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How Toronto’s boutique academies will work
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
Jan. 18, 2012
The Toronto District School Board has opened registration for its new boutique academies – including all-boys, all-girls, sports-focused and music-specialized programs – located at nine elementary schools… the TDSB will be tracking the success of these new academies, both internally, and through research partnerships with Ontario universities, such as Toronto, York and Nipissing… “Producing athletes isn’t our goal, but it will probably be a by-product… TDSB officials hope the boys leadership academy… will keep their male students more engaged through hands-on activities and the provision of role models.
Tags: Health, ideology, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
The haves and have-nots of medicare
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Jan. 17, 2012
There’s an ominous new meaning for two-tier medicine in Canada: rather than one system for rich people and one for the poor, it will be one system for rich provinces and one for the poor… There isn’t a truly equal level of health care in Canada even now. Wealthy provinces have hospitals and programs that poorer ones can only envy. Wait times for certain procedures can vary widely between jurisdictions… The question is: will Ottawa’s new no-strings-attached funding proposal exacerbate the discrepancies in health care that already exist? And does Ottawa even care if it does?
Tags: budget, Health, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Premiers don’t need slush fund to innovate in health care
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Jan. 17, 2012
Financial necessity is the best spur to innovation, not a slush fund labelled Innovation. But the premiers, even those who had seemed to welcome a unilateral federal funding plan, can’t seem to focus on the next steps to building a more innovative, agile, cost-effective health-care system. Not to mention one of higher quality… An Innovation Fund is not the mother of invention. Necessity is.
Tags: budget, Health, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Beware Ottawa bearing gifts: Classic federalism is back
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Jan. 17, 2012
The federal government has involved itself in numerous areas of provincial jurisdiction, including health, education and welfare, by using the so-called spending power… on the assumption that the federal government can spend money… for any purpose at all, even if the purpose is a matter of provincial, not federal jurisdiction… Executive federalism… has contributed mightily to the problem by generating so many shared-cost programs… the revival of classical federalism is an essential part of the revival of classical liberalism, with emphasis on smaller government, lower taxes and balanced budgets.
Tags: economy, ideology, tax
Posted in Governance Delivery System | No Comments »
In Canada, unlike the U.S., the American dream lives on
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Jan. 16, 2012
… the U.S. is richer, but it’s also significantly more unequal, and a lot less mobile… For now, at least, the dream of upward mobility in Canada is still alive. Canadians can thank a legacy of sound public policy and a more progressive tax system… [But] Ottawa and most of the provinces are running large budget deficits, and education and health care are already targets as governments hunt for savings. [and] Rising income inequality is chipping away at the opportunities of future generations… wealthy Canadians may be forming exclusionary institutions in a drift toward Americanization.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
Why medicare needs Ottawa
Monday, January 16th, 2012
Jan. 16, 2012
Writing cheques and walking away from the duty to improve medicare is not only a retrograde step that endangers health care and the economy, it also reveals a vision of an increasingly shrivelled and parochial federation, where governments look inward and the whole becomes a pastiche of increasingly isolated parts. Here are seven reasons why a strong federal presence in health care is vital to Canada:
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Brad Wall prescribes collaborative federalism to improve health care
Sunday, January 15th, 2012
Jan. 13, 2012
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is planning to push his provincial colleagues to band together and ask Ottawa for a health care innovation fund that would provide extra money for projects to improve patient care… he believes the federal government has left the door open to doing more on health care than it is currently offering… the Harper government’s “unilateral declaration” did not foster good will, but he and his officials are not dwelling on that. He said an innovation fund could also help the provinces set up electronic health records.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Can Liberals find sweet spot between prosperity and equality?
Sunday, January 15th, 2012
Jan. 15, 2012
Those who are most aggrieved about poverty and equality will be the least accessible voters on the left for the Liberal Party. A more rational strategy would carve out new ideas for advancing prosperity and improving equality. More job opportunities for all, and better income growth for those who have been struggling… In that most Canadian of ways, mainstream voters want a focus on strengthening the economy for everyone, not limiting the gains at the top to narrow the gap with the bottom… The other parties seem more drawn to the zero-sum-game framework.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
B.C. balks at federal health-funding plan
Sunday, January 15th, 2012
Jan. 13, 2012
The package includes something the provinces have long asked for: No strings attached. But the money will be distributed on a per capita basis. Ms. Clark now says that formula needs to be age-adjusted to reflect the fact that seniors require more expensive health care… Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has warned that necessary innovations in home care for seniors and other health-care reforms will suffer if the federal government doesn’t help set national standards. Ms. Clark… will seek an agreement with fellow premiers to ask Ottawa for an additional pot of money to direct to health care innovations.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
The virtue of ‘at-risk’ in hospital executive pay
Thursday, January 12th, 2012
Jan. 10, 2012
During this critical time when hospitals are being merged and exceptional change agents are needed to take them to the next level, salary caps would be a mistake. But Ontario is wrong-headed in letting each hospital’s board determine compensation guidelines and standards for executives… A good framework would provide some consistency to compensation… (and a) significant portion of executive pay be dependent on attaining performance indicators
Tags: budget, Health
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
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