Posts Tagged ‘ideology’

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Not adding up: Surgical and diagnostic privatization in Ontario

Thursday, October 15th, 2026

The Ontario government’s policy direction favours for-profit—rather than public—delivery of surgeries and medical imaging… If the privatization of surgeries and diagnostic procedures was sound health care policy, then the evidence would support this direction—but it does not… Instead, the provincial government should… Stop privatizing surgeries and medical imaging; Immediately increase public hospital funding and service capacity; and, Commit to evidence-based public system improvement strategies.

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Posted in Health Delivery System | 34 Comments »


How Ontario’s private clinics are draining taxpayer dollars and staff from public health care

Thursday, October 1st, 2026

Funding private clinics drains our public system, poaching staff and siphoning taxpayer dollars from front-line care. If interprofessional health teams are to succeed, the province must guarantee competitive salaries to staff them. Nurse practitioners need immediate provincial funding… Private clinics cost Ontario more, threaten patient safety and increase public wait times. They erode equity, accessibility and universality — the very foundation of the Canada Health Act.

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Posted in Health Delivery System | 8 Comments »


To save Canada, Mark Carney is courting foreign money. He’s risking an ‘investment invasion’

Tuesday, September 15th, 2026

The aim is simple: build Canadian assets, don’t just buy them. Assets aren’t only physical. They include the human capital that drives the economy. The terms we negotiate determine whether public or private interests prevail. But terms mean little without enforcement.
The details determine whether the deal creates value for Canadians or extracts it. The investment invasion coming to Canada may have a polished look, but keep your eye on the price-tag.

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Posted in Governance Debates | 9 Comments »


Doing more with less: 10 facts about school funding in Ontario

Tuesday, September 1st, 2026

On the one hand, the provincial government claims to be making historic investments in education, injecting more money than ever into everyday programs, infrastructure, and targeted initiatives. On the other hand, education advocates and researchers point to larger class sizes, deteriorating buildings, rising school violence, and dwindling resources for students who require additional supports due to disability, low socio-economic status, or other circumstances… The pattern that emerges is clear: schools and educators are being asked to do more with less, and students are paying the price.

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Posted in Education Delivery System | 6 Comments »


The predictable consequence to the gaps in our health funding? Private spending keeps growing faster than public

Tuesday, August 18th, 2026

Bilateral “Aging With Dignity“ agreements have earmarked funding for home, community and long-term care, allowing for valuable investments in capacity, staff wages and infrastructure. But public coverage to directly displace household spending is nowhere to be found… This fragmentation carries with it significant costs, including duplicated administration across thousands of private insurers, weaker collective bargaining power over drug prices and coverage gaps that push some patients toward hospitalization when they can’t afford medication.

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Posted in Health Policy Context | 1 Comment »


When politicians tell us health-care spending is unsustainable, they never seem to mention this

Monday, August 17th, 2026

… the single largest private-spending category in Canada is prescription drugs. We remain the only high-income country in the world whose universal healthcare system lacks a universal drug plan…. the notion that our health-care system is at risk because governments are spending too much is misleading in a country where seniors cover the cost of long-term care beds, parents pay out of pocket for their children’s dental work and patients spend too much on the medications they need to be healthy.

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Posted in Health Debates | 4 Comments »


How come it takes a right-wing convoy for courts to uphold law and order?

Friday, August 14th, 2026

“Protesters intimidate, harass and exclude others, while claiming their Charter right to ‘free expression and peaceful assembly’ prevents police from laying charges. To date, various police forces have tacitly agreed, limiting charges to actual physical violence or threats. Lax enforcement has emboldened protesters, leading to groups marching in residential neighbourhoods, chanting hateful rhetoric.”

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Posted in Governance Policy Context | 8 Comments »


Carney government restores some health coverage it had cut for refugees

Sunday, August 9th, 2026

“The July 2026 update is expected to impact a very small proportion of current IFHP beneficiaries and will largely maintain the approximately $200 million in projected annual savings associated with the May 2026 program changes, while better aligning coverage for these select services with how they’re typically delivered through publicly funded provincial and territorial health care systems”… “When we ensure that everyone has access to the care that they need, we build healthier communities, and that’s what actually makes Canada strong.”

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Posted in Health Debates | 2 Comments »


Who were the Luddites? Their legacy ripples through politics, cultural commentary and literature

Thursday, August 6th, 2026

Along with the political radicals and the labour campaigners over the course of the 19th century, they took part in a prolonged struggle waged for rights, dignity and justice. That struggle partially succeeded, forcing the ruling classes to compromise rather than continuing to rely on brute force.

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Posted in History | 21 Comments »


Which country is richer, Canada or the U.S.? If median wealth is the measure, it’s Canada

Thursday, July 30th, 2026

The danger in the unfavourable Canada-U.S. comparisons is the distorting effect they can have on political decisions about economic strategy. Those run the gamut from irresponsible tax cuts to privatization of public services to extravagant spending on infrastructure projects — all meant in part to address the gap between rich and poor by increasing personal disposable income… “Public policy should focus on measures that truly effect our well-being, like real median income, fairness and quality of life.”

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Posted in Policy Context | 14 Comments »


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