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It’s time for a national ban on owning handguns
Sunday, November 17th, 2019
Since the Harper government made it easier in 2012 to amass large stockpiles of guns, the number of privately owned handguns has skyrocketed to close to a million. And police say many of those guns find their way into criminal hands… The notion that municipalities can pass and enforce an effective handgun ban is ridiculous… “This is a national issue.”
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, jurisdiction, rights
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Demographics and disruption demands new skills in Canada’s health-care sector
Saturday, November 16th, 2019
… health care can provide a career path for one million Canadians who are currently at risk of losing their jobs to automation… Properly designed, this mix of technology, skills and innovative management can soften the landfall of the silver tsunami, and further prevent the cresting cost of health care from overwhelming government budgets. In this new machine age, our society’s health will depend on it.
Tags: economy, Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Video visits with doctors are a smart idea
Friday, November 15th, 2019
There are three much bigger issues the government needs to tackle to reduce the average wait time to be admitted to hospital from an emergency department. It now tops a sickening 16 hours. Those are a lack of nursing home and long-term health care beds and a shortage of home-care services. And they won’t be solved by the $3 million the province plans to spend on video visits and other digital innovations.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Let’s fix broken system for suspending criminal records
Thursday, November 14th, 2019
After a certain period of crime-free years, individuals with a prior conviction, regardless of what that conviction was, are no more likely to be convicted of another offence than the rest of the population. Continuing to allow criminal records to bar their access to employment, education, housing and other community involvement extends their punishment beyond the end of their sentence.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, ideology, participation, Senate
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Ontario axing 9 execs in bid to save money, increase efficiencies in health care
Wednesday, November 13th, 2019
A health ministry official said no other employees other than the head of the LHINs, which provide local health care planning, are being laid off now and no offices are closing, but in future there will be “significant” savings as real estate assets are consolidated… Under the plan, between 30 and 50 “Ontario Health Teams” will form across the province to co-ordinate all levels of care, from doctor visits to hospitals stays and home care.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Marginalized people need social connections, too
Tuesday, November 12th, 2019
… we almost never talk about the lack of opportunities for something pro-social and meaningful for the homeless and marginalized to do… Funding for programming, for actual engagement with others — especially those who are not easy to engage with — is the last to be offered and first to be cut.
Tags: disabilities, Health, homelessness, mental Health, participation
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Why being a salaried doctor benefits my patients and the health care system
Sunday, November 10th, 2019
As the Ontario government bolsters its oversight of OHIP, I would like to see physician accountability move away from billing practices to emphasize quality of care and population health indicators that incentivize following best practices and address the real needs of people and communities… now is the time for her and the provincial Ministry of Health to start thinking about a transition in the current compensation model.
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
New Liberal minority must keep national pharmacare promise
Friday, November 8th, 2019
In August, 67.8 per cent of respondents to a Mainstreet poll called for national pharmacare, agreeing that the federal government should create a system through which it pays for prescription drugs, regardless of the cost to government. In an Angus Reid pre-election poll, 78 per cent of voters supported a national pharmacare program. Even the 57 per cent of Canadians who intended to vote for the Conservatives, whose platform included no pharmacare plan, supported either the Liberal or the NDP plan.
Tags: featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, participation, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
The case for finally adopting a universal basic income
Thursday, November 7th, 2019
Why not simplify these programs and centre human dignity within our social safety net?… We’ve got to reimagine our economy in a way that measures work, not jobs, in a way that puts human dignity at the centre of policy rather than racing to the bottom. We’ve also got to ensure that women’s economic empowerment is at the centre of this discussion rather than creating a gender blind program.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living, women
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Good advice on fixing Ontario’s welfare system
Monday, November 4th, 2019
“Low benefit rates leave people in deep poverty, and program rules create barriers to their participating in the labour force and improving their lives,” the report says… In short, a focus on cuts rather than results has not only made the lives of the poor more miserable, but it has worked against efforts to get people back into the labour force.
Tags: budget, disabilities, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
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