Archive for the ‘Inclusion Debates’ Category
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New tactics in an old fight [child poverty]
Sunday, November 27th, 2011
Nov 26 2011
The child poverty rate has gone down — from 11.9 per cent in 1989 when Parliament passed an all-party resolution pledging to eliminate child poverty by the turn of the millennium, to 9.5 per cent in 2009. But most of the drop is due to economic growth… Policy improvements reinforced these gains. The National Child Benefit, the federal working income tax credit and Ontario’s child benefit helped to ease the plight of low-income parents. What’s still missing are the two things that struggling parents need most: Affordable housing… Affordable child care
Tags: child care, housing, poverty, standard of living
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Abysmal youth vote prompts call for a remedial strategy
Friday, November 25th, 2011
Nov. 25, 2011
there were two very different subgroups of Canadian young people in the lead-up to the last election. Among the university and college set, there was an uptick in interest and enthusiasm for the campaign, Mr. Biggar said. But unemployed, and recently employed, young people were not engaged and many don’t believe their vote matters… Whether it was young people in the aboriginal or ethnic communities, the disabled, the rural youth or the unemployed, all told the Elections Canada survey that they just weren’t interested in voting.
Tags: disabilities, Indigenous, participation, poverty, youth
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »
Celebrate the Canadian way
Monday, November 21st, 2011
Nov. 19, 2011
We should celebrate multiculturalism, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Canadian values that they represent. The best way to do that is to fix the flaws we see and the new ones that will emerge as we proceed. There are many opportunities: We must resolve fairly the human, political and constitutional issues that plague our relations with First Nations peoples (who are also citizens)… Above all, we must attack the growth and criminalization of poverty and homelessness that are both the cause and consequence of every injustice we see, if we look, around us.
Tags: homelessness, multiculturalism, poverty, standard of living
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Canada must address the crisis faced by aboriginal children
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
November 07, 2011
… the council of advocates and UNICEF Canada support another report done by the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children. Key among its recommendations are: developing a rights-based lens for reviewing and amending provincial and federal legislation; establishing systematic monitoring of legislation and programs; abandoning proposed changes to the juvenile justice act. The justice act changes will have their greatest effect on aboriginal youth. Shockingly, as the advocates note, an aboriginal youth is more likely to be sentenced to youth custody than to graduate from high school.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, Indigenous, poverty, rights, standard of living, youth
Posted in Equality Debates, Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Occupiers are blaming the wrong people
Monday, November 7th, 2011
Nov. 06, 2011
It’s not the greedy Wall Street bankers who destroyed these people’s hopes. It’s the virtueocracy itself. It’s the people who constructed a benefit-heavy entitlement system whose costs can no longer be sustained. It’s the politicians and union leaders who made reckless pension promises that are now bankrupting cities and states… In Canada, it’s the social progressives who assure us we can keep on consuming all the health care we want, even as the costs squeeze out other public goods.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living, tax, youth
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Largest-ever study on aboriginals in Toronto finds divided community, racism
Saturday, October 29th, 2011
Oct 28 2011
The largest study of aboriginal people ever conducted in Toronto has found a need for a seniors’ long-term care facility, priority child care spaces and awareness campaigns to correct systemic racism within the justice system. The Toronto Aboriginal Research Project found a divide between the city’s thriving aboriginal middle class and an underclass plagued by poverty and related social challenges… “For the middle class, there aren’t enough institutions for them to connect with aboriginal culture and identity”… For other urban aboriginals, meeting basic daily needs for housing and health remains a challenge.
Tags: child care, Indigenous, multiculturalism, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »
Urban Natives plagued by poverty
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
Oct. 24, 2011
Aboriginal people make up a significant portion of those depending on social assistance. One in four Ontario Native families live below the poverty line and 53% of single Aboriginals living in urban areas fall into the same income bracket… most resources and services geared towards Aboriginals can only be accessed on reserve. When Aboriginals move to urban centres, they often find the legacy of colonialism, racism and residential schools is ignored by the welfare bureaucracy.
Tags: Indigenous, poverty, standard of living
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Index provides a wider measure of progress
Monday, October 24th, 2011
Oct 21 2011
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing measures eight major areas: living standards, community vitality, democratic engagement, education, health, environment, leisure and culture and how we spend our time. While Canada’s GDP increased by an impressive 31 per cent from 1994 to 2008, the Index of Wellbeing rose just 11 per cent, according to the first composite report released this week. And even that modest overall increase masks areas where quality of life actually declined. The time crunch and income inequality both went in the wrong direction.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, standard of living
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New index pinpoints inequalities in Canadians’ quality of life
Friday, October 21st, 2011
Oct. 21, 2011
GDP has its limitations… While a robust tool, it is confined to tracking the value of goods and services traded in a month. Thus it rises when spending increases on war, oil spills or natural disasters. And it fails to capture many activities such as caring for a sick relative or volunteer work. The new index is meant to be more comprehensive, looking at housing affordability, voter turnout, life expectancy, crime, air quality and income inequality. It aims to help governments and communities design public policy and track progress.
Tags: economy, featured, Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 2 Comments »
Slogans and demands won’t change world
Monday, October 17th, 2011
October 15, 2011
… to make poverty scarce, to foment prosperity and to avoid political favouritism for anyone, here are a few general principles Occupy protesters should grasp and promote: Principle One: Subsidize only people in need, never the wealthy or corporations… Principle Two: Be neutral in tax policy…. Principle Three: Always favour consumers over producers… Principle Four: Oppose government-sponsored “Ponzi” schemes… Principle Five: Favour opportunity, wherever it appears.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
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