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Ontario welfare reform plan is on the right track
Friday, October 26th, 2012
October 24, 2012
…the existing system doesn’t accomplish either of its goals – making sure the poorest Ontarians have a decent minimum income, and helping those who can work start supporting themselves as quickly as possible. Even those inclined to blame people on welfare for their own misfortune should agree that if we’re going to spend billions, let’s make sure it’s for something productive.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Omnibus budget: Bill C-45 is an affront to democracy
Sunday, October 21st, 2012
October 19, 2012
… a document of more than 400 pages, which still includes many non-budgetary matters… Bill C-45, if passed, will ensure significant savings over the coming years. But as Harper clearly knows, the scope of the bill means it will take months or years before Canadians understand the cost of those savings, beyond the steep democratic one.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
The omnibus bill becomes business as usual for Conservatives
Friday, October 19th, 2012
October 19, 2012
this is truly the spawn of the first omnibus bill, the one that dominated the last Parliamentary session, the one demonized by the opposition as an affront to democracy… If voters didn’t like that, they failed to understand, apparently, this is the way this government does business. Clearly the calculation is all that noise and light in the last session was generated by those who would never vote Conservative anyway
Tags: ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Venerable Economist sounds alarm over growing inequality
Friday, October 19th, 2012
October 18, 2012
Government leaders continue to turn a blind eye to disparities among their people and a deaf ear to voices warning that a hyper-wealthy minority is taking too much of the nation’s income. Corporate executives continue to argue that any measure impeding their ability to produce wealth would do profound harm to the economy… The Economist’s thoughtful analysis won’t change their minds. But it will get their attention.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, standard of living, youth
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Ontario’s cuts to funds for poor sends miserable message
Thursday, October 18th, 2012
October 18, 2012
Much was revealed when Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government opted to slash funding for the poor while spending at least $230 million on the politically motivated closing of two gas-fired generating plants. The province faces a $14.4-billion deficit but, even in these cash-strapped times, there’s money for what really matters… no one in Ontario deserves help more than those who struggle, day after day, even for basic necessities.
Tags: budget, featured, homelessness, housing, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | 1 Comment »
Homelessness: Ontario’s $21 million cut likely to leave more people without a roof
Thursday, October 18th, 2012
October 18, 2012
A $21 million provincial cut to homelessness prevention funding in Toronto will make it harder for thousands of poor residents to stay out of shelters, residents and community advocates say… The cut takes effect during a period of high local unemployment and high rents, and as “social assistance rates no longer reflect even the most basic costs of living… More than 160,000 people are on the waiting list for affordable housing.
Tags: budget, homelessness, housing, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | 3 Comments »
Canada’s politicians are failing the poor
Monday, October 15th, 2012
October 14, 2012
Faith communities find themselves in the usual bind. On the one hand, they seek to alleviate immediate needs by providing food and shelter through programs like “Out of the Cold.” On the other, they know that these acts of charity and decency implicitly give a kind of licence to politicians to do little and to expect religious institutions to shoulder too much of the burden of looking after the disadvantaged.
Tags: budget, homelessness, ideology, participation, philanthropy, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Canadians are ready for an adult conversation on Medicare
Monday, October 15th, 2012
October 14, 2012
… the good news is medicare doesn’t need much if any new money or for-profit care. Many examples across the country demonstrate we could almost eliminate waits for doctors and other services through process improvement and system redesign… Best practices across Canada demonstrate that we could see our family doctors within one day, see specialists within one week, and get elective surgery within three months. And we could get this much better care for little or no additional cost.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health, standard of living, tax
Posted in Health Delivery System | 1 Comment »
Creating programs for kids with mentally ill parents
Monday, October 15th, 2012
October 14, 2012
… the burden of mental illness and addictions in Ontario is greater than that of all cancers and infectious diseases put together. But… families reporting they receive less care and support than friends and neighbours with physical ailments. The lack of a national or provincial strategy — never mind stable funding —for helping children of mentally ill parents means community organizations nationwide are collaborating and cobbling together scarce mental-health resources to support them.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, mental Health, youth
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Governing in the dark: Ottawa’s dangerous unscientific revolution
Thursday, October 11th, 2012
October 10, 2012
Evidence-free decisions are merely uneducated guesswork. Scientific evidence is a form of insurance, a comparatively inexpensive yet effective way to ensure that much larger investments in government programs are not wasted… In other words, scientific evidence forms the basis for true public accountability. And isn’t accountability the horse on which Harper rode into Parliament?
Tags: budget, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
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