Posts Tagged ‘standard of living’

« Older Entries |

‘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: , , , , ,
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »


Why Ontario’s measles outbreak highlights our need for a vaccine registry

Thursday, February 12th, 2026

Ontario’s measles outbreak has laid bare how vulnerable we are without the essential tools needed to know who is protected and who is not…The solution is clear — and it’s not a crumpled yellow vaccine card. Ontarians need… a comprehensive immunization registry… a secure, province-wide system that’s accessible from family doctors’ offices to ERs across the province.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »


The wrong people are being asked to pay for Canada’s crisis in health care

Friday, February 6th, 2026

Starting on May 1, 2026, beneficiaries [of the Interim Federal Health Program(IFHP)]such as asylum seekers and refugees will be required to copay 30 per cent of the cost of supplemental health benefits, in addition to a $4 for every prescription filled or renewed… This also applies to dental care, physiotherapy, and mental health treatment. For refugees, these services are not optional; they are essential, and paying 30 per cent of their cost is simply not feasible.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »


Finally Mark Carney delivers a breakthrough for Canadians asking for help. Will it be enough?

Wednesday, February 4th, 2026

The federal government recently announced the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB), an income support designed to help Canadians afford the basics of life. For millions of people struggling to put food on the table, this announcement will mean immediate relief… it treats hunger as a policy problem rather than a charitable one… Ultimately, Canada’s food insecurity crisis isn’t caused by a shortage of food; it’s caused by a lack of income.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »


Why we need to talk about the root causes of food insecurity

Tuesday, January 20th, 2026

Research shows that when more people have adequate incomes, food insecurity declines, and that policy changes are essential to ensure that wages, social assistance and pension rates provide a livable income and greater income equality… most children’s fiction suggests individual choices or life circumstances are to blame for food insecurity and that charity, kind strangers and luck are the solutions.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »


I don’t have dental insurance. Do I qualify for the federal government’s dental care plan?

Tuesday, January 20th, 2026

For Canadians whose annual income is between $80,000 and $89,999, the CDCP will cover 40 per cent of eligible oral health-care services; for those in the $70,000 to $79,999 range, the plan covers 60 per cent, and those whose income is less than $70,000 receive 100 per cent coverage. You can see exactly what’s covered on the government of Canada’s website. In many cases you will have a co-payment based on your adjusted family net income.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »


We’re already facing the consequences of two-tier health care. Doug Ford is opening the door to make it even worse

Tuesday, January 20th, 2026

… the door is now wide open to a major expansion of for-profit health care thanks to Ontario’s Bill 60. The bill contains no obvious limits on outsourcing publicly funded health services to the private sector… While reducing wait times is a goal we all share, funding private, for-profit expansion while publicly funded operating rooms sit underused and nurses remain unavailable is not the solution.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »


The hoarded wealth of the superrich can do more good in the public’s hands, so let’s tax it: a book excerpt

Sunday, January 18th, 2026

… the wealthiest one per cent of Canadians increased their share of total Canadian wealth from 18 per cent to 26 per cent between 2010 and 2019, while the share of wealth owned by every other income group in Canada declined… while Canadians at almost every income level pay a substantial portion of their incomes in tax, billionaires do not… a wealth tax… could raise billions of dollars that could create a better-functioning democracy with a more hopeful, well-nourished and empowered citizenry.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »


Reducing Ontario health care waits: Six solutions avoiding privatization pitfalls

Friday, January 9th, 2026

Canada has long been among the worst performers on specialist wait times in high income countries… Every dollar Ontario shifts to private medicine is a dollar not spent on public health-care… Four of these six fixes leverage technology Ontario already owns. Each would reduce misery, lower wait times and save lives. Refusing to act isn’t caution — it’s complicity. Wait times aren’t a matter of shortage, they’re a policy choice

Tags: , ,
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »


100 highest-paid CEOs now make 248 times more than average workers in record-breaking year

Sunday, January 4th, 2026

“CEO pay is mostly bonuses now, bonuses tied in some form to those corporate profits. When inflation drives profits, it also drives CEO pay through the stratosphere… CEO pay continues to soar without restraints… And tax rates on Canada’s richest are well below where they used to be. Meanwhile food bank demand has hit all-time highs. We need to take action on income and wealth inequality in Canada, and taxation can be the control we need.”

Tags: , ,
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »


« Older Entries |