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CERB and other coronavirus benefits won’t last forever. Or will they? What a universal basic income could look like
Sunday, May 17th, 2020
We long for some good to come from this crisis, some national purpose that future generations will point to and say: There, that is when the new world began, when we started to win the war on poverty with an income for all. But maybe a basic income is simply beyond our means… We’ll predict this much: When the crisis finally ends, we’ll be talking about basic income in a way we never have before.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 1 Comment »
Canadians need child-care benefits to withstand a COVID-19 recession
Monday, May 11th, 2020
… our national child-care support program – the Child Care Expense Deduction (CCED) – has two flaws that will make it unsuitable for an uneven economic recovery, as predicted for Canada, as well as for primary caregivers with school-aged kids at home… The CCED must be claimed by the lower-income spouse and the amount deducted cannot exceed two-thirds of their income… As a result, the CCED is stingy for low-income families and significantly more generous for higher-income families…
Tags: child care, economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
The case for putting seniors’ care under the Canada Health Act
Sunday, May 10th, 2020
One of the most critical undertakings by governments across the country over the past five to 10 years has been reining in runaway health care budgets. And most governments have been successful in doing so. Adding long-term care to health budgets would be a serious blow to those efforts. Then again, maybe Canadians can agree that this is something that needs to be financed… “It would be the first big expansion of our medicare system that has happened in decades…”
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living, tax
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Crisis in long-term care homes exposes the need for a new federal-provincial health accord
Thursday, April 30th, 2020
Ottawa’s share of public-health care funding has fallen to 23 per cent from 50 per cent since the creation of medicare in 1966… The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the holes in the model… the Trudeau government has consistently directed a deaf ear to provincial demands for a new health care funding agreement that tackles the country’s demographic elephant in the room. It has touted plans for a national pharmacare program, though it has taken no concrete step in that direction.
Tags: budget, Health, jurisdiction, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Canada set to ban assault-style weapons, including AR-15 and the gun used in Polytechnique massacre
Thursday, April 30th, 2020
Ottawa is set to ban a number of assault-style firearms and weapons involved in mass shootings in Canada and abroad, including the Ruger Mini-14 that was used during the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, federal officials say… The banning of firearms can be done by a decision of cabinet called an order-in-council and does not require the adoption of new legislation. There is no exact definition of a military-style firearm, which means the government’s decision is based on science as well as political choices.
Tags: budget, crime prevention, ideology, jurisdiction, rights
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
How is Ottawa going to pay off its COVID-19 debt? With any luck, it won’t have to
Tuesday, April 28th, 2020
… the country’s long-term fiscal game plan is likely to look like the one that financed the Second World War… In the 30 years after the war, Canada did not pay off the national debt. It even added to it… The reason was economic growth. The debt was large and growing, but the economy grew slightly faster. That’s how Canada got rid of its war debt without literally paying it off… borrowing costs, low then, are at record lows now.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Our civil justice system needs to be brought into the 21st century
Sunday, April 26th, 2020
We can’t keep telling the public that this increasingly incomprehensible complicated process is in their interests and for their benefit, because they’re not buying it any more… It’s time to think about designing a whole new way to deliver justice to ordinary people with ordinary disputes and ordinary bank accounts. That’s what real access to justice needs and that’s what the public is entitled to get.
Tags: featured, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Delivery System | 1 Comment »
The COVID-19 pandemic shines a light on our failing: We need paid, respected community health workers
Tuesday, April 21st, 2020
The virus has exposed the need for a public-health system that more strongly integrates community-level responsiveness with the needs of vulnerable populations as part of its daily practice, as well as in times of crisis… we have no excuse not to invest in the human capital and community supports that would allow core public-health activities to be fully effective year-round.
Tags: disabilities, Health, homelessness, mental Health, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
We can see the way out of the coronavirus pandemic, but the steps to get there will be slow
Monday, April 20th, 2020
There is no easy option… We can tough it out at home, or we can tough it out at work. We can live a little less free, or a lot. We can lose thousands of lives, or tens of thousands; endure slow growth, or a depression. Those are the real choices before us. Either way, it will take months, at least, before we can declare victory.
Tags: economy, Health, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
CERB is an unintended experiment in basic income
Monday, April 20th, 2020
… we have a historic opportunity for Ottawa, the provinces and territories to reshape cash transfers for Canadians who have low incomes, regardless of the reason why. COVID-19 could create a legacy: an income-support system that is efficient, non-stigmatizing, encourages work and is sufficient to provide better health outcomes and liquidity for people and communities. This would be a streamlined national reform vital to the economics of rebuilding and recovery.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
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