« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
The virtue of ‘at-risk’ in hospital executive pay
Thursday, January 12th, 2012
Jan. 10, 2012
During this critical time when hospitals are being merged and exceptional change agents are needed to take them to the next level, salary caps would be a mistake. But Ontario is wrong-headed in letting each hospital’s board determine compensation guidelines and standards for executives… A good framework would provide some consistency to compensation… (and a) significant portion of executive pay be dependent on attaining performance indicators
Tags: budget, Health
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Child poverty key issue
Thursday, January 12th, 2012
January 11, 2012
If governments want to put the economy at the top of their agendas, actions that focus on improving children’s’ well-being should be prioritized… The Canadian Pediatric Society said that child care, mental health and poverty are some of the key areas related to kids for which there are clear economic benefits to be had by taking action… Instead… the opposite has happened in recent years as youth issues have been pushed aside by governments in order to deal with the economy and Canada’s aging population.
Tags: ideology, poverty, rights, standard of living, youth
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Roy Romanow’s one-note tune on health care
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Jan 10, 2012
Mr. Romanow insisted that if the PM does not take an aggressive leadership role in talks about the future of medicare, public health care will weaken, private care will spread and the very fabric of our nation will be imperilled… But so what if the provinces don’t all offer identical services and delivery models? Let them devise blended public-private systems that work best for their residents or for their budgets — and let provincial governments live with the political consequences of those choices. How does that threaten “national unity”?
Tags: economy, Health, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
The case for tax reform
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
Jan 03 2012
… top-earning CEOs are sitting on $2 billion in stock options that are treated as dividend income, and taxed at half the value. That’s a tax break worth $475 million… It’s hard to make a compelling case that the affluent need tax breaks that ordinary workers will never see when Ottawa is short on cash. And when 3.5 million Canadians live in poverty… The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report… urges Ottawa to eliminate the tax break for executive stock options… the Conservatives do have options for dealing with the deficit beyond thinning out the public service and cutting transfers or services.
Tags: ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Rising inequality demands debate
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
Jan. 4, 2012
There are policy responses which would introduce market discipline without interfering with corporations’ ability to set compensation levels. Shareholder rights, both to detailed information on compensation plans and to a direct say, could be strengthened… Alternatively, government could use its redistributive powers to level the playing field… CEOs increasingly take their payment in stock options, taxed at half the rate of income… The trickle-down approach hasn’t worked, said OECD secretary-general Angel Gurría. “Without a comprehensive strategy for inclusive growth, inequality will continue to rise.”
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
The high cost of poverty
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
Jan 02 2012
In 2009, the first year of (Ontario’s poverty reduction) strategy, the minimum wage jumped up and, most importantly, the Ontario Child Benefit was increased by hundreds of dollars helping to raise low-income families out of poverty The government has also started a process to reform social assistance… But (it) is still a long way off its goal to lift 90,000 children out of poverty… it’s troubling that the third progress report on Ontario’s poverty reduction strategy spends most of its 26 pages rehashing earlier successes and is light on new measures.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, poverty, youth
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
… Public policy that is based on evidence
Friday, December 30th, 2011
Dec. 28, 2011
… politicians must… be responsive to the concerns of members of the public, corporations, lobbyists, think-tanks, and yes, journalists… and given what’s at stake, it’s imperative that politicians commit to supporting evidence-based policy… This means that regardless of their political ideology, they should propose and implement policies that, according to the evidence, will actually reduce crime or homelessness… we have heard a great deal about populist politics… Now it is time to hear about evidence-based politics…
Tags: ideology, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Fighting for safety on the job
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
Dec 28 2011
There were 24 deaths on construction sites in 2010 – eight more than the year before… Ontario needs mandatory safety training for construction workers and enhanced training for those in high-risk activities. Workers must be better informed about their rights and employers about their responsibilities to provide a safe work environment. All that must be coupled with better enforcement to make sure the rules are actually followed.
Tags: Health, rights, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Women see the other side
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Dec 27 2011
The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program allows those in prison who never dreamed of going beyond high school to achieve that seeming impossibility. It is rehabilitative, character-changing and confidence-building. It has been shown to reduce crime and violence. It also engages regular college students in a world they may only have encountered through TV or film and deepens their understanding of social problems. It pushes them to work for changes in their communities to reduce crime and recidivism. Inside-Out is a program that should be emulated in prisons across the country.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, poverty, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Canada needs a more-efficient health care system
Monday, December 19th, 2011
Dec. 19, 2011
The number of doctors – there are nearly 70,000 – and their salaries are both at all-time highs. More Canadians have a family doctor than in years past, proof that progress has been made. But access to them is among the worst in the world… Canadians shouldn’t fool themselves into thinking poor access is the inevitable consequence of a publicly-funded health care system. Patients in the Netherlands and Germany have rapid access to specialists, much like Americans where private care prevails. Our system is simply not efficient.
Tags: budget, Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Recent Comments