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Making preventive care fair: New approaches like self-testing at home can save lives and promote health equity

Wednesday, October 11th, 2023

We could start with preventive care in redesigning health care for those who need it the most… Governments and large health-care institutions have all made grand statements about the need to tackle sexism, racism, ableism and other forms of discrimination. It is long past time for those institutions to fund and support specific actions to help those who have been disadvantaged by previous inaction.

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Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »


Montréal’s ‘mixed’ police squads don’t help the city’s unhoused people — they cause more harm

Monday, October 9th, 2023

The squads add a layer of surveillance and harassment that leads unhoused people to leave the spaces they know best and distance themselves from their support network in order to avoid police… the report calls for a new approach to homelessness, including abolishing mixed squads and reallocating their funding to two types of interventions.

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Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »


Early indicators of dementia: 5 behaviour changes to look for after age 50

Monday, October 2nd, 2023

… dementia is predicted to affect one million Canadians by 2030… dementia isn’t an individual journey. In 2020, care partners — including family members, friends or neighbours — spent 26 hours per week assisting older Canadians living with dementia… These numbers are expected to triple by 2050, so it’s important to look for ways to offset these predicted trajectories by preventing or delaying the progression of dementia.

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Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »


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.

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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »


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