poverty « Social Policy in Ontario

Posts Tagged ‘poverty’

Mark Carney has forgotten who helped get him elected

Sunday, May 3rd, 2026

Headlines like “A Canada for All” sound nice. As do statements like: “the government is protecting the essential social programs that give Canadians a fair chance to get ahead — child care, dental care, and pharmacare.” But dig into the details and you learn national pharmacare is ending. There is no new money to create more child care spaces. Federal health-care spending is drastically being cut… There is effectively no new money in Carney’s fiscal plan to support what he calls “essential social programs.”

Tags: budget, child care, featured, Health, housing, jurisdiction, poverty
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »

If you’re treading water on welfare in Doug Ford’s Ontario, you’re slowly sinking

Monday, April 27th, 2026

By the end of this budget’s 2026-27 fiscal year, the projected inflation rate of two per cent will have further eroded the purchasing power of Ontario Works payments by more than 22 per cent cumulatively, since 2018… it’s worth remembering that the high water mark for welfare was in 1993… If that figure were indexed to inflation today, it would be $1,303 a month, some $570 (78 per cent) more than the current rate of $733 under Ford’s Tories.

Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »

Reclaiming the public square in a time of rupture

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026

… neoliberal economic policies and market changes have created a persistent and growing divide between Canada’s wealthiest and poorest households… [and] a considerable shrinking of the public space through successive laws enacted since 9/11… The scope of our advocacy must expand. It should focus on the rebuilding of resilient communities and the public good and challenge neoliberal modalities about the economy and its excessive income inequality.

Tags: featured, participation, philanthropy, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »

A small group of Canadians are living it up. The rest of us are struggling. Welcome to the K-shaped economy

Saturday, March 28th, 2026

… Between [1999] and 2023, the top 10 per cent of wealthiest households in Canada have seen their net worth surge by 195 per cent. The bottom 10 per cent… has seen its wealth contract outright, by 43 per cent… We need to get a better grip on how wealth grows, who owns it, where it’s stored and where it’s hidden… And the potentially toxic social effects of such a disparity in possibility continue to fester.

Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »

Reduced Fees, Rising Waitlists: Early Lessons from Canada’s Childcare Plan

Thursday, March 19th, 2026

To strengthen the program’s impact, the authors recommend expanding licensed childcare spaces, particularly in underserved areas, improving wages and working conditions for early childhood educators, and introducing more flexible supports – such as an income-tested refundable tax credit – for families relying on non-subsidized care.

Tags: child care, participation, poverty, standard of living, women
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »

Ford’s slashing of student grants holds poor students back and shows why we need a wealth tax

Thursday, March 19th, 2026

Canadians are fair-minded; we want to live in a society where economic rewards are dispensed — at least to some extent — on the basis of merit… We could come closer to being a meritocracy by imposing a wealth tax, which would take a bit from Canada’s grand fortunes so that poorer kids get a chance to live their dreams.

Tags: budget, Education, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, tax, youth
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »

‘It’s chronic disease, stupid!’ The central challenge facing health care

Friday, February 20th, 2026

A well-integrated interprofessional health-care system, rooted in primary care and configured to support patients with chronic conditions and their informal caregivers, has the potential to improve health outcomes, curb health-care spending and reduce reliance on hospital care… Government policies that fail to meaningfully support public health and social safety nets ultimately drive higher chronic disease rates and greater downstream health-care costs.

Tags: economy, Health, mental Health, poverty, Seniors, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »

Doug Ford’s changes to university funding is good news for universities and terrible news for poor students

Wednesday, February 18th, 2026

Ontario will still be tenth out of ten provinces for per-student funding. But Thursday’s announcement will bring public funding back roughly to its previous all-time high of about $8.5 billion per year. Some of the $5.3 billion is genuinely new. But over 50 per cent of the new money going to universities and colleges is being reallocated from within the Ministry — specifically, by taking about $700 million/year away from… OSAP

Tags: budget, Education, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty
Posted in Education Policy Context | No Comments »

For women who live on the margins, health care is often out of reach. Here’s how we can build a bridge to access

Wednesday, February 11th, 2026

A community health worker (CHW) is typically a trusted member of the local community who understands the challenges of those who are sick or socially excluded. With targeted training, CHWs can conduct basic health screenings for conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, breast and cervical cancer, and reproductive and mental health problems. Importantly, CHWs act as bridges to primary care physicians… This approach builds trust, continuity and access…

Tags: mental Health, participation, poverty, women
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »

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Social Policy in Ontario