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Income Security Advocacy Centre

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Media & Policy News: 11 December 2013

December 11, 2013

Top Stories

Housing Minister Linda Jeffrey says the government has “no interest” in providing more funding for local homelessness and other social services programs, while local councils like Hamilton “limp along”:
http://www.flamboroughreview.com/news/hamilton-digs-deep-for-social-services-funding/

Dec 10 was International Human Rights Day: Why 2013 was a bummer year for housing rights:
http://www.homelesshub.ca/researchmatters/post/2013/12/10/Happy-New-Year.aspx

Ontario fills the federal health care gap for refugees:
http://news.ontario.ca/mohltc/en/2013/12/reinstating-access-to-health-care-for-refugee-claimants.html?utm_source=ondemand&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p

  • Comment by Wellesley Institute: http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/healthy-communities/ontario-improves-access-to-health-care-for-refugees/
  • Star coverage: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/12/09/ontario_reinstates_basic_health_care_for_refugees.html

Next action for a $14 minimum wage on December 14:
http://raisetheminimumwage.ca/updates/holiday-actions-for-14-now-on-december-14th/

New anti-union group emerges in time for a spring election:
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/12/09/new_nonpartisan_antiunion_group_emerges_as_tories_push_labour_issues_to_the_forefront.html

Conservative Senator Hugh Segal, on why unions are critically important:
http://rabble.ca/rabbletv/program-guide/2013/12/best-net/conservative-senator-hugh-segal-on-why-unions-are-important

500 Kellogg’s workers in London losing jobs as plant to close by end of year:
http://www.cp24.com/news/kellogg-s-to-close-london-plant-lay-off-500-workers-1.1582916

CBC Business: “The entire system underpinning the global economy is rigged”:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/how-markets-are-rigged-against-you-1.2456677

Resources

Ontario College of Family Physicians brochure: Take Care of Your Income:
http://yourlegalrights.on.ca/resource/take-care-your-income-better-income-can-improve-your-health

StatsCan: The top 5% of tax filers held 23.8% of the nation’s income in 2011:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/131209/dq131209b-eng.htm

Alliance for a Poverty-Free Toronto releases “Toward a Poverty Elimination Strategy for Toronto”:
http://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/reports/toronto-strategy-to-eliminate-poverty/

Metro Morning’s three-part series: Fighting Poverty:
http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/columnists/mary-wiens/2013/12/10/marys-thing/

Around the Province

With cost pressures mounting, Peel considers privatizing more social services programs:
http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news-story/4152196-peel-should-privatize-more-services-say-councillors/

But as part of its poverty reduction plan, Peel introduces low income transit pass pilot for people on Ontario Works:
http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news-story/4263454-peel-proposes-transit-pass-for-low-income-residents/

Low-income families in Windsor at risk as food costs rise, health unit reports:
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/12/07/low-income-families-at-risk-as-food-costs-rise-health-unit-reports/

North York Food Bank moves into the classroom to teach kids how to cook:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/north-toronto-food-bank-teaches-kids-to-cook-in-classroom-kitchen-1.2454557?cmp=rss

The reality of working poor in Peterborough:
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2013/12/08/a-blue-christmas-4

Unpaid taxes, property liens, and economic hardship in Hamilton:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/more-hamiltonians-losing-properties-due-to-unpaid-taxes-1.2458648

Across the Country

Atlantic Canadians asked for input on impacts of recent EI changes:
http://www.southerngazette.ca/News/Local/2013-12-09/article-3536243/Input-sought-on-recent-EI-changes/1

Winnipeg signs on to UN campaign to reduce violence against women:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/winnipeg-signs-on-to-un-campaign-to-reduce-violence-against-women-1.1583556

New Brunswick launches new drug plan as part of poverty reduction efforts; 70,000 people will now have coverage:
http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2013.12.1269.html

ACORN calls for affordable internet service in Vancouver:
http://www.theprovince.com/technology/Poverty+activists+ACORN+demand+month+Internet+access/9269728/story.html

National

Bring back postal banking at Canada Post, for affordable financial services:
http://raisethehammer.org/article/2021

Globe editorial: A bigger CPP is the right way to go:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/a-bigger-cpp-is-the-best-bet-to-make-retirement-savings-sufficient/article15810356/

Advocates see support for CPP expansion growing:
http://www.cp24.com/news/advocates-see-support-for-cpp-expansion-growing-1.1584326

Conservative support slipping among seniors over CPP:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/tories-vote-down-cpp-expansion-as-seniors-warn-of-waning-support/article15834092/

CBC’s The Current: Climbing the Socio-Economic Class Ladder:
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2013/12/09/climbing-the-socio-economic-class-ladder/

Growing precarity in Canada’s labour market:
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/behind-numbers/2013/12/grading-canadas-economic-recovery-more-employment-canada-preca

International

Migrant workers in Singapore riot over working conditions:
http://lethbridgeherald.com/news/world-news/2013/12/singapore-leader-calls-for-restraint-after-riot-by-migrant-workers/

More coverage of the fast food wage pushback in the US:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/as-low-paying-jobs-increase-minimum-wage-battle-ripples-across-us/article15818391/#dashboard/follows/

As the US cuts food benefits to the poor, “it’s hard to reconcile values of hard work and generosity with levels of poverty and fear of hunger”:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/making-the-poor–and-the-us–poorer-still/2013/12/08/cda50c26-5dd1-11e3-95c2-13623eb2b0e1_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop

Atlanta, where poverty has risen 122%, is the symbol of the new American poverty:
http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/atlanta-symbol-of-the-new-american-poverty/new-poverty-gwinnett-benefits/c3s14318/#.Uqcff4YuDjF

A New York Times feature on children who are homeless:
http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/invisible-child/#/?chapt=1

How the financial system is used to create unproductive wealth for a few:
http://www.salon.com/2013/12/09/3_ways_the_super_rich_suck_wealth_from_the_rest_of_us_partner/

Rethinking a guaranteed annual income for all, in the US:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/rethinking-the-idea-of-a-basic-income-for-all/?smid=tw-share&_r=0

In the UK, 2.5 million people will have to take out loans to heat their homes at Christmas:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/25m-people-will-have-to-take-out-a-loan-just-to-afford-central-heating-this-christmas-8994083.html

UK Minister tells Domino’s to increase wages rather than expect government to increase immigration to fill labour shortage:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com//report-on-business/international-business/european-business/uk-minister-tells-dominos-to-pay-higher-wages-to-attract-staff/article15867895/?cmpid=rss1&click=dlvr.it

UK’s first “social supermarket” provides inexpensive surplus food plus social programming:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/dec/09/goldthorpe-social-supermarket-community-shop-food-poverty?CMP=twt_gu

In Wales, The Truth and Lies About Poverty:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/lazy-drunk-benefit-cheats-myth-6388197

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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.