Posts Tagged ‘budget’

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Doug Ford’s fiscal time bomb is devastating Ontario’s colleges

Monday, July 14th, 2025

The root of the crisis in higher education lies with the fiscal time bomb planted by Doug Ford’s provincial government when it came to power seven full years ago… The latest job losses and cancelled courses were always foreseeable, because post-secondary funding remains unsustainable… universities say the government’s chronic underfunding will leave them unable to find spots for 80,000 worthy Ontario applicants over the next five years.

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Don’t be fooled by big numbers—Ontario budget fails to address years-long funding shortfalls

Thursday, July 10th, 2025

Underfunding trends persist in total program spending, education, post-secondary education, and health. Public services provide the support Ontarians need and good jobs that support the economy—investing in them is the best way to shield the province. But that’s not happening. On the job protection front, we expect more—much more—given the alarming job losses we’re already witnessing. The 2025 budget fails to grasp the importance of protecting workers, not only for their families’ sake, but also as a mitigating strategy that prevents a deep recession.

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Rebuilding Canadian post-secondary education

Thursday, July 10th, 2025

Canada has a chance to lead the world in higher education, if it can fix its own long-neglected system first… Taking advantage of the brain-drain from the US, we could recruit the best and brightest to fill our labs, faculty lounges, and classrooms. By leading the world in research, we could build back up some credibility and soft power on the world stage that we have lost in recent decades. However, this would require new public investments in education.

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Cuts at Ontario colleges leading to nearly 10,000 job losses, union says

Wednesday, July 9th, 2025

… the suspended and cancelled programs are not only those primarily attended by international students. “It’s also programs we domestically need, programs like nursing, child and youth care, environmental technologies, specialized art training that is not offered anywhere else,” … the 10,000 reported layoffs represent a staff reduction of about 17 per cent in a workforce of more than 60,000… but is not proportional to the 45 per cent reduction in student enrolment,”

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Focus on Funding

Monday, June 30th, 2025

Ontario universities receive the lowest funding per domestic full time equivalent student (FTE) by far… Had Ontario funded its universities at the national funding average over the five years between 2018-19 and 2022-23, it would have provided its universities with an additional $11.9 billion in total university funding.  Recent funding announcements… do not come close to addressing this funding gap. Ontario deserves better.

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‘Nation-building’ projects should also reflect Canadian values

Wednesday, June 11th, 2025

In his 2021 book, Value(s): Building A Better World For All, Mr. Carney reflects thoughtfully on the corrosive impact of inequality and unhealthiness, and how more equal societies are more resilient. He also writes about seven key values that are essential for building a better world: solidarity, fairness, responsibility, resilience, sustainability, dynamism, and humility, all laced with compassion. The way to embrace those values is to invest in programs that make people healthier and more equal…

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Healthcare in Ontario – The Next Chapter

Thursday, June 5th, 2025

The purpose of this bulletin is to summarize the PC’s healthcare platform… Generally, the platform emphasizes improving access to essential services, addressing workforce shortages, and investing in critical health infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the province’s population. The PC’s health-related commitments as part of the 2025 election reflect many of the commitments made by the party in the last provincial election in 2022

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Health care advocates need to keep up the pressure on Mark Carney

Thursday, June 5th, 2025

Upon becoming the Liberal Party Leader on March 9, Carney said, “In America, health care is a big business. In Canada, it’s a right.” He did not say it is universal and public. When he mentioned pharmacare and dental care he tagged it with “for those who need it.” That sounds just like a fill-in-the-gaps program, and not a universal program… He doesn’t mention that Canada is the only developed nation with a universal health care system that does not have universal coverage for both dental care and prescription drugs. 

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Ford government is still underfunding education despite budget increase, school boards say

Wednesday, June 4th, 2025

Spending $30.3 billion on per-pupil funding in 2025-26 doesn’t make up for years funding didn’t keep up with inflation, says the boards’ association… when the Ford government took power in 2018, per-pupil funding was $12,282, and in the upcoming school year will be $14,560 — but when adjusted to 2018 dollars, funding has actually dropped, leaving a $693-million gap for the province’s 31 English public boards alone.

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The solution to Canada’s health-care woes? Build something new.

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025

Canada does not need to replace its health system. However, it does need to evolve into one that harmonizes operations across provinces, supports staff, and provides patients with real alternatives when local options fall short. A sustainable system won’t be built on rationing, complexity or territorial thinking. It will depend on scalable infrastructure, smart workforce planning and cross-border collaboration.

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