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Forget Occupy, the real divide is generational
Saturday, September 22nd, 2012
Sep. 21 2012
Those under 45 are squeezed – squeezed for time at home, and squeezed for money because they’re burdened with higher student debt and paying higher housing prices with lower wages. And when they choose to have kids, they are squeezed for child-care services, which often cost the equivalent of another mortgage… Championing social policy for generations facing tough times is a big part of Canada’s legacy.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, pensions, poverty, standard of living, youth
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Canada’s made a choice: health, not education
Wednesday, September 12th, 2012
Sep. 12 2012
… investments in education aren’t just useful, they’re essential for human development, economic competitiveness, a flourishing democracy, individual fulfilment and raising the productivity on which depends the country’s long-term ability to finance government programs, including health care.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, standard of living
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
More health care doesn’t mean better health
Wednesday, September 5th, 2012
Sep. 05 2012
How much a society spends on health care has not been found to be directly related to any health outcome tested… It has been known for some time that the better off people are in terms of income, social status, social networks, sense of control over their lives, self-esteem and education, the healthier they are… not only because wealthier people can buy more food, clothing, shelter and other necessities, but also because wealthier people have more choices and control over decisions in their lives.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Ontario has greatest rise in rich-poor gap in Canada: report
Saturday, September 1st, 2012
Aug. 29 2012
The report by the Ontario Common Front puts the province at the bottom of the pack when it comes to funding and access to public programs and services ranging from health care to education and justice to disability benefits… The report says the austerity budget brought in this year by Premier Dalton McGuinty to fight a $15-billion deficit will worsen the province’s record in spite of the Liberal government’s promise to eliminate poverty… Over the last generation, from 1981 to 2010, Ontario experienced the largest change in income inequality of any province in Canada, the report says. During the same period, it says Ontario had the country’s second highest increase in the poverty rate.
Tags: budget, ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
For Republicans, Canada is a convenient truth
Monday, August 27th, 2012
26 August 2012
As recently as 2010, this country was a socialist gulag where death panels decided who lived and who died. Today, we are a model of low taxes, balanced budgets and responsible energy development… The country hasn’t changed at all. What has changed are conservative talking points in the United States. Then, they needed Canada to be a model of failure. Now, they need Canada to be a model of success.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
Ottawa’s pooled-pension proposal gets thumbs-down
Monday, August 27th, 2012
23 August 2012
Ottawa’s proposed new pension system is little more than the existing RRSP program with a new label, and could actually be a worse option for low-income earners, according to a new analysis by the C.D. Howe Institute… the program needs provincial buy-in to be introduced across the country… Ontario said earlier this year it has concerns about the program and believes a better option might be to expand existing Canada Pension Plan coverage.
Tags: economy, ideology, pensions, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | No Comments »
Canada’s new immigration rules put premium on young people
Monday, August 27th, 2012
21 August 2012
New immigration rules will target workers aged 18 to 35… Canada will rely on young immigrants to soften the fiscal pain of a demographic crunch… Driving the change is the concern that the ratio of working-age Canadians to retirees is shifting dramatically… “If you were going to design an immigration system that was going to help employers keep wages low, this is pretty close to what you’d want”…
Tags: economy, globalization, immigration, pensions, standard of living, youth
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
First Nations must be partners, not an afterthought
Monday, August 27th, 2012
22 August 2012
The old approach of limited, back-end consultation must be swept away. It only leads to frustration, injunctions and conflict. The new standard, as articulated in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, is “free, prior and informed consent.” From a practical standpoint, this means “engage early and engage often” with First Nations – right from conception to the last spike… Together, we can create the conditions for shared success.
Tags: economy, Indigenous, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Policy, not cutting labour costs, is the key to preserving our auto industry
Monday, August 27th, 2012
20 August 2012
Direct hourly labour costs are less than 5 per cent of the total cost of designing, engineering, manufacturing, transporting and selling a new vehicle. Yet they capture 99 per cent of the attention. If the analysts are serious about preserving and building this industry for the long term, they’d better… start to imagine an all-round industrial policy framework – like those in other successful jurisdictions – that offers a more promising economic recipe.
Tags: economy, globalization, pensions, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Canada should train doctors to specialize in addiction
Monday, August 27th, 2012
20 August 2012
… despite the fact that recent advances in addiction research have helped identify effective new treatments, there are few skilled physicians to prescribe them… according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, untreated substance abuse costs Canadians about $40-billion a year… a lot of attention has been placed on expensive criminal justice measures while helping addicts and their families has been given short shrift. The results have been predictable.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, mental Health, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Debates | 1 Comment »
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