Archive for the ‘Inclusion’ Category

« Older Entries | Newer Entries »

Ontario has made slow progress to accessibility

Tuesday, March 21st, 2023

… 77 per cent of people with disabilities report having a negative experience in public or at work, while only eight per cent describe their experience as positive. These negative experiences… are the result of a lack of leadership, enforcement, research and accountability, and of flaws in virtually every aspect of the system, including “services, products, technology, buildings, infrastructure, careers, processes and human imagination.” 

Tags:
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »


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: , , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »


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: , , , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »


Private foundations sit on billions of dollars while charities struggle

Thursday, February 9th, 2023

We don’t need more tax breaks for charitable giving — Canada already has among the world’s most generous charitable tax breaks, and we are overflowing with charitable funds. It’s just that we can’t get at them. What’s needed is a major overhaul of Canada’s two-tier charity sector where private foundations controlled by wealthy families sit on mountains of idle cash while thousands of working charities are starved for funds as they struggle to deliver services to Canadians.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »


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: , , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »


A judge’s ruling focuses attention on the homeless crisis

Monday, February 6th, 2023

A court ruling that Waterloo cannot dismantle an encampment may oblige governments to do a better job of ensuring that people have shelter… Clearing encampments is traumatizing for those being moved, costly for taxpayers and ultimately counter-productive, since it only serves to displace unhoused individuals rather than provide lasting accommodation. 

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »


Ontario court rules encampments can stay if there’s a shortage of shelter beds

Monday, January 30th, 2023

In a precedent-setting decision that will have implications across the province, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has denied a municipality’s request to remove a homeless encampment on the basis that doing so – when there is no adequate indoor space – would violate the residents’ Charter rights.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »


Something really, really must be done: an urgent plea for the Canada Disability Benefit to become law in 2023

Monday, January 16th, 2023

The Canada Disability Benefit, a proposed federal disability benefit to complement the inadequate provincial supports, is essential to ending disability poverty… it is also essential that, with the implementation of CDB, there are no clawbacks, that health benefits, transportation allowances, adaptive equipment, employment supports and other in-kind benefits, available from provincial and territorial governments, must remain intact.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »


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: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »


It’s good the government has promised a Canada Disability Benefit. Here’s how to fix the flawed bill

Saturday, November 12th, 2022

The CDB shouldn’t be restricted to “working age” people. The bill should set a mandatory minimum CDB amount, indexed to inflation, and a mandatory start date for paying it… The bill must set specifics on things like eligibility, requirements that cabinet’s regulations can clarify but can’t contradict… It should require that none of the benefit will be clawed back by federal, provincial or territorial programs.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »


« Older Entries | Newer Entries »