• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Income Security Advocacy Centre

Income Security Advocacy Centre

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

  • Our Work
    • Litigation
    • Policy
    • Community Organizing
    • Public Education
  • Campaigns
  • Publications
  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision & Mandate
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Board Members
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
  • Updates
  • Resources
  • Twitter

Media & Policy News: 18 May 2018

May 18, 2018

Ontario Election 2018 – Week Two

Top Stories

NDP overtakes Liberals as the “anti-Ford” party, according to Ipsos poll:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4208537/ontario-election-ndp-liberals-anti-ford/

  • Anybody-but-Ford movement is percolating: https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/05/10/anybody-but-ford-movement-is-percolating-as-june-7-election-nears-poll.html

The NDP is up in the polls… and Doug Ford has noticed:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/campaigner-ndp-polls-1.4657967

  • Doug Ford takes aim at NDP, says party is home to anti-business “radical activists”: https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/05/11/doug-ford-takes-aim-at-ndp-says-party-is-home-to-anti-business-radical-activists.html
  • Elementary teachers throw support behind Horwath in upcoming election: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/05/10/elementary-teachers-throw-support-behind-horwarth-in-upcoming-election.html
  • Two ways Andrea Horwath could become Ontario premier: https://globalnews.ca/news/4194467/ndp-win-ontario-election/
  • Horwath can “lose” the election and still be premier: http://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-horwath-can-lose-the-election-and-still-be-premier
  • Ontario NDP’s Andrea Horwath is on the brink of her biggest test: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-ndps-andrea-horwath-is-on-the-brink-of-her-biggest-test/
  • Like 1990, the NDP is ready for an upset: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/05/14/like-1990-the-ndp-is-ready-for-an-upset.html

Ford faces tough questions as NDP asks for probe into ex-PC candidate’s alleged role in data breach:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-brampton-east-data-breach-investigation-1.4667864

  • Doug Ford’s campaign rocked by allegations ex-candidate involved In data theft: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/05/17/simmer-sandhu-doug-ford-407-data_a_23437390/
  • Wynne is right – Ford should call in police to probe 407 data theft: http://nationalpost.com/opinion/christie-blatchford-wynne-is-right-doug-ford-should-call-in-police-to-probe-407-data-theft
  • Ford under fire for illegally attending party fundraiser, abrupt departure of candidate: https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/05/17/ford-under-fire-for-illegally-attending-party-fundraiser-abrupt-departure-of-candidate.html

A defiant Wynne says the election campaign’s volatility makes room for any possibility:
https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/05/17/a-defiant-wynne-says-the-election-campaigns-volatility-makes-room-for-any-possibility.html

  • When it’s ‘time for a change,’ can anything change that?: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/05/17/when-its-time-for-a-change-can-anything-change-that.html
  • Ontario Liberals say there’s a $5.7 budget mistake in NDP’s election platform:
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/liberals-ontario-ndp-budget-mistake-accusation-1.4661710?cmp=rss
  • If voters aren’t willing to buy what Wynne’s Liberals are selling, none of their advantages matter: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-campaign-just-doesnt-matter-for-wynnes-liberals-anymore/

Basic income, road tolls for transit part of Ontario Green Party’s election platform:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-green-party-election-platform-1.4661664?cmp=rss

  • Green party releases election platform: https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/8607878-green-party-releases-election-platform/
  • The Greens aren’t in it to win it — and that means they can have the courage of their convictions: https://tvo.org/article/current-affairs/the-greens-arent-in-it-to-win-it–and-that-means-they-can-have-the-courage-of-their-convictions

More than half of NDP candidates are women, a first for Ontario political parties:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ndp-liberals-pcs-women-election-voters-1.4661203

PCs promise $98 million per year to help low income seniors get dental care:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-dental-seniors-income-low-1.4660745

 

Election candidates dividing minimum wage earners:
https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/election-candidates-dividing-minimum-wage-earners-1.3931312

Universal child care is possible; Ontario can’t work without it:
https://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/8605240-universal-child-care-is-possible-ontario-can-t-work-without-it/

CNIB Ontario calls on political parties to update Assistive Devices Program:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/cnib-update-to-assistive-devices-program-1.4657166

Affordable housing advocates call for construction of 69,000 new units across Ontario:
https://www.cp24.com/news/affordable-housing-advocates-call-for-construction-of-69-000-new-units-across-ontario-1.3933896

Affordable housing a personal election issue for Ottawa tenants facing eviction:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/housing-cost-election-heron-gate-ottawa-south-1.4665568

CBC Sudbury election forum: Struggling with student debt and finding full-time work “become part of our culture and our generation”:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/provincial-election-forum-young-people-student-debt-1.4661615

How will Ontario’s parties tackle the provincial deficit?:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4206444/ontario-election-provincial-deficit/

Op-Ed: Ford knows to keep secret where he’ll swing his axe:
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/05/09/ford-knows-to-keep-secret-where-hell-swing-his-axe.html

Ontario’s hydro power and politics:
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2018/05/04/ontarios-hydro-power-and-politics.html

Premier’s bane: A folk history of electricity policy in Ontario:
http://www.energyregulationquarterly.ca/articles/premiers-bane-a-folk-history-of-electricity-policy-in-ontario#sthash.2KCoxtJQ.A1IzB0xT.dpbs

Candidate’s 15-year fight with WSIB after workplace injury part of his decision to run provincially:
https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/candidates-15-year-fight-with-wsib-after-workplace-injury-part-of-his-decision-to-run-provincially-922520

The upside down world of Ontario politics and economics 2018:
https://tcnorris.blogspot.ca/2018/05/the-upside-down-world-of-ontario.html?m=1

No plans to scrap basic income pilot after election, Thunder Bay-area candidates say:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/thunder-bay-basic-income-election-1.4666754

How Ontarians are being targeted on Facebook with the provincial election under way:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-how-ontarians-are-being-targeted-on-facebook-with-the-provincial/

Ten ridings to watch:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4205316/ontario-election-2018-10-ridings-to-watch/

 

Resources

Check ISAC’s growing list of election materials from various groups and organizations:
http://incomesecurity.org/policy-advocacy/election-2018-tools-that-you-can-use/

Ontario Thrive: Asking parties and candidates for measurable commitments on gender equity:
https://www.ontariothrive.ca/

  • Ontario Thrive: Income Security: What’s at stake in Ontario: https://www.ontariothrive.ca/poverty

Watch the Province-Wide Parties Debate on Disability and Accessibility:
https://ryecast.ryerson.ca/72/Watch/12595.aspx

CCPA: Are middle class tax promises a false hope?
http://behindthenumbers.ca/2018/05/11/are-tax-promises-false-hope/

Ontario Poll Tracker – CBC’s aggregate of all polls to date:
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/onvotes/poll-tracker/

Ontario election guide: What you need to know before you vote:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-election-guide/

Here’s where Ontario’s party leaders stand on the issues:
https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/05/11/where-do-ontarios-party-leaders-stand-on-the-issues.html

 

Other Top Stories

Demonizing social assistance tenants wrong:
http://www.nugget.ca/2018/05/15/demonizing-social-assistance-tenants-wrong

BC to reimburse docked income assistance to thousands of recipients:
https://www.theprogress.com/news/b-c-to-reimburse-docked-income-assistance-to-thousands-of-recipients/

Canada’s taxman shouldn’t decide who has a disability:
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/canadas-taxman-shouldnt-decide-who-has-a-disability-477595303.html

Ottawa cracking down on employers who abuse temporary foreign workers program:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/05/13/ottawa-cracking-down-on-employers-who-abuse-temporary-foreign-workers-program.html

United Nations review tells Canada to step up to end poverty, homelessness, and inequality:
https://www.wireservice.ca/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=23321

This great-grandmother was forced from her home of 31 years. Hers is the face of a broken public housing system:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/05/17/this-great-grandmother-was-forced-from-her-home-of-31-years-hers-is-the-the-face-of-a-broken-system.html

How poverty and underfunding land Indigenous kids in care:
https://thetyee.ca/News/2018/05/14/Indigenous-Kids-Poverty-Care/

Workplaces taking cues from employees to become more Indigenous friendly:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/article-workplaces-taking-cues-from-employees-to-become-more-indigenous/

Migrant caregivers make Mother’s Day plea for permanent residency:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/migrant-caregivers-permanent-residency-1.4661382

Wages rise as job numbers see slight decline, unemployment rate sticks at 5.8%:
https://www.thestar.com/business/2018/05/11/wages-rise-as-job-numbers-see-slight-decline-unemployment-rate-sticks-at-58.html

A looming housing affordability crisis is poised to hit seniors across Canada:
http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/mortgages-real-estate/housing-crisis-to-hit-canadian-seniors-as-retirement-homes-fail-to-keep-up-with-demand

Policy Options: Homelessness: Criminalization or social integration?:
http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2018/homelessness-criminalization-or-social-integration/

 

Ontario

After six-month wait, WSIB cheques land on doorstep of sick Ontario worker:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/wsib-compensation-benzene-cheques-arrive-1.4658131?cmp=FB_Post_News

Delivery driver wants Domino’s to pay up after years of making less than minimum wage:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/delivery-driver-wants-dominos-to-pay-up-1.4655451

Three Ontario residents charged with allegedly exploiting, trafficking migrant workers:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4212176/ontario-migrant-workers-charged/

 

Reports, Events, Campaigns and Other Good Things

Get to KNOW Poverty: The 2018 poverty studies summer institute:
http://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/get-to-know-poverty-the-2018-poverty-studies-summer-institute

Stats Can Study: Work activity of families with children in Canada, 2005 to 2015:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/180515/dq180515a-eng.htm

Stats Can Study: The economic well-being of women in Canada, 2015:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/180516/dq180516b-eng.htm

Stats Can Blog: Sending money home:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/180516/dq180516e-eng.htm?CMP=mstatcan

Stats Can: Consumer Price Index, April 2018:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/180518/dq180518a-eng.htm?CMP=mstatcan

 

Around the Province

“I just can’t afford it”: Low-income seniors struggle to find dental care, face 2-year wait for city clinics:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/lowincome-seniors-dental-care-toronto-1.4657320

Northern Ontario First Nations are battling an oral health crisis:
https://tvo.org/article/current-affairs/northern-ontario-first-nations-are-battling-an-oral-health-crisis

‘We gave up a lot:’ Chief of most northern Ontario community hates handouts:
http://www.squamishchief.com/we-gave-up-a-lot-chief-of-most-northern-ontario-community-hates-handouts-1.23299826

Don Mills temporary homeless shelter sparks local outcry, which others are calling ‘NIMBYism’:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/05/12/don-mills-temporary-homeless-shelter-sparks-local-outcry-which-others-are-calling-nimbyism.html

Bedbugs lead to legal woes for Hamilton Syrian refugee families:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/05/12/syrian-refugees-who-fled-bedbug-infested-apartments-face-lawsuit-by-landlord.html

Hamilton man uses basic income floor to stay active in community:
http://lindsayadvocate.ca/hamilton-man-uses-basic-income-floor-to-stay-active-in-community/

Hamilton’s Stoney Creek Towers rent strikers gird for long haul:
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/8611786-stoney-creek-towers-rent-strikers-gird-for-long-haul/

“An absurd system”: Ottawa woman sounds off on $5K hearing aids:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/hearing-aids-ottawa-expensive-1.4524514

New TTC and GO stations difficult, dangerous for people with disabilities, advocacy group says in new video:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/05/15/new-ttc-and-go-stations-difficult-dangerous-for-people-with-disabilities-advocacy-group-says-in-new-video.html

New report looks to ease rental crisis by allowing Peterborough homeowners to build suites:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4210616/new-report-ease-peterborough-housing-crisis-homeowners-build-suites/

 

Across the Country

Expensive dental problems are holding back people in addiction recovery in Vancouver:
https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/05/13/expensive-dental-problems-are-holding-back-people-in-addiction-recovery.html

Bill 6 looks to broaden leave entitlements in British Columbia:
https://www.globalworkplaceinsider.com/2018/05/bill-6-looks-to-broaden-leave-entitlements-in-british-columbia/?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=View-Original

“I just want a job”: Older and out of work in Calgary:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-calgary-older-workers-unemployed-econony-recovery-1.4659268

Vibrant Communities partner with Calgary social-media influencers to share realities of poverty:
https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2018/05/17/vibrant-communities-partners-with-social-media-influencers-to-share-realities-of-poverty.html

Nova Scotia advocates say now is the time for a universal basic income:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/05/16/group-wants-governments-to-consider-basic-personal-income-in-nova-scotia.html

Local Halifax group wants study on implementing guaranteed basic income:
https://www.halifaxtoday.ca/local-news/local-group-wants-study-on-implementing-guaranteed-basic-income-924609

NFLD Federation of Labour rallies In support Of $15 minimum wage:
http://vocm.com/news/nl-federation-of-labour-rallies-in-support-of-15-minimum-wage/

 

National

Duclos hosts OECD meeting to swap tips on keeping social anxiety at bay:
http://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/05/12/duclos-hosts-oecd-meeting-to-swap-tips-on-keeping-social-anxiety-at-bay/

Canadian wage growth hits highest level in 6 years as jobless rate stays at record lows:
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/05/11/wage-growth-canada-2018_a_23432470/?ncid=fcbklnkcahpmg00000001

1/5 of Canada’s working baby boomers have nothing saved for retirement, according to survey:
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/05/11/a-fifth-of-working-baby-boomers-have-no-retirement-savings_a_23431846/

Letter: Additional pension benefits do not cover added taxes:
https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/opinion/letter-additional-pension-benefits-do-not-cover-added-taxes/

We finally know what Uber drivers make, and it’s about minimum wage:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4213667/uber-drivers-minimum-wage-gig-economy/

Statistics Canada begins testing non-binary gender options in surveys:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-statistics-canada-begins-testing-non-binary-gender-options-in-surveys/

Indefinite solitary confinement is torture, say civil liberties groups:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/indefinite-solitary-confinement-is-torture-say-civil-liberties-groups-1.3928713

 

International

Historically, income inequality is known as a destroyer of civilizations:
https://www.themaven.net/theintellectualist/news/historically-income-inequality-is-known-as-a-destroyer-of-civilizations-FzQE5fJpcE623sqPAuPAlA/?full=1

Almost half of US families can’t afford basics like rent and food:
http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/17/news/economy/us-middle-class-basics-study/index.html

The myth of the ‘welfare queen’ endures, and children pay the price:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/glanton/ct-met-dahleen-glanton-welfare-queen-20180516-story.html

After 50 years, protesters revive Martin Luther King Jr’s fight against poverty:
https://www.voanews.com/a/protesters-revive-martin-luther-king-jr-fight-poverty-poor-peoples-campaign/4394155.html

As the Poor People’s Campaign grows, fourteen people spend night in jail to raise awareness about poverty:
http://fox59.com/2018/05/15/14-people-spend-the-night-in-jail-to-raise-awareness-about-poverty-issues/

New research indicates that minimum wage increases appear to benefit all low-income U.S. workers over time:
http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/value-added/new-research-indicates-that-minimum-wage-increases-appear-to-benefit-all-low-income-u-s-workers-over-time/

Finland decides not to expand basic income trial:
https://www.globalgovernmentforum.com/finland-decides-not-to-expand-basic-income-trial/

In poverty in New Zealand: We skip meals so our kids can eat:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/103980139/in-poverty-we-skip-meals-so-our-kids-can-eat

New Zealand Budget 2018: Moves to end child poverty welcomed, but advocates say beneficiaries let down:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12053547

New Zealand workers’ rights activist appalled at jobs advertised for less than minimum wage:
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/05/workers-rights-activist-appalled-at-jobs-advertised-for-less-than-minimum-wage.html

Australia’s cashless welfare card causing ‘horrible’ financial stress, more dependence, participants say:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-15/cashless-welfare-card-causes-horrible-financial-stress-users-say/9738954

Small minimum wage rises don’t cause job losses, Australian Reserve Bank study finds:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/may/16/small-minimum-wage-rises-dont-cause-job-losses-reserve-bank-study-finds

Media and Policy News E-list Archive

Primary Sidebar

Blog sidebar

Subscribe

"*" indicates required fields

Name

Income Security Advocacy Centre

Footer widget

1500 – 55 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5J 2H7
Tel: (416) 597-5820 • Toll Free: 1-866-245-4072 • Fax: (416) 597-5821

  • Contact

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.