Archive for the ‘Child & Family Debates’ Category
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Two views of what families want
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
Sep 18 2010
[Hudak] “Premier, why don’t you just call it off on all these tax grabs and give families a chance to catch a breath?”… [McGuinty] “We understand that costs and family budgeting are very important to our families and that’s why we’ve moved ahead with a number of tax cuts. But… We’re going to continue to invest in the future of this province by investing in our children.”
Tags: child care, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
False populism and the myth of the gun-hating Toronto elite
Saturday, September 18th, 2010
Sep 18 2010
… it’s intriguing to see our Conservatives… attempting to graft American categories onto the Canadian political system. That’s what federal House Leader John Baird was doing this week when he described the dispute over the long-gun registry as a battle between authentic Canadians and the “Toronto elites.” It was a direct steal from the language of U.S. right-wing populism, which pits so-called real Americans (also known as God-fearing patriots) against an alien conspiracy usually referred to as the liberal elite… There’s a right populism in Canada too, but of a different sort.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Legal system slammed for failing families
Friday, September 17th, 2010
September 17, 2010
At one of the most stressful periods of their lives, separating couples are driven to the poorhouse by a family law system that fails to deliver workable solutions while their children are often hurt by a system that doesn’t take their opinions into account, a report by the Law Commission of Ontario says. In one of the most in-depth looks at what ails family law in many years, the report indicts the system for draining parents’ bank accounts, ignoring expert advice in favour of simplistic solutions and leaving children out of the process.
Tags: standard of living, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Let’s not forget gun registry’s origins
Friday, September 17th, 2010
September 17, 2010
“We have 14 dead. They are all women.”… The pain of parents and survivors of Marc Lepine’s murderous rampage brought us the long-gun registry. Has the registry, a creation of the Progressive Conservatives, failed us? Has it cost us billions, without making us more safe? Does the government have a better plan to keep guns out of the hands of madmen? Then by all means, bring it on. But let us have no more small, vindictive slurs aimed not at concern for the vulnerable but motivated by a desire to divide Canada just enough to win a slim majority government.
Tags: crime prevention, rights, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | 1 Comment »
Chief justice seeks compulsory mediation in family cases
Thursday, September 16th, 2010
Sep 15 2010
Winkler said he questions the value of continuing to “fine tune” the existing system and believes a new approach is required… In 2008-09, there were 313,470 family law hearings in the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice… Between 85,000 and 90,000 new cases are opened every year… Compelling litigants to enter into mediation or arbitration would constitute “a fairly significant shift in policy” and “raises all sorts of questions for me about who would pay for this,” said Kelly Jordan, a Toronto family lawyer.
Tags: rights, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Good advice on clogged courts
Thursday, September 16th, 2010
Sep 16 2010
Justice Winkler wants to make it mandatory for feuding couples to first attempt mediation or arbitration — with early access to legal advice and financial data — and leave the formalities and complexities of the courts as a last resort… the human heartbreak and financial cost of an unwieldy system that stokes grievances rather than resolving them. Facing prohibitive legal fees, many parents opt to represent themselves in court, with often disastrous consequences for their cases
Tags: standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Prison reform needed to prevent in-custody deaths: ombudsman
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
Sept. 8, 2010
Ombudsman Howard Sapers… said the Conservative government’s plan to put more people in prison and keep them there longer will only exacerbate ongoing problems in prisons, which are already ill-equipped to ensure the well being of inmates… Among the shortcomings that have been identified: a failure to recognize “suicide pre-indicators” among inmates; holding inmates with mental-health issues in isolation which made their medical problems even worse; and delays in responding to medical emergencies.
Tags: corrections, mental Health
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Elderly caregivers desperately need help
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
Sep 08 2010
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) issued a report in late August called Supporting Informal Caregivers: The Heart of Home Care. It showed that one in six people caring for ailing seniors at home is in distress. The number shoots up to one in three if the senior has cognitive problems such as Alzheimer’s disease, one in two if the senior is aggressive or abusive. These are the first authoritative figures on the problem. Up to now, advocates have relied on estimates or anecdotal evidence… At a time when Ontario is encouraging seniors to stay in their homes for as a long as possible, it is important to know who is providing the support they need.
Tags: disabilities, Health, pensions, poverty, standard of living, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | 1 Comment »
All-day JK/SK no ‘frill’
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
Sep 08 2010
What the Tories see as an unnecessary expenditure on a “shiny new car” is, in fact, an investment in our future. Other provinces and countries are spending heavily on education; Ontario cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. There is ample evidence that many children are arriving at Grade 1 unprepared after two years of half-day kindergarten. As well as preparing them better for the later grades, full-day kindergarten is also a useful tool for identifying kids with learning disabilities so that they can receive the help they need.
Tags: child care, disabilities, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Kids and our future
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
September 7, 2010
… full-day kindergarten means that we will give more students the great start they need in school. Full-day kindergarten will give our youngest learners the head start they need on reading, writing and math — so they’re better prepared for all the grades that follow. And, because we know a great education helps build opportunity later in life, it will help more young people break out of the cycle of poverty and achieve their full potential.
Tags: child care, participation, standard of living, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Recent Comments