Media & Policy News: 21 March 2014

Reports and Other Good Stuff:

Goar on the first ever report on the status of women’s shelters in Canada:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/03/18/disturbing_snapshot_of_womens_shelters_goar.html

Here’s the report: http://endvaw.ca/sites/endvaw.ca/files/cnwsth_shelter_voices_2014_web.pdf

Several reports from the Law Commission of Ontario on legal capacity, decision-making and guardianship:
http://t.e2ma.net/message/r2y6g/3zouab

City of Toronto’s Shelter, Housing hosts Housing Connect on April 13 – for people who are homeless to find out about available services:
http://www.hctoronto.org/

The website for the Neighbourhood Change & Building Inclusive Communities From Within research project – great stuff here from Hulchanski et al.:
http://neighbourhoodchange.ca/

If you’re looking for the submissions to the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance, which issued its report October 2012, you have two options:

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20120427113841/http://www.socialassistancereview.ca/home?language=en_CA&
MCSS abridged version: http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/publications/social/socialServices_commssion.aspx

Ontario

“Aspirational” budget to come in May:
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/03/19/pc_leader_tim_hudak_decries_liberal_plan_to_increase_taxes_on_upperincome_earners.html

Andrea Horwath wants a $100 rebate for 4.4 million hydro customers:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/03/05/andrea_horwath.html

And a job creation tax credit to cover 10% of new employee wages:
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/03/17/ontario_ndp_resurrects_job_creation_tax_credit_proposal.html?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=twitterfeed

Is the Ontario NDP “waging war” on public investment?
https://raisethehammer.org/article/2116/ontario_ndp_waging_war_on_public_investment

Hennessy: The political fight for Ontario’s “middle class”:
http://behindthenumbers.ca/2014/03/20/the-political-fight-for-ontarios-middle-class/

Financial eligibility for legal aid services far too low:
http://blog.legalaid.on.ca/2014/03/11/ontarios-financial-eligibility-standard-for-legal-aid-falling-behind-the-rest-of-canada/

Former NDP MP and MPP Tony Martin, who consistently fought on poverty-related issues, recovering from a stroke:
http://www.thesudburystar.com/2014/03/17/ex-sault-mp-martin-improving-after-stroke

Around the Province

Dentists starting to refuse ODSP clients because of low payment rates:
http://www.frontenacnews.ca/2014/14-11_mar_20/14-11_odsp_dental.html

Kakabeka Falls man with a disability socially isolated by lack of access to transportation:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/brain-injured-kakabeka-falls-man-feels-isolated-1.2572866

An open letter to City of Toronto on plans for a civic Poverty Reduction Strategy:
http://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/news/open-letter-community-development-and-recreation-committee/

Toronto apartment building still without heat after five weeks:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/03/18/apartment_still_without_heat_after_five_weeks_despite_landlord_tenant_board_order.html

A Big Idea for Toronto: A dedicated housing fund:
http://www.thestar.com/bigideas/experts/2014/03/03/big_ideas_provide_affordable_housing_for_all.html

Halton non-profit adopts Woodgreen’s model for helping single moms escape poverty:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/03/19/halton_adopts_torontos_model_for_helping_single_moms_escape_poverty.html

Across the Country

Feeding My Family campaign protests high food costs in the North:
http://rabble.ca/news/2014/03/nunavummiut-speak-out-to-feed-their-families#.UysWRCLlTeE.twitter

Alberta’s budget was a missed opportunity to address inequality:
http://parklandinstitute.ca/media/comments/budget_2014_a_missed_opportunity_to_address_inequality

But here’s the way forward: Progress income taxes:
http://parklandinstitute.ca/research/summary/the_way_forward

Alberta’s planned pension changes unnecessary:
http://www.ariapensions.ca/exclusive-to-aria/alberta-pension-plans-set-return-surplus-without-changes-mcgowan-afl/

BC steps up to fund mental health services for refugees:
http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/2014/03/13/RefugeeHealthFunded/#sthash.B9JOOiWq.dpuf

National

Walmart Canada is planning a “summit” on how to lower the cost of living, while UFCW says they should pay their workers more:
http://www.thestar.com/business/economy/2014/03/17/walmart_canada_plans_summit_to_discuss_cost_of_living.html

EI helplines: Not much help at all:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1206473/more-callers-being-sidelined-by-high-volume-messages-on-ei-help-line/

StatsCan report contradicts Conservatives’ skilled labour shortage claim:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/statistics-canada-contradicts-conservatives-claim-of-unfilled-jobs-problem/article17544292/

But there may be a skills mismatch, which leads to young people being blamed for being unemployed:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/03/19/stop_blaming_young_people_for_being_unemployed.html

Just how stretched are middle-income Canadians? And who are the middle class anyways?:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/middle-class-canadians-just-how-stretched-are-you-1.2572714?cmp=fbtl

Debate on how the Cons can help families; national child care perhaps the best:
http://www.citynews.ca/2014/02/15/national-child-care-a-good-alternative-to-income-splitting-expert/

International

The world is developing a Downton Abbey economy:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/why-the-rich-get-richer-and-the-poor-get-poorer-1.2580263

The problem of homelessness in Dublin is “out of control”:
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/authorities-close-door-on-crisis-of-homelessness-1.1728666?page=1

In the US, low wage workers are finding poverty harder to escape:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/17/business/economy/low-wage-workers-finding-its-easier-to-fall-into-poverty-and-harder-to-get-out.html?_r=0

Temp workers, who fuel corporate profits, are expendable in the process:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/06/expendables-temps-corporate-giants

Food deserts in Atlanta leave low income residents struggling:
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/mar/17/atlanta-food-deserts-stranded-struggling-survive

NYT: Income gap? Meet the longevity gap:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/business/income-gap-meet-the-longevity-gap.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1

More than 900 workers have died building Qatar’s World Cup facilities:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/over-900-workers-have-already-died-building-qatars-world-cup-facilities-180950088/?no-ist

Britain’s five richest families are worth more than the poorest 20%:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/mar/17/oxfam-report-scale-britain-growing-financial-inequality

How do Austrians deal with youth unemployment? Strong policy, good administration, and a big budget:
http://www.social-europe.eu/2014/03/youth-unemployment-austrians/

Finland built its top-ranking educational system on the principle of equity:
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/finnish-education-chief-we-created-a-school-system-based-on-equality/284427/

Yesterday was Close the Gap Day in Australia – the income gap, that is:
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/actions-not-words-will-help-close-the-gap-20140319-3522w.html

WalMart workers in China blockade store to protest closure:
http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/walmart-workers-china-blockade-store-protest-closure-plan

Top Stories