Archive for the ‘Inclusion Debates’ Category
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The multicultural mirage
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
Oct. 06, 2010
Casting differences among groups in terms of culture is asking for trouble. Because you can’t ask the state to treat cultural traditions with equal respect. Homophobia and honour killing may be cultural traditions. That doesn’t mean a liberal democratic state is obliged to respect them; it’s obliged not to. What you can ask of the state is that it treat individuals of different identities with equal respect. In practice, this means that, if something matters deeply to an identity group, the state will try to reach an accommodation with them, so long as doing so isn’t too costly, or irreconcilable with liberal democratic values (including those of basic morality).
Tags: ideology, multiculturalism, participation, rights
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Gap between rich and poor won’t be closing any time soon
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
Oct. 04, 2010
Between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s, income inequality grew faster in Canada than in all but one of 17 leading developed countries, according to the Conference Board of Canada’s 2010 performance report. And yet we don’t like to acknowledge inequality, in spite of its obvious link to poverty, crime and other social problems. Many people may be oblivious to the fact that it even exists.
Tags: ideology, standard of living, tax
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Women are changing the face of philanthropy
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
Oct 03 2010
Women… are changing the face of philanthropy, as part of a global movement propelled by the increasing wealth, influence and independence women wield, says Beverley Wybrow, president and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. One example: From 1967 to 2002, Canadian women’s incomes rose by 81 percent, compared with 32 per cent for men, according to Statistics Canada… Many women today use their influence to give more strategically, and in different ways, than men or women did in the past…
Tags: philanthropy, standard of living, women
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »
New GG lays out vision for Canada’s future
Friday, October 1st, 2010
Oct 01 2010
“A nation where all Canadians can grow their talents to the maximum. A nation where all Canadians can succeed and contribute… But there is much work to be done to fully achieve our vision of a smart and caring nation… I believe it is essential to support families and children, to reinforce learning and innovation and to encourage philanthropy and volunteerism,” said Johnston, as he outlined what his focus would be in his time as the 28th governor general. Johnston described those principles as the three pillars for his vision of what Canada would look like as it celebrates its 150th birthday in 2017.
Tags: participation, standard of living
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‘My smiles matched yours’ [Michaëlle Jean]
Friday, October 1st, 2010
Oct 01 2010
In September 2005, I told you that nothing in today’s society is more disgraceful than the marginalization of certain young people who are driven to isolation and despair. That we must not tolerate such disparities. That it is our duty to encourage them to join us in this reinvention of the world and, to do so, we must give our young people the power and, even more, the desire to realize their full potential. I made this one of the priorities of my mandate… we are stronger when we join efforts; this I have witnessed.
Tags: multiculturalism, participation, youth
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McQuaig versus Reynolds [taxation & inequality]
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
Sept. 28, 2010
If only tax policy could be so simple: Tax the rich and everybody else gets richer and incomes get equalized. Even more complicated is the underlying assumption of the equality seekers, including Linda McQuaig and Neil Brooks, whose premise is that there is some optimum level of inequality… In a forthcoming paper for the Cato Journal I use data from Piketty and Saez to show that most growth of top 1% incomes since the 1986 tax reform has been the result of shifting income from corporate tax forms to individual tax forms… There were also unusually large increases in reported capital gains and dividends after those tax rates were cut in 1997 and 2003.
Tags: ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Failure to meet mental health needs
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Sep 28 2010
Warehousing inmates and denying treatment does nothing to prepare them for life in the community and in many ways it puts every Canadian at risk. The lack of programs and services and the denial of mental health care and treatment must become a human rights issue. Inmates broke the law but their punishment shouldn’t be a death sentence through the denial of appropriate care and treatment.
Tags: crime prevention, mental Health, rights
Posted in Inclusion Debates, Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Can Canada avoid European-style immigration backlash?
Sunday, September 26th, 2010
September 24, 2010
The conservative [Fraser Institute] think-tank has presented economic analyses arguing the current high immigration rate is a drain on the Canadian economy and, contrary to what most politicians argue, does next to nothing to offset problems dealing with the aging population… [But] B.C. political scientist Ken Carty… noted that Canada was the only country in a major 2003 international survey where a majority viewed immigration positively and didn’t want cuts… “To the extent that continues, it suggests that the immigrant nature of the country is widely understood and appreciated,”
Tags: immigration, multiculturalism, participation, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »
MPs need to back housing bill
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
Sep 22 2010
Homelessness and lack of housing security hurt us all as Canadians. Safe and adequate housing is linked to better health, community stability, and reduced crime, whereas lack of affordable housing exacerbates poverty, isolation and ill-health, and denies people the stability they need to be able to contribute to society. Further, according to recent studies, homelessness costs Canadian taxpayers an estimated $6 billion per year for emergency shelters, social services, criminal justice and other costs.
Tags: homelessness, housing, standard of living
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Happiness costs $75,000 but no more
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
September 22, 2010
A new study from Princeton University shows that money can help buy happiness, but only up to a point — about $75,000 in annual household income, to be exact. Above that amount, more cash has no effect on “emotional well-being,” or how elated, sad or stressed you feel on a day-to-day basis… being poor makes everything worse — unemployment, of course, but also divorce, asthma and (having) a headache; even the weekend… it’s not so much that money buys you happiness, but that a lack of money below $75,000 buys you increasing misery
Tags: featured, Health, mental Health, poverty, standard of living
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