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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 »
Ottawa has its hands all over the economy — and that’s just fine with business leaders
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020
“The concept is to bring a strong portfolio of public investments and private investment in a kind of renewed partnership between government, Canadian companies and pension funds and financial institutions in Canada to fully position our leadership in the world, (in areas) where we think Canada as a middle-sized country could make a difference”… they should have a strategy that pushes companies to be more competitive in the areas we are already good at.
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
The Ford government says it’s committed to poverty reduction. That’s hard to believe
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020
… this is the government that killed the planned rise to $15 in the minimum wage as soon as it was elected. It also rolled back two-paid sick days for all workers, equal pay for exploited temporary agency workers and other measures to protect precarious workers from being misclassified and stripped of their labour rights… The government cut funding for specialized school programs that provided after-school jobs for needy teens, classroom tutors and supports for racialized youth, calling it “wasteful spending.” … Soon after coming to power in 2018, the government also cut in half a planned 3-per-cent increase to social assistance.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Ottawa will take a hard look at companies that paid dividends while accepting COVID-19 supports, Justin Trudeau says
Sunday, December 20th, 2020
The program was meant to help companies avoid layoffs and keep employees on the payroll… 30 companies that paid out a combined total of $2 billion to shareholders between April and September while receiving the wage subsidy… Extendicare, the largest operator of private nursing homes in Canada, had paid nearly $10.5 million in dividends since April, while its home-care subsidiary was receiving millions of dollars from the wage subsidy.
Tags: budget, economy, privatization, tax
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
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