Doug Ford’s fiscal time bomb is devastating Ontario’s colleges
Monday, July 14th, 2025
The root of the crisis in higher education lies with the fiscal time bomb planted by Doug Ford’s provincial government when it came to power seven full years ago… The latest job losses and cancelled courses were always foreseeable, because post-secondary funding remains unsustainable… universities say the government’s chronic underfunding will leave them unable to find spots for 80,000 worthy Ontario applicants over the next five years.
Tags: budget, Education, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, youth
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
Cuts at Ontario colleges leading to nearly 10,000 job losses, union says
Wednesday, July 9th, 2025
… the suspended and cancelled programs are not only those primarily attended by international students. “It’s also programs we domestically need, programs like nursing, child and youth care, environmental technologies, specialized art training that is not offered anywhere else,” … the 10,000 reported layoffs represent a staff reduction of about 17 per cent in a workforce of more than 60,000… but is not proportional to the 45 per cent reduction in student enrolment,”
Tags: budget, Education, jurisdiction, participation, youth
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
Mark Carney’s economic agenda misses something vital
Tuesday, July 8th, 2025
Concentrated ownership of our economy, and the inequality and plutocracy that result from it, are causing deep distress among working and young people who feel — quite accurately — that the economy is rigged against them. Broad-based Canadian ownership of our businesses, resources and assets needs to be part of the growth agenda… Sovereignty isn’t just about control of our border. It’s also about control of our resources and assets. We can’t truly be masters of our own home if that home is owned by an American hedge fund.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, Indigenous, participation, privatization
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Five examples of how hubris in public health could lead to repeated mistakes
Thursday, July 3rd, 2025
Here are five examples: … The pandemic isn’t over when hospitalizations have temporarily slowed… Long COVID’s effects have been downplayed despite life-altering and long-lasting health effects… Ignoring uncomfortable truths is not a public health strategy… Public health should never be weaponized by political agendas… A transparent, national inquiry is essential to maintaining trust in public health.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Primary care in Canada is suffering and doctors want input on how to fix it
Monday, June 30th, 2025
OurCare — the largest public conversation about primary care in Canadian history. Over 16 months, nearly 10,000 people across the country shared their experiences and hopes for the future through a national survey, citizen panels and community around tables. Despite differences in geography, age, and background, people largely agreed on what needs to change… six statements make up the OurCare Standard — a bold, people-powered vision for what primary care in Canada should look like.
Tags: featured, Health, mental Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
It’s time to talk about what COVID did to Toronto, and to us
Thursday, June 26th, 2025
The isolation, loss, distrust and disruption that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic continue to make their mark on us today… neither the heroism, collective sacrifice or loss, nor the mistakes… We can’t move forward without finding a way to talk about — and process — what went right, what went wrong and what we all suffered during COVID-19… There is still so much misinformation out there about what actually happened during the pandemic. We desperately need a collective airing of the facts.
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
We are CEOs of two leading health centres and decided it was time to align our specialties
Thursday, June 26th, 2025
For decades, mental and physical health care in Canada have been separated — in policy, practice and perception… People living with mental illness often face significantly poorer physical health outcomes… people receiving treatment for physical conditions, such as cancer or heart disease, often face mental health challenges, including depression and anxiety, that can impact recovery, long-term outcomes and even survival. This fragmented model fails to treat the whole person, leading to delayed diagnoses, repeat hospital visits and ultimately, worse health outcomes.
Tags: Health, ideology, mental Health
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
To solve Canada’s housing crisis, we need to change the way we think about wealth
Monday, June 23rd, 2025
… younger generations are uniquely burdened by Canada’s tax code and its outdated understanding of affluence, which is no longer primarily based on income but on assets. Canadian wealth today is about what you own, not what you make — and whether you own depends largely on when you were born…. younger workers are paying taxes at rates originally meant for the wealthiest Canadians, all while struggling to achieve the markers of even a historically lower-middle-class lifestyle.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Alcohol is a ‘neurological sledgehammer’ that is harming society in more ways than we realize
Monday, June 23rd, 2025
… alcohol has “received an almost free pass when it comes to changes in policy and public opinion.” … The so-called “alcohol deficit” — caused by the cost of alcohol’s impact on the health-care and criminal justice systems, by lost productivity, by vehicle collisions, law-enforcement costs — reached an all-time high of $6.4 billion in Canada in 2020 and $1.9 billion in Ontario… Alcohol is a main cause of disability and premature death. It causes health problems, including liver disease, cardiovascular issues, several types of cancer and mental-health disorders.
Tags: economy, featured, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Carney’s new nation-building plan lacks a vision for our social, educational and health needs
Wednesday, June 11th, 2025
We all need good work, housing, education, health care, child care, clean water, safe food and environmental protection. These must be central to our idea of a transformed Canada. All require immediate government attention. They can’t be relegated to the background, in deference to corporate demands for a wide-open economy where regulations and taxes don’t hold things back. Our economic rethinking must extend to developing new guardrails on business entry into the care economy.
Tags: economy, ideology, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
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