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Home / Media and Policy News / Media & Policy News: 15 May 2015

Media & Policy News: 15 May 2015

Top Stories

Ontario employers benefit by keeping people on for years as “temporary” workers:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/10/ontario-employers-cashing-in-on-temporary-workers.html

San Francisco becomes the first city to legislate predictable schedules for employees:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/03/san-francisco-becomes-first-us-city-to-end-erratic-scheduling.html

Provincial efforts to boost low wages of home care workers, as promised, stymied by complex rules:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/complex-rules-stymie-efforts-to-boost-home-care-workers-wages-in-ontario/article24360636/

Federal government analysis says it’s cheaper to raise children now than ever:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/raising-kids-getting-more-affordable-government-analysis-suggests-1.3070037?fb_action_ids=10153249563266061&fb_action_types=og.shares

Calls for proposals for Ontario’s Local Poverty Reduction Fund now open – deadline June 10:
http://news.ontario.ca/tbs/en/2015/05/call-for-proposals-for-local-poverty-reduction-fund-now-open.html

The Mandatory Victim’s Surcharge challenged in court for disproportionate impact on low-income offenders and those with disabilities:
http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/legalfeeds/2695/victim-surcharges-entrench-cyle-of-poverty-lawyer.html

Reports, Events, Campaigns

The ODSP Action Coalition extends Save the Work-Related Benefit campaign – here’s what you can do:
http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=095b12c98935ecaadd327bf90&id=586a900565&e=245c8ebaab

Think tanks seek to reframe Canada’s social safety net as “social architecture”:
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/reframe-canadas-social-safety-net-as-its-social-architecture-so-we-can-rebuild-it-before-it-crumbles-report

CCPA-Ontario economist Kaylie Tiessen’s “Jobs Friday” report from last week:
http://ccpaontario.ca/jobsfriday/

New study shows treating poverty will save costs in health care:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/poverty-linked-to-future-high-health-care-costs-1.3065822

Around the Province

Northumberland County consulting on poverty, but no one in poverty can attend:
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/2015/05/13/northumberland-county-looking-at-poverty-issues

Hard for the poor to bury loved ones: Cobourg man still paying expenses related to wife’s death:
http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/2015/05/11/hard-for-poor-to-bury-loved-ones

Nurses in Toronto work to improve health by fighting poverty:
http://www.thestar.com/life/nursing/2015/05/07/for-nurses-improving-health-means-fighting-poverty.html?referrer

Tenants in TCHC buildings in Toronto suffering with heat that’s not being turned off:
http://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/the_fixer/2015/05/10/tchc-tenants-are-steaming-about-heat-that-wont-quit-fixer.html

Women leaving jail face difficulty finding housing and struggle to move on:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/08/women-leaving-jail-face-housing-problems-in-struggle-to-move-on.html?referrer

Windsor college looks to women to fill their skilled trades spots:
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/college-courting-women-for-skilled-trades-careers

York Region finds housing and homelessness savings sufficient to better address local needs:
http://www.yorkregion.com/news-story/5628697-york-region-support-program-for-homeless-cost-61-5-less-in-2014/

Guelph residents on low income share their take on the Sunshine List:
http://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion-story/5614737-low-income-earners-take-on-the-sunshine-list/

Column: Action on poverty required in St. Catherines, not more talk:
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2015/05/12/lafleche-action-not-words-needed-to-combat-poverty

Across the Country

Pierre Poilievre says fish plants in New Brunswick must boost wages to attract local workers, not rely on the temporary foreign worker program:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/pierre-poilievre-says-fish-plants-must-boost-wages-1.3069039

BC agencies make Ombudsman complaint that changes to social assistance delivery discriminate against recipients:

Nova Scotia promising widespread reform of social assistance:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-promising-widespread-reform-of-social-assistance-1.3071895

Winnipeg shows how we can make homelessness history:
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/policyfix/2015/05/winnipeg-shows-how-we-can-make-homelessness-history

National

Canada is failing in its responsibility to refugees:
http://montrealgazette.com/news/national/opinion-canada-is-failing-in-its-responsibilities-to-refugees

Former StatsCan head says NHS data is “so unreliable” that it’s almost “a piece of garbage”:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/05/08/canada-national-household_n_7243594.html

Canadian Housing and Renewal Association video on the repercussions of declining federal social housing funding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxNIM6eyVNA

Moms denied EI while on maternity filing class action lawsuit:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/11/sick-moms-denied-ei-to-get-their-day-in-court.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Feds enhance EI compassionate leave benefits:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1286551-compassionate-leave-benefits-increased

International

Stop blaming poor moms. It’s bad policies, not bad parenting, that hurts kids:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/05/08/stop-judging-poor-moms-bad-policies-hurt-their-kids-not-bad-parenting/

Using Lego bricks, an economist demonstrates how the tax system can affect income inequality:
http://www.upworthy.com/using-lego-bricks-an-economist-demonstrates-how-taxes-affect-income-inequality?c=ufb2

Australia cutting $1.6 billion from welfare programs funding over four years:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-12/federal-government-to-cut-16-billion-from-welfare/6464320