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 »
Canada’s international student crisis was predicted — and ignored
Tuesday, December 10th, 2024
These are days of doom and gloom at Ontario’s universities and colleges. You don’t have to have a PhD to know why… provinces outside Ontario provide universities an average of $20,772 per full-time student. Ontario coughs up $11,471. To catch up — that is to be just average — would require spending another $7 billion a year. Ontario has responded by promising $1.3 billion over three years.
Tags: budget, housing, ideology, immigration, jurisdiction
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
As environment minister, I believed the oil sands sector would help us save the planet. I was wrong.
Saturday, December 7th, 2024
The oil sands sector has been lying to us for years. They are not getting cleaner. They are not part of the solution… Canada can choose to be on the right side of history. We can act with the urgency the climate crisis requires and the economic case makes clear. Or, we can double down on the oil sands, abandon the Paris Agreement, ignore the economic opportunities of clean energy, and leave our children a deadly and unsustainable future.
Tags: economy, globalization, Health, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Doug Ford needs to follow the evidence on supervised consumption
Thursday, November 28th, 2024
… harm reduction doesn’t simply prevent overdoses and infectious diseases; it eases pressure on Emergency Response Services and our crowded ER’s… all residents deserve to live in peace and security… However, community safety is not a zero-sum game. It is possible to keep our neighbourhoods safe and clean while implementing comprehensive treatment services that save lives — even if it means moving those services to more appropriate locations and improving the way we deliver them.
Tags: budget, crime prevention, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, pharmaceutical
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | 1 Comment »
It’s not too late to fix a government benefit that could lift thousands more Canadians out of poverty
Tuesday, November 26th, 2024
… its very design ensures that [the Canada Disability Benefit] will help far too few people in need. There are two key reasons for its underwhelming impact: unnecessarily restrictive eligibility criteria, and the wildly insufficient size of the benefit… The CRA applies rigid, and often arbitrary criteria, to establish eligibility — especially with respect to mental health conditions and chronic illness… The other critical flaw in the Canada Disability Benefit’s design is the woefully low benefit of only $2,400 per year.
Tags: disabilities, featured, Health, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Don’t have private insurance? You’re still paying for others who do — you deserve better care
Saturday, November 23rd, 2024
Health care in Canada is universal for only two things, doctors and hospitals. For everything else, from psychology to prescription drugs, care depends on your private insurance or ability to pay… public subsidization occurs through an income tax exemption. Specifically, on an employer’s contribution to private health insurance premiums… What if instead, $4 billion of public subsidies to private insurance were used to support universal pharmacare, beyond diabetes and contraceptive care?
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, pharmaceutical, tax
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Is paying out-of-pocket for medically necessary care allowed? Doctors and nurses say patients need to know now
Wednesday, November 20th, 2024
… Canada has seen a rise of for-profit medical care in which patients pay out-of-pocket to access primary care through private clinics, virtual platforms or nurse practitioners, who are not covered by provincial health plans… the Canada Health Act’s silence regarding non-physician health-care providers creates a loophole “that certain health-care providers and their clinics are taking advantage of, knowing there is no legal consequence or risk of getting shut down.”
Tags: budget, Health, jurisdiction, privatization
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
I’ve dated a billionaire and lived on minimum wage. This is the one, radical solution to the inequalities I’ve seen
Tuesday, November 12th, 2024
Our economic system was born of the false premise that if the wealthy are prioritized in government policies, their wealth will trickle down to the poor. Since 2020, the world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes. Recently, the CBC reported that “income inequality in Canada (had) hit the highest level ever recorded.”… Minimum wage increases have little impact in a system that enables and perpetuates kleptocracy.
Tags: poverty, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Murray Sinclair sought to build a pathway toward mutual understanding and healing for future generations
Wednesday, November 6th, 2024
In waves of paternalism and government intervention, Indigenous Peoples were moved off their lands, onto reserves or into the cities and, far too often, into the courts and prisons… That “reconciliation” entered the national vocabulary is a testament to his gentle persuasiveness… His vision for a reconciled Canada sought to unite the strengths of Indigenous Nations and Canadian ideals, creating a path toward a future where the best of both worlds could flourish together.
Tags: featured, Indigenous, jurisdiction, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality History | No Comments »
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