« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
NDP revives Tory bill curbing taxpayer-funded partisan ads in bid to embarrass Ford’s government
Wednesday, April 17th, 2019
NDP MPP Taras Natyshak is tabling private member’s legislation identical to a bill introduced by Tory MPP Sylvia Jones two years ago that would revive the auditor general’s powers to veto commercials deemed to be politically partisan… “Voting against this bill would be the height of hypocrisy,” he said, noting Jones and much of Ford’s cabinet strongly endorsed the measures in 2017.
Tags: budget, globalization, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Ontario pharmacists can now dispense flu shots, meds
Tuesday, October 9th, 2012
Oct. 09, 2012
Pharmacists can now give flu shots, renew most prescriptions, and prescribe drugs to help quit smoking… Pharmacists will be paid $7.50 per injection, which is provided to patients free of charge… pharmacists would also be able to provide up to six-month renewals of prescriptions for all non-narcotic medications. As well, they will be permitted for the first time to prescribe smoking cessation drugs.
Tags: budget, Health, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Ontario Human Rights Code amended to protect transgendered people
Wednesday, June 13th, 2012
Jun 13 2012
The transgendered Torontonian has had difficulty applying for credit cards, student loans, identification cards, and accessing health care, employment and housing. So Wednesday’s vote by MPPs to enshrine “gender identity” and “gender expression” in the Ontario Human Rights Code is a landmark moment… Ontario has become the first jurisdiction in North America — other than the Northwest Territories — to enact protection against discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression
Tags: rights
Posted in Equality Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Deb Matthews slashes fees for OHIP services to save $338 million
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
May 07 2012
Health Minister Deb Matthews announced Monday there would be 37 changes to the OHIP fee schedule, targeting hundreds of services provided by cardiologists, radiologists and ophthalmologists. The doctors claim this will mean longer waits in emergency wards and for test results — and warn that patients could expect a harder time finding a family doctor or a specialist because of fewer physicians. “Our doctors are the best paid in Canada,” said Matthews… “Instead of another raise for doctors, we need a real wage freeze so we can invest in more home care,”
Tags: budget, Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
NDP’s Horwath wants more from McGuinty before backing budget
Saturday, April 21st, 2012
April 21, 2012
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the Liberals’ surprise $275 million boost for child care and disabled benefits is “a very positive sign” on the eve of Tuesday’s key budget vote… Horwath said a sticking point remains the Liberals’ opposition to a wealth surtax on people making more than $500,000 a year… The levy is also hugely popular with Liberal MPPs, but McGuinty himself is wary of the scheme.
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
‘Secret’ G20 law to be scrapped
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
Feb 22 2012
The Liberals are replacing the archaic “secret law” police used to place hundreds of people under arrest during the G20 summit in 2010. The Public Works Protection Act has been shelved in favour of a new bill that would apply only to securing power plants and courthouses, said Community Safety Minister Madeleine Meilleur. The legislation, introduced Wednesday, was created out of recommendations of former chief justice Roy McMurtry in the wake of the G20 fiasco. It is far narrower in scope than the old law.
Tags: crime prevention, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Drummond Report: Higher hydro bills, more user fees urged in sweeping report
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
Feb. 15, 2012
Ontarians could face higher hydro bills, bigger school classes, fewer hospitals, more expensive tuition and user fees to protect the future of provincial public services… “Reform must be pervasive and speedy. The government will need to implement all the reforms we recommend … to restrain the growth of program spending enough to achieve balance by 2017-18,”
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Dwight Duncan demands Ottawa release censored report showing Ontario is shortchanged by equalization
Saturday, January 28th, 2012
Jan 26 2012
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan is demanding Ottawa release a classified federal report that reveals Ontario gets shortchanged by the national equalization wealth-sharing scheme… “The report makes it increasingly clear that because of the policies of the government of Canada, Ontario families are subsidizing programs and services in other parts of Canada that Ontarians themselves do not enjoy”… “It’s time that the biases against Ontario be removed and that we begin to look at this thing realistically.”
Tags: budget, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
More can be done to combat ‘wage theft,’ labour minister admits
Friday, May 13th, 2011
May 12 2011
… a new report that found one-third of low-income workers had their wages withheld or stolen by employers… a Workers’ Action Centre report… concluded that “the lack of protection in Ontario workplaces leaves many of the workers … with little hope of getting the wages they’re owed, resulting in significant economic hardship.”… DiNovo urged the government to follow recommendations such as targeting “industries like cleaning, hospitality, retail and construction, where newcomers to our province have a long, long history of substandard employment practices.”
Tags: crime prevention, economy, immigration, rights
Posted in Delivery System | No Comments »
McGuinty government slashes redundant agencies
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
Mar 15 2011
The Liberals are scrapping more than a dozen redundant agencies in the wake of a sweeping report urging better governance of provincial organizations… referring to the 258 agencies, boards, commissions, councils, authorities, foundations and trusts overseen by Queen’s Park… Gone are the Toronto Area Transit Operating Agency, the Social Assistance Review Board… {Their] elimination… will save only $200,000 a year. The government will, however, reap $4.2 million from the stadium agency’s bank account for provincial coffers, and any additional assets will be sold off.
Tags: budget, participation, rights
Posted in Governance Delivery System | 3 Comments »
Recent Comments