« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Treat unemployed workers equally across Canada
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
Nov. 16, 2011
It had been supposed that local unemployment rates were a good indicator of how long it would take for a person who has been laid off to find a new job. That turns out not to be true. Moreover, the levels of GDP per capita have been converging across Canada, while the EI system has mistakenly continued to treat whole areas of the country as if they were underdeveloped regions, fostering among some people a habit of dependence.
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Let Canadians die with dignity
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
Nov. 16, 2011
Ottawa should heed the advice of a high-profile panel on end-of-life issues and decriminalize voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide, as several other jurisdictions have already done, including the Netherlands, Oregon, Switzerland and Belgium… some form of assisted suicide be permitted – even for those who have not been diagnosed with a terminal illness, because patients may be suffering terribly and permanently.
Tags: Health, mental Health, rights
Posted in Health Debates | 1 Comment »
Mandatory reading on mandatory minimum sentences
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
Nov. 15, 2011
In Canada, the federal prison population rose by 1,000 to 14,500, in just 18 months, partly as a result of new mandatory minimums, a federal report found in August. At an average cost of $110,000 a year per inmate, the benefits would be questionable at any time – all the more so when economies nearly everywhere are at risk… the Canadian government… seems intent on following the failed U.S. model, even as that country beats a retreat.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, ideology
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
The Liberal revolution
Friday, November 11th, 2011
Nov 10 2011
This kind of searching and fearless self-criticism may be a necessary first step towards political recovery, but it will have effect only if it is followed by serious rethinking and rebuilding… The document spells out key elements of Liberalism that remain as relevant as ever – a belief in freedom, diversity, free and fair markets, equality, and the power of government to do good. It also puts a welcome new emphasis on openness and new forms of political engagement.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Tory crime bill is too tough on the provinces
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
Nov. 02, 2011
Ottawa’s crime agenda could cost the provinces billions of dollars over the next few years, and… Quebec and Ontario say they will refuse to pay. The tough-on-crime omnibus bill now before Parliament is hardly a sterling example of co-operative federalism. It is heavy-handed federal policy-making, which (along with some previous crime bills) will cost the provinces dearly… How should Quebec and Ontario pay for extra prison costs – by cutting education, health care, daycare? By raising taxes?
Tags: budget, corrections, ideology
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Index provides a wider measure of progress
Monday, October 24th, 2011
Oct 21 2011
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing measures eight major areas: living standards, community vitality, democratic engagement, education, health, environment, leisure and culture and how we spend our time. While Canada’s GDP increased by an impressive 31 per cent from 1994 to 2008, the Index of Wellbeing rose just 11 per cent, according to the first composite report released this week. And even that modest overall increase masks areas where quality of life actually declined. The time crunch and income inequality both went in the wrong direction.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Medicine’s feminine mystique
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
Oct 18 2011
… knowledge, discovered within the past decade, is forcing the medical profession to look at aging women differently… and it’s welcome news that ways are being found to treat women differently. Women don’t yet have equal opportunity in the boardroom. But when it comes to some illnesses, they get more than their share. It’s high time that science reflected that.
Tags: Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living, women
Posted in Equality Debates | 1 Comment »
Protesters Against Wall Street
Sunday, October 16th, 2011
October 8, 2011
At this point, protest is the message: income inequality is grinding down that middle class, increasing the ranks of the poor, and threatening to create a permanent underclass of able, willing but jobless people. On one level, the protesters, most of them young, are giving voice to a generation of lost opportunity… Extreme inequality is the hallmark of a dysfunctional economy, dominated by a financial sector that is driven as much by speculation, gouging and government backing as by productive investment.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | 1 Comment »
Canadians are living in an age of deep diversity
Sunday, October 16th, 2011
Oct. 14, 2011
… visible minorities are a very heterogeneous group, and… other demographic markers – such as religion and class – can more accurately predict discrimination and other barriers that certain groups face… Two-thirds of respondents in the study view relations between Muslims and non-Muslims negatively. And 60 per cent view relations between aboriginals and non-aboriginals negatively… there is deep diversity, with newcomers living very different realities, and facing very different challenges.
Tags: immigration, Indigenous, multiculturalism
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Express gratitude through giving
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
Oct 09 2011
There were more than a million client visits to Greater Toronto Area food banks in the last fiscal year. That’s 14 per cent higher than pre-recession levels and is a testament to how many people remain in need, even in the richest of societies. How deep is their poverty? A report last month from Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank found that its clients spend 72 per cent on average of their income on housing… it isn’t enough to simply appreciate our blessings. We should make an effort to share them.
Tags: budget, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Recent Comments