‘Everyone Matters’ theme of community health week
Sunday, April 24th, 2011
April 23, 2011
“Community Health Week will focus on the need to address Ontario’s great health divide and create better health for all,” states the Association Ontario Health Centres… The provincial organization asks you to consider the following: Ontarians who live in northern regions lose more years to premature death than the national average. Many populations face geographic, linguistic, cultural and socioeconomic barriers to accessing care. The most important factor contributing to Ontario’s health divide is poverty.
Tags: disabilities, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Hunger is an epidemic
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
March 25, 2011
… we Canadians congratulate ourselves for our generosity while simultaneously sneering at the poor on the grounds that they’re not really poor and could better themselves by simply getting jobs any time. But according to Food Banks Canada, more than 10 per cent of those turning to food banks to feed their children already have jobs. Another 6.6 per cent are pensioners. Another 15 per cent are disabled. Almost six per cent are going hungry on employment insurance while they look for work. And should they be unsuccessful and fall onto social assistance, more than half of them will have to start visiting a food bank in order to eat.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Addressing training needs through EI is critical
Sunday, February 13th, 2011
February 12, 2011
… the EI rules redistribute benefits in an inequitable manner. The rules divide Canada into 58 regions. In regions where there is chronic unemployment and seasonal work, benefits are easier to access and paid out for longer periods of entitlement. When Ontario’s manufacturing sector shed jobs, employment insurance rules were inflexible and unable to respond quickly to a vastly different job market. Furthermore, the artificially defined regions meant workers laid off at the same Windsor factory qualified for a different benefit period depending on whether they lived in Tilbury or Windsor.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, rights
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Improving CPP is win-win for all
Friday, January 28th, 2011
January 26, 2011
Not only does the CPP cover most Canadians, it does it more cost-efficiently than any private for-profit that puts your pension at risk. A real government would see the proposal to improve the CPP as win-win. The public wins with a livable pension above the poverty level. The government wins threefold out of the risky business of subsidizing private insurance that doesn’t deliver, save money on subsidies, save money on welfare and finally, the savings on medical costs to seniors. Imagine eliminating poverty for seniors. Why not?
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, pensions, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Poor stuck in the middle of an ideological fight
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
January 10, 2011
“The changes to the special diet allowance have been disastrous from the beginning,” sighs Wendy Muckle, executive director of Ottawa Inner City Health. The good news is that eventually, we might be able to have confidence that people who need extra money because of medical conditions are getting the amounts they really need. That won’t happen until at least June 2012, when Munir Sheikh — late of Statistics Canada — and Frances Lankin are supposed to complete their review of all social assistance programs in the province.
Tags: Health, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Ontario’s Bill 68 falls short for ‘precarious’ workers
Monday, October 4th, 2010
October 1, 2010
Research has shown that precarious workers face numerous stressors such as low wages, job uncertainty and having to work harder than permanent staff. This is significant because of the growing number of people who comprise the temporary or part-time workforce.
Tags: Health, rights
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Kids and our future
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
September 7, 2010
… full-day kindergarten means that we will give more students the great start they need in school. Full-day kindergarten will give our youngest learners the head start they need on reading, writing and math — so they’re better prepared for all the grades that follow. And, because we know a great education helps build opportunity later in life, it will help more young people break out of the cycle of poverty and achieve their full potential.
Tags: child care, participation, standard of living, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
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