday, August 5th, 2011
Aug 04 2011
Health Minister Deb Matthews unexpectedly announced that the government is suspending its plan to hand off its Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office to the Canadian Mental Health Association. “I now realize that implementing this change requires greater conversation and consultation and as a result we will not move forward at this time with the current plan,” she said. “My priority is to make sure we get this right.”… Over the next four months, she explained, her officials would consult psychiatric patients, their advocates and providers of mental health services…
Tags: disabilities, mental Health, rights
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
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