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The criminalization of drugs creates more crime than it prevents
Sunday, June 25th, 2023
Illegal drug use is, always has been, and always will be a public health issue. Legal drugs are consumed to get through life — or simply escape life’s despair. Users inevitably end up addicted. This is a public health issue and instead of treating it as such, we waste incalculable millions trying to treat it as a criminal issue. So why do we not scrap the whole insane criminalization strategy and decriminalize all drugs? Profits.
Tags: crime prevention, featured, Health, ideology, pharmaceutical
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Ford government’s education playbook: manifest a crisis, ignore research, abandon educators
Sunday, May 28th, 2023
With significant efforts on behalf of the government to manifest a crisis, ignore research, and leave educators to fend for themselves, there seems to be an insidious plan to dismantle publicly funded education… Ontario deserves a government that believes in public education and values its educators, students, families, and communities.
Tags: budget, ideology, jurisdiction, youth
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
Time to end violations of Canada Health Act with illegal fees for service
Sunday, May 28th, 2023
…Bill 60… expressly enables the transfer of surgeries and diagnostics from public hospitals to for-profit clinics… We categorically do not need private clinics to cut surgical wait times. Virtually every public hospital has operating rooms that are closed evenings, overnight and on weekends. They should be funded and staffed to open to full capacity to clear backlogs.
Tags: featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization, rights
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Preventive health care: Why privately funded programs are reluctant to fund it
Monday, May 8th, 2023
Within a publicly funded care model, there is a vested interest to mandate and fund preventative health measures as government payers are accountable for sustainable health care budgets. Recognizing that early prevention can reduce costs down the road, governments are more willing to pay for screening services for patients at risk… the ability to predict the individual risk of patients using artificial intelligence is incredibly exciting in the health care space.
Tags: Health, ideology, participation, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Should we be taking money off Canadians’ paycheques for long-term care?
Thursday, May 4th, 2023
A public — not private — long-term-care insurance program could help pay for costly and unexpected expenses due to ill health or fragility that can be financially devastating… many will spend their later years living on a basic retirement income that likely won’t cover the thousands of dollars needed for health-related services, such as home care from private-pay personal support workers or nursing home “accommodation” co-payment fees.
Tags: disabilities, featured, Health, housing, Seniors, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Ontario is first province to make mental health lessons mandatory in Grade 10
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023
Now, the government will be providing consistent, required learning materials on mental health in Grades 7 and 8, including videos and activities about how to handle and recognize stress. In Grade 10, students — as part of the mandatory career studies — will be taught the signs of anxiety and being overwhelmed, and where to go for help.
Tags: budget, mental Health, participation, youth
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
Once a school troublemaker, Charles Pascal died a visionary for transforming education in Ontario
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023
… the first full-time executive director of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation… was key in establishing the Ontario Child Tax benefit, the Canadian Index of Wellbeing and early learning policy… The genesis of full-day kindergarten began with a pilot project led by the foundation… providing a model that has been adopted in other provinces.
Tags: child care, ideology, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education History | No Comments »
Doug Ford has plunged colleges and universities into crisis with historic funding cuts — and no plan for their futures
Wednesday, April 26th, 2023
… Ford’s Tories have been systematically freezing and defunding the higher education sector since taking power in 2018, leading to a cash crunch unlike anything in the past… The crisis in colleges and universities is undermining Ontario’s education reputation… It is perpetuating a hollowing out of higher education for Ontarians, while hosting unlimited enrolment for international students.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Heath care will only succeed through collaboration, not through competition
Wednesday, April 19th, 2023
Competition is… what happens in the most dysfunctional parts of our Canadian health systems, where value for money is most elusive and frustration is highest… Service backlogs. Human resources shortages. Mental health impacts. The co-ordinated effort required to manage recovery will probably dwarf what we have just achieved. More competition and fragmentation is the last thing we need. Collaboration is our only hope.
Tags: featured, globalization, Health, ideology, mental Health
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Why bail reform in Ontario is an expensive mistake
Thursday, April 13th, 2023
It costs approximately $302 per day to keep one person in jail in Ontario… Two recent murders show how bail reform misses the mark… The failure here was not the law, but the police failing to use the law… Instead of locking people up to keep us safe on transit, we could put that money into lowering transit fares. Politicians need to look past bail reform and turn their attention toward a solution that actually makes us safer.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, featured, ideology, poverty
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
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