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B.C. judge upholds Canada’s polygamy laws
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
Nov 23 2011
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has upheld Canada’s current laws on polygamy finding that there is reasonable belief that women and children are harmed in polygamous marriages and that the keeping polygamy illegal minimally impairs religious freedom… “… this case is essentially about harm,” wrote Chief Justice Robert Baumann… “This includes harm to women, to children, to society and to the institution of monogamous marriage.”
Tags: rights, women
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Occupy moves us into a new era
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
Nov 21 2011
Are occupations really necessary to draw attention to their cause? Perhaps not. But I’d trust their judgment over mine. After all, they’ve managed to change the public discourse, putting inequality front and centre — something activists and writers, myself included, have failed to accomplish despite decades of trying.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
In Ontario, real cuts for citizens, tax cuts for companies
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
Nov. 23, 2011
The full extent of those cutbacks has largely escaped public notice because they are buried in the deceptively cruel calculus of the coming budget: To protect health care (allowed to rise 3 per cent) and education (1 per cent), all other departments must take a hit. That’s the only way to bend the cost curve to a 1 per cent overall budget increase, allowing Ontario to wipe out its $16 billion deficit by 2017-18.
Tags: budget, Health, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
McGuinty vows to improve First Nations schools
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
Nov 22 2011
It is time for Ottawa to engage in an “important” conversation about “unleashing” the provincial government to help improve standards, he said. “They are not good at education. They don’t do education, we do education. And there are now international authorities who say we have the best public education system in the English-speaking world.” Ottawa must correct the funding imbalances so native kids receive the same funding as other children in Ontario schools, McGuinty added. “Let us take this on. Let us work with First Nations and develop a curriculum that speaks to their needs and aspirations”…
Tags: Indigenous, rights, standard of living, youth
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
How Ottawa’s pension reform short-changes the young
Saturday, November 19th, 2011
Nov 18 2011
… an expansion of the CPP is the best way to deal with the 60 per cent of workers – particularly younger workers in non-union shops – who have no other pension plan. It doesn’t rely on the good intentions of employers… And by taking the strain from programs like Old Age Security, it saves taxpayers money… But many employers don’t like the idea because it would require premiums to rise. Financial institutions fear an expanded public pension plan would eat into their profits. And politicians are nervous about anything that might resemble a tax increase.
Tags: economy, pensions, standard of living, youth
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
Tom Kent: A life of purpose
Saturday, November 19th, 2011
Nov 17 2011
… intellectuals think conceptually, debate vociferously the arcane implications of theory, and are happiest in the library. Activists, on the other hand, while motivated by ideas, battle for their values in the public policy arena, by mobilizing supporters, outmanoeuvring opponents, creating organizations and winning elections. Tom Kent dedicated his life to both strands of activity; he thought superbly and acted vigorously. The result is programs like medicare and the Canada Pension Plan, which help millions of Canadians every day.
Tags: Health, ideology, pensions, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance History | No Comments »
The Occupy movement isn’t going away, it’s going online
Friday, November 18th, 2011
Nov 18 2011
It’s a worldwide movement… And it’s not going away… the current, gross disparity in wealth matches that of gilded ages past. Progressive movements arose in each case to restore balance and a measure of economic fairness… starting with “A revival of crucial public services, especially education, training, public investment and environment protection… Getting in the way of overdue change is a fool’s errand.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Omnibus crime bill misses the mark
Friday, November 18th, 2011
Nov 17 2011
… we can make our justice system more efficient and cost effective with smart rehabilitation programs. In many cases, people do criminal things because they are desperate. Desperate for money to get out of poverty… Putting these criminals in jail for long sentences, while in the short term making us feel safer, leads to worse outcomes. Texas and other jurisdictions are telling us this scheme doesn’t work; the Canadian Bar Association says this plan will worsen the justice system.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Unions are key to fighting inequity
Friday, November 18th, 2011
Nov 16 2011
The assault on the middle class has taken many forms, including tax cuts to the rich, the shredding of valuable public services, and globalization that allowed companies, especially banks, to pillage at will. The attack also included moves by governments to make it more difficult for people to join unions, and to limit the ability of those unions to bargain effectively on behalf of their members… Unions have traditionally contributed to a healthy middle class in a number of ways…
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
Shed light on abuse cases [seniors]
Friday, November 18th, 2011
Nov 17 2011
The 77,000 Ontarians who live in long-term care homes are some of our most vulnerable citizens. We cannot tolerate a culture of secrecy inside these homes. There are no “judgment calls” when it comes to reporting abuse. It is not acceptable to deal with problems internally. And staff should never be punished for speaking out… Ontario’s new inspection system is far better than what preceded it. But it relies on resident complaints…
Tags: crime prevention, privatization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | 2 Comments »
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