Archive for the ‘Social Security’ Category
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Seniors need income security
Friday, December 11th, 2015
Some 45-plus years after our group was launched out of a concern for senior citizens, there are still older adults who face poverty or are already living in poverty. Most of them are single and most of them are women… The CPP average amount as of July 2015 for new beneficiaries is $640.23; OAS maximum is $569.95 and GIS maximum for a single individual is $772.83. Total monthly income: $1,983.01. Or if one never paid into CPP… then the amount would be $1,342.78.
Tags: budget, pensions, poverty, standard of living, women
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Welfare in Canada, 2014
Tuesday, December 8th, 2015
In 2014, welfare incomes for single employable households ranged from 38.2 percent of the after-tax poverty line in Manitoba to a ‘high’ of 64.7 percent in Newfoundland and Labrador. Most of the other jurisdictions cluster around the lower rate. Welfare incomes for single persons with disabilities, while low, were slightly higher, ranging from 49.6 percent of the poverty line in Alberta to 69.9 percent in Ontario.
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | 1 Comment »
What the poverty advocates forget about Canada’s flirtation with a basic income
Tuesday, December 8th, 2015
A basic income is also popular with some socialists and do-gooders, who see in it the chance of eliminating poverty outright. But the very merits of a minimum income make it difficult to test… Will we really just be able to dismiss all the social workers, all the outreach agencies and urban homelessness fighters? That seems to be part of the idea in Finland, whose centre-right prime minister has talked of “simplifying the social security system.”
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Five lessons from the failing fight against child poverty
Friday, November 27th, 2015
The new federal government’s pledge to implement the Canada Child Benefit while eliminating the Universal Child Care Benefit and the Canada child tax credit is predicted to help Ontario exceed its child poverty reduction target ahead of schedule. Ontario will need its federal partner to do some of the heavy lifting when it comes to ending chronic homelessness and expanding affordable housing units as well.
Tags: budget, child care, featured, homelessness, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security History | No Comments »
The Canada Social Report… So Far
Thursday, November 26th, 2015
The Canada Social Report provides information that includes, but goes well beyond, Census-based data. The Welfare Incomes, Social Assistance Summaries, Social Policy Record and Minimum Wage sections are prime examples. This paper describes the current content of the Canada Social Report… It is a resource for the entire social sector – to give all of us a strong voice and a powerful evidence base for informed policy conversations and the formulation of intelligent policy solutions.
Tags: economy, featured, Health, homelessness, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | No Comments »
Queen’s Park is failing hungry Ontarians
Thursday, November 26th, 2015
“Social assistance is simply too low” … half of the people on welfare or disability supports rely on food banks. “People are being as generous as they can be… but the government is relying on the goodwill and generosity of volunteers to do what the government needs to do.” There’s no dignity in it, there’s no health in it. They shouldn’t have to, not for food, in one of the wealthiest countries on earth.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, housing, ideology, mental Health, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
Fine sentiments but no progress on child poverty
Thursday, November 26th, 2015
Every autumn for the past 30 years, the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC) has sent a delegation to Queen’s Park to ask the province’s political leaders to eliminate — not reduce — poverty. Two generations of legislators have nodded politely and done little… Matthews unveiled her government’s poverty reduction strategy seven years ago. Since then Ontario’s child poverty has climbed to 20 per cent from 15.2 per cent.
Tags: budget, featured, housing, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
2015 Report Cards on Child and Family Poverty in Canada: Let’s End Child Poverty for Good.
Tuesday, November 24th, 2015
Campaign 2000 presents the latest statistics on child and family poverty and outlines how it impacts on multiple dimensions of children’s lives – including health, mental health, educational achievement and future employment opportunities… Key Findings… Child poverty has increased since 1989: from 15.8% to 19% today; 40% of Indigenous children live in poverty. 37% of children in poverty reside in households with full time, full year employment.
Tags: budget, child care, featured, Health, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living, youth
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | 2 Comments »
Poverty reduction needs more than food banks
Thursday, November 19th, 2015
… less than proud of the fact that 850,000 people need to access their services each and every month… HungerCount puts forward four broad policy recommendations: Create a basic income to replace provincial social assistance programs; Increase the availability of affordable housing; Invest in skills training for Canadians most at risk of failing in the labour market; Increase access to traditional foods and reduce the cost of store-bought foods in northern communities.
Tags: Health, housing, ideology, mental Health, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
The economic case for tackling poverty
Tuesday, November 10th, 2015
… there would be higher consumer spending. Simply put, fewer low-income individuals would boost the GDP… fewer Canadians ensnared in poverty would free up scarce public resources for more productive purposes… [It would] liberate an untapped source of labour… [provide] social and economic stability… But finally, the best reason to eradicate poverty is simply because it is the right thing to do. Economists don’t need to prove this with a fancy cost-benefit model.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
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