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Activists fear for safety of people with disabilities after funding for mobility and medical devices deemed non-essential
Tuesday, April 14th, 2020
Those living in the community who need mobility equipment repairs, upgrades or new equipment will be put at increased risk of falls, pressure injuries and other loss of independence if they can’t access ADP financial support… the ministry has been working to ensure “expedited” funding approval for patients being discharged from hospital who need seating and mobility equipment.
Tags: disabilities, Health, mental Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
PM’s COVID-19 aid underlines the potential benefits of universal basic income
Sunday, April 12th, 2020
As Annie Lowrey highlights in her book “Give People Money,” UBI would “ensure that every person had some minimal level of capital and, thus, some minimal level of choice.” This is extremely important for the well-being of society… The economic right, on the other hand, sees UBI as an opportunity to get rid of governmental bureaucracy and inefficiencies. It views UBI as a way to replace existing allowance programs, tailored over many years, with an efficient, one-cheque solution.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Ontario bans fees for daycares closed during COVID-19 shutdown
Saturday, April 11th, 2020
The province is now “temporarily preventing child-care centres from collecting payments from parents, while also ensuring that their child-care spaces are protected… We need to support our parents who may be facing reduced income or layoffs during the COVID-19 outbreak.” The province said the order “immediately prevents any child-care operator from charging parent fees where care is not being provided,” exempting those that recently opened to provide care for the kids of front-line workers.
Tags: child care, economy, jurisdiction
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
COVID-19’s impact: not recession, but a completely different economics
Saturday, April 11th, 2020
… sectors hit first like education and child care, retail, personal services and restaurants [are] more female-dominated… They are paid less, are more likely to have part-time or temporary work, and are less likely to have or be able to enforce protections like sick leave and sick pay… the service sector’s gender-skew challenges governments to improve existing income supports to prevent desperate and counter-productive economic survival plans.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, women
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Universal livable basic income in times of crisis and beyond
Thursday, April 9th, 2020
Universal livable basic income could be distributed and taxed back where total incomes warrant, using the current tax system. This is one of the most simple and effective ways of distributing funds to those in need… It would allow us to build on already existing government infrastructure rather than creating additional programs to administer… Universal livable basic income can reduce financial inequality and help vulnerable people secure safe and healthy accommodation in their everyday lives and during times of crisis.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Ottawa should produce vital products — like it did in the Second World War
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
… many companies have signalled a willingness to produce materials for the pandemic. But, without a powerful government agency overseeing production and distribution, we’ve been left scrambling to buy scarce equipment in a chaotic private marketplace, bidding against U.S. states and governments all over the world. If the Trudeau government seems unable to break out of its subservience to the marketplace, some in the labour movement are showing more vision.
Tags: economy, globalization, Health, ideology
Posted in History | 1 Comment »
Justin Trudeau unveils wages subsidy changes, increased support for student jobs
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
“They are new to the workforce so they don’t have a lot of money set aside for this kind of situation. At the same time, they need work experience to secure their new jobs and money to cover living expenses.” The government has also promised changes to allow part-time workers who have seen their hours cut to access emergency aid that pays $500 a week for 16 weeks… We will have additional measures to put in place to help the most vulnerable Canadians”
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, youth
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
Open Letter urges Ontario to boost support for people on social assistance
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
A coalition of more than 130 health care workers, community agencies and Ontarians living in poverty is urging Queen’s Park to increase benefits immediately to almost one million residents on social assistance struggling to survive during the COVID-19 crisis… the coalition says in an open letter to Children, Community and Social Services Minister Todd Smith… “If we are to weather this storm together, we must ensure that nobody in Ontario is left behind”
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, housing, ideology, participation, poverty
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Canada will need a new industrial policy for a new world
Tuesday, April 7th, 2020
The pandemic is like an x-ray that reveals flaws in our social and economic body that we can no longer ignore… The drive to outsource everything possible in the name of the cheapest possible product has left far too many stranded in precarious, poorly paid work… The gaping holes in the social safety net laid bare by the pandemic make clear that we’ll end up paying one way or the other, either in higher prices needed to provide decent wages, or in expensive social benefits.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Many fear COVID-19 will cause social breakdown. But something quite different is happening
Saturday, April 4th, 2020
We are witnessing an extraordinary surge of solidarity. Suddenly the notion that the economy exists to serve people and not the other way around seems blazingly obvious. Suddenly the notion that we can accomplish more collectively than we could ever accomplish alone is beyond debate… The pandemic is not bringing about a world of crumbled institutions and adversarial individualism; that’s the world we seemed to be heading toward before the virus started its terrible work… Just look how governments and experts and we together are mobilizing.
Tags: economy, featured, Health, ideology, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
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