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Focus on real problem with federal sick-leave benefit: not enough workers are using it
Tuesday, January 5th, 2021
In Canada, less than half of all workers have access to paid sick leave through their employers. The vast majority of them tend to be low-paid front-line workers who can’t do their jobs from home and can’t afford to miss even a single paycheque. The last thing any of us should want is for them to go to work sick, putting their coworkers and the broader community at risk.
Tags: economy, Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Indigenous rights bill weak, but necessary
Monday, January 4th, 2021
Bill C-15 does not have any tools to help operationalize consent or create new ways for Indigenous title to be implemented. Its slow, incrementalist approach is frustrating. Nevertheless, it has merit. Despite shortcomings, the bill will provide new avenues and contestation sites for Indigenous rights movements to advance. Most importantly, it binds any future government, no matter its political stripe, to the high standard of consent and the inevitability of Indigenous self-determination.
Tags: Indigenous, participation, rights
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Reducing income inequality a top priority for 2021
Monday, January 4th, 2021
When leaders are earning hundreds of times more than their workers, especially during a global crisis, and confidently lining their pockets with government subsidies as they do it, something is profoundly wrong. We should be pushing for bold policy that promotes equity and well-being for any company’s lowest-paid workers, and most importantly, that can’t be exploited by CEOs.
Tags: economy, Health, housing, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
The telecom giants are not adequately serving ‘all Canadians’
Sunday, January 3rd, 2021
If there is a “digital divide” (and there surely is), this has been brought about and sustained by the telecom companies themselves… The privilege that they have been accorded to date in providing these highly lucrative services must come with greater responsibility to ensure all Canadians obtain reliable and sufficient Wi-Fi access.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
The doctor is online: COVID-19 let the technological revolution finally find its way to Canadian health care. Now, the hard part begins
Sunday, January 3rd, 2021
Due more to systemic inertia than technological lag, Canadian doctors are only now arriving to the technological age… provinces need to be asking questions about how to build a regulatory environment around virtual care — one that sets standards for virtual care that are at the same level as in-person care, and ensures patient data is protected.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Enough is enough: We demand change to the inhumane tragedy playing out in Ontario’s long-term care homes
Friday, January 1st, 2021
Since the pandemic began, some 87 per cent of all COVID deaths in Ontario have been among those over the age of 70, and about 61 per cent of deaths have been in long-term care facilities… In the coming days, we will be asking all Ontarians to sign an open letter to responsible city, provincial and federal authorities demanding an end to the inhumane treatment and needless death of our vulnerable elders.
Tags: Health, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Twenty Indigenous stories that shaped 2020 — a year of racism and fear, of fighting and hope
Friday, January 1st, 2021
Indigenous Peoples across the country faced intensifying endangerment of our lands and rights and took a stand against systemic racism amidst a global Black Lives Matter revolution… Through it all, our people have continued to be resilient in the face of calamity and uncertainty… Where do we go now? Do we pull the plug on reconciliation? Or is there hope – and if so, will we see it come to pass in this generation?
Tags: Indigenous, jurisdiction, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality History | No Comments »
As doctors who work in long-term care homes and serve marginalized populations, we believe it’s well past time to end for-profit long-term care
Wednesday, December 30th, 2020
… the system is designed to protect corporations over human life. The calamity of placing profits over people needs to end… governments of all levels need to work together to bring all long-term care homes under public ownership much like other parts of our Medicare system, including hospitals and physician care… With the immense grief and suffering continuing for people living in long-term care homes today, this must be a priority.
Tags: featured, Health, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Temp workers, the unsung pandemic heroes who make and deliver our goods, should not be losing sleep — or their lives — over $14 an hour
Tuesday, December 29th, 2020
To stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect worker health into a post-pandemic future, concrete actions must be taken to end the persistent exploitation of this workforce. Controlling COVID-19 and ultimately reopening the economy will depend on how well we are able to provide such workers with the same protections that we all enjoy.
Tags: economy, featured, Health, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Our priorities must be with our most vulnerable
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020
A “colour-blind approach” to the pandemic will not suffice, especially when reports show racialized minorities suffered from higher poverty rates prior to 2020, and now experience even stronger challenges to making ends meet… [Yet] the Ontario COVID-specific contingency funds have increased to $12 billion… [and] “the Province may end the fiscal year with outstanding balances… [using remaining funds to] “reduce both the budget deficit and Ontario’s net debt.”
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, multiculturalism, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
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