Posts Tagged ‘participation’
Job Creation Falls Behind Rapid Population Growth
Thursday, June 5th, 2025
Canada’s labour market faces mounting pressures that cannot be fixed merely by adding more workers… “We cannot afford to leave talent on the sidelines – whether it’s older workers retiring too soon or immigrants struggling to use their skills,”… the country’s most acute demographic challenges [include] rapidly aging populations, lower workforce participation among seniors, high unemployment, and labour mismatches compounding regional disparities… “If we don’t act now, these gaps will only widen.”
Tags: economy, immigration, participation, pensions
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Ford government is still underfunding education despite budget increase, school boards say
Wednesday, June 4th, 2025
Spending $30.3 billion on per-pupil funding in 2025-26 doesn’t make up for years funding didn’t keep up with inflation, says the boards’ association… when the Ford government took power in 2018, per-pupil funding was $12,282, and in the upcoming school year will be $14,560 — but when adjusted to 2018 dollars, funding has actually dropped, leaving a $693-million gap for the province’s 31 English public boards alone.
Tags: budget, Education, featured, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
Bill 33 doesn’t dissolve Ontario’s school boards — but it’s yet another hit to their power
Wednesday, June 4th, 2025
At the point where cabinet is asserting the power to micro-manage the real estate portfolios of boards (and even pick and choose when schools can be renamed) it’s time to ask whether school boards actually serve a purpose anymore, or whether we’d be better off governing public education with more direct and clear lines of accountability to the premier and his cabinet.
Tags: Education, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »
Ontario aims to get 300,000 patients off doctor wait-list with new clinics
Friday, April 11th, 2025
… the government plans to establish up to 80 new or expanded clinics — featuring teams of doctors, nurse practitioners and other health-care providers — based on postal codes with the biggest need in communities such as Toronto, Durham and Halton regions, Ottawa, and up north in Nipissing and Sudbury… Using postal codes will allow the government to “put some investments in teams in those areas to be able to have that big impact as quickly as possible, recognizing there is need everywhere,”
Tags: featured, Health, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
‘Victory bonds’ were vital to funding the First and Second World wars. Let’s not wait for the storm to hit before bringing them back
Tuesday, March 25th, 2025
Today, faced with an unprovoked economic attack, we must call on another of our strengths: being among the world’s fiercest savers… We’re saving at rates not seen since 1996… A can-do spirit has been reawakened in this country, along with a taste to go beyond a “Buy Canada” consumer response. Let’s save Canada like we did once, twice before; and finance the fight of our lives, together.
Tags: economy, participation
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Pharmacare is now law in Canada, but negotiations with provinces could slow progress
Monday, March 24th, 2025
Pharmacare could have been implemented nationally, like it was for the Canadian Dental Care Plan, offering federal coverage for essential medications like contraceptives and diabetes medications, while insurers and provincial plans cover the rest. This would have been a simple approach that would have allowed for future changes, and could have been implemented by provinces much like vaccines are — paid for using people’s provincial health numbers, sidestepping the difficulty of enrolling people in a new plan.
Tags: Health, jurisdiction, participation, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
This is war. Time for a wartime funding mechanism: Victory bonds
Saturday, March 15th, 2025
… tax cuts and spending cuts [are not] what the nation needs most now, and neither will build the economic strength needed to defend our interests and sovereignty… Raise the floor, raise the ceiling and make EI last longer so it can do the job it was designed to do, acting as an automatic economic stabilizer to sustain purchasing power… prohibit the purchase of [businesses, resources and vital services] by non-Canadians… [and] create a “wartime” funding mechanism: victory bonds… an infusion of cash could fund desperately needed spending in the public interest.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
A basic income can be a strong investment in mental health
Wednesday, March 5th, 2025
Research shows how poor mental health is a direct consequence of poverty. Money not only helps meet people’s material needs but also alleviates their worries. Reducing poverty translates into significant savings for the economy and the public purse. Canada could save $4 to $10 for every dollar spent on mental health supports. Poverty is not caused by personal failings. It is the social environment people live in that has the greatest impact on life trajectories.
Tags: featured, mental Health, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Free treatment for adults with depression and anxiety now available in Ontario
Sunday, January 12th, 2025
Ontario Structured Psychotherapy (OSP) is a free program for adults 18+ experiencing depression or anxiety-related concerns. Available virtually, by phone and in-person, OSP offers a range of services designed to address patient concerns and teach practical coping skills and strategies.
Tags: jurisdiction, mental Health, participation
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
New child care fees take effect in Ontario on Jan. 1: Here’s what families need to know
Friday, January 3rd, 2025
As of Jan. 1, 2025, fees are capped at $22 per day for children under the age of six — but only if your licensed child care provider is enrolled with the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system… According to a Statistics Canada report, parents in 2023 paid an average of $7,557 annually for the main full-time (30 or more hours per week) child care arrangement for their child five years of age and younger… an average of $630 per month for full-time child care, or $30 per day.
Tags: child care, featured, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Recent Comments