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Income Security Advocacy Centre

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Media & Policy News: 21 March 2014

March 21, 2014

Top Stories

Douglas, Galabuzi and Go: Ontario must bring back mandatory employment equity to even the playing field for all:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/03/20/ontario_falling_down_on_employment_equity_for_visible_minorities.html

Ontario plans to increase taxes on upper income earners:
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/03/18/tax_hikes_loom_for_upperincome_earners_in_ontario.html

Yalnizyan: Flaherty’s legacy? “Ideological, reckless, and just plain lucky”:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/flahertys-legacy-ideological-reckless-and-just-plain-lucky/article17577220/

Dennis Howlett of Canadians for Tax Fairness on The Sunday Edition to discuss corporate tax evasion and what it costs us all:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/corporate-tax-avoidance-scheme-hurting-canada-expert-says-1.2572712

Why is inequality in Canada so bad? Government policy, says Andrew Jackson:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/government-policies-have-widened-canadas-income-gap/article17517631/

Erin Weir says Corporate Canada’s “dead money” cash stash now surpasses the national debt and should be put to use – through investment or taxation:
http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2014/03/14/corporate-cash-stash-surpasses-national-debt/

Not all business people hate taxes, but it’s tough to get them to admit it:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/taxes/not-all-business-people-hate-taxes-but-just-try-to-get-them-to-admit-it-1.2571020

Some letters to the editor on taxes:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editors/2014/03/18/taxes_are_ticket_to_civilized_society.html#

Rick Salutin on Wynne backing away from the great tax debate:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/03/20/kathleen_wynne_backs_down_from_the_great_tax_debate_salutin.html

The Globe Debate: What’s the role of markets in our daily lives? Should some things simply not be subject to market imperatives? [ed: What a question!]:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/ideas-lab/should-everything-in-public-life-have-a-price/article17480382/?from=17480453

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

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This site contains general legal information for people in Ontario, Canada. It is not intended to be used as legal advice for a specific legal problem. ISAC is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization. ISAC is funded by Legal Aid Ontario (LAO). The funding for this website is also provided by LAO. The views expressed in any of ISAC’s publications (including written, oral, or visual) are the views of the clinic and do not necessarily reflect those of LAO.