• 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
  • en English
    zh-CN 简体中文en Englishfr Françaisit Italianopt Portuguêses Español

Media & Policy News: 20 January 2017

January 20, 2017

Top Stories

New book aims to teach children about painful history of residential schools:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/childrens-book-residential-schools-1.3933148?cmp=abfb

Two Canadian billionaires are as rich as nearly 1/3 of Canada: Oxfam:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/two-canadian-billionaires-are-as-rich-as-nearly-1-3-of-canada-report-1.3240681

  • Oh, Canadian Business clears the record – it’s FIVE Canadian businessmen, not two: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/lists-and-rankings/richest-people/oxfam-canada-inequality-richest-people/
  • Globe and Mail coverage: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/report-makes-recommendations-to-achieve-economy-that-works-for-all-canadians/article33629405/
  • Rich man, poor man: A closer look at Oxfam’s inequality statistics: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/oxfam-inequity-statistics-1.3937943
  • Top eight richest men worth more than half of the world’s population: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/top-eight-richest-men-worth-9629700
  • Here is the Oxfam report: “An economy for the 99%”: https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/economy-99
  • Forbes Magazine: Extreme wealth does not cause extreme poverty: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2017/01/18/oxfam-is-wrong-to-connect-extreme-wealth-with-extreme-poverty/#a6dbde9407abStar editorial: Trudeau makes a welcome promise on tax:
    https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2017/01/15/on-tour-justin-trudeau-makes-a-welcome-promise-on-tax-editorial.html
  • Star editorial: Tackling inequality begins with cracking down on tax havens:
    https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2017/01/16/tackling-inequality-begins-with-cracking-down-on-tax-havens-editorial.html

Federal Disability Tax Credit not extended to those with mental illness:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/01/13/disability-tax-credit-not-extended-to-those-with-mental-illness.html

Only half of Canadians with disabilities have a full- or part-time job: CIBC poll:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/only-half-of-disabled-canadians-have-a-full-or-part-time-job-cibc-poll-1.3244080

How Ontario’s welfare system fails those in need:
http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/amdur-how-ontarios-welfare-system-fails-those-in-need

  • Kitchener basic income consultation: A guaranteed basic income could be coming to Ontario residents: http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/a-guaranteed-basic-income-could-be-coming-to-ontario-residents-1.3241135
  • Kitchener consultation: Region won’t request pilot until criteria outlined: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/consultation-basic-guaranteed-income-kitchener-1.3933411
  • Kitchener consultation: Basic Guaranteed Income Project holds consultation in Kitchener http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/consultation-basic-guaranteed-income-kitchener-1.3933411
  • Oshawa consultation: Ontario floats basic income as a solution to persistent poverty: http://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/7061191-ontario-floats-basic-income-as-a-solution-to-persistent-poverty/
  • Basic income talks held in Oshawa: http://oshawaexpress.ca/basic-income-talks-held-in-oshawa/
  • Smiths Falls split on basic income project: http://www.recorder.ca/2017/01/12/smiths-falls-split-on-income-project
  • Cobourg consultation shows support for basic guaranteed income: http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/2017/01/15/support-shown-for-basic-guaranteed-income
  • Pembroke wants in on basic income pilot project: http://www.nugget.ca/2017/01/18/city-wants-in-on-basic-income
  • D’Amato: Minimum income plan could be Ontario Liberals last hope: http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/7067563-minimum-income-plan-could-be-ontario-liberals-last-hope/
  • Finland’s Universal Basic Income pilot – a bait and switch, cautionary tale for proponents on the left: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/01/ubi-finland-centre-party-unemployment-jobs/

Premier pledges more relief on hydro bills:
https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2017/01/18/premier-kathleen-wynne-pledges-more-relief-on-hydro-bills.html

Campaigners push Liberals for $15 minimum wage in Ontario:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/15-minimum-wage-ontario-1.3940676

Ontario eyes stronger protections for workers who get sick on the job:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/01/16/ontario-eyes-stronger-protections-for-workers-who-get-sick-on-the-job.html

Himelfarb and Romanow: We can end homelessness in Canada:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/we-can-end-homelessness-in-canada/article33632029/

 

Ontario

ISAC’s second pre-budget submission – Investments needed in employment standards enforcement:
http://incomesecurity.org/policy-advocacy/2017-pre-budget-submission-investments-needed-in-employment-standards-enforcement-il-faut-investir-dans-lapplication-des-normes-demploi/

OFL: Budget should commit to building Ontarians up:
http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/ontario-federation-of-labour-budget-should-commit-to-building-ontarians-up-2189301.htm

Applications for hydro subsidy below expectations:
http://www.theobserver.ca/2017/01/12/applications-for-hydro-subsidy-below-expectations

Natural gas-fired hydro plant and its 11 lost jobs mourned as first victims of Ontario’s cap and trade program:
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/natural-gas-fired-hydro-plant-and-its-11-lost-jobs-mourned-as-first-victims-of-ontarios-cap-and-trade-program

Attorney General orders probe of Legal Aid Ontario:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/01/14/attorney-general-orders-probe-of-legal-aid-ontario-budget.html

Drug users say supervised injection sites address ills of substance abuse:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/01/13/drug-users-say-safe-injection-sites-address-ills-of-substance-abuse.html

Parents, early-childhood educators in Ottawa offer province suggestions to improve daycare:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/daycare-province-ece-kindergarten-1.3938434

Pain expert says Ontario opioid strategy demonizes people:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/ontario-western-university-high-stength-opioid-delist-1.3939068

Government release: New projects with Indigenous partners to tackle poverty across Ontario:
https://news.ontario.ca/prs/en/2017/01/new-projects-with-indigenous-partners-to-tackle-poverty-across-ontario.html

Government release: Ontario supporting 93 community projects across the province:
https://news.ontario.ca/mtc/en/2017/01/ontario-supporting-93-community-projects-across-the-province.html

Government release: Ontario making college and university more affordable for adult learners:
https://news.ontario.ca/maesd/en/2017/01/ontario-making-college-and-university-more-affordable-for-adult-learners.html

 

Reports, Events, Campaigns and Other Good Things

Steps to Justice: A new, first-of-its-kind website gives Ontarians step-by-step, comprehensive and reliable information about their legal problems:
http://stepstojustice.ca/

  • Read the press release here: http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/ontario-justice-partners-launch-new-steps-to-justice-website-a-first-of-its-kind-in-the-province-611063045.html
  • Watch the promotional video here: https://vimeo.com/199691386

Wellesley Institute: Supportive Housing in Ontario: Estimating the need:
http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/publications/supportive-housing-in-ontario-estimating-the-need/

Launching the Canadian version of the Homelessness Vulnerability Assessment Tool Manual:
http://homelesshub.ca/blog/launching-canadian-version-vulnerability-assessment-tool-vat-manual

Stats Can: Employment Insurance, November 2016:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/170118/dq170118a-eng.htm

Smiles 4 Canada program offers free orthodontist services to kids under 14:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/nova-scotia/smiles-4-canada-free-orthodontist-care-need-for-patients-braces-1.3940828

  • Here’s a link to the program website: http://smiles4canada.yoursmileourspecialty.ca/

CCPA-BC: Long Overdue: Why BC needs a poverty reduction plan:
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/long-overdue

 

Around the Province

Kenora Chiefs Advisory gets $13 million in funding for life skills program:
http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/2017/01/17/kenora-chiefs-advisory-receives-13-million-in-funding-for-life-skills-program

  • Government release: Local Poverty Reduction Fund investment in skills development in Kenora: https://news.ontario.ca/prs/en/2017/01/ontario-helping-lift-people-out-of-poverty-in-kenora.html

New pilot project helps people who are homeless in Ottawa overcome the barrier of lost ID:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/identification-project-ottawa-homeless-1.3938102

Hamilton launches new strategy to improve supports for urban Indigenous people:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/city-launches-new-strategy-to-improve-supports-for-urban-indigenous-people-1.3937428

Chatham-Kent average household incomes sixth lowest in Ontario:
http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/2017/01/18/chatham-kent-average-household-incomes-sixth-lowest-in-ontario

Chatham-Kent health board backs recommendation for subsidized dental care:
http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/2017/01/18/health-board-backs-recommendation-for-subsidized-dental-care

Sudbury businesses question if labour law changes are necessary:
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/regional-news/sudbury/sudbury-businesses-question-if-labour-law-changes-are-necessary-510399

Ontario’s Labour Minister in Sudbury to tout changes to better protect mining workers:
http://www.thesudburystar.com/2017/01/12/labour-minister-touts-mining-changes

OCAP: Toronto Community Housing is boarding up homes as shelters are bursting at the seams:
https://ocaptoronto.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/tchboardinguphomes/

Budget cuts will widen health gaps in Toronto: Wellesley Institute:
http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/healthy-communities/city-budget-cuts-will-widen-health-gaps-in-toronto/

TDSB should be ashamed of how it balances budget: Keenan:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/01/16/tdsb-should-be-ashamed-of-how-it-balances-budget-keenan.html

 

Across the Country

Disability payments should be boosted in next BC budget, advocates and experts say:
http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/disability-payments-should-be-boosted-in-next-b-c-budget-advocates-and-experts-say

B.C. needs an official poverty reduction plan, critics say:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-poverty-reduction-plan-1.3933706

BC organizations calling for minimum wage of $15:
https://www.kelownanow.com/watercooler/news/news/Provincial/17/01/12/B_C_organizations_calling_for_minimum_wage_of_15/

UNICEF Canada CEO speaks in Vancouver about high child poverty weeks before provincial budget:
http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/unicef-canada-ceo-speaks-in-vancouver-about-high-child-poverty-weeks-before-provincial-budget

More people unemployed in Saskatchewan, Stats Can says:
http://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/more-people-unemployed-in-saskatchewan-statistics-canada-says

Latest Employment Insurance numbers show continued tough trend in Alberta:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/statistics-canada-alberta-employment-insurance-november-1.3941965

Quebec’s minimum wage will rise to $11.25 on May 1:
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-s-minimum-wage-will-rise-to-11-25-on-may-1-1.3247801

Brother of a man who was homeless in Montreal left with tangle of confusion after his violent death:
http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/homeless-mans-brother-finds-tangle-of-confusion-after-death

Special Diet payments part of Nova Scotia department’s program review, says minister:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1431637-special-diet-payments-part-of-nova-scotia-department%E2%80%99s-program-review-minister

New Brunswick’s minimum wage to be tied to inflation starting in 2018:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-minimum-wage-1.3932426

 

National

Trudeau confronted by emotional Ontario woman upset over cost of hydro bill;
http://globalnews.ca/news/3179769/justin-trudeau-confronted-by-sobbing-ontario-woman-over-cost-of-hydro-bill/

  • Woman who blasted Trudeau gets online threats: http://www.torontosun.com/2017/01/15/woman-who-blasted-trudeau-gets-online-threats#

Trudeau gets an earful from veteran, chiefs, disabled participant in London, ON:
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/trudeau-gets-an-earful-from-veteran-chiefs-disabled-participant-in-london-ont/ar-AAlRFZN?li=AAadgLE&ocid=spartanntp

Advocates call to stop exploitation of newcomer migrant workers:
http://www.metronews.ca/news/toronto/2017/01/12/advocates-call-for-change-for-temporary-workers.html

Feds explore creation of a new housing benefit:
http://www.southwesternontario.ca/news-story/7062499-feds-explore-creation-of-new-housing-benefit/

Why Canadians can’t stop borrowing: Stagnating incomes:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/household-finances/why-canadians-cant-stop-borrowing/article33627676/

Federal government fails on First Nations child health delivery, says advocate:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/federal-government-fails-on-first-nations-child-health-delivery-1.3939792

Common Frontiers: The Canadian government should replace NAFTA or scrap it:
http://psac-sjf.org/canadian-government-should-replace-nafta-or-scrap-it

Internal document raises possibility of “Netflix tax”:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/politics/sales-tax-netflix-bell-rogers-digital-melanie-joly-bill-morneau-internet-1.3937955

Bank of Canada to keep interest rate unchanged in 2017:
http://www.econotimes.com/Bank-of-Canada-to-keep-interest-rate-unchanged-unlikely-to-hike-in-2017-493389

 

International

More than half of Americans reportedly have less than $1000 to their name:
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a41147/half-of-americans-less-than-1000/

Press release: Does Betsy Devos understand impact of poverty and trauma on children’s learning?:
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/01/14/does-betsy-devos-understand-impact-poverty-and-trauma-childrens-learning

Massachusetts legislature to consider five anti-poverty bills:
http://wwlp.com/2017/01/19/legislature-to-consider-5-anti-poverty-bills/

Opinion: Why 21 states are wrong about minimum wage hikes:
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/18/minimum-wage-hikes-unintended-consequences-commentary.html

  • Montana committee kills minimum wage increase: http://helenair.com/news/politics/state/committee-kills-minimum-wage-increase/article_241759db-6b00-5f8c-b1f5-f3ad8fb563b1.html
  • Missouri Supreme Court orders Kansas City to put higher minimum wage on the ballot: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article127021059.html
  • San Diego Minimum-wage increase imposed by will of voters: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/sd-utbg-minimum-wage-sandiego-20170112-story.html

Expanded tax credit would keep more working Americans from poverty:
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/local-view/4199539-local-view-expanded-tax-credit-would-keep-more-working-americans-poverty

Japan’s rising child poverty exposes true cost of two decades of economic decline:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/17/japans-rising-child-poverty-exposes-truth-behind-two-decades-of-economic-decline

Japanese city officials sorry for offensive welfare team jackets:
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-38677729

Disabled and cold: Sandra is penalised in the UK for being poor. Fuel poverty is harsh:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/19/fuel-poverty-heating-disabled-cold-penalised-energy-tariff

Overwhelmed UK care worker makes emotional please for more than minimum wage:
http://metro.co.uk/2017/01/17/overwhelmed-care-workers-emotional-plea-for-carers-to-get-more-than-minimum-wage-6385592/

Future of Australia’s cashless welfare card remains uncertain after trial:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-16/cashless-welfare-card-future-remains-uncertain-after-trial/8182662

Opinion: Universal basic income is our best weapon against the rising far right:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/universal-basic-income_us_586d0ce3e4b0eb58648b5349

Slow world growth foiling UN plan to end poverty:
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2017/01/17/506636/Slow-world-growth-foiling-UN-plan-to-end-poverty

World is more than 450 years off target from meeting child poverty promise:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/world-is-more-than-450-years-off-target-from-meeting-child-poverty-promise-300390940.html

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.