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Social-assistance rates in Ontario should ‘set off alarm bells’: Report
Friday, August 18th, 2023
The province’s income-of-last-resort program pays so little that Ontario Works recipients must survive on just 37 per cent of the funds that would be required for them to have a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs, and enough money to maintain a very basic standard of living. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis of social-assistance rates in Ontario.
Tags: budget, disabilities, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | No Comments »
Are the Tories actually underspending? Here’s what the numbers say
Saturday, August 5th, 2023
… the Ontario government is already dealing with criticism on multiple fronts from political constituencies with demands that are hardly unreasonable: things like keeping hospital ERs open or adequately funding forest-fire suppression in the worst fire season in Canada’s recorded history or keeping the province’s largest city from falling into a budgetary black hole. These aren’t extravagances — they’re the normal things people expect from government.
Tags: budget, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Why Ontario is in court (again) fighting to save Bill 124
Monday, June 26th, 2023
While managing the government’s spending is obviously an important function of government, Koehnen said in his decision that it can’t be used as an excuse to ride roughshod over the guarantees in the Charter: “While it might be appropriate to infringe on a Charter right when faced with a serious fiscal challenge, it is not appropriate to do so as part of the day-to-day management of government affairs.”
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
The Ford government is bad at budgeting — or it isn’t being straight with Ontarians
Thursday, June 15th, 2023
… it misled everyone and projected a deficit and smaller future surpluses so it could starve programs, limit new spending, and divert that future money elsewhere to big tax cuts, corporate giveaways (hello, Stellantis), pre-election voter inducements, or paying down the debt… it boils down to this: the government is either incompetent or dishonest. We don’t have enough information to draw a firm conclusion either way.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Why this court ruling is a human-rights victory for international students
Tuesday, June 13th, 2023
By determining that unfair treatment based on permanent residency is a form of discrimination on the basis of citizenship, the Court of Appeal established human-rights protection for international students under the Code… international students should know that they are not alone in their fight against discrimination — and that “citizenship” may not be the insurmountable job-qualification criterion it used to be.
Tags: economy, globalization, immigration, participation, rights
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
It’s time to abolish the Catholic school system in Ontario
Thursday, June 1st, 2023
The demographic and political imperatives that required a separate system no longer exist. The system continues to exist because of a powerful lobby, entrenched interests, and inertia… it would take only Ontario and the federal government to do so. The legal path to ending public denominational funding is much easier than you think. There would be court challenges and protests, but the separate-system backers would lose.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, multiculturalism
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
‘The greatest Machiavellian fraud’: Ontario’s bitter fight over what became OHIP
Wednesday, May 10th, 2023
… the provincial government kept sending signals that it wanted no part of the federal medicare plan scheduled to begin in mid-1968. In November 1967, provincial treasurer Charles MacNaughton mused about opting out and using federal medicare contributions to tackle issues the Robarts government felt were more pressing, such as education and housing. A combination of OMSIP and existing private plans, many believed, was good enough for Ontarians.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, privatization
Posted in Health History | 1 Comment »
Education isn’t about job training — no matter what Doug Ford wants you to believe
Thursday, April 20th, 2023
… they’ve decided to reshape the province’s education plan, gearing it toward ideas that are more reminiscent of plans for an early 20th-century Fordist or Taylorist factory than a contemporary society… Ontario has one of the best systems in the world, outperforming all other G7 countries on reading and beating all G7 countries except Japan in math and science… If the government wishes to improve education, it can spend more on teachers and reduce class sizes.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
What the new Ontario budget means for those on social assistance
Friday, March 24th, 2023
In this budget, as in all its previous changes to social assistance, the government did not introduce any new funding for the province’s nearly 400,000 Ontario Works beneficiaries. Ontario Works is social assistance for those who are not disabled but cannot work. The program provides a maximum of $733 per month for a single adult, an amount that has not changed since 2018, when the current government halved planned increases .
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Could free birth control be on the horizon in Ontario?
Saturday, March 18th, 2023
“The most reliable birth-control choices are the most expensive options, costing $380 upfront,”… “We know that, in this climate, when people are living paycheque to paycheque, they don’t have $380.” … In funding contraception, governments can spend money to save money, says Boulous: “We know that, for every dollar you spend, you get $90 in savings in indirect and direct costs.”
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | 5 Comments »
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