Archive for the ‘Inclusion Debates’ Category
We have a homelessness emergency in every part of Ontario
Tuesday, March 14th, 2023
… the cause and effect are apparent… Ontario would need to increase its budget by $28 billion a year to spend what other provinces are spending. This extreme underspending will be a disaster for our communities… Ontario municipalities are unique in Canada in that they pay all or part of the costs of a range of health and social services such as public health and social housing.
Tags: budget, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
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It’s time to close the breach at Roxham Road and enforce Canada’s borders
Tuesday, February 21st, 2023
It’s not mainly a question of money. The people working to receive and care for asylum seekers are limited. The number of new classes we can add to accommodate children, many of whom are distressed or traumatized, is limited, and that’s not to mention the shortage of teachers… housing… We have therefore asked the federal government to settle new asylum seekers in other provinces that are capable of supporting them with dignity.
Tags: housing, immigration, jurisdiction, multiculturalism, participation, standard of living
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There’s money for police and the World Cup. So why did council give the cold shoulder to warming centres?
Thursday, February 9th, 2023
The city owns big heated buildings that are empty at night. We could unlock the doors and let them sit inside… Instead, [Council] made yet another request to the provincial and federal governments to chip in dollars to help out… the city’s current shelter system “has the ability to meet the need” without doing so… On the icy Toronto streets, when our city government fails to act, lives are at stake.
Tags: budget, homelessness, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
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Don’t delay federal disability benefit
Saturday, November 12th, 2022
Ten per cent of able-bodied working age adults live below the poverty line, compared with 14 per cent of those with mild disabilities and 28 per cent of those whose disabilities are severe… The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance highlights other problems with the bill… It doesn’t detail “the size of the benefit, when it will start, how much if any will it be increased due to inflation, and who is eligible for it.”
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, ideology, participation, pensions, poverty, standard of living
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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
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How a Massive Expansion of Public Housing Can Pay for Itself
Tuesday, May 31st, 2022
… public or non-profit housing could be built and run at break-even rents about a third lower than those of private rental housing… the provincial government could invest in creating new rental homes at a scale that would fundamentally transform our broken housing system. But there’s no reason in principle that this type of self-financed public housing couldn’t be built by any willing level of government. The federal government could certainly do it and so could large municipalities
Tags: budget, economy, housing, ideology, participation, privatization, standard of living
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It’s election time and Ontario still chooses not to eliminate poverty
Tuesday, May 10th, 2022
During the campaign, Ontarians will hear a lot of about affordability, except those conversations will not focus on those who can afford the least… no matter who wins this election, people who need social assistance will find themselves in the same place they were in before the election, and the election before that. They will still be in deep, deep poverty.
Tags: budget, disabilities, economy, featured, housing, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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We can’t simply build our way out of our housing crisis
Friday, April 29th, 2022
More new housing will help if it’s the kind of housing that is currently lacking, built for the people who need it most. Various studies indicate that 40 to 50 per cent of people in Canada are living paycheque-to-paycheque. That is, nearly half the population of this prosperous country are income insecure. Plans for new housing must prioritize these people.
Tags: budget, featured, homelessness, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living
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Convoy protesters talked a lot about freedom. But here’s the real threat to Canadians being free
Tuesday, April 12th, 2022
On the left we need to hear people’s concerns on freedom of speech and individual autonomy. And on the right, there must be openness to talk about how true freedom is contingent on everyone having the basics needed to make a real go at life. We can wave our flags and fight for our causes but let’s also step up to the moment and have real dialogue about what freedom truly means.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, poverty, rights, standard of living
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How did Ontario’s disgraceful disability support program get so bad?
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022
The vast majority of Ontarians with a disability are not on the program. Of those who are, 57 per cent have either mental illnesses or developmental disabilities. Nevertheless, the PCs’ new “vision” for the disabled continues to push the optimistic goal of finding jobs for them… Instead, they are ignored by a provincial government that can afford to give wealthy people a break on their power rates, vacationers a tax break for renting a cottage, maybe even make licence plates free, a cheap political stunt that would cost $1 billion a year.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, pensions, poverty, standard of living
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