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Universal basic income is a means of liberation and dignity for all
Friday, July 3rd, 2020
It would be wrong to cast this universal basic income as an act of charity. Or worse, if it were seen as a vehicle to encourage indolence. Rather, a GIS should be an act of dignity. Citizens would earn the basic income by working two to three days a week in a community service of their choice. In doing so, we would pursue an economy that serves the people by advancing the common good.
Tags: economy, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Why we need to start spending on infrastructure, and fast
Thursday, July 2nd, 2020
The money lost by underemployed workers, businesses and governments is unlikely to be fully recovered… the longer we wait, the more assets permanently lose value… the effects of the pandemic on the economy will invariably reduce the ability of Canadians to finance the services and infrastructure they previously expected – a perverse dynamic that will only worsen with the duration of underemployment.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
The 2020-21 academic year will be the best ever for postsecondary students who need a hand financially
Thursday, July 2nd, 2020
… students who will have to borrow to cover their costs – half the undergrad population in a normal year – should consider how much extra money there is this year. Enough to chop thousands off their total amount borrowed, and years off the time it takes to repay the loan. Here’s a list of financial resources available to students for the 2020-21 academic year
Tags: participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
Canada’s bail system is broken and unjust. The Supreme Court shows how to fix it
Friday, June 26th, 2020
The Court says the default position should be to automatically grant bail with no conditions, other than that the person attend their next court date. Other conditions should only be imposed to the degree they address three questions: “Is this person a flight risk; will their release pose a risk to public protection and safety; or is their release likely to result in a public loss of confidence in the administration of justice?”
Tags: corrections, crime prevention
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Ontario to fully fund nursing homes despite lower occupancies
Wednesday, June 24th, 2020
Restricting admissions to single- and double-occupancy rooms will exacerbate a chronic shortage of long-term care beds in Ontario… the government’s ban on new admissions to ward rooms will eliminate 4,303 beds, representing 5.5 per cent of the province’s total… those who no longer need acute care but have nowhere else to go, reached a historic high of 5,300 as of Monday.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, housing, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
J.K. Rowling backlash shows how progressives are turning on their own kind
Saturday, June 20th, 2020
Political correctness is a mocking term; the irony is that its substance is indeed (mostly) politically correct. It is correct to acknowledge and try to redress historical wrongs… Enough scolding, enough censorship, enough dogma and enough beating up on good people. Cannibalism is a lousy recruitment strategy. Progressives everywhere need a lesson in the importance of not being so angrily earnest.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
When I was in cabinet I pushed for bold criminal justice reform. Nothing happened. Now Ottawa has another chance to do the right thing
Saturday, June 20th, 2020
It is up to the Prime Minister and his government to… show whether they are up to the task of real change or will they just take a knee. Make your voices even louder. Say that you expect our government to reflect the will, vision, and courage that thousands have shown across this country… We can make the changes that generations of Canadians have fought and sacrificed to see happen.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, ideology, Indigenous, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
We need to take Canada’s approach to drug addiction and burn it to the ground
Friday, June 19th, 2020
… as policies go, prohibition and jail time have been utter failures as deterrents. Mr. Perrin, the author of Overdose: Heartbreak and Hope in Canada’s Opioid Crisis, released this year, says politics – fear of a backlash from the electorate – have made our leaders afraid to do the right thing… this has allowed “an unregulated criminal underworld to dictate what is in the drugs that people are taking, forcing those people to play Russian roulette”
Tags: crime prevention, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Clawing back pandemic pay for grocery workers is a grotesque, predictable outcome
Wednesday, June 17th, 2020
In normal times, callous, profit-centric corporate behaviour is not particularly remarkable. But one effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been to amplify our society’s ugliest tendencies in a way that’s difficult to ignore. Clawing back an extra couple of dollars from grocery staff during a pandemic, while spuriously implying the risk is no longer there, transcends conventional ugliness to become distinctly grotesque.
Tags: economy, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Why the CERB had to be extended – and why it has to be fixed
Wednesday, June 17th, 2020
… incentives matter. If someone can receive as much money for working as not working, that’s an incentive to not work. The CERB payment is $500 a week; assuming a 35-hour week, that’s more than the minimum wage in eight provinces… If someone declines work under those conditions, it isn’t because they’re lazy or irresponsible. It just shows that they’ve got a grasp on their own financial arithmetic.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, participation
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
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