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Ontario taxpayers fork over $4.3 million to settle legal costs in Bill 124 cases

Wednesday, October 16th, 2024

In a 2-1 decision earlier this year, the Appeal Court struck down the law, saying it infringed on workers’ Charter rights. The province accepted defeat and, soon after, repealed the law in its entirety… The province has so far paid out $6.7 billion for retroactive pay increases to broader public-sector workers after the law was struck down.  Taxpayers would have been on the hook for those salary bumps either way, but the additional legal costs were a waste of money, leaders of the opposition parties said.

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Toronto hospital to open permanent supportive housing apartments for homeless people

Monday, October 7th, 2024

A new housing project for those who live on the streets and frequently end up in the emergency room is set to welcome its first residents in Toronto this month, supported by one of the largest hospital networks in Canada… The hope is that the project will ease pressures on hospitals while also providing stable care for vulnerable individuals… [and] a playbook for other jurisdictions or other partnerships between every level of government, between hospital and community, to try to advance concrete solutions for people

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Ontario expanding jails by several hundred beds to deal with overflowing institutions

Tuesday, June 11th, 2024

As of September 30, 2023, there was an average of 8,889 people in provincial jails, well over the 7,848-person capacity. Overall, the jails were operating at 113 per cent capacity at that time. Premier Doug Ford pledged in March to build more jails to deal with an influx of inmates, the vast majority of whom are innocent and awaiting trial. Ontario will reopen two intermittent detention centres inside Toronto and London jails that had been closed in order to add up to 430 beds by 2026.

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Ontario adds $1.3B in post-secondary funding, freezes tuition for three more years

Tuesday, February 27th, 2024

Ontario ranks 10th out of 10 in every comparison of interprovincial post-secondary financing, according to a report last year by Higher Education Strategy Associates. International students now give more money to Ontario’s institutions than the government does… Raising Ontario’s level of per-student funding to the average of the other nine provinces would require $7.1 billion per year in additional spending — much higher than the current level of operating funding at around $5 billion

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Ontario, federal government reach agreement in principle on health care

Thursday, February 23rd, 2023

… the province accepted the 10-year deal on Wednesday after the two sides agreed to add reviews into the deal to ensure long-term sustainability… The priority areas outlined in the deal include mental health, primary care and increasing the number of health-care workers… Duclos said the province’s bilateral agreement would include working toward certain health indicators, agreeing to provide “equity of access’’ for underserved groups and upholding the Canada Health Act…

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Mental health: How three people are falling through the cracks

Monday, May 28th, 2012

May 28 2012
Changing Directions, Changing Lives, a long-awaited mental health strategy by the Mental Health Commission of Canada published May 8… makes recommendations in prevention, recovery, access, diversity, First Nations and leadership. It calls on governments to increase spending earmarked for mental health by $4 billion per year — from 7 per cent to 9 per cent of all health care spending. The federal government endorsed the strategy the following day, but has made no financial commitment… Mental-health problems cost Canada at least $50 billion per year, the report estimates, which amounts to 2.8 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

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