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Five things about crime and doing the time in Canada
Sunday, December 4th, 2011
Dec 3, 2011
Of the 262,616 cases put before the courts in 2009-10, 183,204 of the defendants were deemed guilty under the Criminal Code. Of that figure, 71,417 were sent to prison, 100,956 were put on probation, 8,281 received a conditional sentence, 6,699 were ordered to pay restitution, 28,757 were fined and 88,019 received some other kind of sentence… Ontario is also doing a lot more screening of cases to see if some can be handled out of court. “The ones that go forward in a jurisdiction that screens out a lot of cases tend to be more likely to have a prison sentence associated with them
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, rights
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | 1 Comment »
End native apartheid
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
Dec. 1, 2011
Children living in such squalor in non-native environments would be likely removed from their families and placed in foster care. But the grim legacy of the residential school system, and the political incorrectness of jeopardizing the maintenance of their aboriginal heritage, means native kids are left to suffer while the rest of Canada remains largely ignorant… the reality is that by leaving them in environments like Attawapiskat, we are knowingly condemning them to a cycle of poverty, abuse and neglect, a cycle that no amount of tax dollars has been able – or will be able – to break.
Tags: economy, Indigenous, participation, poverty, rights, standard of living, youth
Posted in Equality Debates | 1 Comment »
Aboriginal apartheid sentences Canadian natives to misery
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
Nov 30, 2011
No one is advocating that First Nations children be subjected to the cruelties of residential schools… But the reality is that by leaving them in environments like Attawapiskat, we are knowingly condemning them to a cycle of poverty, abuse and neglect, a cycle that no amount of tax dollars has been able – or will be able – to break.
Tags: economy, Indigenous, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Ontario closer than ever to legalization of marijuana
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
Apr 18, 2011
… the Ontario Superior Court struck down two key parts of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that prohibit the possession and production of pot. The court declared the rules that govern medical marijuana access and the prohibitions laid out in sections 4 and 7 of the Act “constitutionally invalid and of no force and effect” on Monday, effectively paving the way for legalization.
Tags: crime prevention, Health, rights
Posted in Child & Family Debates | 3 Comments »
Tom Kent: Tax reform key to reviving Liberals and social policies
Monday, November 28th, 2011
Nov 28, 2011
Both the Liberals and NDP campaigned in May for new social spending, to be financed by an increase in corporate taxes, an idea Kent dismisses out of hand… Increases in present taxes, on the scale required, would be disastrous for the economy. Federal revenues can indeed be much increased, but only by extending the bases from which taxes are effectively collected… The indictment of the NDP, as well as such left wing as remains in the Liberal party, is that their politicians have been as yet too timid to embrace and popularise progressive tax reform.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Canada could take health-care lessons from Europe, Australia: study
Monday, November 28th, 2011
Nov 28, 2011
There seems little evidence that allowing a purely private tier of health care would do much to contain costs or improve service, but a lot could be done short of that… Canada learn from the several European countries that ensure universality, but allow people to buy health insurance… to cover all or part of their care… such a system encourages patients and doctors to better manage their health… the country should move from a culture where patients are told what treatment they can or cannot have, to one where they direct their own care
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Stéphane Dion’s not-so-crazy idea [seats in parliament]
Saturday, November 19th, 2011
Nov. 19, 2011
Instead of expanding the Commons by 30 seats – 15 in Ontario, six each in Alberta and B.C. and three in Quebec – the Liberals would take three seats from Quebec, dropping its contingent to 72, then take two more from each of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and one each from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and give those nine to Ontario (four), Alberta (three) and B.C. (two)… This doesn’t deal effectively with the gross over-representation of the smallest provinces… (or) the underrepresentation of our three fastest-growing provinces. (But) it would be worth debating before the Tory law is passed.
Tags: budget, participation, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
‘Blowing up’ the Canada Health Act not the answer to rising costs: economist
Friday, November 18th, 2011
Nov 17, 2011
“Having growth in health-care costs outstrip national income does not necessarily mean the system is unsustainable”… “blowing up” the Canada Health Act in a way that ends or reduces the extent of public coverage for basic medical treatment is not the answer… better integration of the overall system… would include better use of technology for accessing patient records, as well as less reliance on expensive-to-run hospitals for end-of-life care or treatment of such chronic conditions as diabetes.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, privatization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | 1 Comment »
Graphic: Taking measure of Canada’s provinces
Sunday, November 13th, 2011
Nov 12, 2011
Statistics Canada released new data this week about how the economies of Canadian provinces and territories grew and shrank in 2010. The National Post’s graphics team takes a look. [see graphic]
Tags: economy, housing, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Liberal road map to power still in pre-construction stage
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
Nov 10, 2011
The Conservatives have brought US-style “permanent campaigning” to Canada. Their methods are now familiar. The next time around, their first objective will be, again, to define the new Liberal Leader before the Liberal Party can do it. They will spend millions of dollars on negative ads which will portray the Liberal Leader as odious, incompetent, self-centred, un-Canadian, soft on crime, tax-hungry, etc… Before he or she is chosen, we must set up the organization, solid financial base and communications capacity required to ensure that we, not the Conservatives, will present the new Liberal Leader to Canadians
Tags: economy, ideology, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
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