Posts Tagged ‘poverty’

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A judge’s ruling focuses attention on the homeless crisis

Monday, February 6th, 2023

A court ruling that Waterloo cannot dismantle an encampment may oblige governments to do a better job of ensuring that people have shelter… Clearing encampments is traumatizing for those being moved, costly for taxpayers and ultimately counter-productive, since it only serves to displace unhoused individuals rather than provide lasting accommodation. 

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Quebec basic income program begins, but advocates say many low-income people excluded

Sunday, January 29th, 2023

The program, aimed at 84,000 Quebecers with a “severely limited capacity for employment” such as a chronic illness or mental health condition, will provide an increase of more than 28 per cent for a single person, the government says… they will also have the ability to earn about $14,500 a year in wages – up from $200 a month – and have up to $20,000 in savings, all without losing benefits.

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Something really, really must be done: an urgent plea for the Canada Disability Benefit to become law in 2023

Monday, January 16th, 2023

The Canada Disability Benefit, a proposed federal disability benefit to complement the inadequate provincial supports, is essential to ending disability poverty… it is also essential that, with the implementation of CDB, there are no clawbacks, that health benefits, transportation allowances, adaptive equipment, employment supports and other in-kind benefits, available from provincial and territorial governments, must remain intact.

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Why don’t we zone for rental apartments?

Sunday, January 8th, 2023

The speculation-driven condo business model encourages high prices for land, a dynamic that favours firms that want to get in and out quickly instead of operating a rental building for decades… a dynamic encouraged by the strange fact that apartment buildings are taxed higher than condos. Today, we build almost nothing but condos.

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Interpreting the data: Key takeaways from Welfare in Canada, 2021

Friday, December 16th, 2022

The data in Welfare in Canada, 2021 reveal five main findings: Welfare incomes were deeply inadequate across Canada: – All households in every province lived in poverty, and the large majority lived in deep poverty… Most jurisdictions did not make substantive increases to already inadequate social assistance benefits… Total welfare incomes increased in a limited number of cases. In most instances, higher inflation in 2021 negated their positive impact.

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Canadians can now apply for new dental benefit: here’s how

Friday, December 2nd, 2022

For now, the “Canada Dental Benefit” will be offered to children under the age of 12, with an annual family income of less than $90,000, with the amount provided per child per year dependant on family income… While only those under 12 years old will get access for now, the government says it remains committed to following through on seeing this stop-gap measure become a fully-fledged national dental care plan by 2025.

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 Ottawa Should Soften Bite Of Benefit Clawbacks For Low-Income Families

Wednesday, November 30th, 2022

… the “participation” tax rate (PTR)… is the cumulative effect of all taxes and loss of fiscal benefits on the entire prospective earnings from work. For a stay-at-home parent, it represents the financial penalty paid out of the total income derived from getting a job… The paper recommends the federal government: Implement “benefit shields”… Allow income averaging… [and] Replace the federal childcare expense tax deduction with a refundable credit

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By the numbers: Here’s the living wage in 10 Ontario regions

Thursday, November 17th, 2022

In Ontario, the minimum wage is now $15.50 per hour, having risen from $15 in October. According to the OLWN, in 2021, the highest living wage was $22.08 for residents in Toronto… “It doesn’t account for debt repayment or saving for education… “we’re talking about the barest living wage for workers to thrive, to have a family, to participate in our society”

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Why hasn’t medical care in Canada included teeth?

Saturday, November 12th, 2022

… when Canada’s Medical Care Act was passed in 1966, only physician services were covered — even though the 1964 Royal Commission on Health Services report (considered the blueprint for Canada’s universal health insurance program) had recommended free dentistry for all children and eventually for all adults. The Canada Dental Benefit, which received parliamentary approval on October 27, will provide free dental care for uninsured Canadians with an annual family income of less than $90,000, starting with children under 12 in December 2022.

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Posted in Health History | 1 Comment »


Don’t delay federal disability benefit

Saturday, November 12th, 2022

Ten per cent of able-bodied working age adults live below the poverty line, compared with 14 per cent of those with mild disabilities and 28 per cent of those whose disabilities are severe… The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance highlights other problems with the bill… It doesn’t detail “the size of the benefit, when it will start, how much if any will it be increased due to inflation, and who is eligible for it.”

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