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Canada needs the Connaught model of domestic vaccine production
Saturday, March 20th, 2021
A properly restored Canadian global powerhouse in vaccines would improve on the current world patchwork of players focused on discovery, clinical trials, safe packaging, mass production and a dozen other disciplines, layered over by conflicting priorities of national governments. That model conflicts with Ottawa’s current $1-billion national vaccine strategy.
Tags: economy, Health, ideology, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Is it time for Ontario to end Catholic school funding?
Thursday, March 18th, 2021
… such a move would save taxpayers an estimated $1.6 billion a year… And school boards across Ontario are facing huge financial crunches, with dropping enrolment often resulting in half-empty schools… a single public system would also mean thousands of students could attend schools closer to home and put a permanent end to calls for public funding for schools operated by Jewish, Muslim and Christian fundamentalists groups.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, multiculturalism
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
The Divorce Act has grown up, but will we?
Monday, March 15th, 2021
Over the last 25 years, non-court alternate dispute resolution processes have evolved, such as mediation and collaborative law. A major step forward was achieved with the amendments to the Divorce Act that came into effect on March 1 of this year… Mediation and collaborative law processes are almost always faster and less expensive than court. They’re also less stressful on the parties, their children and other family members. Ultimately, they are much more likely to result in a resolution that both parties find acceptable.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, rights
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
The Ford government can’t leave Ontario universities in this financial mess
Wednesday, March 10th, 2021
Increased costs and reduced revenues due to COVID has left Ontario universities scrambling to fill a billion-dollar hole… The crisis at Laurentian is the most visible manifestation of a longstanding structural and funding crisis that has simply been exacerbated by the pandemic… this government has made things worse, not better, for universities and colleges. In 2019, it cut tuition by 10 per cent and then froze it for two years.
Tags: budget, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »
Doug Ford helped create a crisis for Ontario’s universities. Now it’s up to him to save them
Tuesday, March 9th, 2021
Bleeding cash, Ontario’s universities are begging for a $500 million cash infusion to stay alive during COVID-19… The premier’s antics created the problem in the first place with that 10 per cent cut. A compensating 10 per cent top-up today is the price to pay to help universities get over the hump — through government funding, not a tuition increase (students cannot be expected to pay, given the disruptions of the pandemic).
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, youth
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
Canada will have a $1.6-trillion debt by the end of the year due to the pandemic. Here’s why some economists say we shouldn’t sweat it
Sunday, March 7th, 2021
Blessed with historically low interest rates, which show little sign of rising, and one of the healthiest debt-to-GDP ratios in the developed world, Canada cannot only service its pandemic bill, but thrive on the other side, many experts say… there’s little doubt that the country’s economy will bounce back to some extent in post-pandemic times and that the increased revenues produced by that rebound will help lessen the debt’s impact.
Tags: economy, globalization, Health, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Our temporary residents provide a resource we can’t ignore
Sunday, March 7th, 2021
The de facto “two-step immigration process” that has emerged in recent years has been primarily driven by business demands for faster intake of newcomers, but could lead to better integration and lives for “low” and “high” skilled workers alike. If temporary foreign workers are good enough to work for us, they are good enough to live among us, permanently, if that is what they wish.
Tags: economy, ideology, immigration, participation, rights
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
When will the Liberal government keep its promises on national pharmacare?
Saturday, March 6th, 2021
Canadians have waited for decades for universal pharmacare. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, they cannot wait any longer… The 2021 federal budget is just around the corner. If the government’s rejection of C-213 was because it was written on the terms of an opposition party and not their own, this may be one of the last opportunities for the prime minister to make good on his public support for universal, public pharmacare.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
It’s time to move ahead on a national child-care system
Sunday, February 21st, 2021
… new money for child care must support programs. That is the only way Ottawa will be able to lower parent fees and raise wages, which in turn, will attract and retain well-trained staff who are the foundation of high-quality child care. That should be the starting point as Ottawa negotiates bilateral funding agreements with provinces and territories… Provinces that are ready to sign-on should get started immediately. But under no circumstances should Ottawa ink funding deals with provinces that don’t embrace this new federal vision.
Tags: budget, child care, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living, women
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
With half measures like these, Canada is clearly not interested in gun control
Sunday, February 21st, 2021
… the scattershot handgun ban makes no sense. Legal handguns have grown like mushrooms in the dark, so much so that there are now more than one million, almost three times as many as there were in 2006. If Ottawa allows provinces to block municipalities from regulating handguns, it could mean some provinces will do it and others won’t. This is lacework regulation, and it is not the Canadian way.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
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