Archive for the ‘Social Security Debates’ Category

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Ontario seeks more information from Ottawa on how to treat CERB for people on social assistance

Friday, April 17th, 2020

… until the province determines how to treat the CERB, case workers have been told not to record the income in Ontario’s computerized benefits system, where the extra cash may trigger automatic clawbacks and even termination of benefits, including drug and medical coverage… A coalition of more than 130 health-care workers, community agencies and Ontarians living in poverty … [are] urging Queen’s Park to boost social assistance rates and not to claw back the CERB from those on OW and ODSP.

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PM’s COVID-19 aid underlines the potential benefits of universal basic income

Sunday, April 12th, 2020

As Annie Lowrey highlights in her book “Give People Money,” UBI would “ensure that every person had some minimal level of capital and, thus, some minimal level of choice.” This is extremely important for the well-being of society… The economic right, on the other hand, sees UBI as an opportunity to get rid of governmental bureaucracy and inefficiencies. It views UBI as a way to replace existing allowance programs, tailored over many years, with an efficient, one-cheque solution.

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Open Letter urges Ontario to boost support for people on social assistance

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

A coalition of more than 130 health care workers, community agencies and Ontarians living in poverty is urging Queen’s Park to increase benefits immediately to almost one million residents on social assistance struggling to survive during the COVID-19 crisis… the coalition says in an open letter to Children, Community and Social Services Minister Todd Smith… “If we are to weather this storm together, we must ensure that nobody in Ontario is left behind”

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Trudeau just green lit a ‘basic income’ for Canadians

Friday, April 3rd, 2020

… a basic income will cost $43 billion annually to implement across Canada. If we factor in provincial income assistance – and get rid of this inadequate cluster of systems – we’re down to $23 billion dollars a year… Incidentally, that’s what we pay every year to make the Canada Child Benefit happen – and not quite half the cost of both the OAS and GIS… let this pandemic be a catalyst for permanent action to stabilize the lives of millions of Canadians and create a healthier, more equitable Canada.

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Stop talking about basic income and do it

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

Most people want to work, people try very hard to find jobs. That said, it really depends on designing your program properly so you’re not setting up a situation in which it actually costs people to go to work. The onus is on the people who introduce basic income to design it properly. We’re going to see over the next few weeks how badly people want to get back to work

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Coronavirus shows it’s time to mend the safety net

Friday, March 20th, 2020

Having now accepted that better job protections and income supports are necessary in this crisis, how can we go back to pretending they’re not needed all the time? … This should be a learning experience that guides better policies for the long-term — not simply one-offs that will disappear when the crisis passes.

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To fight crime, Canada has to fight poverty, inequality and despair

Tuesday, February 11th, 2020

Liberal politicians want to talk about locking up guns and Conservatives want to talk about locking up people… both approaches are reasonable. But they are narrow in focus. They’re designed to appeal to each party’s base, and as such do not come close to addressing the complex issues behind gun and gang violence… How hard is it for politicians to understand that the most effective policies for reducing youth violence are ones that cut poverty

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Canada can end poverty and shrink inequality by adding an annual basic income of $22K, new report says

Thursday, January 23rd, 2020

“Basic income in Canada is not a question of possibilities, but of priorities… It is clear from child and seniors’ benefits that basic income works for many Canadians already. The federal government’s priority now must be to take leadership to make it work for everybody”… “We say we want to do something about poverty. And yet we give away $122 billion worth of tax expenditures every year to people who aren’t anywhere close to the poverty line…”

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Bump in low-income rates expected as Statistics Canada set to redraw poverty line

Monday, December 23rd, 2019

The measure calculates the minimum a person or family would have to earn to afford a basket of goods and services needed to reach a modest or basic living standard… federal officials would decide “on the actions to be taken” with Statscan’s recommendations, including which to implement, and which to send for more research when it comes to making the changes. A final report from Statscan is expected in February.

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Can we ensure everyone has an affordable life?

Wednesday, December 11th, 2019

Health is the great equalizer. No matter where we’re from, what our values are, what our age or our political beliefs, we all want to have a healthy and long life. And if we agree on that, then we can say affordability is about the amount and type of resources we need to live a healthy and thriving life… Individual income is only one component of a broader social safety net that supports a thriving population; employers, government and community all play pivotal roles too.

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