Archive for the ‘Inclusion’ Category
Government expects $140M in savings this year with refugee health care co-pay
Friday, May 8th, 2026
Claimants will cover a $4 fee for prescriptions and cover 30 per cent of the cost for services not typically covered by the public health care system… co-pays are expected to cover about $140 million in 2026-27, including $92.9 million in savings from dental care alone… Another $10.6 million is expected to be saved on prescriptions, $6.2 million from vision care, and $16.7 million from counselling… Routine doctor visits, emergency medicine, vaccines, hospital stays and lab work continue to be fully covered by the program.
Tags: budget, Health, immigration, jurisdiction, pharmaceutical
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | 10 Comments »
Ford government’s internal surveys expose failures in disability job training program
Friday, May 8th, 2026
Ford’s plan to get Ontarians off social assistance and into jobs is failing those with complex disabilities, according to the province’s own research… employers “don’t know how to support” workers with disabilities, and performance targets are pressuring agencies to place clients into jobs too quickly — even when those with “complex barriers” need more time to prepare… the Ford government hired third-party operators to oversee the program’s new rules for funding and contract renewals… “The new model is a disaster”
Tags: budget, disabilities, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Delivery System, Inclusion Delivery System | 15 Comments »
How Ottawa’s ‘cruel’ process keeps the majority of Canadians with disability from getting the Disability Tax Credit
Monday, April 27th, 2026
To qualify, a person with disabilities has to be certified through the DTC system… The eligibility criteria are narrow and exclude episodic disabilities and mental health. The certification process is costly and cumbersome, requiring the stamp of approval of a medical practitioner. Women, people with mental-health and episodic disabilities, and those with low income are routinely squeezed out.
Tags: disabilities, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | 6 Comments »
Reclaiming the public square in a time of rupture
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026
… neoliberal economic policies and market changes have created a persistent and growing divide between Canada’s wealthiest and poorest households… [and] a considerable shrinking of the public space through successive laws enacted since 9/11… The scope of our advocacy must expand. It should focus on the rebuilding of resilient communities and the public good and challenge neoliberal modalities about the economy and its excessive income inequality.
Tags: featured, participation, philanthropy, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
The wrong people are being asked to pay for Canada’s crisis in health care
Friday, February 6th, 2026
Starting on May 1, 2026, beneficiaries [of the Interim Federal Health Program(IFHP)]such as asylum seekers and refugees will be required to copay 30 per cent of the cost of supplemental health benefits, in addition to a $4 for every prescription filled or renewed… This also applies to dental care, physiotherapy, and mental health treatment. For refugees, these services are not optional; they are essential, and paying 30 per cent of their cost is simply not feasible.
Tags: Health, immigration, participation, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
I don’t have dental insurance. Do I qualify for the federal government’s dental care plan?
Tuesday, January 20th, 2026
For Canadians whose annual income is between $80,000 and $89,999, the CDCP will cover 40 per cent of eligible oral health-care services; for those in the $70,000 to $79,999 range, the plan covers 60 per cent, and those whose income is less than $70,000 receive 100 per cent coverage. You can see exactly what’s covered on the government of Canada’s website. In many cases you will have a co-payment based on your adjusted family net income.
Tags: Health, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
Canada will reduce international student permits by more than half, budget reveals
Wednesday, November 5th, 2025
The 2026-28 plan will allocate 239,800 permanent residence spots for economic immigration, and 84,000 for family reunification programs, including the sponsorships of spouses and parents/grandparents. The share of skilled immigrants will go up from 59 per cent to 64 per cent, while spaces for protected persons and resettled refugees from abroad will drop from 68,350 this year to 56,200 in 2026 and 54,300 in 2027 and 2028.
Tags: economy, immigration, jurisdiction
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Budget to include millions to help foreign-trained workers get credentials recognized, expand skilled-trades training
Tuesday, October 28th, 2025
The federal government recruits skilled immigrants to come to Canada, but then those immigrants see their credentials turned down by individual provinces or regulatory bodies… The increased training money will help mitigate a shortage of people trained in the skilled trades — a gap that is expected to grow over the next decade… The government also announced a temporary federal tax credit of up to $1,100 for personal support workers.
Tags: budget, economy, immigration, jurisdiction
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Rethinking Philanthropy: Emerging paradigms of social justice
Tuesday, October 21st, 2025
… past forms of saviourism, in which historically disadvantaged countries and communities are seen as helpless actors waiting to be saved, will need to be dismantled. The shift in mindset is from saving “the other” (whomever that other might be) and, instead, recognizing the responsibility to contribute to a more equitable and sustainable society… By recognizing social justice as a collective project we all have personal responsibility to advance, solidarity emerges as a tool for our collective agenda in which it is only rational to invest.
Tags: ideology, multiculturalism, participation, philanthropy, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 121 Comments »
Mark Carney’s tax plan will lift more Canadians ‘above the poverty line,’ advocates say
Sunday, October 12th, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Friday that starting in 2027, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) would begin auto-filing tax returns for low-income Canadians, allowing them to simply confirm the information in a pre-filed tax return… The Canada Child Benefit, the GST credit and the Canada Disability Benefit are among several benefits that Canadians can only receive if they file a tax return.
Tags: featured, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
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