Posts Tagged ‘housing’
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Tackling the income gap in Canadian cities
Monday, July 9th, 2012
July 08, 2012
Toronto’s middle-class suburbs of the 1970s have turned into “urban deserts” of growing poverty while the city centre has become an enclave for the ultra rich… the middle class is shrinking… This type of large-scale data analysis combined with local, participatory research has never been done on a national scale… The goal is to create “a more inclusive society in which youth have hope for the future, newcomers are welcomed, the elderly have support in their communities…
Tags: economy, housing, multiculturalism, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Saving Welfare Incomes and Poverty Profile
Friday, June 29th, 2012
June 29, 2012
Information is under attack in Ottawa… Social Security Statistics: Canada and Provinces, a treasure trove of information on federal, provincial/territorial and municipal government programs, has simply disappeared. In June 2012, Ottawa jettisoned the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) which gathered priceless information on changes experienced by individuals over time, such as movement in and out of poverty… The Caledon Institute of Social Policy will take over the task of gathering and analyzing the welfare and low income data… This vital information will form the first elements of a new Caledon product, the Canada Social Report.
Tags: budget, disabilities, homelessness, housing, pensions, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | No Comments »
Canada: How’s Life?
Sunday, June 24th, 2012
June 2012
Voter turnout, a measure of public trust in government and of citizens’ participation in the political process, was 60% during recent elections; this figure is lower than the OECD average of 73%. Social and economic status also affect voting rates; voter turnout for the top 20% of the population is 62% and for the bottom 20% it is 56%, in line with the OECD average gap of 7%… In general; Canadians are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average, with 80% of people saying they have more positive experiences in an average day… than negative ones
Tags: Health, housing, participation, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
How to mobilize private funds for the public good
Wednesday, June 20th, 2012
Jun 19 2012
The idea is to create tools that will allow investors, philanthropists and foundations to use a portion of their money to tackle deeply entrenched social problems such as persistent poverty and environmental degradation. The concept is known as “social finance… ”Six months ago, it released a blueprint entitled Mobilizing Private Capital for Public Good… charitable organizations willing to take the risk have a strong argument to make. “You say to the government: You’re in straitened circumstances. You can’t afford to give money to these causes. If you change the rules, we will.”
Tags: budget, economy, housing, ideology, philanthropy, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | 1 Comment »
Offering a ‘hand up, not a handout’
Monday, June 11th, 2012
Jun 08 2012
The first Habitat affiliate in Ontario was founded in Waterloo Region in 1987 and the Toronto affiliate has been in existence for 24 years, with almost three dozen affiliates in all across the province. Their mandate is to mobilize volunteers and community partners to build affordable housing and promote homeownership as a means to break the cycle of poverty… Habitat will… expand its ReStore program, which provides important funding for the organization by selling used or discontinued items that have been donated to Habitat, such as plumbing fixtures, cabinets, windows, etc.
Tags: housing, philanthropy, poverty
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
A rare success in the battle against homelessness
Sunday, May 20th, 2012
May 20 2012
Woodgreen launched an ambitious fundraising campaign and began the makeover. Using private donations, in-kind contributions (flowers, bedding, pots and pans) and every source of government funding available, it transformed the Edwin from a neighbourhood embarrassment into an attractive residence for homeless men over 55. The cost was $3.8 million. It reopened in 2010. It is now a source of local pride, an architectural gem and a safe, impeccably maintained home for the 28 men who live there… A project like the Edwin is not cheap or easy… But the ideological debate is over. It is hard to argue with success.
Tags: homelessness, housing, ideology, mental Health, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
For those with intellectual disabilities, a decades-long wait for a home and care
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
Apr. 10, 2012
… the quest to find a home and services starts early and can last decades – something that becomes more pressing as parents age and their ability to physically and financially support their adult children fades… The housing crisis follows the closure over the years of institutions that cared for them from cradle to grave… That has left parents across the country caring for their aging intellectually disabled children with the daunting realities of trying to cobble together housing and care-giving, not to mention an enormous price tag that is only partly offset by government… 73 per cent of working-age adults with an intellectual disability who live on their own live in poverty.
Tags: disabilities, housing, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
Welfare rate freeze really a cut, activists say
Sunday, April 1st, 2012
Mar 27 2012
“What was the point of all of those meetings and consultations on a poverty reduction strategy anyway?” she said Tuesday, referring to the province’s 2008 plan to cut child poverty by 25 per cent in five years… With the latest Consumer Price Index pegged at 2.9 per cent over last year, the freeze is, in fact, a cut, anti-poverty activists say… (especially given) the budget’s plan next January to eliminate two benefits that help people on welfare with urgent housing-related expenses once every 24 months… In addition, the budget is also capping health-related discretionary benefits for adults on Ontario Works, which pays for things like funerals, glasses and emergency dental care.
Tags: budget, Health, housing, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
How to destroy a good poverty line
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
Feb. 14, 2012
The MBM [market basket measure]… is intuitive and easily understood because it is based on the actual cost of basic goods and services… a simple and uncomplicated way to describe poverty, and they were so much simpler to understand than the Statistics Canada low-income cut-offs (or LICOs) traditionally used by most poverty analysts… Regrettably, we are forced to recommend – once again – that the MBMs not be used until they are fixed.
Tags: budget, housing, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
Mike Del Grande’s candid chat about social programs
Friday, January 13th, 2012
Jan 12 2012
Councillor Mike Del Grande, Mayor Rob Ford’s budget chief… described in blunt terms his “tough love” opposition to some city-funded social programs, including school meals for low-income kids… if you have children you’re responsible for children”… “why is it the state’s responsibility to look after your children?” … “I want to be responsible, I want to be fair, I want to be civic-minded. Yes, there are poor people in the world, okay, but poor people will be with us forever, like it’s been from the moment of time.”
Tags: budget, homelessness, housing, ideology, poverty, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
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