Top Stories
Why aren’t the federal political party leaders talking about poverty in this election campaign?
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/08/10/why-wont-politicians-address-the-poverty-problem.html
- The reality of poverty in Northern Ontario, from Put Food in the Budget: https://nowtoronto.com/news/the-changing-face-of-poverty-in-northern-ontario/
Study finds food insecurity takes a heavy financial toll on Ontario’s health care system:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/food-insecurity-a-heavy-cost-on-ontarios-health-care-system-study/article25903266/
- Here’s the study: http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2015/08/10/cmaj.150234.full.pdf+html
- CTV coverage: http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/food-insecurity-takes-significant-toll-on-health-care-system-study-1.2509984?hootPostID=0ce8a2535f9f28b188685d7651175087
- Canada Without Poverty: We’re all paying the price for hunger in Canada: http://www.cwp-csp.ca/2015/08/were-all-paying-the-price-for-hunger-in-canada/
Vancouver Sun Op-Ed: Tackling housing affordability now means we won’t have to pay for it later:
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/story.html?id=11186359&rel
- City of Abbotsford bylaws on homelessness challenged with human rights challenge:http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2015/08/06/cities-need-new-laws-to-balance-rights-lawyer
- CBC’s The Current: An inside look at the harsh realities of homelessness: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-august-5-2015-1.3179700/an-inside-look-at-the-harsh-realities-of-homelessness-1.3179721
- ONPHA blog: New and emerging forms of affordable housing: http://qc.onpha.on.ca/2015/08/emerging-forms-of-affordable-housing/
Globe Editorial: The time may be now for a Guaranteed Annual Income:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/the-time-for-a-guaranteed-annual-income-might-finally-have-come/article25819266/
- Calling for a guaranteed minimum income pilot project in Calgary and Edmonton: http://www.planetsmag.com/story.php?id=1961
- More Dutch cities signing on to basic income study:
http://qz.com/473779/several-dutch-cities-want-to-give-residents-a-no-strings-attached-basic-income
Star Editorial: Ontario legal clinics deserve the additional funding they are receiving:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/2015/08/02/ontario-legal-clinics-deserve-new-funding-editorial.html
Criminalizing poverty: What do we accomplish by locking up the poor for their poverty?http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Simons+Criminalizing+poverty+What+accomplish+locking+poor+being+poor/11268531/story.html
“Spotifying” the irregular, precarious labour market:
http://www.thestar.com/business/2015/07/24/tasker-movement-championed-as-solution-to-torontos-precarious-work-problem.html
- Letter to the editor: The “gig economy” rarely works for workers: http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/5769957–gig-economy-rarely-good-for-workers/
- Restaurant workers in Toronto owed $675 million – but will they get paid?http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/08/04/restaurant-workers-owed-675000-in-wages-but-will-they-get-their-money.html
- Province-wide blitz shows majority of temp agencies on wrong side of the law:http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/08/12/province-wide-blitz-shows-majority-of-temp-agencies-on-wrong-side-of-the-law.html
- Star editorial: Government must crack down on law-breaking temp agencies: http://www.ourwindsor.ca/opinion-story/5797934-toronto-star-s-view-crack-down-on-law-breaking-temp-agencies/
High daycare fees and lack of spaces plague GTA parents:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/08/01/high-daycare-fees-lack-of-spaces-plague-gta-parents.html
Ontario
Ontario Energy Board information about help for low income energy consumers:
http://www.ontarioenergyboard.ca/OEB/Consumers/Consumer+Protection/Help+for+Low-Income+Energy+Consumers
Improvements to Ontario’s debt collection legislation already being flouted by companies:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08/01/ontario-debt-collection-act_n_7913956.html
Ontario announces Community Hubs Strategic Framework and Action Plan:
http://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2015/08/ontario-community-hubs-action-plan-released.html
- Plan available here: http://www.ontario.ca/page/community-hubs-ontario-strategic-framework-and-action-plan
- Globe: Closed schools could be transformed into community hubs: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/closed-ontario-schools-may-be-transformed-into-community-hubs/article25901043/?cmpid=rss1&click=sf_globe
- Star: http://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2015/08/10/queens-park-urged-to-create-more-community-hubs.html
Ontario announces details of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan:
http://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2015/08/premier-releases-details-of-ontario-retirement-pension-plan.html
- Two cheers and a raspberry from Hugh Mackenzie at the CCPA: http://behindthenumbers.ca/2015/08/11/two-cheers-for-the-details-of-the-ontario-retirement-pension-plan/
- What the experts think of the ORPP: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/08/11/what-the-experts-think-of-the-ontario-retirement-pension-plan.html
- Globe: What you need to know about the ORPP: http://www.theglobeandmail.com//news/national/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-ontario-retirement-pension-plan/article25943866/?cmpid=rss1&click=sf_globefb
- Nearly 60% of Torontonians support the ORPP: http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/as-harper-and-wynne-battle-it-out-over-ontario-pension-plan-poll-shows-majority-of-torontonians-support-it
- Medicine Hat News: Forced savings for retirement a good idea:http://medicinehatnews.com/commentary/opinions/2015/08/13/forced-savings-through-pension-plan-a-good-idea/
- Ottawa has a duty to support it: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/ottawa-has-a-duty-to-support-the-ontario-retirement-pension-plan/article25929269/?click=sf_globefb
Around the Province
Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network fundraising for affordable housing:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/careers-leadership/peterborough-poverty-reduction-group-fundraising-for-affordable-housing/article25881722/
Getting into affordable housing in St. Catherines took her off a park bench and a cardboard box:
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2015/08/10/home-was-a-cardboard-box-and-park-bench
Shelter use in Thunder Bay increases at same time as affordable housing wait list shrinks:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/thunder-bay-shelter-use-grows-as-affordable-housing-list-shrinks-1.3168872
Landlord tells Toronto tenants to remove their air conditioners:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/08/05/tenants-told-to-remove-ac-as-temperatures-soar.html
- How one TCHC building has become a success story for tenants: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/08/11/making-social-housing-work-a-tchc-success-story.html
- “Just, who in good conscience, throws vulnerable people with disabilities on the street with one week’s notice. I just don’t get it. It’s shocking. Who does that?” http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5791603-parkdale-activity-recreation-centre-finds-homes-for-seven-tenants-of-the-queen-s-hotel/
North Bay mayor troubled by unfilled local jobs and increasing Ontario Works caseloads:
http://www.nugget.ca/2015/08/06/mayor-at-a-loss-to-explain-unfilled-jobs
- More on increasing caseloads: http://www.nugget.ca/2015/07/30/welfare-numbers-on-the-rise
Cochrane Ontario Works caseloads also up, but still low overall:
http://www.timminspress.com/2015/08/04/welfare-numbers-up-despite-growth-in-jobs
Report: Calculating a Living Wage for Perth and Huron Counties:
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/calculating-living-wage-perth-and-huron-counties
Important federal election issues for Hamilton
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/4-important-federal-election-issues-for-hamilton-1.3178788
Across the Country
Technology requirements to access BC welfare programs deny access to people who are homeless:
http://www.timescolonist.com/life/b-c-s-homeless-people-left-out-by-high-tech-1.2022294
- Is BC’s “Welfare Wednesday” a discriminatory term?: http://www.therockymountaingoat.com/2015/07/welfare-wednesday-debate-vancouver-police-bc-ambulance-defend-term-as-a-fact/
Alberta farmers’ group says making workers’ compensation mandatory may be a good thing:
http://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/2015/08/04/farm-leaders-say-workers-compensation-coverage-is-a-good-thing/
Saskatchewan physiotherapists urge more public coverage for social assistance recipients:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/physiotherapists-urge-province-to-expand-services-to-people-on-social-assistance-1.3185435
- Labour shortage in Saskatchewan attributed to changes in temporary foreign worker program:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/revisions-to-temporary-foreign-worker-program-develop-a-labour-shortage/article25867788/
Will Newfoundland and Labrador’s switch from student loans to grants be emulated by other provinces?
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/addressing-student-debt-the-newfoundland-solution-195237664.html
Food poverty a particular problem in PEI:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/food-poverty-stressing-p-e-i-health-system-researcher-1.3186416
Housing First program launches in Halifax with support from all three government levels:
http://www.cfra.com/HealthCP/Article.aspx?id=475176
Whitehorse mayor and groups set priorities for the federal election, including childcare, jobs CPP:
http://www.timminspress.com/2015/08/04/welfare-numbers-up-despite-growth-in-jobs
National
Why Canadian doctors should be on the front line of the struggle against poverty:
http://umanitoba.ca/outreach/evidencenetwork/archives/26677
Canada’s economy shrank by 0.2% in May, fuelling fears of recession:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-s-economy-shrank-by-0-2-in-may-boosting-recession-fears-1.3175099?cmp=rss
- Small business owners think Canada is in recession: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/are-we-in-a-recession-these-small-business-owners-certainly-think-so/article25832412/?click=sf_globefb
Wages expected to rise less than previously projected:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-wages-projected-to-rise-2-5-in-2016-1.3181897
Canadian household debt levels soaring, and many plan to borrow more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08/12/household-debt-canada-bmo_n_7977366.html
- But it’s good debt, says the report: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canadians-piling-up-good-debt-report-says/article25932624/?click=sf_globefb
Expanded take on resource benefit sharing a must to address poverty among First Nations:
http://investorintel.com/technology-metals-intel/resource-benefit-sharing-to-address-poverty-in-first-nations-just-not-enough/
Renewing Canada’s Social Architecture report: “Lower Risk, Higher Reward: Renewing Canada’s Retirement Income System”:
http://social-architecture.ca/lower-risk-higher-reward-canadas-retirement-income-system/
- Another proposal to improve the retirement savings coverage gap:http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/Expand+just+think/11272773/story.html
- CCPA report on income risks for retiring Canadians: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/what-me-worry
Calling for a Canadians with Disabilities Act:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/its-well-past-time-for-a-canadians-with-disabilities-act/article25904732/
Federal Election – Voting Process
Some instructions on the balloting process, given changes under the Fair Elections Act:
http://rabble.ca/news/2015/08/how-to-vote-under-harpers-fair-elections-act#.VcEUG-dmjMc.facebook
Detailed information on voting from the Council of Canadians with Disabilities:
http://ccdonline.ca/en/publications/chairpersons-update/2015/July
Federal Election – Issues
Social Planning Councils series of fact sheets on various issues:
http://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/news/canada-votes-2015-federal-election-fact-sheets-are-now-available/
CCPA’s ballot box questions:
http://behindthenumbers.ca/2015/08/05/ccpa-staff-share-their-ballot-box-questions/
Ottawa Citizen guide to what they’ve done and what they’ve promised:
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/federal-election-what-they-did-what-they-promise
- National Post primer: http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-parties-platforms
- Maclean’s magazine primer on pensions: http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/pensions-primer/
- Maclean’s primer on jobs: http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/jobs-primer/
The affordability of legal representation should be an issue in the federal election:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/make-affordable-legal-representation-an-election-issue-prof-says-1.3182770
Support for federal involvement in housing on the campaign trail in Vancouver:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/social-housing-needs-more-federal-support-say-vancouver-candidates/article25856218/
How the present government compares to past governments on issues of the economy:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/some-hard-numbers-from-harpers-soft-economy/article25817790/
NDP criticized for misleading pledge to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 / hour:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08/05/ndp-15-minimum-wage-pledge-mulcair_n_7944720.html
International
UK government considering cutting welfare benefits of people who are obese or have addictions:
http://www.businessinsider.com/uk-to-cut-welfare-of-addicts-and-obese-2015-8
- A 55% increase in Dublin homelessness this year attributed to “social circumstance or the recession”:http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/the-new-homeless-in-dublin-are-victims-of-social-circumstance-or-the-recession-1.2314988#.VcxVgcymQKA.twitter
- And in the UK generally, homelessness has increased by 47% since cuts to housing benefit:http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/stark-warning-welfare-cuts-after-6246057
New Zealand proposing welfare changes that activists say will have a negative effect:
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11496023
Long-time anti-eviction activist elected mayor of Barcelona; the city’s first female mayor:
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/6/5/from_occupying_banks_to_city_hall
Is the US the land of limitations, not opportunity?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-usa-land-of-limitations.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share&_r=0
- In America, only the rich can afford to write about poverty: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/06/america-rich-write-about-poverty
- U.S. securities regulator rules that all companies must disclose the pay gap between CEO and workforce:http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2015/08/10/narrowing-the-inequality-wage-gap.html
- Debunking the myth that raising taxes on the rich will harm US states’ economies: http://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/fact-sheet-debunking-the-myth-that-raising-taxes-on-the-rich-will-harm
- Housing is a prescription for better health: http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2015/07/22/housing-is-a-prescription-for-better-health/
- New York enacts $30 million program to help low-income residents access mental health services:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/30/nyregion/30-million-program-to-help-low-income-new-yorkers-get-mental-health-care.html?_r=0
- Poverty maps of some key US cities: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/08/07/the-rise-and-spread-of-poverty-in-u-s-cities-in-darkly-beautiful-maps/
- New report shows US Earned Income Tax Credit has pulled more than 10 million out of poverty:http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-08-13/a-poverty-buster-that-s-not-a-liberal-fantasy
Poverty rate in Gaza reaches nearly 40%, attributed to the blockade:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/08/01/422864/Poverty-Gaza-Soaring-Activists-
26% of Egyptian youth unemployed, 51% in poverty:
http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2015/08/11/26-3-of-youth-unemployed-51-2-suffer-poverty/