Ontario needs to remove barriers to child-care subsidies for low-income families
Saturday, September 16th, 2023
Ontario’s current implementation plan for child care and early learning agreements runs the risk of leaving disadvantaged families further behind… Inclusivity is explicitly stated as an important goal of the federal government’s Canada-wide early learning and child care initiative… The ultimate solution is publicly funded child care with enough spaces for everyone.
Tags: child care, ideology, participation, poverty
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
How Canada can make better progress on disability inclusion
Thursday, September 14th, 2023
Pervasive misconceptions about disabilities, flawed income support systems and inadequate enforcement of regulations are among the systemic challenges… A fully inclusive society could generate an economic benefit of $337 billion — the equivalent of approximately 17 per cent of Canada’s GDP. Moreover, when systems are designed to accommodate those facing the most significant barriers, everyone benefits.
Tags: disabilities, economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Children’s early learning belongs in neighbourhood schools
Tuesday, August 29th, 2023
Early learning is early education. It belongs under the purview of Ministries of Education. The federal government invested in children’s early learning and child-care because it finally accepted the wisdom of doing so — for children’s learning and development, for families’ well-being, for the economy and for communities optimal social outcomes.
Tags: budget, child care, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »
To reduce rising crime rates, Canada needs to invest more in social services
Thursday, August 17th, 2023
Rather than continuing to spend on reactive models such as policing that do little more than criminalize poverty and disadvantage, we need to reinvest in preventive strategies that actually work. To prevent crime, governments need to invest more in existing social welfare programs and reestablish social services such as basic income… The provision of basic income and social services would both support vulnerable populations and be cost-effective.
Tags: crime prevention, economy, ideology, mental Health, poverty
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
High drug prices in Canada are just one side of a bad equation
Tuesday, July 18th, 2023
To ensure that Canadians receive similar benefits from the pharmaceutical industry as other countries, we need oversight of both sides of the equation: drug prices (… fully protected from political influence), and follow-up to ensure any government programs intended to offer investment incentives for the pharmaceutical industry in the Canadian economy achieve their goals.
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
What you need to know about Canada’s new first home savings account
Saturday, July 8th, 2023
… many first-time buyers start by buying more modest properties initially, and the FHSA could help them get into the housing market earlier. Of course, this will still take time given the $8,000 per year contribution limit. While the impact of the FHSA won’t be instant, and while it’s not a complete solution, it’s a step in the right direction. For many Canadians, owning a home provides security and a sense of belonging.
Tags: economy, housing, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Justin Trudeau is leaving his stamp on the Supreme Court of Canada
Thursday, June 22nd, 2023
After 1982, the Supreme Court often had to determine which laws were consistent with the Charter and to clarify central aspects of the Charter… In the decades to come, Canada’s Supreme Court will undoubtedly issue rulings related to climate change, Indigenous Peoples, individual rights, the impact of technology, international relations and much more.
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, rights
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
The National Housing Strategy won’t end homelessness without supportive housing
Wednesday, June 21st, 2023
We found that having both affordable housing and staff on-site who could meet a variety of needs proved transformational for the tenants… To address chronic homelessness, the federal government needs to include funding for longer-term supportive housing in its National Housing Strategy. And provincial governments must increase social assistance rates to provide more income towards housing.
Tags: homelessness, housing, jurisdiction, mental Health
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
Why we need to rewrite the script on corporate taxes
Wednesday, June 7th, 2023
Canada’s tax-and-transfer system, which relies on taxing income and providing Employment Insurance and other benefits, isn’t reducing inequality as much as it did before the mid-‘90s. Specifically, despite increases in worker productivity, average real wages have stagnated while corporate profits have skyrocketed. This inequality manifests through middle-class household debt and significant personal savings of CEOs.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
As the U.S. expands work conditions for income assistance, Canada takes a different tack
Wednesday, June 7th, 2023
The distinction between the U.S. and Canada’s approaches don’t extend beyond federal income assistance. Work conditions and other bureaucratic measures still dominate at the state and provincial level, despite significant federal funding support… [However] there is some movement to reduce barriers to welfare participation in Canada… Prince Edward Island legislature has affirmed their support for a basic income to replace current welfare assistance in the province.
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
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