« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Harper government won’t act on anti-poverty plan
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
Mar 07 2011
The federal government has no plans to act on an exhaustive House of Commons plan to fight poverty. The Commons human resources committee took three years to assemble 58 recommendations that would have given Ottawa a key role in efforts to help the poor. The report called for a new federal transfer payment to complement provincial anti-poverty programs. It also pushed for a national housing strategy.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
The hedge fund manager and the nurse
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
Mar 07 2011
… the Harper government introduced legislation that effectively strips women in the public service of pay equity coverage. On this rather sombre International Women’s Day, it’s worth reminding ourselves that the gigantic incomes of the financial elite and the low incomes of nurses have little to do with merit — or even the workings of a “free market” — and a lot to do with who gets to make the rules.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax, women
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Ousted housing board betrayed the public trust
Monday, March 7th, 2011
Mar 07 2011
There was never any effort by management or the board to develop the potential of their tenants, to ensure that tenant representatives had proper training and exposure to anti-racism and anti-oppression skills, so that those labelled mentally ill were not hounded, harassed and bullied. Tenants lived with the frustration of repairs never done; eviction notices handed out without thought or kindness; management’s failure to realize how much tenants dreamed of a better place, where their individual talents could be used, where their contributions could be recognized and their ideas turned into reality.
Tags: budget, housing, ideology
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Lack of child care costing Canada: report
Monday, March 7th, 2011
March 6, 2011
The YWCA’s report — called Educated, Employed and Equal: The economic prosperity case for national child care — notes the number of women employed in Canada more than doubled between 1976 and 2009, to more than 7.7 million… Volumes of research show that quality child care helps children become lifelong learners, supports the social needs of families and is a powerful tool in reducing child poverty, the report says. It can also help drive the economy. A recent Canadian study on the cost-benefit of public investment in quality child care shows a return of $2.54 for every dollar invested.
Tags: child care, ideology, participation, standard of living, women
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Banking on tax cuts
Sunday, March 6th, 2011
Mar 04 2011
Economists estimate the finance industry as a whole will save $1.5 billion annually once planned reductions in the federal corporate income tax rate from 18 per cent last year, to 16.5 per cent in 2011 and 15 per cent in 2012 are in place. That $1.5 billion, coincidentally, is exactly what the federal government estimates it would have cost to temporarily expand benefits for Canada’s unemployed, an extension that is being eliminated this month under the Harper government’s plan to phase out its stimulus package.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Newcomers ride networks to security and success
Saturday, March 5th, 2011
Mar 05 2011
… to maximize the gifts of newcomers, immigrants, entrepreneurs and social capital, we need a regionwide strength fund to support the local informal action that is already happening right now, outside this room, from welcoming to integrating to incubating our future — and then, just get the heck outta the way.
Tags: immigration, multiculturalism, participation
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
900 more Ontario schools to offer full-day kindergarten in 2012: McGuinty
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
March 2, 2011
The province has named the additional 900 Ontario schools that will offer full-day kindergarten for the 2012-13 school year… “We have enjoyed some very real successes — we have more teachers, smaller classes we have peace and stability and measurable improvements when it comes to results,” [Premier McGuinty] said in an election campaign-type announcement… The Progressive Conservatives say McGuinty can’t reach his goal of all young students in full-day by September 2014 and say a Tory government would look at what Ontario families can afford before agreeing to expand.
Tags: budget, child care, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
A simple way to help Canada’s poorest seniors
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
Feb. 28, 2011
Pension income-splitting does absolutely nothing to help single seniors or even the poorest elderly couples who pay no tax. Some senior couples have enjoyed a tax reduction, but the measure is regressive — the higher their income, the bigger the tax break…. There is a far fairer and more effective way to spend that $733 million — use it to boost the guaranteed income supplement for the poorest seniors. The increase should be targeted to single recipients because they have a much higher poverty rate than elderly couples.
Tags: budget, ideology, pensions, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
The school funding debate
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
Mar 01 2011
Some suggest fundraising caps as a fix for these trends. Others propose redistributing fundraised dollars across the system, similar to my Toronto Public Library donations that support all libraries, not simply my local branch. Another efficient solution would be to raise adequate revenues through fair taxes where people contribute according to their ability to pay. Then allocate these resources equitably. In fact, we used to have such mechanisms in place. We simply need to support a return to progressive and adequate tax levels to fund the public services we want.
Tags: ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
How about a crackdown on hypocrisy?
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
Mar 01 2011
There are three things the government needs to consider with respect to the integrity of its welfare program. The first is that income is the major predictor of health and medical outcomes… The second is that basic welfare allowances for both food and shelter are woefully inadequate, and bear no resemblance to rising real costs. The third is that chronically dehumanizing and criminalizing the poorest and most vulnerable citizens — overwhelmingly the sick, the old, the young, the disabled, the unemployed — perpetuates a mentality that they are the cause, not the victims, of our social problems.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Recent Comments