Posts Tagged ‘disabilities’

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COVID-19 has shown Canada that it’s possible to be more inclusive

Thursday, April 16th, 2020

With remote work, online classes and virtual conferences becoming the new normal, we see employers, educational institutions and communities quickly adapting to accommodate an unexpected situation. The measures we might have once dismissed as too costly or cumbersome to accommodate for a person with a disability, an immune-compromised individual or someone with anxiety are now simply the way we all do business. In this new normal, we see what’s entirely possible, and that this flexibility benefits everyone.

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Doug Ford didn’t protect long-term-care facilities from COVID-19. Neither did the rest of us

Thursday, April 16th, 2020

We could and should hold the current government to account — for falling behind the rest of Canada on testing, for lagging on nursing-home care, for fobbing off responsibility on to public health officials. But there is enough blame to go around — for politicians past and present, public servants and the public… Our premier has put his best face forward in recent weeks, but he still has much to answer for.

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COVID-19 has exposed decades of elder neglect. Here’s how we can start to fix it

Thursday, April 16th, 2020

it is painfully obvious that we, as citizens, failed to speak up for Canada’s seniors at budget time, election -time, indeed most of the time. But in midcrisis, the imperative is to fix what we can and to vow not to let the long-term sector fall off the radar screen again, when this pandemic has passed.

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Activists fear for safety of people with disabilities after funding for mobility and medical devices deemed non-essential

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

Those living in the community who need mobility equipment repairs, upgrades or new equipment will be put at increased risk of falls, pressure injuries and other loss of independence if they can’t access ADP financial support… the ministry has been working to ensure “expedited” funding approval for patients being discharged from hospital who need seating and mobility equipment.

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Open Letter urges Ontario to boost support for people on social assistance

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

A coalition of more than 130 health care workers, community agencies and Ontarians living in poverty is urging Queen’s Park to increase benefits immediately to almost one million residents on social assistance struggling to survive during the COVID-19 crisis… the coalition says in an open letter to Children, Community and Social Services Minister Todd Smith… “If we are to weather this storm together, we must ensure that nobody in Ontario is left behind”

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The forgotten sector in the COVID-19 fight

Friday, April 3rd, 2020

Across Ontario, there are more than 100 Community Living organizations serving 12,000 people with intellectual disabilities… Unlike workers in hospitals and health clinics, though, Community Living staff are not considered health-care workers. That means they have to scramble for protective gloves, masks and extra help for their clients.

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Catholic teachers’ contract deal provides $33M for special education

Wednesday, March 25th, 2020

The OECTA deal, which ends Aug. 31, 2022, keeps class sizes as they are for kindergarten to Grade 3 and slightly boosts the average size of classes to 24.5 students for Grades 4 to 8. Because some Catholic boards had larger class sizes — and because the tentative deal says exceptions will no longer be allowed — additional teachers will be hired in some areas… As for mandatory e-learning… two credits are still required for graduation but the government also agreed to an opt-out policy.

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On mental health, words come easily. Action less so

Sunday, March 8th, 2020

It’s been almost exactly 10 years… since a select committee report on mental health titled “Navigating the Journey to Wellness: The Comprehensive Mental Health and Addictions Plan for Ontarians” was issued… Chief among the committee’s eventual recommendations… was creation of Mental Health and Addictions Ontario, an umbrella organization to ensure that a single body was responsible for designing, managing and co-ordinating the system, as well as a “core basket of services in all regions” and “access to a system of navigators.”

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Don’t Listen to Big Pharma Lobbyists: Universal Pharmacare Would Be Good for Workers and Good for Business

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

… the average Canadian employer providing drug coverage would save $750 per year per employee under universal pharmacare… a universal pharmacare plan could save Canadian businesses as much as $14 billion annually because such a plan “would eliminate much of the cost of health-care plans that business owners pay to cover employees.” … “employers, free from soaring premiums, could pay employees better or reinvest in their businesses.” … [and] save Canadians $4.2 billion in annual prescription costs.

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Ontario revamps mental health services

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020

Ontario’s plan to revamp mental health services with a new agency to focus on cutting long wait times is just talk unless it’s backed up with “substantial and immediate” funding of almost $400 million in Premier Doug Ford’s spring budget, mental health groups warn… Her plan includes a mental health Centre of Excellence, to function like Cancer Care Ontario has done over the years to make the provincial cancer system more responsive, as a “single point of accountability” to improve wait times and boost service levels.

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