« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Pension lessons for Canada from Down Under
Monday, August 8th, 2011
Aug 07 2011
The Australian “superannuation” system offers a way to move the financial burden of retirement away from the hurly-burly of workplace negotiation and to largely remove the threat of retirement poverty… As well as voluntary savings and a means-tested government pension similar to the Canadian OAS, Australia has an earnings-based pension system called “superannuation” that covers virtually all full- and part-time workers. The contributions are mandated by law and are paid solely by the employer… Employees are free to top up these contributions but are under no obligations to do so.
Tags: ideology, pensions, privatization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Is less really more when it comes to government?
Sunday, August 7th, 2011
Aug 05 2011
“When you look at Canada and the U.S., it isn’t that government is getting smaller, but it’s doing different things… Instead of redistributing income from the wealthy to the poorer groups, it does the reverse… The social contract is being rewritten: it’s a contract between government and corporate barons”… “Our blind spot is because we are drunk on individual freedom, which is the teenage stage of maturity… The next stage is when you learn to work with others for the common good. That is what people on the eastern side of the planet have learned, but we haven’t.”
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Overcharged for health care
Friday, August 5th, 2011
Aug 03 2011
The actual cost of many services and procedures has been spiralling downward — yet the amount provincial governments spend on health care has been spiralling upward. How can this be? …Health care is a high-tech industry and time-saving innovations that improve outcomes are being introduced all the time… Nevertheless, over the past decade, health-care spending has been climbing by about 7 per cent a year. Partly that’s because we do more of some things… But in other cases, it’s now clear that we are simply overpaying.
Tags: budget, Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Reprieve for mental health guardian
Friday, August 5th, 2011
Aug 04 2011
Health Minister Deb Matthews unexpectedly announced that the government is suspending its plan to hand off its Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office to the Canadian Mental Health Association. “I now realize that implementing this change requires greater conversation and consultation and as a result we will not move forward at this time with the current plan,” she said. “My priority is to make sure we get this right.”… Over the next four months, she explained, her officials would consult psychiatric patients, their advocates and providers of mental health services…
Tags: disabilities, mental Health, rights
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Ontario stands to save $2 billion in drug reforms
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
August 3, 2011
Ontario should save $2 billion over the next three years as 44 medications — from cholesterol fighting Crestor to the targeted cancer therapy Gleevec — come off patent and the fruits of drug reform take hold. Savings made will be poured back into reducing the ballooning $47 billion health-care budget and buying new medications under the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan… Drugs make up about 10 per cent of the province’s $47 billion health spending, and 32 per cent of the $25 billion Ontarians spend on private health care.
Tags: budget, Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Wild applause for teen’s 2 a.m. speech for libraries
Monday, August 1st, 2011
July 30, 2011
Annika Tabovaradan addresses Toronto City Council members at 2 a.m. and makes a tearful plea to keep area libraries open. She already has to wait 30 minutes for computer time.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, poverty, tax
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
A new reason to support the CBC [diversity]
Monday, August 1st, 2011
Jul 30 2011
…we’ve gone from mass media to… “molecular media.” …increasingly any Canadian can be awash in any particular narrow point of view. They can listen to, read or watch the views they support or hold. That means there is a real danger of balkanizing our society — we all may end up in self-reinforcing echo-chambers where all we hear is our own point of view… There is still a role for great broadcasting. CBC/Radio-Canada… gives essential support to Canadian content and the independent production sector that creates it. The result is diverse voices in the media landscape…
Tags: budget, globalization, ideology, multiculturalism, participation
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | 1 Comment »
World-class city or mediocrity?
Saturday, July 30th, 2011
Jul 29 2011
All of these reports point to an increasing threat to the social fabric and social cohesion of our city. We can’t afford to abandon the vulnerable in our society. We shouldn’t balance the books on the back of the poor. We will pay a lot more in the long run if we do… Much has been written about the world-class status of Toronto. There are many components to that reputation. The safety, cleanliness and liveability of our city. The arts and cultural life, our education systems, our parks and ravines, our distinct neighbourhoods, how we treat our most vulnerable citizens, to name a few…
Tags: budget, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
All cuts aren’t created equal
Saturday, July 30th, 2011
Jul 29 2011
Controlling spending is important when there isn’t enough revenue coming in, but cuts come at a price. When that price is too high, we must be prepared to engage in a conversation about raising revenue and not just about controlling costs… The city, in a manufactured panic, is attempting to balance the books in two months, rather than the usual six, and isn’t leaving time for careful consideration of the impact. Rushing important decisions without sufficient information puts our health at risk, both today and tomorrow… Let’s look at the implications of a few of the proposed cuts:
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Canadian universities switch to tech savvy course alternatives
Friday, July 29th, 2011
Jul 23 2011
Starting in September, thousands of Canadian students and faculty members will shift from Access Copyright to open and alternative access, relying on more flexible arrangements that will increase reliance on electronic course content and freely available materials that can be used without restriction. The change will suffer from some growing pains, but represents a major step toward better leveraging technology within the education system.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
Recent Comments