Posts Tagged ‘featured’

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New Report Finds Record Increases in Child Poverty Rates in Ontario

Wednesday, November 20th, 2024

“For six years and counting, the provincial government has kept the Ontario Works rates frozen, despite record high cost of living and a 20% increase in the prices of goods and services since 2018”… The report card lays out an evidence-based, inclusive and achievable path toward ending child and family poverty in Ontario. It offers over 20 recommendations that would address gaps in income security, child care, child welfare, youth mental health, housing, food security, and decent work.

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Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »


Murray Sinclair sought to build a pathway toward mutual understanding and healing for future generations

Wednesday, November 6th, 2024

In waves of paternalism and government intervention, Indigenous Peoples were moved off their lands, onto reserves or into the cities and, far too often, into the courts and prisons… That “reconciliation” entered the national vocabulary is a testament to his gentle persuasiveness… His vision for a reconciled Canada sought to unite the strengths of Indigenous Nations and Canadian ideals, creating a path toward a future where the best of both worlds could flourish together.

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Ontario cannot allow a few for-profit child care owners to run roughshod over the $10-a-day child care plan

Monday, October 28th, 2024

The problem with [the cheque-in-the-mail approach or as they like to put it “fund the families directly” with a government tax credit or voucher] as a child-care plan is it’s one that works for for-profit child care owners — and absolutely nobody else. It doesn’t lower parents’ fees. Its value is almost immediately swallowed up when owners raise their fees (and then raise them again). It doesn’t improve wages for hard-working educators. It doesn’t build new child-care spaces… we must not let a small group of owners put their private interests ahead of those of our children, families and communities.

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Province Appoints Dr. Jane Philpott as Chair of New Primary Care Action Team

Thursday, October 24th, 2024

Dr. Philpott will oversee… the connection of every Ontarian with primary care services within the next five years… with input from other primary health care leaders across the province, she will provide and implement an action plan ensuring the Minister of Health can further expand team-based primary health care across the province… This plan will ensure better service on weekends and after-hours, reducing the significant administrative burden on family doctors and other primary care professionals and improving connections to specialists and digital tools.

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Canada’s getting national pharmacare. Here’s what it means for you

Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024

With the Liberal government’s pharmacare plan enacted earlier this month, the government only needs to sign individual deals with the provinces to realize widespread access to diabetes medication, like insulin, and a broad array of contraceptives… “informal” talks have already been ongoing… Ottawa can sign deals with all provinces by next spring… Ontario’s government, however, is still mulling over the fine print of the program.

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Foreign doctors won’t solve our family physician crisis. Here’s what might

Monday, October 14th, 2024

Expand and reform medical education… increase capacity and tailor programs to meet current needs, especially in family medicine… Reform selection processes to attract medical students who are committed and suited for specialties in need, particularly family medicine… Embrace community-based training… Incentivize family medicine… Integrate technology… Promote team-based approaches that maximize and effectively integrate the skills of various health professionals, improving patient care and physician satisfaction.

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Fully Indexing Ontario Social Assistance is Long Overdue

Monday, October 7th, 2024

October 1 was the six-year anniversary of the last inflation adjustment for Ontario’s social assistance payments. Their real value has steadily eroded ever since, made worse by inflation’s recent return… The lack of indexation of Ontario social assistance benefit levels has eroded the value of these benefits significantly and contributed to rising homelessness, hunger, and demand for social and health services. It is time to introduce a more economically efficient and fairer way of adjusting these benefits on a regular basis.

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We’re doctors. This is the glaring hole we see in our national health care conversation

Thursday, October 3rd, 2024

Eliminating out-of-pocket costs for medications used to treat diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory conditions would result in 220,000 fewer ER visits and 90,000 less hospital stays annually, saving the health care system $1.2 billion a year… Unaffordable drugs invoke worry, helplessness and dread and creates a potentially damaging dependency. Granted, it’s difficult to assign a savings to the emotional costs currently being paid, but it’s intellectually dishonest to not even mention them.

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Doug Ford’s inaction has left Ontario’s most vulnerable without a fighting chance

Monday, September 30th, 2024

The province… has ignored Ontario Works, while continuing to index many other things such as child benefits, income taxes and the minimum wage, for example. It also increased Ontario Disability Support Program amounts in 2022 and commenced indexing in 2023. The Guaranteed Annual Income System – a program aimed at low-income seniors – started indexing in 2023… Yet here we are with OW recipients suffering under a rising cost of living while the government watches from a distance.

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Addressing the Crisis in Access to Primary to Primary Care: A Targeted Approach

Sunday, September 29th, 2024

… a major cause for the dysfunction is the reluctance of provincial governments to undertake institutional reforms, for fear of provoking interest groups – particularly physicians’ organizations. The provinces have not made major changes to their health delivery systems since forced to do so by the deficit crises of the 1990s… The author recommends… an aggressive increase in the number of nurse practitioners working in community primary care, usually in multi-discipline clinics; and… rostering patients and expanding capitation in multi-discipline clinics.

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