Archive for the ‘Social Security Debates’ Category
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A quick way to ease poverty
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Aug 17 2010
Urging people to get jobs and then stripping them of the financial benefits that come with work makes little sense. But that is just what Ontario’s welfare system does… It’s no less cruel and senseless to force people into destitution before they can apply for benefits; to restrict their access to education opportunities once they are receiving assistance; and to penalize them for emergency loans. Ontario’s punitive rule-bound social assistance system not only humiliates and demoralizes recipients, it impedes their transition to the workforce — ultimately costing taxpayers more, not less.
Tags: featured, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Fix welfare rules, panel urges provinceFix welfare rules, panel urges province
Monday, August 16th, 2010
Aug 16 2010
The panel’s mandate was to identify changes that wouldn’t cost the government much money in advance of a long-awaited broader review of the system expected this fall. Social Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur made four of the changes in March. But… [Ontario’s Social Assistance Review Advisory Council] are still waiting for action on the remaining nine. The panel is publicly releasing its February report Monday to turn up the heat.
Tags: poverty, standard of living
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Plight of poor puts Canada’s social fabric at risk
Saturday, August 7th, 2010
August 6, 2010
“Poverty affects us all,” said Eggleton… “If we help give these people the tools they need to lift them up — education, training, support services, child care — they are contributing to our social programs. We’ve got an aging population and if we don’t have workers contributing to CPP and EI we’re in trouble.”
Tags: economy, Health, poverty
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Poverty absent from premiers’ agenda
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Aug 04 2010
Rothman, director of social reform at Family Service Toronto and national co-ordinator of Campaign 2000, wants the premiers to commit themselves to eradicating poverty. … for the most part, she says, the disadvantaged have not benefitted from the stimulation programs of the last two years. “We think it’s very important to send a strong message across the land that poverty prevention and eradication is the business of all governments… Are the premiers up the challenge? Rothman was asked. “We’ll see.”
Tags: poverty, standard of living
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Provinces need to pull children out of poverty
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Aug. 3, 2010
Canada’s impoverished children deserve to be at the table of the country’s economic recovery. Why then, on the agenda of the premiers meeting in Winnipeg this week, is there no mention of how to pull those families that suffered most damage from the recession along in the plan for sustained growth? They need a recovery more than anyone else… We [the SPC of Winnipeg and Campaign 2000] want the Council of the Federation to establish a working group to report back in a year to outline core provincial/territorial roles and expected federal contributions to a joint plan “to eliminate poverty in Canada for all.” And, we want the premiers to pressure the federal government to contribute to the plan and to join a task force to implement it.
Tags: featured, poverty, standard of living
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Hard to have Dignity if you’re Hungry
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
July 26, 2010
The cancellation of the Special Diet Allowance and meagre increases in social assistance rates are setbacks on any promised path to transform social assistance. If a person is hungry, it is harder to learn, to work, to avoid depression, to avoid chronic diseases such as diabetes and to “eat right.” Hundreds of thousands of Ontario residents need more healthy food now… The organizations signing this joint statement also commit to work together with our patients, clients, neighbours and fellow Ontario residents in support of their equal rights to an income that provides a life of health and dignity.
Tags: Health, poverty
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Fight poverty to spur recovery
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
Jul 24 2010
… the reality that has unfolded for many Canadians living in poverty since recession hit here in 2008 has yet to show up in the numbers. To make a tough situation worse, Canadians entered the recession financially exposed… We can choose to stand idly by waiting for the poverty statistics to catch up with reality and force us into action. Or we could act now, while so many children and their families are hurting… The real question remains: Is poverty elimination still on the minds of those in government as we try to recover from this recession?
Tags: economy, featured, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Jet fighters wrong priority
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
July 20, 2010
We are appalled at the Harper government’s decision to spend billions of dollars on military jets… (it) calls to all decent Canadians to speak up for a change in priorities in these economic hard times. Women, children, and senior (seasoned) citizens are increasingly vulnerable as a result of cuts to social programs. The homeless and people with mental-health challenges are at risk for their very lives because of the do-nothing or do-too-little measures taken on their behalf.
Tags: budget, homelessness, mental Health, poverty, women
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Charities forced to turn away clients
Saturday, July 17th, 2010
Jul 16 2010
A survey of 311 charities and voluntary organizations conducted this spring by the Social Planning Network of Ontario showed that demand for services — everything from food assistance to suicide counselling — is still rising while donations dwindle… Government funding to non-profit agencies started to fall this year. The social planning network expects sharper declines as political leaders shift from stimulus to austerity. Half the agencies in the survey expect to emerge from the economic downturn irreversibly damaged.
Tags: economy, poverty, standard of living
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Canada’s poverty picture startling — unless it’s inaccurate
Sunday, July 11th, 2010
July 10, 2010
In the 1990s, the overwhelming majority of welfare dependants in Canada were employable adults. In Ontario and some other provinces, most are now classified as unemployable persons with disabilities… Many of these poor are victims of the cruel policy adopted by the provinces in the 1970s of deinstitutionalizing psychiatric patients without providing them with adequate support in the community.” Alleviating the misery of these neediest of impoverished Canadians will not be easy or inexpensive, but should get top priority…
Tags: disabilities, mental Health, poverty
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