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Frantic parents search for housing for severely autistic son
Monday, September 24th, 2012
September 22, 2012
[Despite] an additional $25 million for residential services for people in urgent need… the need has likely far exceeded the funds… “This is a provincial, system-wide problem and it is bad in all regions”… waiting lists for residential care are growing daily and many people are falling through the cracks. “Some end up in hospital, long-term care and prisons”…
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, homelessness, mental Health, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Corporate welfare flourishes in lean times
Saturday, September 22nd, 2012
September 13, 2012
… a single federal department: Industry Canada. Between 1982 and 2012, it spent $13.7 billion on grants and loans to business. The vast majority of these loans were not repaid. A mere 0.1 per cent of the interest owed on these loans was ever collected. No business would get away with this in the private financial market… What’s worse… there is no credible evidence Canadians benefit from this taxpayer largesse,
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
‘Family values’ versus public education
Saturday, September 22nd, 2012
September 17, 2012
We cannot say we want schools to be equitable for some but not others. Public schools are exactly that — public schools. They must be equitable and represent the diversity that exists in our society. Equity must be equally applied to all stakeholders, for all of our neighbours and fellow citizens… No community should expect to impose a burden on public schools that, as a system, we cannot and should not bear.
Tags: ideology, multiculturalism, participation, rights, youth
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
Can we save democracy from Harper’s abuses?
Saturday, September 22nd, 2012
September 19, 2012
Since Harper took power six years ago, the Conservatives have slashed funds for agencies promoting democracy, suppressed public information, shut down Parliament twice for partisan political reasons, violated election financing rules and lied to voters… Marc Mayrand, Canada’s chief electoral officer, says the country may be experiencing “a democratic recession,” adding that engaging young people is critical to maintaining a healthy democracy.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | 2 Comments »
Health-care providers openly discriminate against the mentally ill
Saturday, September 22nd, 2012
September 20, 2012
The biggest surprise in the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s all-encompassing report on mental health is how deeply embedded discrimination against people with mental disabilities is in the health-care system… Health Minister Deb Matthews has to lay down the law: Any health-care worker found violating the rights of Ontarians with mental disabilities will be disciplined. Any institution that allows such behaviour will be penalized.
Tags: disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, rights, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Stephen Harper’s democracy award a sad joke on Canadians
Thursday, September 13th, 2012
September 12, 2012
… the award from the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, which was created by a New York rabbi in 1965… Harper won the award largely because of his support for Israel and his criticism of Iran. Clearly, though, the foundation either blatantly ignored or didn’t know that Harper is arguably the worst prime minister in history when it comes to defending democracy and human rights in Canada.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | 5 Comments »
Democracy should shape capitalism, not the other way around
Wednesday, September 12th, 2012
September 09, 2012
Rather than the values of the so-called free market, democratic core values are, at root, collective, policy-related, social values, not simply personal prejudices. Ultimately, an election must be about these wider social values. Otherwise our elections will devolve into a bagatelle of biases, a potpourri of personal value differences rather than a referendum on what kind of economic, political, and ecological society we hope to become.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Tory plan puts politics ahead of health in Ontario
Wednesday, September 12th, 2012
September 10, 2012
the core Tory belief is that that LHINs (and CCACs) “are administrative bodies that don’t produce value for money.” A Tory corollary is that little or no money need be spent on administration, since co-ordination has no implicit value — only “front-line care” counts. Following that logic, the Tories would replace LHINs with something simpler and cheaper: “Health Hubs” — low-cost co-ordinating bodies staffed by local volunteers.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | 2 Comments »
McGuinty government’s planned education overhaul will be catastrophic
Saturday, September 8th, 2012
September 07, 2012
McGuinty seeks education on the cheap, credentialism (more students get a degree of decreasing value) and, frankly, the shrinking size and pay of the post-secondary workforce… It’s easy to set up an online university… The problem is, it isn’t a university, it’s another way to destroy the essence of a university… Someone has to call for high standards. For if a shortened BA is going to mean less, Ontario universities will fall into a class system.
Tags: budget, globalization, ideology, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Policy Context | 2 Comments »
Kitchener-Waterloo byelection sees new liberals outpace old ones
Saturday, September 8th, 2012
September 07, 2012
First, voters decided that while they might be somewhat conservative, they weren’t as far to the right as Tim Hudak’s PC Party. They decided to vote liberal. Second, and most important, they decided that the NDP was a better liberal alternative than the real Liberal Party… All of this is taking place as New Democrats move deliberately rightward to what they, and most media, call the centre.
Tags: ideology, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
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