Happy New Year!
Top Stories
CCPA report: Canada’s CEOs earn in half a day what the average worker makes all year:
https://www.thestar.com/business/2017/01/03/ceo-salaries-soar-to-new-heights.html
- Here’s the report: Throwing Money at the Problem: 10 Years of Executive Compensation: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/ceo2017
Column: Ontario should have a guaranteed income for those with disabilities:
http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/denley-ontario-should-have-a-guaranteed-income-for-those-with-disabilities
- Basic Income consultation upcoming in Kitchener-Waterloo: http://www.kitchenerpost.ca/news-story/7046438-public-invited-to-have-say-on-basic-guaranteed-income/
- Muskoka commissioner says simplifying social assistance with basic income could reduce social inclusion and community engagement: http://www.muskokaregion.com/news-story/7047503-muskoka-could-teach-province-a-thing-or-two-about-community-engagement/
United Way of Bruce Grey head has “incredible concerns” about cap-and-trade impacts on low income people, including those on OW and ODSP:
http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/2016/12/30/cap-and-trade-will-impact-low-income-families-most-dobbyn-says
CRTC declares broadband internet a basic service, creates fund to invest in infrastructure:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/12/21/crtc-declares-broadband-internet-a-basic-service-like-telephone.html
- CRTC broadband Internet ruling addresses access, but still leaves room for high prices: https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/12/22/crtc-broadband-internet-ruling-still-leaves-room-for-high-prices.html
- Star editorial: Basic Internet service should include low-priced package for the poor: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2016/12/28/basic-internet-service-should-include-low-priced-package-for-the-poor-editorial.html
Change to EI waiting period – from two weeks to one week – begins January 1 2017:
http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1171519
Temporary foreign workers need same rights as citizens:
http://www.metronews.ca/views/metro-views/2017/01/03/temporary-foreign-workers-need-same-rights-as-citizens.html
Canadians to face some tax changes in 2017:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/taxes/canadians-to-face-some-tax-changes-in-2017/article33450120/
Toronto and District School Board serves 136,000 meals to students each day as child poverty rises:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-child-poverty-school-1.3907879
Province tasks McMeekin with studying rural poverty:
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/7044078-province-tasks-mcmeekin-with-studying-rural-poverty/
- “Kitchen cabinet” aims to lift lid on rural poor: http://www.lfpress.com/2017/01/03/kitchen-cabinet-aims-to-lift-lid-on-rural-poor
- Mandate letter here: https://www.ontario.ca/page/2016-mandate-letter-parliamentary-assistant-premier
Legal system not doing enough for racialized members:
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/01/03/legal-system-not-doing-enough-for-racialized-members.html
Only three employers have been sanctioned after overhaul of foreign worker program:
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/7046640-just-3-employers-sanctioned-after-overhaul-of-foreign-worker-program/
Angus Reid lookahead: Canadians expect a mixed year at home, a bad one abroad:
http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f7dda22184bee7fac707500ef&id=8f606618a0&e=9e305f90ee
Ontario
Ontario Job Watch: 2016 ends with a whimper:
http://behindthenumbers.ca/2017/01/06/ontario-job-watch-2016-ends-whimper/#.WG_DvNjjb4I.facebook
Ministry of Labour cracks down on law-breaking bosses:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/12/27/ministry-of-labour-cracks-down-on-law-breaking-bosses.html
Many Ontarians with mental health issues must choose between food and meds:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/12/30/many-ontarians-with-mental-health-issues-must-choose-between-food-and-meds.html
- Star editorial: It’s past time to invest in mental health: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2017/01/01/its-past-time-to-invest-in-mental-health-editorial.html
Deficit forcing Legal Aid Ontario to scale back dramatically:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/12/16/deficit-forcing-legal-aid-ontario-to-scale-back-dramatically.html
- Legal clinics concerned about funding cuts, as LAO president says he’s not worried about an audit: https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/12/20/legal-aid-ontario-president-says-hes-not-worried-if-agency-audited.html
- LAO facing $26 million deficit: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/legal-aid-ontario-certificates-1.3902058
- LAO’s critical role in family law: https://nowtoronto.com/news/legal-aid-ontario-26-million-deficit-critical-role-family-law/
Ontario hydro rebates start in January, but so do carbon taxes:
https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2017/01/01/ontario-hydro-rebates-start-in-january-but-so-do-carbon-taxes.html
Lethal legacy: GE’s Peterborough plant was a symbol of opportunity, but did it also make workers sick?
http://projects.thestar.com/lethal-legacy/
- Star reporter reflects on Peterborough’s resilient GE worker community: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/12/27/star-reporter-reflects-peterboroughs-resilient-ge-worker-community.html
- Letters to the editor: Workplace safety issue decades old: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editors/2016/12/27/workplace-safety-issue-decades-old.html
Paikin: Just why is Kathleen Wynne so unpopular?
http://tvo.org/blog/current-affairs/just-why-is-kathleen-wynne-so-unpopular
Premier reflects on hydro, road tolls, and cap-and-trade ahead of 2018 election:
http://globalnews.ca/news/3135810/ontario-premier-reflects-on-hydro-road-tolls-and-cap-and-trade-ahead-of-2018-election/
Government release: New 2017 regulations to lower household costs and increase consumer protection:
https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2016/12/new-2017-regulations-to-lower-household-costs-and-increase-consumer-protection.html
Government release: Growth that creates shared benefits the hallmark of Ontario in 2016:
https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2016/12/growth-that-creates-shared-benefits-the-hallmark-of-ontario-in-2016.html
Government release: Province releases mandate letters for Parliamentary Assistants’ priorities:
https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2016/12/ontarios-parliamentary-assistants-working-to-help-people-in-their-everyday-lives.html
Reports, Events, Campaigns and Other Good Things
Stats Can: Employment Insurance, October 2016:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/161220/dq161220a-eng.htm
Stats Can: Consumer Price Index, November 2016:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/161222/dq161222a-eng.htm
Stats can: Payroll employment, earnings and hours, October 2016:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/161221/dq161221a-eng.htm
New Mowat Centre report: Mind the Gap: Ontario’s persistent net contribution to the federation:
http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=1bb1469277169753440444d73&id=99759b74c1&e=21403e3832
CIBC Economics: On the quality of employment in Canada (hint, it’s not good):
https://economics.cibccm.com/economicsweb/cds?ID=1974&TYPE=EC_PDF
Around the Province
Perth vies to be basic income guarantee pilot location:
http://insideottawavalley.com/news-story/7032012-perth-vies-to-be-basic-income-guarantee-pilot-location
- Why Smiths Falls said no to being a basic income pilot test site: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/why-a-struggling-town-voted-against-a-basic-income-smiths-falls-ontario
Guelph & Wellington cold weather response for people who are homeless:
https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/community-cold-weather-response-for-homeless-494748
No more free Monday bus rides for seniors in Sudbury:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/senior-free-public-transportation-monday-ends-1.3916976
New opportunities for the North, but also new costs, under cap-and-trade:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/emissions-standards-northern-opportunities-1.3920492
Parents urge Toronto not to cut daycare funding:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/01/04/parents-urge-toronto-not-to-cut-daycare-funding.html
- Parents to pay more for daycare if Toronto goes ahead with funding cuts, TDSB says: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/daycare-tdsb-funding-city-toronto-children-1.3921369
Average price of one bedroom apartment in Toronto reaches $1500:
http://www.blogto.com/city/2016/12/average-price-one-bedroom-toronto-apartment-reaches-1500/
Is it time to end discounted TTC fares for seniors?:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/12/22/is-it-time-to-end-discounted-ttc-fares-for-seniors.html
Legal service offers support to vulnerable Toronto youth:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/12/26/legal-service-offers-support-to-vulnerable-youth.html
Toronto will track all deaths among people who are homeless starting January 1:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/12/23/starting-jan-1-toronto-will-track-all-homeless-deaths.html
Windsor doctors refer patients to legal services to help solve medical problems:
http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/pro-bono-lawyers-helping-local-patients-get-well
Across the Country
Iqaluit family homeless after winter eviction from public housing:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/iqaluit-winter-eviction-public-housing-1.3907283
Manitoba Premier Pallister says minimum wage hikes don’t reduce poverty:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/minimum-wage-hikes-not-effective-in-reducing-poverty-manitoba-premier-1.3220843
At this Nova Scotia grocery store, a third of employees have disabilities:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/at-this-nova-scotia-grocery-store-a-third-of-employees-have-disabilities-1.3220143?hootPostID=b9d778c3491ca4c9035b2bde066b33f7
Nova Scotians need $19 / hour to keep heads above water, report says:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/nova-scotia/living-wage-low-income-report-canadian-centre-for-policy-1.3908702
Corner Brook man funding men’s shelter mostly out of pocket:
http://www.thewesternstar.com/news/local/2017/1/3/corner-brook-man-funding-mens-shelter-mostly-out-of-pocket.html
Growing wage gap between rich and poor in Nova Scotia called a “moral crisis”:
http://www.metronews.ca/news/halifax/2017/01/03/millionaire-ceo-emera-higher-minimum-wage-nova-scotia-ndp.html
Women say eating healthy impossible on Nova Scotia diet allowance:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/department-community-services-social-assistance-special-diet-allowance-1.3898959
Close to half of New Brunswick families can’t afford to eat well, group says:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/new-brunswick/2016-survey-cost-of-food-1.3899863
New Brunswick anti-poverty group says planned minimum wage increase is not enough:
http://globalnews.ca/news/3158161/n-b-anti-poverty-group-says-planned-minimum-wage-increase-not-enough/
- NB minimum wage increase to come in April: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/minimum-wage-delay-2017-1.3916440
Montreal food banks see demand surge through December:
http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-food-banks-see-demand-surge-through-december
Number of British Columbians on EI and welfare jumps:
https://thetyee.ca/News/2016/12/22/BC-EI-Welfare-Jumps/
I want to die: Isolated a cold, senior seeking help in Prince George, BC:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/british-columbia/i-want-to-die-isolated-and-cold-senior-seeking-help-in-prince-george-1.3908152
Man who is homeless in Vernon, BC, living in heated, custom-built “coffin-like” crate:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vernon-homeless-crate-coffin-1.3920035
Vancouver man dies on December night blocks from new homeless shelter:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/british-columbia/homeless-death-vancouver-shelter-1.3911781
Tenants in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside rally against massive rent hikes:
http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/downtown-eastside-tenants-rally-against-rent-hikes
Pitt Meadows, BC, adopts living wage policy:
http://www.mapleridgenews.com/news/406917386.html
BC advocates fear for homeless and seniors during cold stretch:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fraser-valley-cold-weather-homeless-seniors-1.3918837
National
Huge gap between mental health needs and funding, expert says after health deal fails:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/mental-health-1.3904295
Nortel’s disabled workers still fighting for better deal after bankruptcy:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/12/30/nortels-disabled-workers-still-fighting-for-better-deal-after-bankruptcy.html
Mothers denied sickness benefits urge Liberal government to end legal battle:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/01/03/mothers-denied-sickness-benefits-urge-liberal-government-to-end-legal-battle.html
What are “Canadian values” and who helped to shape them?:
http://globalnews.ca/news/3143799/canadian-values-history-sam-steele-bertha-wilson/
Government’s plans aimed at preventing anti-globalization backlash, Trudeau says:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/12/21/governments-plans-aimed-at-preventing-anti-globalization-backlash-trudeau-says.html
Massive drop in housing prices would still leave Canadian households with more equity than debt:
http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/mortgages-real-estate/even-a-massive-drop-in-housing-prices-would-leave-the-average-canadian-household-with-more-equity-than-debt
Charitable giving in Canada drops to a 10-year low:
http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/7029193-charitable-giving-in-canada-drops-to-a-10-year-low/
The Bank of Canada just laid out how the economy could tank:
http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/the-bank-of-canada-just-laid-out-how-the-economy-could-collapse/
TD says Canada’s economy is still “not out of the woods” amid job gains in 2016:
http://www.bnn.ca/canada-s-economy-still-not-out-of-the-woods-amid-job-gains-in-2016-td-1.643867
International
OECD’s income inequality update for 2016:
http://www.oecd.org/social/OECD2016-Income-Inequality-Update.pdf
France gives employees the “right to disconnect” from work emails outside typical work hours:
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/01/02/france-gives-employees-right-to-disconnect-from-work-emails.html
California NGO ensuring low-income families are part of the solar revolution, and not left with the bill:
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/world/solar-panels-low-income-california-1.3917318
- Could Ontario learn from California’s actions?: http://saultonline.com/2017/01/is-california-doing-right-when-it-comes-to-energy-costs/
Finland to begin paying basic income to unemployed citizens to eliminate “incentive traps” to work:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/finland-universal-basic-income-ubi-citizens-560-euros-monthly-job-poverty-unemployment-a7492911.html
- Two-year Basic Income pilot gives $587 per month to 2,000 randomly selected people, who will have that money deducted from their existing benefits: http://fortune.com/2017/01/03/finland-universal-basic-income-experiment/?xid=soc_socialflow_facebook_FORTUNE
- Finland’s Basic Income Experiment website: http://www.kela.fi/web/en/basic-income-experiment-2017-2018
India to endorse universal basic income:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-universal-basic-income-latest-ubi-government-endorse-guy-standing-finland-pilot-earth-network-a7508786.html
Universal basic income is not a magic solution, but it could help millions:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/04/universal-basic-income-welfare-employment-scotland-canada-netherlands
More than 2.3 million families living in fuel poverty in England:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/30/millions-families-living-fuel-poverty-england-statistics
Scottish activists call for serious bid to tackle poverty in 2017:
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14994347.Call_for_serious_bid_to_tackle_poverty_in_2017/
Nearly 700 UK firms fined for not paying minimum wage, but fines are not enough:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/06/firms-fined-minimum-wage-football-clubs-restaurants
- “Named and shamed” firms have not been prosecuted: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/not-one-firm-named-shamed-9558344
Nineteen US states raised their minimum wage this month:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/05/business/economy/state-minimum-wages.html
- Minimum wage hikes help more people than they harm: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/312658-new-minimum-wage-hikes-help-more-people-than-they-harm
- Corporations are fighting to repeal voter-approved minimum wage hikes: https://trofire.com/2017/01/04/corporations-fight-repeal-voter-approved-minimum-wage-hikes/
California’s minimum wage isn’t the problem, the high cost of housing is:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/livable-city/la-ol-minimum-wage-housing-20170105-story.html
Ford cancels Mexico plant as Trump threatens GM with “big border tax”:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/trump-threatens-big-border-tax-on-gm-over-chevy-cruze-production-in-mexico/article33470586/
Hong Kong’s McRefugees:
http://nowiknow.com/mcrefugees/
Children in Japan struggle to break out of poverty cycle:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/04/national/social-issues/children-japan-struggle-break-poverty-cycle/#.WG–en1WLeQ
The world today looks ominously like it did before World War I:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/29/the-world-today-looks-ominously-like-it-did-before-world-war-i/?utm_term=.9976a3ff7d91