Posts Tagged ‘budget’
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Tuition should be free. Anything else imposes a regressive barrier to accessing higher education
Friday, March 11th, 2022
In 1990, just before Mike Harris unleashed his “common sense revolution,” roughly 20 per cent of Ontario universities’ operating income came from tuition. That figure is now more than 50 per cent, which means Ontario is well on its way to privatizing higher education… the federal government also contributes to inequitable access… An RESP is essentially a federal handout to the upper-middle classes — and the banks and markets that end up receiving those monies.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
Long banned in Ontario, private hospitals could soon reappear
Thursday, March 10th, 2022
… with the chaos created by COVID as a cover, the Ford government seems poised to allow a considerable expansion of private health care in the province… a dramatic development, allowing hospitals — the centrepieces of our health-care system — to be governed by corporate boards that prioritize profits, as in the U.S… private hospitals would undermine medicare by enabling well-to-do patients to gain faster access to treatment.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, privatization
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Health-care unions call Ontario’s one-time $5K offer to nurses ‘demoralizing’
Tuesday, March 8th, 2022
The healthcare unions, which represent a combined 220,000 workers across Ontario, said in their letter that the shortage “requires urgent action to better respect, protect, and pay all healthcare workers.” They say that should begin with repealing Bill 124. That legislation was introduced in 2019, and capped annual salary increases for many public sector employees, including nurses, at an average of one per cent annually for three years.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, pensions, women
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
With deadline looming, why hasn’t Ontario signed a child-care deal yet?
Monday, March 7th, 2022
Morna Ballantyne, executive director of Child Care Now, said Ontario’s funding of full-day junior kindergarten is irrelevant. “The idea is to use this federal money to build on what already exists,” she said. “If Ontario wants to argue that the federal government should pay a share of public education, then they should make that proposal.”… Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said the $27.2 billion the Liberals have budgeted for the Canada-wide program would not be enough to meet expected demand.
Tags: budget, child care, economy, featured, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living, women
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Laurentian’s collapse driven by Ford government’s agenda of austerity and privatization
Friday, February 25th, 2022
The Ford government’s obsession with austerity and privatization was a major driver of Laurentian University’s insolvency and collapse… Years of chronic underfunding incentivized Ontario universities to seek other forms of financial support, including alarmingly high tuition fees and private funding with strings attached. This approach drove Laurentian to the brink and Ford’s apparent refusal to support the university in that moment of need pushed it over the edge.
Tags: budget, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »
Why Not 75 Years Old?
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022
… since the creation of the RRSP in 1957, the age limit of 71 has never been raised… Given the sharp increase in life expectancy, the age limit of 71 years for converting an RRSP into a RRIF needs to be lifted… this type of change would optimize the mechanics of pension plans, and also encourage Canadians to remain in the workforce, which improves health and also helps with Canada’s looming labour shortage.
Tags: budget, economy, participation, pensions, tax
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
How did Ontario’s disgraceful disability support program get so bad?
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022
The vast majority of Ontarians with a disability are not on the program. Of those who are, 57 per cent have either mental illnesses or developmental disabilities. Nevertheless, the PCs’ new “vision” for the disabled continues to push the optimistic goal of finding jobs for them… Instead, they are ignored by a provincial government that can afford to give wealthy people a break on their power rates, vacationers a tax break for renting a cottage, maybe even make licence plates free, a cheap political stunt that would cost $1 billion a year.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, pensions, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »
Strong, stable funding for Ontario’s Universities is an investment in Ontario’s future
Friday, February 11th, 2022
Public funding for universities in Ontario is at record low levels, while tuition fees are high, and academic work is becoming increasingly precarious… OCUFA’s recommendations are to: Increase per-student public investment… to improve Ontario’s rank by one spot among other provinces… restore the enrolment-based funding model… Implement meaningful increases to the Northern and Bilingual Grants, special purpose funding (particularly for Indigenous programming and supports), and research funding…
Tags: budget, ideology, Indigenous, participation
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
No good reason for Ontario to delay signing child-care agreement
Friday, February 11th, 2022
… a small minority is trying to weaken the pan-Canadian policy. They are trying to undermine the national approach, for reasons that include skepticism, financial self-interest and old-fashioned nostalgia for the 1950s family… There is no reason to cave to those who seek to weaken child-care policy. For more than 838,000 children five and under years – and for everyone who relies on someone who relies on child care – a solid Ontario child-care agreement can’t come soon enough.
Tags: budget, child care, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Laurentian’s collapse driven by Ford government’s agenda of austerity and privatization
Thursday, February 10th, 2022
The Ford government’s obsession with austerity and privatization was a major driver of Laurentian University’s insolvency and collapse… Northern Ontario deserves better. The Ontario government must recognize the important mandate of northern and bilingual institutions and increase special purpose grants for those institutions while also making additional investments in universities that serve Indigenous communities.
Tags: budget, ideology, jurisdiction, multiculturalism
Posted in Education Delivery System | No Comments »