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Ontario expands mental health teams working with police as pandemic drives up 911 calls

Wednesday, November 18th, 2020

Ontario is expanding the number of mobile mental health teams working with police officers in response to an increase in 911 calls from people in distress during the COVID-19 pandemic… “We anticipate that this funding will help divert individuals who are experiencing a crisis to appropriate community-based care rather than the person ending up in the hospital emergency department or justice system”

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Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »

Care, not profit, must come first in long-term-care homes

Tuesday, November 17th, 2020

It’s up to the government to set long-term-care standards that are high enough to ensure quality and dignified care for seniors and back it up with an enforcement system tough enough to ensure those standards are met… Ontario’s requirements for long-term-care homes, which are too lax already, aren’t even always followed… It’s time government held up its end of the bargain and ensured quality care in long-term care, no matter who owns the homes.

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Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »

Canada’s K-shaped recovery is deepening the lines between rich and poor. Here’s how we can shift our economy toward a fair outcome for all

Sunday, November 15th, 2020

… current economic data shows that the pre-pandemic well-off are benefiting while the pre-pandemic marginalized are suffering considerably…  COVID-19 and its congruent economic crisis is an opportunity to implement key changes that will set Canada’s economic trajectory on the right path. Specifically, three things must be done: a universal basic income with automatic stabilizers; high-quality, affordable child care; and a well-designed wealth tax.

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On the cusp of a national daycare strategy

Saturday, November 14th, 2020

Advocates have been calling for an accessible system dating back to 1970… But this time, advocates believe it could actually happen, buoyed by the government promise of not just one-time funding but sustained funding for the future… With Canada’s population aging out of the workforce… accessible and high-quality child care will be key to keeping younger Canadians working… “We have a market-based system for what is effectively an essential service.”

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Canada’s federal leaders will defend your right to wear a poppy, Just don’t ask them to stick up for your freedom of religion

Thursday, November 12th, 2020

No one in politics wants to be associated with billion-dollar companies, tech giants or overpriced food these days, so it was simply a matter of hearing about the poppy ban and pressing “play” on the outrage tape. It’s a little harder, apparently, to work up the nerve to say that Bill 21 is a flagrant slap in the face of freedom of expression and, worse yet, that it is inflicting real, not symbolic damage on real citizens… No one wants to get on the wrong side of that majority opinion in Quebec…

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Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »

Taking advantage of workers must not be the future of work

Monday, November 9th, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has laid waste to our economy and exposed deep inequalities in our communities. It has shown how frayed our social safety net has become and how much is wrong with the labour market… The pandemic has shown how low-paid, precarious work isn’t just bad for the people who hold down those jobs, but for society as a whole… It can’t be left up a few companies who have landed on an exploitative business model to decide what the future of work looks like.

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‘Quadmesters’ are burning out our high school students

Thursday, November 5th, 2020

COVID-19 has shown how desperately the education system needs to offer more options for learning for all different types and abilities of students: full yearlong learning high schools for those who need in-person and more time; semesters for those who can hopscotch through high school; virtual learning for those with high anxiety created by chaotic school environments; and a hybrid option to capture hands-on skills and remote learning.

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Canada’s economy has weathered a pandemic and an unpredictable president. It can handle some post-election chaos

Wednesday, November 4th, 2020

… the last four years of doing business with the United States has been rife with risk… one problem after another for Canada’s cross-border relations… NAFTA negotiations, tariffs, unpredictable “Buy American” policies, antagonism… [Yet] As a country of exporters, we are reliable and resilient. In the face of protectionism, global trade battles, unpredictable leaders and pandemics, we keep on trucking.

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Unions shouldn’t defend the indefensible

Thursday, October 29th, 2020

… we need more unionization. When you encounter trouble at work — which will happen at badly managed workplaces — someone has to have your back, and that’s the union. But perhaps unions have to shift their frames a little. Some have fallen into a ludicrous Trumpish trap that everything is either black or white. Not true. There are shades of grey. Unions shouldn’t defend the indefensible.

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Toronto to get $203M, Vancouver and Montreal to split about $108M more under city-specific housing plan

Tuesday, October 27th, 2020

Fifteen Canadian cities will share $500-million in federal money as part of a plan to quickly build 3,000 new units of affordable housing across the country… the amounts allocated to the cities are based on factors such as the number of people in severe housing need.

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Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »

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