« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Ontario needs a minimum income floor
Wednesday, March 27th, 2019
… if you lower the benchmark, the number of people living in poverty invariably goes down… At the same time that Statistics Canada announced this good news story… Doug Ford’s cancellation of the pilot was regrettable, however, it is time we forget about pilots and move on to ensure everyone has a minimum income floor.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Autism layoffs ‘premature,’ says Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod
Wednesday, March 27th, 2019
Her ministry will hold consultations through the summer to determine how to move forward on more needs-based funding… Taylor accused the Ford government’s plan of putting families “in crisis, and we have a complete disaster of an autism program right now in the province because the minister failed to communicate before she put the policy in place.”
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, participation, youth
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Mandatory e-learning announced by Ford government comes under fire from NDP
Tuesday, March 26th, 2019
“this is not about 21st century learning, this is not about technology; this is about making students take courses online that are now mandatory… This is about removing 10,000 teachers from our classrooms.”… student leaders have already asked the province to back off on making such credits necessary for graduation.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, youth
Posted in Education Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Death knell for basic income: How participants will spend their last cheque
Monday, March 25th, 2019
The goal was to see if regular payments with few conditions would give people living in poverty the security and opportunity to reach their full potential. The project aimed to measure the basic income’s impact on food security, health, housing, education and employment. It was also testing whether a basic income would be a simpler and more economical way to deliver social assistance, a program mired in rules and bureaucracy.
Tags: budget, Health, housing, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Mandatory online courses in Ontario high schools raise concerns for educators
Sunday, March 24th, 2019
In a massive shift to digital coursework, Ontario will soon require high school students to earn four online credits before they graduate — a first in North America. But with few details about the move, which begins in 2020-21, critics are questioning the rapid push to so much virtual learning so soon… “Although e-learning classes provide a modernized learning experience for students, these courses are not a good fit for everyone,”
Tags: ideology, participation, youth
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »
Changes to Ontario’s (still) flawed autism program show Ford government can be pushed back
Sunday, March 24th, 2019
… these announced “enhancements,”… don’t truly fix this flawed program. This still amounts to a $331-million plan that does not meet the needs, especially for those on the high-needs end of the spectrum and girls who are who are often diagnosed later than boys so doubly suffer under the government’s age discrimination, which provides far less funding for kids over the age of six. But the changes are a sign that the Ford government is movable and open, albeit belatedly, to listening to experts.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Where is the champion for pharmacare?
Wednesday, March 20th, 2019
Canadians may see some more steps in the right direction in late May or early June when former Ontario Liberal health minister Eric Hoskins releases an in-depth report by a National Advisory Council on pharmacare… But… his council’s report will be impossible to implement without a champion in cabinet… bold plans like pharmacare require the use of political capital, and only a strong champion with serious cabinet clout can make things happen.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
After Bill Morneau’s budget, Liberals should move on pharmacare
Wednesday, March 20th, 2019
The absence of comprehensive prescription drug coverage is the most glaring hole in our much-vaunted medicare system… Setting up a true national pharmacare program will be expensive and difficult, involving major push-back from the insurance industry and complex negotiations with the provinces. But the Liberals should not shy away from the challenge… they came into office promising to make real changes in the lives of ordinary people
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Don’t balance Ontario’s budget on the backs of vulnerable kids
Tuesday, March 19th, 2019
First he cut a planned welfare increase in half. He ended a guaranteed annual income pilot program halfway through its mandate. Then he ditched a planned $1-an-hour increase in the minimum wage. Now his government is putting the province’s most vulnerable children in danger by putting budgetary pressures on children’s aid societies by changing up their funding formulas. So far that’s resulted in 26 child protection workers being laid off in the Brantford area.
Tags: budget, child care, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health, youth
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Employment changes would mean working more and earning less overtime pay
Sunday, March 17th, 2019
The key changes proposed by the PCs concern ministry of labour oversight of excess hours of work and overtime averaging agreements, and could result in many Ontarians working more hours and earning less overtime pay… An inevitable result will be the proliferation of overtime averaging agreements in workplaces where no justifying circumstances are present, and employers are simply seeking to cut costs at their employees’ expense. Employees are typically told to sign these agreements at their time of hire, and overwhelmingly do so for fear of being passed up for a candidate who will.
Tags: ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Recent Comments