Posts Tagged ‘rights’
Stream of election gimmicks and promises will violate our human rights obligations
Friday, November 29th, 2024
All of these proposals rely on borrowing money so it can be sent to many people who don’t need it… Meanwhile, homelessness, food insecurity, and poverty are on the rise, and this comes with both immediate and long-term costs. Governments would be wise to invest every extra dollar they have in proven solutions, such as a stronger income security system and non-market housing sector… our governments [are] obligated to steer our society toward the fulfillment of everyone’s human rights…
Tags: budget, disabilities, poverty, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Why the Canada Disability Benefit won’t end disability poverty, and how it could
Thursday, November 28th, 2024
It won’t be a game-changer, but it could help many if eligibility and access expand and clawbacks are not allowed to erode possibly its entire value… Though the benefit will not fill the poverty gap for hundreds of thousands of people, it could still reduce their depth of poverty… If it is intended to fill the poverty gaps in provincial and territorial social-assistance programs, the benefit amount should reflect that… Poverty is a policy choice – one that is inconsistent with Canada’s human-rights obligations.
Tags: disabilities, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
I’ve dated a billionaire and lived on minimum wage. This is the one, radical solution to the inequalities I’ve seen
Tuesday, November 12th, 2024
Our economic system was born of the false premise that if the wealthy are prioritized in government policies, their wealth will trickle down to the poor. Since 2020, the world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes. Recently, the CBC reported that “income inequality in Canada (had) hit the highest level ever recorded.”… Minimum wage increases have little impact in a system that enables and perpetuates kleptocracy.
Tags: poverty, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Murray Sinclair sought to build a pathway toward mutual understanding and healing for future generations
Wednesday, November 6th, 2024
In waves of paternalism and government intervention, Indigenous Peoples were moved off their lands, onto reserves or into the cities and, far too often, into the courts and prisons… That “reconciliation” entered the national vocabulary is a testament to his gentle persuasiveness… His vision for a reconciled Canada sought to unite the strengths of Indigenous Nations and Canadian ideals, creating a path toward a future where the best of both worlds could flourish together.
Tags: featured, Indigenous, jurisdiction, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality History | No Comments »
What’s behind Canada’s housing crisis?
Wednesday, November 6th, 2024
Canada had a strong housing welfare system in the 1960s and 1970s, but this changed in 1993 when the federal government stopped funding social housing programs. It shifted toward a commodified system that emphasized individual responsibility… This shift was driven by two neoliberal beliefs. The first is that the private market is the most efficient way to provide housing… The second belief is that homeownership promotes autonomy and reduces reliance on governments by building property assets, although the reality defies this belief.
Tags: economy, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, rights
Posted in Debates | 5 Comments »
The rise and fall of co-op housing in Ontario
Tuesday, November 5th, 2024
Toward the end of the last century, the construction of co-operative housing — and social housing more broadly — garnered substantial federal and provincial investments: thousands of co-operative units were built every year for a span of nearly three decades. But a nexus of political, economic, and social factors in the late 1990s ground the breakneck pace of construction to a crawl. Today, units in co-operative buildings are coveted by those looking for affordable-housing options in an increasingly unaffordable market.
Tags: economy, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
In search of political will: Strengthening Canada’s mechanisms for the domestic implementation of international human rights commitments
Monday, October 28th, 2024
The history of domestic implementation of Canada’s international human rights commitments is disappointing, particularly when it comes to economic and social rights… Over the past 75 years, Canada has neglected to build the necessary legal foundations, government structures, and political will at home to institutionalize human rights and provide accountability to rights holders. We need a new national framework for international human rights implementation.
Tags: immigration, multiculturalism, participation, rights
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
Why it is urgent that Ontario share health data with Ottawa
Sunday, October 27th, 2024
… every province and territory closely guard their residents’ health from the federal public health agency to varying degrees, but what’s done in the name of protecting individual privacy comes at the cost of blinding the Public Health Agency of Canada to a fuller understanding of the health of Canadians… Timely and accurate data inform sound public health policies. Their absence does the opposite, including leaving risk management to the most vulnerable.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, rights
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Ontario taxpayers fork over $4.3 million to settle legal costs in Bill 124 cases
Wednesday, October 16th, 2024
In a 2-1 decision earlier this year, the Appeal Court struck down the law, saying it infringed on workers’ Charter rights. The province accepted defeat and, soon after, repealed the law in its entirety… The province has so far paid out $6.7 billion for retroactive pay increases to broader public-sector workers after the law was struck down. Taxpayers would have been on the hook for those salary bumps either way, but the additional legal costs were a waste of money, leaders of the opposition parties said.
Tags: budget, ideology, jurisdiction, rights
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Why you should care about Ontario’s riding boundaries
Thursday, August 8th, 2024
… electoral-riding maps are essential to how our democracy operates, to deciding who is represented by whom and at what ratio of elected representatives to population, to quite literally mapping out who gets heard and by whom and how. The Ford government should at least launch a review of the electoral map and commit to ensuring that every resident has fair, adequate, and near-equal representation. And if it’s not willing to take that on, it should take the federal boundaries and adopt them.
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, participation, rights
Posted in Governance Delivery System | No Comments »
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