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Boost social assistance
Thursday, September 22nd, 2022
The Doug Ford government raised ODSP payments by five per cent this month… and will index them to inflation. There was no increase to Ontario Works payments… It’s painfully clear that the base amounts for both programs are simply inadequate given the sharp rise in housing and food costs over the last year… More financial help is needed.
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Supporting dementia patients and caregivers is a moral imperative
Tuesday, September 13th, 2022
On average, caregivers provided 26 care hours a week… The toll this takes on caregivers is profound… 45 per cent of caregivers exhibit symptoms of distress. And 21 per cent say they’re unable to continue their care duties due to stress. And we have only seen the tip of the iceberg… all levels of government must help to make delaying dementia a reality.
Tags: disabilities, jurisdiction, mental Health, Seniors, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Reforming our approach to drugs
Sunday, August 21st, 2022
… while study after study confirms that criminalization has no effect on drug usage rates, it has created a vast transnational network of organized crime… the federal government’s expert task force last year recommended an end to our century-long experiment with prohibition. As its “core priority,” the force recommended Canada “immediately develop and implement a single public health framework with specific regulations for all psychoactive substances, including currently illegal drugs as well as alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis.”
Tags: crime prevention, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Time for Doug Ford government to act on health care crisis
Thursday, August 4th, 2022
In times of crisis, leadership carries a particular responsibility. It is about showing up, demonstrating competence and shoring up confidence. It’s about accountability, being seen to be in charge, about restoring trust when trust is wavering… It’s time the Ford government gave evidence of being appropriately seized by the urgency of the health-care crisis and with taking responsibility for addressing public anxiety about it.
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
An unhealthy shortage of family doctor
Monday, August 1st, 2022
There is no single fix to the stresses Canada’s health-care system is facing. But efforts that bolster the ranks of family doctors — such as easing the administrative burdens that detract from patient care and encouraging the expansion of family medicine teams — hold the promise of improving our collective health.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Healthcare needs collaboration, not finger-pointing
Monday, July 18th, 2022
The health-care crisis is different in nature from the pandemic, but alike in urgency. As such, it is a challenge of sufficient scale and complexity to be addressed at the first ministers’ level. This is especially true when [negotiating] pharmacare and national dental care programs… Collaboration on those files and addressing the crisis must involve more than cheque-writing that pours more money into systems proving inefficient. It must involve systemic and structural reforms to help make the healthcare system more sustainable – and easily accessible.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, jurisdiction, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Ottawa should stop clawbacks of pandemic benefits
Sunday, June 26th, 2022
Groups such as Campaign 2000, which advocates to eliminate child and family poverty, have… pressed the federal government to ensure that benefits and refundable tax credits such as the Canada Child Benefit are not clawed back and that any lost benefits are restored. (Ottawa did act to restore Guaranteed Income Supplement payments that had been reduced or eliminated because of pandemic benefits.)
Tags: budget, child care, economy, featured, poverty, tax
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
B.C. and Ottawa are showing leadership in fighting the scourge of drug overdoses
Tuesday, June 7th, 2022
The exemption, which is authorized by the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, will decriminalize possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy. Toronto has applied for a similar exemption, and the feds ought to approve it now… there’s abundant evidence that drug prohibition has little effect on how many people use drugs but plays a significant role in making an already risky activity even riskier.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, jurisdiction, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Forget motives. The Trudeau government is getting it right on gun control
Thursday, June 2nd, 2022
… it plans to introduce a national handgun “freeze” — not a ban — that will bar future sales, purchases, transfers and importation of handguns by anyone across the country… It would cap the number of handguns held legally by Canadians and prevent them from being sold or otherwise moved around. Over time it would reduce the number of legal guns that find their way into the illegal market and end up being used in crimes…
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, jurisdiction, rights
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Energy companies profits are through the roof. They should share the wealth
Wednesday, May 18th, 2022
… the government backstopped the financial sector through the pandemic with billions of tax dollars that kept incomes up and the banks’ customers solvent. They benefited from government support, and now it’s time to pay some back… The energy companies are in a similar situation… The government ought to tax away some of the enormous profits pouring into the energy companies and use that money to support those being hit hardest.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, tax
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
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