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Rethinking education: What the pandemic teaches us about the role of schools
Friday, July 30th, 2021
The incredible unfairness is that some families can provide all the things – camps, drama club, Saturday mornings at the museum – that help develop the skills and competencies that make you thrive in the world. And more and more we’re realizing, they’re it, those skills and competencies. If you don’t have those, it will be very difficult to thrive in the knowledge economy or in our modern world.
Tags: child care, disabilities, economy, ideology, mental Health, participation, rights, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
Developing a costing for a basic income is not a neutral exercise
Tuesday, July 27th, 2021
Creating income floors for everyone in Canada is necessary and desirable, but basic income and income floor are not synonymous… Expanding and improving social assistance, increases in targeted tax credits and benefits, strengthening Employment Insurance, stronger labour standards, and investments in public services would be less costly, more effective, and have fewer negative consequences than the suggested basic income.
Tags: budget, disabilities, economy, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
Ensuring the success of Ontario’s vision for social assistance transformation
Tuesday, July 27th, 2021
The overall vision that MCCSS has laid out for service delivery transformation is encouraging. However, it is important to recognize that the vision set out in the paper can only be realized if meaningful investments are made in public services. To that end, it does not appear that the government of Ontario has a plan to enable the vision’s success. There is only so much progress and fiscal room that can be made through streamlining administrative processes.
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, participation, poverty
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
Shaking up the systems: Fighting poverty in post-pandemic Canada
Saturday, July 24th, 2021
At the core of the questions raised by the NACP was the idea that we need structural change to reduce poverty in Canada… we offer a number of policy ideas that can help systematically reduce poverty… rooted in what the evidence tells us… the idea that everyone across Canada has the fundamental human right to live in dignity and participate fully in society, and it is the duty of all levels of government to respect, protect, and fulfill these rights.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
The City must work with people living in encampments – not evict them
Tuesday, June 29th, 2021
Leaving people out of the decisions that affect their lives so profoundly is part of the wrong-headed decision-making process that led us to encampments in the first place. All paths forward on encampments must involve the meaningful participation of the people who are living in them.
Tags: crime prevention, homelessness, housing, ideology, mental Health, participation, poverty, rights
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Social Assistance Summaries 2020
Tuesday, June 29th, 2021
The Social Assistance Summaries series tracks the number of recipients of social assistance (welfare payments) in each province and territory. It was established by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy to maintain data previously published by the federal government as the Social Assistance Statistical Report. The data is provided by provincial and territorial government officials.
Tags: budget, disabilities, jurisdiction, participation, poverty
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | No Comments »
Spending big money is responsible – when it protects our human rights
Friday, April 30th, 2021
In extraordinary times such as these, it is important to put the dignity of people first, even if the government has to shoulder the fiscal burden on our behalf… our primary concern should not be about how much will be spent, but rather about how that spending will support a dignified life for each person and community it serves. Not, how much does it cost? But rather, what will we get for it?… It is the government’s duty to spend – and spend big – to support our economic and social rights.
Tags: budget, child care, economy, featured, Health, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Ontario’s vision for social assistance is encouraging – but the budget tells a different story
Tuesday, March 30th, 2021
Last week’s provincial budget did not include significant funds for housing or other services that contribute to well-being… Current rates are woefully inadequate. The last time rates were increased was 2018. As the cost of living has continued to rise, this means that people have, in effect, had their rates cut during this period. To support people to live with dignity, social assistance must provide both sufficient income and access to services.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
Human rights cities: The power and potential of local government to advance economic and social rights
Thursday, December 10th, 2020
… a growing number of local governments from across the world are turning to human rights to affirm a vision of more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable communities. Such places may be broadly categorized as “human rights cities.” … we offer a few key points for cities and municipalities of all sizes to consider to protect, promote, and fulfill human rights…
Tags: economy, homelessness, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Let’s turn social assistance on its head to make it better
Thursday, November 26th, 2020
I can’t help but be struck by just how bad our social assistance system in Ontario is… social assistance incomes are grossly inadequate. They have been for decades… it is possible to imagine a social assistance system that supports, rather than degrades, the people who use it… we can do better. To start, we must re-imagine a social assistance system that is founded on dignity and human rights.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
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