Archive for the ‘Social Security Debates’ Category

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It’s not too late to fix a government benefit that could lift thousands more Canadians out of poverty

Tuesday, November 26th, 2024

… its very design ensures that [the Canada Disability Benefit] will help far too few people in need. There are two key reasons for its underwhelming impact: unnecessarily restrictive eligibility criteria, and the wildly insufficient size of the benefit… The CRA applies rigid, and often arbitrary criteria, to establish eligibility — especially with respect to mental health conditions and chronic illness… The other critical flaw in the Canada Disability Benefit’s design is the woefully low benefit of only $2,400 per year.

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New Report Finds Record Increases in Child Poverty Rates in Ontario

Wednesday, November 20th, 2024

“For six years and counting, the provincial government has kept the Ontario Works rates frozen, despite record high cost of living and a 20% increase in the prices of goods and services since 2018”… The report card lays out an evidence-based, inclusive and achievable path toward ending child and family poverty in Ontario. It offers over 20 recommendations that would address gaps in income security, child care, child welfare, youth mental health, housing, food security, and decent work.

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Ending child poverty: the time is now

Wednesday, November 20th, 2024

Across all family types, families were living in deeper poverty than they were in 2015, the year the federal poverty reduction strategy measures progress from.  Custom data shows that the Canada Child Benefit has lost its power to sustain poverty reduction and that income inequality among families with children is widening… children from systemically marginalized groups experience significantly disproportionately high poverty rates

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Key takeaways: What is the state of welfare in Canada?

Monday, October 28th, 2024

… overall, adequacy is still a problem. And there are two components…: the actual amount of the benefit, federal and provincial components, and indexation… it’s terrific that more jurisdictions have indexed their benefits or part of their benefits, but this should be a given without any question… maybe it’s time for an income supplement for lower-income families… And third, if there is any increase in any federal benefits, we have to make sure that there is no clawback.

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Basic Income for a New Model of Canadian Social Democracy

Wednesday, May 1st, 2024

Basic income is a paradigm-shifting idea on how to ensure economic security for everyone… Now is the time for the democratic left in Canada to develop a workable and comprehensive version of basic income as a key policy instrument, and not a sideline consideration. Canadian social democrats should incorporate the principle of guaranteed, unconditional and universal economic security as a fundamental program for its vision a better society.

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Basic Income for a New Model of Canadian Social Democracy

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024

Basic income is a paradigm-shifting idea on how to ensure economic security for everyone… there are several pivotal issues around which we can begin to construct a new model of social democracy that incorporates, and complements, a basic income… Canadian social democrats should incorporate the principle of guaranteed, unconditional and universal economic security as a fundamental program for its vision a better society.

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The perverse logic of social assistance

Monday, March 4th, 2024

In Ontario, single adults who are unhoused… receive $343 per month for basic needs, and $0 for shelter. That works out to about $11 per day. No one can say with a straight face that $11 per day is a program designed to help people. How is it possible for someone to get by, let alone to get back on their feet, with so little? … It doesn’t function to bolster their well-being, or stop them from falling further into poverty. Instead, it responds to a person who has lost their home by making their life even harder.

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Ontario Budget 2024 should advance the right to an adequate standard of living

Thursday, February 29th, 2024

To advance the right to an adequate standard of living, Ontario’s Budget 2024 should bolster social assistance, help low-income workers, support rental housing, and work productively with other orders of government to achieve these goals… the government must address the systems acting counter to this goal — social assistance, employment-related supports, and housing services.  

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Child poverty is on the rise in Canada, putting over 1 million kids at risk of life-long negative effects

Friday, February 23rd, 2024

In addition to being a human rights issue, addressing child poverty makes economic sense. This is why addressing child poverty needs to remain a priority for all Canadians. Governments, employers and communities… can do this by: Adopting a national living wage policy…; Reducing food insecurity… through nationally available school food programs; Increasing school readiness by providing universal access to quality early childhood development programs across Canada.

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Canadians want their governments to tackle poverty, but nobody can agree on what to do

Wednesday, January 10th, 2024

Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, lone-parent households, recent immigrants and single adults aged 45 to 64 have a poverty rate that is double or triple that of the rest of the population. More than two-thirds of working-age individuals living in poverty belong to at least one of these groups… Better universal access to affordable quality physical and mental-health care, early childhood care, and social housing are some of the win-win policy actions that encourage both growth and poverty reduction.

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