‘Victory bonds’ were vital to funding the First and Second World wars. Let’s not wait for the storm to hit before bringing them back
Tuesday, March 25th, 2025
Today, faced with an unprovoked economic attack, we must call on another of our strengths: being among the world’s fiercest savers… We’re saving at rates not seen since 1996… A can-do spirit has been reawakened in this country, along with a taste to go beyond a “Buy Canada” consumer response. Let’s save Canada like we did once, twice before; and finance the fight of our lives, together.
Tags: economy, participation
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
This is war. Time for a wartime funding mechanism: Victory bonds
Saturday, March 15th, 2025
… tax cuts and spending cuts [are not] what the nation needs most now, and neither will build the economic strength needed to defend our interests and sovereignty… Raise the floor, raise the ceiling and make EI last longer so it can do the job it was designed to do, acting as an automatic economic stabilizer to sustain purchasing power… prohibit the purchase of [businesses, resources and vital services] by non-Canadians… [and] create a “wartime” funding mechanism: victory bonds… an infusion of cash could fund desperately needed spending in the public interest.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
There is no way this Ontario agency should have such a large surplus. Here’s what it needs to do
Sunday, March 9th, 2025
Legal Aid Ontario’s surplus offers a chance to address systemic issues by raising eligibility thresholds to reflect real living costs. Current thresholds barely align with poverty levels, excluding many in need. Setting realistic criteria would expand access to justice. Expanding legal aid coverage is crucial, especially in family, immigration and housing law, where representation can prevent crises like evictions, deportations and custody losses. A well-funded system must treat these as essential, not secondary, issues.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
Doug Ford’s $612-million beer boondoggle tab could hardly have arrived at a worse time for him
Wednesday, January 29th, 2025
Why starve hospitals and deprive patients of family physicians while pouring money down the drain for beer and wine?… Ford had the past seven years to make good on his promises — on health care and housing, if not booze. Yet only on Monday, on the eve of an election, did his government come forward with a last-minute plan to give two million more Ontarians access to a family doctor within four years (in time for another election).
Tags: budget, economy, Education, featured, Health, homelessness, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Doug Ford always had a mandate to invest in Ontario, he just didn’t do his job
Friday, January 24th, 2025
Does the current government have the mandate to expand child care provision, tackle the colossal school repair backlog, reduce emergency room waiting times and assist the more than 100,000 Torontonians relying on food banks and 80,000 Ontarians experiencing homelessness? It does.
Yet, that’s not the focus. Year in and year out, the Ontario government’s attention and dollars have been poured into populist and nonsense measures nobody asked for.
Tags: child care, economy, Education, featured, Health, homelessness, poverty
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Why doesn’t Doug Ford care about funding colleges and universities? Because you don’t care either
Friday, January 24th, 2025
Shortly after taking power in 2018, with colleges and universities starved for money, the premier further reduced their cash flow by ordering every campus to cut tuition by 10 per cent… But those tuition dollars weren’t his to cut — the money was remitted by students. More to the point, his government didn’t consider making up the difference to keep universities and colleges whole, leaving them in a deeper fiscal hole.
Tags: budget, Education, ideology, jurisdiction, youth
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
Ontario’s nurse practitioners urge province for clarity on publicly funded care
Saturday, January 18th, 2025
Canada has witnessed the arrival of companies offering for-profit medical care, including care delivered online, in which patients are charged a fee to access primary care from both doctors and NPs. Holland’s office said the minister’s new interpretation of the Canada Health Act leaves it up to the provinces and territories to decide if virtual health services are incorporated into their public health plans.
Tags: Health, jurisdiction, privatization
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Say what you want about Justin Trudeau — there’s still no arguing Canadians became wealthier while he was in power
Tuesday, January 7th, 2025
…the poverty rate… now nine per cent, [is] down from 14.5 per cent when he first took office… achieved in large part by Trudeau’s Canada Child Benefit, which has lifted as many as half a million children from poverty. Trudeau’s national daycare program has also helped, reducing monthly daycare expenses to $400 from about $2,000, dropping further to about $200 in the next two years… [and] introduction of limited denticare and pharmacare, a foundation for future governments to build on.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in History | 1 Comment »
In my next teacher-parent meeting, my focus will be the teacher. Here’s why
Tuesday, December 10th, 2024
Since Premier Doug Ford came to power in 2018, school board funding has dropped a stunning $1,500 per student, on average, when adjusted for inflation. The increase in class sizes and the introduction of mandatory online courses have resulted in the province having 5,000 fewer teachers than it would otherwise… With Ontario asking teachers to do more with less and blaming them for the shortfalls of underfunded schools, recruitment and retention will only become more challenging.
Tags: budget, disabilities, jurisdiction, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
Massive tobacco settlement at risk of being misused
Tuesday, December 10th, 2024
The settlement provides financial restitution to class-action claimants and allocates funds to a vaguely defined research foundation. But where are the funds for front-line solutions? … To ensure [meaningful change], provinces must direct funds toward lung health programs, tax all nicotine products, close gaps in vaping regulation, and institute ongoing cost-recovery fees… ensuring that the funds are allocated where they’re needed most: to education, prevention, and treatment programs that advance lung health.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
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