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Income Security Advocacy Centre

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Media & Policy News: 11 March 2016

March 11, 2016

Top Stories

IWD: What 20 years of the gender wage gap looks like in Canada:
http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/what-20-years-of-the-gender-wage-gap-looks-like-in-canada/

  • Women still earning less than men despite gains in education: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/women-still-earning-less-money-than-men-despite-gains-in-education-study/article29044130/
  • CCPA report: The Unequal Economics of Women’s Work: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/making-women-count-2016

UN tells Canada to clean up its record on economic, social and cultural inequality:
http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/03/08/UN-Tells-Canada-Clean-Up-Inequality/

  • ISAC response: UN report reveals major holes in Canada’s social safety net: http://incomesecurity.org/policy-advocacy/un-report-reveals-major-holes-in-canadas-social-safety-net/
  • Canada Without Poverty: Canada is failing on economic and social rights: http://www.cwp-csp.ca/2016/03/canada-failing-on-economic-and-social-rights-un-reports/

UN report raises concern over Canada’s persistent housing crisis:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/03/07/un-raises-concern-over-canadas-persistent-housing-crisis.html

  • Right to Housing Campaign response to UN report: https://righttohousing.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/new-un-report-slams-canada-for-persistent-housing-homelessness-crisis/
  • In Canada, housing is a right. Right? http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/02/26/Is-Housing-a-Right/
  • Vancouver’s Pivot Legal Society supports UN report on housing: http://www.metronews.ca/news/vancouver/2016/03/07/pivot-supports-un-report-on-canadian-housing.html

Food bank stats don’t tell the whole story of food insecurity:
http://www.thinkupstream.net/foodbankdata

  • Low income Canadians struggle to feed their kids healthy food as food prices rise: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/lowincome+families+struggle+feed+their+kids+healthy+foods+prices/11730788/story.html
  • Op-Ed: The ugly truth is that many Canadians didn’t have enough food this year: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-ugly-truth-many-canadians-didnt-have-enough-food-this-year/article27920948/

Economic uncertainty and political possibility are giving new life to an old policy idea: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business/basic-income-interest-1.3479079

  • After Ontario announces pilot project, Ottawa faces pressure to act on basic income: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-should-work-with-ontario-on-guaranteed-income-strategy-advocates/article28936544/
  • Why Canada is ripe for universal basic income: http://thewalrus.ca/top-dollar/
  • Basic income could help eliminate under-the-table work: http://www.inquisitr.com/2834332/basic-income-ontario-to-introduce-pilot-program-aimed-at-improving-efficiency-eliminating-poverty/
  • Is the fix for poverty as simple as a cheque in the mail?: https://nowtoronto.com/news/is-fix-for-poverty-as-simple-as-cheque-in-the-mail%3F/
  • Yakabuski: Basic income a policy response to a big changes in the labour market: http://www.theglobeandmail.com//opinion/thinking-big-about-employment/article29037296/?cmpid=rss1&click=sf_globefb
  • The Conservative case for a Guaranteed Basic Income: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/08/why-arent-reformicons-pushing-a-guaranteed-basic-income/375600/

Goar: Taxes are the third rail of Canadian politics:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/03/04/taxes-the-third-rail-of-canadian-politics-goar.html

Judge rules victim surcharge discriminates against people with mental disabilities:
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/victim-surcharge-discriminates-against-those-with-mental-disabilities-judge-rules

Canada Revenue offered amnesty to wealthy KPMG clients in offshore tax ‘sham’:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-revenue-kpmg-secret-amnesty-1.3479594

  • Secret tax deal for wealthy sparked anger inside Canada Revenue Agency: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business/cra-kpmg-anger-at-secret-deal-1.3479792
  • Canadians for Tax Fairness: CRA says “no problem” if you’re a rich tax dodger: http://www.taxfairness.ca/en/news/youre-rich-tax-dodger-no-problem-says-cra

Fraser Institute study says raising the minimum wage won’t help reduce poverty:
http://www.torontosun.com/2016/03/03/fraser-institute-study-how-to-help-the-working-poor

  • Surviving paycheque to paycheque means you don’t have permission to live: http://www.ywcaniagararegion.ca/blog/2016/02/26/surviving-paycheck-to-paycheck/

Ontario

Ontario Regional Chief says provincial budget fails First Nations:
https://tworowtimes.com/news/regional/ontario-chief-says-provincial-budget-fails-first-nations/

  • Wellesley Institute says a good budget is a blueprint for good health: http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/health/a-good-budget-is-a-blueprint-for-health/
  • Salutin: The good and the bad in Budget 2016: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/03/04/the-good-and-the-bad-in-ontarios-budget-salutin.html

Ontario parents fear government will close schools for children with learning disabilities:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/ontario-parents-fear-government-will-close-schools-for-learning-disabled/article29025059/

Parents and advocates say new childcare regulations will mean worse care:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/03/07/parents-and-advocates-balk-at-new-daycare-regulations.html

  • Ontario daycare reforms will mess up social goals: http://www.lfpress.com/2016/03/09/ontario-daycare-reforms-will-mess-up-social-goals

Ontario Tories promise to repeal and refund contributions to the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan:
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/03/09/tories-promise-to-repeal-and-refund-contributions-to-ontario-retirement-pension-plan.html

Reports, Events, Campaigns, and Other Good Things

CCPA’s Alternative Federal Budget dares Liberals to think big:
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/karl-nerenberg/2016/03/free-tuition-and-ambitious-tax-measures-alternative-budget-dar

  • Alternative Federal Budget: Time to Move On: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/afb2016

StatsCan: public use microdata for EI coverage in 2014 now available:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/160308/dq160308c-eng.htm

Around the Province

Thunder Bay pushing to be site of Ontario’s Basic Income pilot project:
http://www.netnewsledger.com/2016/02/28/thunder-bay-and-ontarios-basic-income-pilot-project/

  • Petition gathers 500 signatures in three days: http://www.tbnewswatch.com/Artsentertainment/384243/Petition_for_minimum_income_project_in_Thunder_Bay_gaining_momentum

County of Simcoe welcomes boost to its budgets for human services:
https://www.barrietoday.com/local-news/county-services-get-budget-boost-from-province-203761

Niagara Regional Housing wants to crack down on fraud:
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2016/03/10/regional-housing-wants-to-crack-down-on-fraud

Peterborough MPP says more investment needed in mental health services:
http://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/6385320-peterborough-mpp-says-more-investment-needed-in-mental-health/

The faces of homeless youth in Toronto:
http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news/gta/2015/10/19/faces-of-torontos-homeless-youth.html

Checking in on Regent Park’s revitalization:
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2016/03/checking-regent-park-revitalization-progress

Daycare nightmare forces Toronto mom to take unpaid leave from work:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/03/07/daycare-nightmare-forces-mom-to-take-unpaid-leave.html

Free legal help for workplace violations comes to Toronto’s Jane-Finch:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/03/09/free-legal-help-for-workplace-violations-comes-to-jane-finch.html

Across the Country

Saskatchewan social services buys one-way bus tickets to BC for two men who are homeless:
http://globalnews.ca/news/2567494/reports-2-homeless-men-from-saskatchewan-given-one-way-bus-tickets-to-b-c/?sf22269175=1

  • Workers at homeless shelter stunned by government’s move: http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/north-battleford-lighthouse-stunned-by-govts-purchase-of-one-way-bus-tickets-for-local-homeless
  • The men arrive in Vancouver: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/homeless-saskatchewan-arrive-vancouver-1.3484511

Saskatchewan’s poor can’t afford to wait for Brad Wall’s help:
http://leaderpost.com/opinion/columnists/saskatchewans-poor-cant-afford-to-wait-for-brad-walls-help

  • Detailed plans are needed to reduce poverty: http://www.paherald.sk.ca/News/Local/2016-03-09/article-4461209/Detailed-plans-needed-to-reduce-poverty/1

More on BC’s move to increase disability benefits while cancelling free bus passes:

  • Editorial: What giving people “choice” really means: http://www.burnabynow.com/opinion/editorial/our-view-what-more-choices-really-means-1.2190844#.dpuf
  • Benefits for people with disabilities in BC are miserly: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/stephen+hume+benefits+disabled+downright+miserly/11768855/story.html?__lsa=205a-14e0

Seniors in BC can’t keep up with rising rents:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/british-columbia/seniors-can-t-keep-up-with-rising-rents-says-b-c-advocate-1.3454223

Government moves to evict Victoria tent-city residents:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/03/06/government-files-to-evict-victoria-tent-city-residents.html

Montreal legal clinic speaks out against ticketing people who are homeless:
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/legal-clinic-for-homeless-speaks-out-against-police-ticketing-practices-1.2802611

  • Montreal man ticketed $110,000: http://www.vice.com/read/montreal-has-issued-110000-worth-of-fines-to-one-homeless-man

Temporary foreign worker from Mexico reaches settlement with owner of BC blueberry farm:
http://www.theprovince.com/news/temporary+foreign+worker+from+mexico+reaches+settlement+with+owner+langley+blueberry+farm/11774085/story.html

New Brunswick’s minimum wage now the lowest in Canada:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/new-brunswick/minimum-wage-new-brunswick-canada-1.3257659

National

How applying for EI can be a full-time job:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/frustrated-ei-applicant-calls-hundreds-of-times-never-gets-through-1.3480010

Canada and the world ride the long wave to GDP gloom:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business/global-canada-gdp-kondratieff-cycle-1.3470714

  • 2,300 jobs lost in February: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/february-jobs-advancer-1.3485603

Middle class injustice: Too wealthy for legal aid, too pinched for ‘average’ lawyers’ fees:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/legal-aid-middle-class-1.3476870

Goar: Why childcare keeps falling off the national agenda:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/03/11/child-care-canadas-elusive-dream-goar.html

How much can you fight inequality? Canada’s about to find out:
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-03-07/canada-s-answer-to-trump

Where your tax dollars were spent in 2014:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business/taxes/multimedia/where-your-tax-dollar-was-spent-in-2014-15-1.3431849

Ottawa’s review of Temporary Foreign Workers Program must include migrant rights:
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/kairos-canada/2016/03/ottawa-review-temporary-foreign-workers-must-include-migrant-r

  • Migrant workers call on Trudeau to overhaul Temporary Foreign Worker program: http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/03/10/news/migrant-workers-call-trudeau-reform-temporary-foreign-worker-program

First Nations self-government overdue, says law expert:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/first-nations-government-law-1.3474834

Why not a national drug plan for seniors similar to CPP?:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-not-a-national-drug-plan-for-seniors-similar-to-cpp/article29036977/

Kingston woman inspires private members bill to give early parental leave to women in dangerous jobs:
http://www.thewhig.com/2016/02/29/kingston-woman-inspires-private-members-bill

Loblaws expanding program that gives 30% discount on imperfect fruits and vegetables:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/loblaw-imperfect-grocery-1.3473996

International

Job losses gather momentum in multiple sectors across UK and Europe:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/18/job-losses-gather-momentum-uk-europe?CMP=share_btn_fb

Why the poor pay more for toilet paper, and just about everything else:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/03/08/why-the-poor-pay-more-for-toilet-paper-and-just-about-everything-else/

I’ve been homeless 3 times. The problem isn’t drugs or mental illness — it’s poverty:
http://www.vox.com/2016/3/8/11173304/homeless-in-america

After a life on welfare, a job changed everything:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2016/03/i_didnt_know_i_could_work_after_a_life_on_welfare_a_job_changed_everything.html

Joblessness branded a mental illness:
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-a3e3-Joblessness-branded-a-mental-illness#.Vtw9EmpOn2x

Obesity: stop accusing the poor of making bad choices:
http://theconversation.com/obesity-stop-accusing-the-poor-of-making-bad-choices-55801

Author / academic says “workless people breed children with job-resistant traits” so “welfare dependency can be bred out”:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/09/adam-perkins-welfare-dependency-can-be-bred-out

27 giant profitable companies that paid no tax:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2016/03/07/27-giant-profitable-companies-paid-no-taxes/81399094/

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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.