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Breaking up is tough enough
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
Jul 26 2011
A couple pursuing a divorce before a judge may want a speedy and fair end to their marriage but what they are far more likely to get is years of emotional turmoil and financial ruin with their lawyers pocketing a good portion of the family assets. When children are caught in the middle it’s even worse. That’s why Ontario’s new requirement that couples seeking a divorce attend an information session on the alternatives to litigation such as mediation is a good move.
Tags: budget, ideology, mental Health, rights, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Ontario’s scandalous non-care for the elderly
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
Jul 27 2011
On paper, Ontario’s system for taking care of old people looks superb. The law sets out what appear to be strict standards for the province’s more than 400 long-term care homes that serve the elderly. There is even a bill of rights for residents of these nursing and old-age homes. But a story last week in the Star underlines how very fragile these standards can be… in practice, it’s usually the nursing homes themselves that decide what to do when a resident appears sick or injured.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Rare breakthrough on mental health [disclosures]
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
Jul 26 2011
Police information checks, routinely required by employers and voluntary agencies, will no longer include any reference to an incident involving mental health that did not result in criminal charges… The new guidelines won’t solve everything. They’re not binding; each police force will set its own policies. Nor do they seal all mental health records. Organizations with vulnerable clients will still have access to relevant mental health information. Most stakeholders, however, consider them a fair compromise. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get the balance between privacy and public safety right
Tags: disabilities, mental Health, participation, rights
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
New rules for executive pay
Monday, July 25th, 2011
Jul 22 2011
…Canadian Securities Administrators — the umbrella group including 13 provincial and territorial securities regulators —Friday unveiled new rules on executive compensation, beginning in October… Requiring the boards of publicly-traded companies to show they’ve considered the risks of how much they’re paying their executives, such as whether the CEO’s pay packet is so high that their personal interest isn’t aligned with the shareholders’. Also, companies must now disclose the fees they’re paying to outside compensation firms.
Tags: economy, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Sour taste in ‘sweet’ Tory pension plan
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
Jul 21 2011
…Menzies is now promoting is a voluntary, privately administered scheme for companies without a pension plan, their employees and self-employed workers… Sixty per cent of Canadian workers — 75 per cent in the private sector — have no pension. But it won’t protect workers’ savings from market turbulence nor will it provide post-retirement security. There is no guarantee that any of these pooled pension plans will be large enough to be sustainable…. It is certainly better than nothing. But it is a second-best solution and a poor substitute for strengthening the Canada Pension Plan
Tags: ideology, pensions, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Public must have its say
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
Jul 19 2011
Councillors also need to hear from those who want to preserve what makes our city great… There’s a legitimate debate to be had over delivering services more effectively, lobbying Queen’s Park for more support, trimming what waste the consultants may identify and raising taxes to make up any shortfall. But no city achieves greatness by blindly pinching programs and slashing services. What Toronto needs is a vision that soars, not one that shrinks from challenges.
Tags: budget, participation, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Liberals embellish their record — clumsily
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
Jul 19 2011
… a taxpayer-funded pre-election handout or a serious defence of his government’s social policy record. Either way, Ontario Building Stronger Communities fails… Their self-congratulatory verbiage eclipsed their genuine achievements. They transformed Ontario’s child welfare system with their $1,100 a year provincial child benefit. They made Ontario a leader in the development of clean energy and water conservation technology. They introduced full-day kindergarten in Ontario’s schools. And they carved out 4.3 million acres of green space.
Tags: ideology, standard of living
Posted in Governance History | No Comments »
No justice for the intellectually disabled
Monday, July 18th, 2011
Jun 10 2011
… it is only the already disadvantaged category of witnesses … who must answer questions about their understanding of the duty to tell the truth,” added LEAF legal director Joanna Birenbaum. “No other category of witness is required to do so… “There is consensus that access to justice for persons with mental disabilities is a critical issue … While there are a number of reasons why women with mental disabilities are so highly targeted for sexual assault, the staggering rates of assault are in part because of these women’s lack of access to justice.”
Tags: crime prevention, disabilities, rights, women
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
System failed mentally ill teen
Monday, July 18th, 2011
July 18, 2011
If this were an isolated tragedy, it would be reasonable to hope the inquest into his death would prevent other young people with mental illness from suffering the same fate. But an eerily similar inquest is being conducted into the death of Ashley Smith, a 19-year-old with a history of mental illness, who strangled herself in a Kitchener prison a year earlier. And both investigations come at a time when mental health providers are pleading with all three provincial party leaders to address the urgent need to get children and youth into treatment.
Tags: corrections, mental Health, youth
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
First Nations: Forge hope from the pain
Sunday, July 17th, 2011
Jul 16 2011
In theory at least, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is… committed to holding a “Canada-First Nation Crown Gathering” to discuss a wide variety of issues: governance reforms, accountability, economic development and schooling, among others… Native leaders talk of negotiating a wide-ranging deal with the Canadian government that would affirm treaties, aboriginal title and rights, and chart a path forward… Ultimately, Atleo envisages breaking up the federal Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development department and giving First Nations the option at least of managing their affairs outside the restrictive 1876 Indian Act.
Tags: Indigenous, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
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