Posts Tagged ‘disabilities’

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Can Ontario Fix the Shortage of Personal Support Workers?

Wednesday, February 28th, 2024

The Ontario government earmarked almost $5 billion in funding over four years to help long-term care homes hire and retain care staff. It’s since added additional millions in incentives to attract thousands to become personal support workers over the next few years… Podcast video Episode: Can New Incentives Help Attract PSWs in Ontario?

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Ontario has an accessibility crisis. It’s time Queen’s Park acted with urgency

Thursday, January 4th, 2024

First, avoid gathering any data that might indicate the scope of the problem, as well as how to solve it. Second, don’t put anyone in charge of remedying the problem. Finally, avoid employing any enforcement mechanism, so no one’s ever held responsible for failing to do anything. That… is precisely what the province has been doing for the past 17 years. The review, which is mandated by the act, found that more than three quarters of the province’s 2.9 million people with disabilities (PWD) reported negative experiences.

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Toronto is getting a fourth emergency service. That’s vital for helping people in crisis

Wednesday, November 29th, 2023

The service, which offers a non-police, community-based response to people experiencing mental health crises… will soon cover the entire city… Police are, after all, not trained mental health professionals, and police involvement has all too often ended in tragedy. In contrast, 93 per cent of the crisis calls were successfully completed, and 95 per cent of people served by crisis teams said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service.

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The Liberals have a chance to make headway on pharmacare. They should seize the opportunity

Thursday, November 2nd, 2023

Hoskins had recommended that a universal program begin with essential medicines, which would initially cost the government $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion. The NDP insists on a single-payer universal system but acknowledges it can’t be done in one fell swoop. It has demanded that timelines for progress be enshrined in legislation. If all this leads to a “foundational” piece of legislation and a firm road map going forward, that will be welcome and significant progress in a time of economic uncertainty.

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Social-assistance rates in Ontario should ‘set off alarm bells’: Report

Thursday, October 5th, 2023

Researchers have found that being on social assistance in Ontario is correlated with a higher likelihood of poor health outcomes, homelessness, and food insecurity, among other things… In fact, the “Welfare in Canada” report finds that both OW and ODSP rates have been below the deep poverty line since 2008… “You show how you value people through how you budget.”

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Shortcomings in Seniors’ Care: How Canada Compares to its Peers and the Paths to Improvement

Thursday, September 28th, 2023

Overall, Canada ranks 8th out of 11 countries included in the survey… While Canada generally performs well in the care process category, it performs poorly in terms of access to care and equity, with no provinces reaching the international average in either category. Addressing access challenges for seniors through improved continuity of care, affordability and reducing wait times would improve Canada’s rank.

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Bill C-22 will provide income security to Canadians with disabilities, but it needs to be done right

Friday, September 22nd, 2023

If the Canada Disability Benefit were to replace the disability tax credit while attempting to maintain most of the benefits currently available to higher income families, it would need to adopt low benefit reduction rates similar to the Canada Child Benefit… Taking Bill C-22 at its word, the Canada Disability Benefit should provide a large maximum benefit with reduction rates of one-third or more to make sure the target is those with disabilities who are poor and economically insecure.

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How Canada can make better progress on disability inclusion

Thursday, September 14th, 2023

Pervasive misconceptions about disabilities, flawed income support systems and inadequate enforcement of regulations are among the systemic challenges… A fully inclusive society could generate an economic benefit of $337 billion — the equivalent of approximately 17 per cent of Canada’s GDP. Moreover, when systems are designed to accommodate those facing the most significant barriers, everyone benefits.

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Realizing the right to an adequate standard of living

Monday, September 4th, 2023

Everyone in Canada has a right to an adequate standard of living… having adequate food, clothing, and housing, and the continuous improvement of living conditions. [ICESCR – 1976] Maytree’s submission to the 2024 budget calls on the federal government to help people realize this right by strengthening income supports, investing in more affordable housing, and embedding human rights into social policies and programs.

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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.

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