Archive for the ‘Inclusion Debates’ Category
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Funding cuts could unshackle Canadian civil society
Saturday, April 14th, 2012
Apr 14 2012
… the Conservatives may have done Canada a favour. Deprived of federal funding, independently-minded activists will have to learn new ways of ethically raising money from individuals, communities, and businesses. By multiplying their revenue sources, social justice groups will reduce their vulnerability to single-source arm-twisting. By going private, they will no longer have to worry about offending government ministers. This new, American-style approach to promoting social justice could be a good thing.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights
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Broadbent poll uncovers public desire to close inequality gap
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
Apr 09 2012
The biggest worry among Canadians is that it will lead to declining living standards, followed by concern about increased crime, and the erosion of public health care and other public services. The majority of Canadians are also worried that income inequality leads to fewer opportunities for young Canadians to do as well or better than their parents… Perhaps most alarming in the long run is that a majority believe that the growing gap can erode the quality of our democracy. No matter where you live or how much you make, our public opinion research shows that the growing gap is viewed as decidedly un-Canadian.
Tags: budget, ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »
Canadians open to tax hikes to create more equal society, poll finds
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
Apr. 10, 2012
… talk of raising taxes has been considered political suicide for more than a decade. But the survey commissioned by the Broadbent Institute suggests that most Canadians would not be opposed to paying a little more to preserve social programs and prevent the poor from falling even further behind… More than three-quarters of the respondents (77 per cent) said they viewed the gap between the very rich and the rest of Canadians to be a serious problem with long-term negative consequences for society… a clear majority of Conservative voters (59 per cent) also felt that way.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Ontario budget is a requiem for a caring province
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
Mar 27 2012
Most Ontarians accept the need for belt-tightening. What they don’t accept — at least not yet — is that this province can no longer afford to support the vulnerable. That is the premise on which Tuesday’s budget… is built… It is the small items – cutbacks imposed on those eking out a precarious existence – that raise questions about McGuinty’s values. Although the premier enacted a poverty reduction plan in 2009, he has now effectively renounced it.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, Health, homelessness, ideology, mental Health, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Do Canadians need more direct democracy?
Friday, March 23rd, 2012
March 6, 2012
… voting is a critical component of any functioning democracy, but it is certainly not the only one. Equally important is the presence of political discourse, public debate and consultation, and accommodating citizen demands. The problem with this, though, is that so few opportunities exist for ordinary citizens to participate directly in the political process – especially when it comes to actually influencing or shaping public policy and political decisions.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Is the Conservative government muzzling federal scientists?
Monday, February 27th, 2012
Feb 26 2012
… the Conservative government issued a media protocol that has served to suppress scientific input on issues of public interest. The protocol states: “Just as we have one department, we should have one voice. Interviews sometimes present surprises to ministers and senior management. Media relations will work with staff on how best to deal with the call (an interview request from a journalist). This should include asking the program expert to respond with approved lines.”
Tags: ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Outsourcing: the new way to balance government budgets in Canada
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
Feb 21 2012
It is sometimes necessary to bring in private contractors to provide specialized knowledge or technical expertise. But not for budgets. They are the direction-setting documents of government… But today, leaders’ speeches consist mostly of generalities. And spending estimates are rarely examined by Parliament. By default, budgets have become the road map to the future. To ensure that they reflect the choices of the people — not just those of the leader — the budget-making process must be as transparent as possible, especially now as all three levels of government embark on retrenchment campaigns that will require difficult sacrifices. Yet each leader has made — or tried to make — the process more opaque.
Tags: budget, participation, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »
Where are Canada’s new immigrants settling?
Saturday, February 11th, 2012
Feb 10, 2012
According to the 2011 census, two-thirds of the people added to the Canadian population since 2006 were immigrants. The breakdown of where they came from will come in later releases, but the 2006 census offers a strong indication of the trends. The National Post’s graphics team takes a look:
Tags: immigration, multiculturalism
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Don’t shut disabled kids out of society
Sunday, February 5th, 2012
Jan. 31, 2012
Dr. Snowdon makes three main recommendations: * Create a single online reference tool that lists all community programs, services and professional care available to people with disabilities. * Invest in programs where disabled kids are integrated, not segregated, so they can feel part of their community. * Find ways to expand the social networks of children and teenagers to break the isolation… being a “virtual” citizen is only a baby step in the right direction, it’s not enough… isolation was far more painful to live with than physical or development disabilities themselves.
Tags: disabilities, participation, rights, standard of living, youth
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Liberals must commit to protect vulnerable
Monday, January 30th, 2012
Jan. 30, 2012
Protecting the vulnerable is what liberalism is all about. In today’s terms, it means improving the level of support to those who must rely on social assistance. It means increasing the inventory of affordable housing for low-income tenants. It means assisting those who face a future perplexed by dementia. It means generating meaningful employment opportunities for the unemployed and under-employed. It means helping those criminal offenders who are candidates for rehabilitation to find a productive and law-abiding future. It means a health-care system that provides quality care to all our citizens…
Tags: disabilities, homelessness, ideology, Indigenous, poverty, standard of living, women, youth
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