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Bill Blair: A police chief looking beyond the easy answers
Wednesday, August 15th, 2012
1 August 2012
Chief Blair offered a strikingly nuanced take on how to make troubled neighbourhoods safer… he dismissed the idea – propagated by federal and municipal politicians seeking to score law-and-order points – that the criminal justice system alone will make streets safer. As he put it: “You can’t arrest your way out of this.”… Through measures such as recruiting new officers from at-risk communities, and setting up a summer employment program for kids who live in them, Toronto’s force is already making considerable efforts.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, poverty, youth
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | 2 Comments »
Premiers’ health-care report is just the start of what’s needed
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
26 July 2012
The premiers’ long-awaited health-care report… outlines several helpful measures to save money. Among them are identifying three to five generic drugs that provinces can purchase in bulk by this fall; harmonizing guidelines for the treatment of chronic illnesses; and sharing training capacity and work force projections, so they’re not stealing nurses or doctors from each other…. the provinces also need to establish whether they are getting value for money before the system becomes unsustainable.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | 1 Comment »
Toronto’s priority neighbourhood programs mustn’t be abandoned
Tuesday, July 17th, 2012
July 16, 2012
An $85 million pool of one-time cash is set to evaporate over the coming year and there’s no new sources of money in sight… projects include after-school tutoring, leadership skills development, an urban farm project, and a host of other “youth focused” initiatives… Council did approve one positive change. A website called Wellbeing Toronto will track a wealth of data on each neighbourhood. It will measure indicators on crime, economic progress, education levels, the environment, and health status, among other criteria.
Tags: budget, crime prevention, philanthropy, poverty, standard of living, youth
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
Ontario’s doctors should be at the negotiating table, not in the courtroom
Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
Jul. 10 2012.
Ontario is expected to be in the red until at least 2017, and doctors’ fees account for roughly 10 per cent of the province’s total program spending. So this spring’s cost-cutting measures, targeted heavily at a few specialist groups, were only the first round. If the OMA were to adopt a more constructive approach and return to the table, it could at least help shape future funding decisions… those who benefited from generous settlements in the past need to accept new realities, and make the best of them. Lawyering up is not the answer.
Tags: budget, Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Innovation in health care critical in times of austerity
Tuesday, July 10th, 2012
Jul. 09 2012
Canada is the fifth highest spender of health as a share of its gross domestic product [11.4 per cent in 2010] and seventh highest on health expenditures per capita [$4,445 U.S. in 2010] – both higher than the OECD average of 34 member countries. And yet for all that money, there are still troubling access issues… The system’s 1950s acute-care model is not equipped to deal with the burgeoning group of aging patients whose multiple chronic conditions demand comprehensive care, not repeated physician visits in a fragmented system.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Ottawa’s cuts to young offender programs are short-sighted and costly
Sunday, July 8th, 2012
July 06, 2012
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has slashed funding for programs that help keep young offenders out of jail and able to make something of their lives… This $36-million cut was not highlighted in the recent federal budget. It was not discussed with the agencies that provide these important services to troubled youth. Provincial ministers, who are the federal government’s partners in keeping Canada safe, were not consulted. The cut was made public last week in an announcement masquerading as good news.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, ideology, youth
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Terminally ill patients should have access to last-chance therapies
Monday, June 18th, 2012
Jun. 17 2012
“In such cases of catastrophic disease, if you have competent patients, if they want to roll the dice one last time, how dare society say, ‘We don’t care, we have our procedures in place’”… Canada needs a public debate about the need for compassionate access legislation, so that carefully selected patients with no other alternative can access drugs, under a doctor’s supervision.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, rights
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Federal budget 2012: Standing up against abuse of power
Saturday, June 16th, 2012
Jun 14 2012
The spectacle of the marathon vote was planned as an opposition protest against the sweeping scope of the 425-page budget bill. Included in this unwieldy document is proposed legislation that touches on core parts of our environmental law, our vital social safety net programs, including old-age security and employment insurance, our refugee system, our research and information infrastructure, and much more. It is in many ways a country-redefining piece of legislation, an aggressive attempt on the part of the government to push through its agenda without full public debate.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Canada should look to U.S. for health reforms
Monday, June 11th, 2012
Jun. 10 2012
In the United States, nine physician groups have identified 45 tests or procedures that are commonly used, but are of no proven medical benefit… in Ontario, where the government has lowered the fees of specialists to reflect technological advances… the OMA [has issued] dire warnings of service cuts, and of physicians fleeing the province… Doctors in Canada would be wise to follow the lead of their counterparts south of the border, and help lead the discussion.
Tags: budget, Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | 1 Comment »
John Turner: a great defender of Parliament
Wednesday, June 6th, 2012
Jun. 05 2012
He lamented the centralization of power in the Prime Minister’s Office, and the erosion of the importance and independence of standing committees “that used to be a real element of democracy in the House of Commons.” He condemned the Conservative’s omnibus budget bill, reminding the audience that “the budget used to be related to taxation,” and arguing the government’s strategy is to hamper debate. He also cited the inheritance of Magna Carta, the charter of liberties, that a rulers’ will is not arbitrary, and that the privileges of parliamentarians need to be protected.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Governance History | 4 Comments »
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