Income Security Advocacy Centre

ISAC works to address issues of income security and poverty in Ontario

Media & Policy News: 28 February 2014

Top Stories

New IMF study shows taxing the rich is good for the economy:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/taxing-the-rich-is-good-for-the-economy-imf-says-1.2552141

Report shows Canadians with disabilities face “staggering barriers to success”:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/disabled-canadians-still-face-staggering-barriers-to-success-report-warns/article16944376/

Ontario NDP releases its position on minimum wage (and small business tax cuts):
http://ontariondp.com/en/minimumwage

Martin Regg Cohn gives two columns to Hudak’s Right-to-Work about-face

Federation of Canadian Municipalities survey reveals housing availability a big issue:
http://www.fcm.ca/home/issues/housing/fixing-canadas-housing-crunch/about-the-housing-crunch/national-survey-on-housing.htm

StatsCan’s Survey of Financial Security reveals persistent economic inequality and rising debt:
http://www.pressprogress.ca/en/post/economic-inequality-numbers

Carol Goar asks questions about a Basic Annual Income:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/02/25/basic_annual_income_loaded_with_pitfalls_goar.html

Materials from IRPP’s Feb 24-25 conference, “Inequality in Canada: Driving Forces, Outcomes and Policy”:
http://www.irpp.org/en/events/income-inequality/

Ontario

Workers Action Centre on the important legislation waiting in the pipeline on decent pay and decent work:
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=b32b33961fd1e65272919d8a6&id=335ad25103&e=51059eb750

Child care advocates gearing up for a fight against new childcare rules:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/02/24/ontario_childcare_proposals_meet_mounting_opposition.html

MPP Jonah Schein: What Ontarians need is child care:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/02/25/queens_park_must_strengthen_ontarios_child_care_supports.html

Young workers offer solutions to Ontario’s youth unemployment problem:
http://ofl.ca/index.php/youthunemployment1/

Ontario to make civil servants pay more for retirement benefits:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ontario-to-make-civil-servants-pay-more-for-retirement-benefits/article16949608/

Latest poll shows none of the parties would get a majority:
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/02/27/minority_looms_in_next_ontario_election_poll.html

Around the Province

One in ten Niagara families are worried about putting healthy food on the table:
http://www.niagarathisweek.com/news-story/4379369-hungry-for-healthy-food/

Feb 15 was a Day of Action to win a $14 minimum wage:
http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b32b33961fd1e65272919d8a6&id=c254fd29ad&e=51059eb750

Colette Murphy of Atkinson, on expecting community benefits from municipal infrastructure investments:
http://www.thestar.com/bigideas/experts/2014/02/24/expect_more_from_public_infrastructure_investments_colette_murphys_big_idea.html

Across the Country

Vancouver Sun Columnist Stephen Hume: In praise of taxes:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Stephen+Hume+praise+taxes/9541797/story.html

BC is consulting on “reducing barriers and increasing accessibility” for people with disabilities:
http://engage.gov.bc.ca/disabilitywhitepaper/

BC’s budget a missed opportunity to address the deficits that matter:
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/ccpa-calls-bc-budget-%E2%80%9Cmissed-opportunity%E2%80%9D-address-social-environmental-and

Laid off Alberta oil sands workers say they were replaced with foreign workers making half their wage:
http://business.financialpost.com/2014/02/07/oil-sands-workers-foreigners-imperial-2014/?__lsa=1438-3c1c

Dispute over Canada Jobs Grant starting to impact employment services for people with disabilities in Nova Scotia:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1189709-disabled-could-lose-job-aid-in-funding-spat-with-ottawa

National

Feds cut EI benefits in Northern cities and huge increase in hours to qualify:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/feds-cut-ei-benefits-in-northern-cities-1.2543889

NDP says federal tax policy based on “make believe accounting”:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/02/20/average_family_income_in_conservative_budget_called_fantasy.html

Poll shows federal Liberals riding high:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/02/20/liberals_continue_to_ride_justin_trudeau_wave_poll_shows.html

Federal staff report says Canada’s middle class is mortgaging its future to stay afloat:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-s-middle-class-mortgaging-its-future-with-debt-1.2548633?cmp=rss

More response to the federal budget:

International

Greek austerity measures leave one million desperate:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/tough-austerity-measures-in-greece-leave-nearly-a-million-people-with-no-access-to-healthcare-leading-to-soaring-infant-mortality-hiv-infection-and-suicide-9142274.html

NYT editorial: What the US stimulus plan accomplished:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/what-the-stimulus-accomplished.html?_r=0

“I’m never going to be able to retire”:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/-i-m-never-going-to-be-able-to-retire–134736593.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory

Egypt’s public transit workers on strike for the minimum wage:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/95017/Business/Economy/Cairos-public-transport-workers-continue-strike-fo.aspx

New study shows people with intellectual disabilities have twice the rate of unemployment as others in the US:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/unemployment-of-people-with-intellectual-disabilities-more-than-twice-as-high-as-general-population-245835281.html

United States ranks 34 of 35 developed countries on child poverty (note that Canada doesn’t fare well either):
http://iacknowledge.net/unicef-report-u-s-ranks-34th-out-of-35-in-childhood-poverty/

And, just because: “University of Chicago Hires Notorious Goldman Sachs Fraudster to Teach Economics to Undergrads”:
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/02/fabulous-fab-tourre-goldman-sachs-university-chicago