« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Men living in Toronto haven’t seen their wages increase since 2000, according to new StatCan study
Thursday, January 16th, 2020
… especially in cities that bore the brunt of the decline in manufacturing jobs, such as Toronto, Oshawa and Windsor. Between 2000 and 2015, men’s wages were flat or in decline in those cities, even as wages for men across Canada rose by an average of 13 per cent. The study found minimal effect on women’s wages… because the manufacturing industry has traditionally been dominated by men.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Delivery System | No Comments »
Stop celebrating capitalism and start celebrating sanitation for saving humanity
Thursday, January 16th, 2020
… things only truly got better… after ordinary people won the right to vote and to join unions that pushed for higher wages and helped secure public access to health care, education and housing… over the fierce objections of capitalists… it’s not capitalism but rather the forces fighting to curb capitalism’s worst excesses — unions and progressive political movements — that have improved people’s lives.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Government must step in to fix the gig economy
Wednesday, January 8th, 2020
The nature of work is changing. But that shouldn’t mean that jobs, particularly those for low-paid workers, just get worse and worse. Ontario needs to tackle the widening gaps in worker protections. If it doesn’t, companies in the gig economy and traditional sectors alike will continue to exploit loopholes — and their workers. A business model that relies on the exploitation of others is a terrible step backwards. It can’t be the way of the future.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
The Ford government should invest in Ontario’s outmoded courts
Saturday, January 4th, 2020
… the failure to modernize court proceedings actually costs taxpayers money by preventing the government from “realizing potential cost savings.” … A fair court system is a pillar of democracy. But right now, Ontario’s auditor general cannot make head nor tails of how it operates. How, then, can Downey expect Ontarians to trust it — or him?
Tags: budget, crime prevention, jurisdiction, rights
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
ODSP needs support, not criticism
Friday, January 3rd, 2020
Understood properly, ODSP is growing at the same rate as Ontario’s aging population… Given cuts to other disability benefit programs, the reality is that ODSP should be increasing in numbers and cost more than it has…. ODSP benefits have declined by approximately 1 per cent per year to inflation over the last 25 years.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, ideology, pensions, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
Minister says change won’t come ‘overnight’ as Indigenous child-welfare law takes effect
Friday, January 3rd, 2020
“Each community has different capacities and preparedness… Until Indigenous communities pass their own child-services laws, Miller said, services currently provided to Indigenous children will continue as before… Some Indigenous communities have expressed concerns that no stable funding to help them take over child-welfare services
Tags: budget, Indigenous, jurisdiction, youth
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Resolution on social housing benefit provides hope for many in 2020
Wednesday, January 1st, 2020
There are few things more important to health than a roof over one’s head. Life expectancy for a homeless person is substantially worse than for the general population and 57 per cent of homeless people in Toronto have a chronic medical condition… living in ill-maintained housing increases the risk of accidents due to unsafe structures, infestations such as mice, cockroaches, and a variety of infections…
Tags: budget, Health, homelessness, housing, ideology, mental Health, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Embracing good will this Christmas
Tuesday, December 24th, 2019
In some sense, our schools, libraries, hospitals, public parks, social housing, legal and social assistance programs all speak to a type of structured good will. These are all places that promote collective caring. These are some expressions of the social dimensions of good will toward all, not just those who can an afford the finer amenities of life.
Tags: featured, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Only the Ford government could double autism funding and still not fix anything
Thursday, December 19th, 2019
If they had simply doubled the funding and made a few administrative tweaks to the existing program they could have had a real win on their hands, not to mention actually providing children with the care they desperately need.
But Ford… spread the existing money more thinly through childhood budgets, and made things far worse.
Tags: budget, disabilities, mental Health, youth
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
How $15 billion in bonuses leaves bankers gloomy
Wednesday, December 18th, 2019
The country’s six largest banks are dishing out $15 billion in bonuses this year. But, in the eyes of some, this isn’t enough… It… reveals how misleading media reports can be, particularly about high finance, with insiders allowed to peddle their self-serving agendas unchallenged… Canada’s big six banks have gotten away with paying extremely low taxes — the lowest in the G7.
Tags: featured, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Recent Comments