Archive for the ‘Social Security’ Category
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Ottawa must get serious about poverty reduction
Thursday, October 29th, 2015
… the proposed Canada Child Benefit will boost child-related payments for low- and modest-income families… The Working Income Tax Benefit… helps the working poor and should be strengthened. The federal minimum wage should also be increased… further increases to the Guaranteed Income Supplement for single seniors… A federal basic income program, modelled on the GIS, could replace welfare for low-income persons with disabilities, with resulting savings for the provinces and territories…
Tags: disabilities, economy, featured, ideology
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | 2 Comments »
Ontario government botches rollout of welfare technology
Sunday, October 25th, 2015
… a pricetag that has already swelled by 20 per cent; the fact that department has fumbled the implementation of programs by two different suppliers; reports from local caseworkers that the system still has serious deficiencies – suggest the changeover was poorly planned and executed… The 566,800 Ontarians who depend on social assistance are the province’s most vulnerable residents. More than half have disabilities. It is bad enough that the government doesn’t provide enough financial support to meet their basic needs; to subject them to needless bureaucratic misery is just heartless.
Tags: budget, disabilities, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | No Comments »
What the Liberal victory could mean for your pension plan
Sunday, October 25th, 2015
The Liberals have promised to restore the future eligibility age for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement from 67 to 65… The question remains whether to continue with increased benefits for those who defer collecting OAS to later ages. The Liberals have also promised to raise GIS benefits for single low-income seniors. This move can be expected to lift some of our most vulnerable seniors out of poverty… The most challenging element facing the Liberals involves the Canada Pension Plan…
Tags: ideology, participation, pensions, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 1 Comment »
Nortel’s painful pension lessons
Wednesday, October 21st, 2015
This spring, a panel of Canadian and American judges made a courageous and ground-breaking decision. They required all creditors to share the remaining assets with the pensioners, an almost unheard-of concession in bankruptcies. Until now many pensioners receive nothing as a result of their employers’ bankruptcy… our appeal is this: Accept the settlement and at the same time join the many voices fighting for pension reform in Canada
Tags: economy, pensions, rights, standard of living
Posted in Debates, Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
New hope for a Canada pension fix
Friday, October 16th, 2015
Although Wynne had been planning to bring in an Ontario Retirement Pension Plan in 2017, she is prepared to put it on hold if CPP reform is back on the table after Oct. 19… An enhanced CPP ought to be the preferred option. And Wynne has an ally in New Democratic Leader Tom Mulcair as well… The plan locks in contributions over the long haul, providing a safe, reliable retirement income. But the CPP covers earnings of up to only $53,600, and pays out just $12,780 at most.
Tags: economy, ideology, pensions, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Toronto should not be tops in child poverty
Wednesday, October 14th, 2015
… of 14 major cities, Toronto has the highest percentage of children – a stunning 28.6 per cent – living below the poverty line… of the city’s 140 neighbourhoods, 18 have child poverty rates above 40 per cent, while in Regent Park it’s 63 per cent. And it isn’t getting better. The report notes the poverty rate for children is “stuck” at the 2007 level, and has been getting worse since 2010… it’s because of the high number of newcomers… in the most racialized and diverse neighbourhoods… And partly it’s the trend toward precarious and part-time employment
Tags: budget, economy, housing, ideology, immigration, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 1 Comment »
Social Policy: National Post View
Wednesday, October 14th, 2015
Overall, the Conservatives’ offerings on social policy, while slim, strike us as providing Canadians with the greatest flexibility, allowing them to decide for themselves how to care for their children or save for their retirement, at the lowest cost in additional taxes. As such they best fulfill the doctrine to which doctors adhere, but which policy makers would do well to follow: first do no harm.
Tags: budget, child care, featured, ideology, pensions, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Cost of Ontario’s 1995 ‘welfare diet’ soars amid inadequate rates
Sunday, October 11th, 2015
“The so-called welfare diet of 1995 was not a good diet nor a healthy one… However, it does provide a useful benchmark for comparing the food costs that social assistance recipients have encountered since 1995.” Not only have general welfare rates never recovered from the Harris cuts, the cost of food has skyrocketed… food prices continue to go up at rates that are higher than core inflation… governments should tie minimum wage, welfare and pension increases to the all-items Consumer Price Index.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 1 Comment »
Social safety net stolen from us
Thursday, October 1st, 2015
… to keep the professional class of personal income tax paying voters quiet, there are a multitude of tax exemptions that are geared to be most advantageous or those in the higher wage brackets. Corporations… enjoy the benefit from a multitude of tax exemptions… Those benefits are mostly hidden in the tax system… The total exemptions amount to about one third of the federal budget revenue available, or about $100 billion.
Tags: budget, ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
We can stop hunger in Toronto
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015
Food bank visits were up to almost 897,000 in 2014 in Toronto… a 12-per-cent increase since the 2008 recession… the median length of time people are dependent on the food bank has doubled, from one year to two. That reflects a trend… away from full-time jobs with benefits to precarious part-time, casual work… the federal government has made it tougher to access Employment Insurance. Most surprising in the report are the profiles of those who are hungry… a full 37 per cent of those using the food bank have a college diploma or university degree.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 1 Comment »
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