Posts Tagged ‘participation’

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If a mine is a nation-building project, why not universal pharmacare? Inside the big push to get Mark Carney behind it

Monday, October 27th, 2025

The type of pharmacare most advocates want to see the policy evolve into is a universal, single-payer model, where governments would foot the majority of prescription drug costs for all Canadians… tens of billions of dollars Canada shells out on prescription medications annually would be better spent within the country’s borders, bolstering domestic production capacity… The gaps exposed by COVID-19 — the procurement chaos, supply chain woes, equipment shortages and expiring oversupply — make some believe pharmacare holds the potential to strengthen Canada’s autonomy and security, too.

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Three lessons Canada can learn from Australia’s health-care system

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025

First, expanding access and improving health outcomes can happen without massive increases in public spending… Second, more private-sector involvement in health care is not a cure-all… Third, minimizing administrative burdens will foster a more efficient and effective health-care system… Canada’s federal government should take the lead in co-ordinating and funding comparative analyses of the two countries’ health-care systems…

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Rethinking Philanthropy: Emerging paradigms of social justice

Tuesday, October 21st, 2025

… past forms of saviourism, in which historically disadvantaged countries and communities are seen as helpless actors waiting to be saved, will need to be dismantled. The shift in mindset is from saving “the other” (whomever that other might be) and, instead, recognizing the responsibility to contribute to a more equitable and sustainable society… By recognizing social justice as a collective project we all have personal responsibility to advance, solidarity emerges as a tool for our collective agenda in which it is only rational to invest.

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The evidence is clear: National pharmacare for contraception can’t wait

Friday, October 17th, 2025

If Canada’s pre-existing mix of public and private insurance provided sufficient access to contraception, we would have seen little or no change when contraception became free in B.C. But… Our research showed a 49 per cent increase in the use of the most effective contraceptive methods when they were available at no cost.

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Ford government announces new deal with doctors — with pay boost and incentives to take on more patients in family medicine

Monday, September 22nd, 2025

The Ford government has reached a new deal with Ontario’s doctors, announcing on Thursday a four-year agreement that boosts compensation for physicians and includes measures that will encourage more to practise comprehensive family medicine. The agreement… will see physicians get a 7.3 per cent increase in compensation over the next three years. This builds on a 10 per cent increase that doctors received in the first year of the agreement, awarded by an arbitrator last year.     

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Targeted Pharmacare Reforms Could Deliver Access Without a $40 Billion Price Tag

Thursday, September 18th, 2025

With 97 percent of Canadians already having access to some form of drug coverage, a new Conference Report by the C.D. Howe Institute finds that a fiscally responsible approach to universal pharmacare should focus on closing gaps in prescription drug coverage rather than replacing plans with a single-payer system.

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A needed cut of Ontario’s school boards

Monday, September 15th, 2025

Vigorous reform would end the charade of off-loading parents’ concerns to increasingly powerless trustees, rather than the existing chain of command within the school system. Overhauling the outdated trustee model will make it much clearer to parents that the government is ultimately responsible for the education of their children.

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Ending vaccine mandates is a cynical political play – and it threatens children’s lives

Wednesday, September 10th, 2025

Only two jurisdictions – Ontario and New Brunswick – have legislated mandatory vaccine requirements for attendance at schools and daycares, but they allow medical, religious and philosophical exemptions. We make vaccine recommendations (which, for no good reason vary by province and territory) and expect parents to do the right thing for their own child and others.

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Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »


Why bolstering post-secondary education for former youth in care is a wise investment

Thursday, August 7th, 2025

When youth age out of care… they are expected to navigate adulthood with no family network, limited life skills and inadequate financial supports. The result is a predictable cycle of poverty, homelessness and criminalization. The cost of this approach is staggering… In Ontario, every dollar invested in extended care from ages 21 to 25 could yield $1.36 million in savings or earnings over a lifetime through improved educational attainment, reduced reliance on social benefits, lower rates of criminal justice involvement and increased contributions through taxes.

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Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »


Statistics Canada says income gap hit record high in first quarter

Thursday, July 17th, 2025

… the difference in the share of disposable income between households in the top 40 per cent of the income distribution and the bottom 40 per cent grew to 49 percentage points in the first three months of the year… For the first quarter of 2025, it said the increase came as the highest income households gained from investments, while the lowest income households saw wages decline… “This kind of information, the largest gap ever, it’s a wake-up call…”

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Posted in Equality History | No Comments »


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