« Older Entries | Newer Entries »

Why do Canada’s wealthiest families get huge tax breaks?

Monday, August 24th, 2020

If you’re a billionaire looking to pass on your fortune tax-free to your kids, Canada is a great place to do it… Canada is the only G7 country that doesn’t have an estate tax… Of course, the absence of an inheritance tax is only one of several avenues that the elite have at their disposal to lighten their tax burden. The capital gains tax is another. And its distributional impact is huge… But change is in the air

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »


Facing a huge COVID-19 backlog, prosecutors are quietly diverting more drug possession and impaired driving charges from criminal court

Monday, August 24th, 2020

TheStar.com – GTA Aug. 23, 2020.   By Betsy Powell, Courts Reporter Without fanfare, the federal and provincial governments have begun targeting drug possession and drinking and driving offences as potential charges that can be diverted out of the criminal justice system to help reduce massive backlogs that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. But just […]

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »


Poverty reduction central to building back better

Monday, August 17th, 2020

While the pandemic has laid bare many pre-existing inequities, it has also created an opportunity to reimagine and rebuild our social infrastructure… Given that unpaid care work is a source of women’s marginalization and poverty, we believe a basic income program will support women on low and fixed incomes in particular.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »


Race does not determine health outcomes — racism does. As medical professionals we see this reflected in stark COVID-19 realities

Thursday, August 13th, 2020

… employment, income, wealth, education, housing and so on — are what ultimately determine who survives or how long we live. In many ways, the single most important protective factor in this pandemic was having the privilege to stay at home. But that’s if you had a home and a job that would allow you to work remotely and take paid leave if sick or unwell.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »


Universal, permanent paid sick days needed now

Wednesday, August 12th, 2020

… from personal support workers staffing long-term-care homes, to meat processing workers, grocery store workers and migrant farmworkers… COVID-19 thrives where racialized workers are denied paid sick days… Restricting paid sick leave to a temporary measure for reasons “related to COVID-19” undermines its effectiveness… Paid sick days must be permanent and ensure workers can stay home at symptom onset, regardless of the ultimate diagnosis.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »


An extra $2,000 a month helped young people struggling during COVID-19. Now we need to support them with a guaranteed livable income

Wednesday, August 12th, 2020

A guaranteed livable income is one way to overcome the barrier of cost and better support those living with food insecurity as well as those living in unsafe and precarious housing conditions, facing mental health conditions, single income families, people with disabilities, seniors, and other Canadians.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »


New income support system must go beyond tinkering with EI

Tuesday, August 11th, 2020

… pushing hundreds of thousands of people into poverty would risk stalling the recovery that’s now underway. About half the jobs that were lost in the depths of the lockdown in April have already come back, and we can expect unemployment to keep falling. But if the purchasing power that was pumped into the economy through CERB is suddenly cut off, that could plunge the country into a prolonged recession.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »


Black people more likely to be arrested, charged, shot and killed by Toronto police, Ontario Human Rights Commission finds

Monday, August 10th, 2020

The results are “highly disturbing, and confirm what Black communities have said for decades — that Black people bear a disproportionate burden of law enforcement”… although Black people represent 8.8 per cent of Toronto’s population, Black people represented 32 per cent of the charges in the data set… The charges… involve a high degree of discretion on the part of the officer.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »


Insiders say Justin Trudeau doesn’t want an election. He wants to seize the moment and push through bold change

Saturday, August 8th, 2020

… now is the time, with the cost of long-term borrowing so cheap due to historically low interest rates, to address those inequities for the longer term… Premiers may have been willing to put up with aggressive federal moves in areas of their jurisdiction during the emergency and restart phase of the pandemic, but it’s hard to see that lasting.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Debates | No Comments »


These mental health advocates are working on an alternative to police intervention when someone is in crisis.

Monday, August 3rd, 2020

“When someone is in crisis, they are already feeling afraid, overwhelmed, out of control. They don’t need an officer with a gun and handcuffs showing up… “What they need instead is a mental health expert, who they can trust, who can help them calm down. Someone who can help them feel safer.”

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »


« Older Entries | Newer Entries »