…committed to raise the maximum benefit to $1,310 by July 2013 but delayed this commitment in its 2012 budget. Increasing the OCB was critical to the early success of the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy. Reverting to the original scheduled increase is essential to build on this progress. 2) $100 increase…
Search Results for: Toronto Budget
Getting it right in 2014: Acting now on poverty
…goes on. All of these things matter a lot for quality of life. But most disturbing is that poverty can also affect length of one’s life. In Toronto, men in the lowest income group live an average of 4.5 years less than men in the highest income group, and the…
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BC housing dollars don't match their promises
…on a per capita basis, BC has a bad record among Canadian provinces when it comes to housing spending, according to Statistics Canada. But the BC Budget delivered later in the day on Tuesday failed to deliver on those housing promises. In fact, the housing spending is slated to shrunk…
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Health Equity Impacts of Public Funding Cuts: British Research
…years, budget cuts and restrictions have altered the size and scope of many government programs and services. The Young Foundation, a British think tank aimed at making positive changes through social innovation, is undertaking a three- year study to document the impact of national and local changes to benefits and…
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Praying for change: Last day for ISARC vigil at Queen's Park
People of a variety of faiths have been praying on the front lawn of the Ontario Legislative Assembly at Queen’s Park for the last month in the lead up to the provincial budget tomorrow. The Interfaith Social Assistance Review Committee explains: “In all faiths, there is concern for the neighbour,…
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National Housing Week: Bold New Partnerships
…government. Too often, the talk of partnerships is about creative efforts by community groups to cobble together resources. Government budgets are tight, developers must make a profit, and local groups lack capital – but if all pull together locally then a few affordable housing projects can be built. Affordable housing…
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Commons' finance committee calls for housing, homelessness action
Earlierthis week, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance released its recommendations after pre-budget consultations across Canada. I was invited to appear in front of the committee earlier in the fall as an expert witness on housing and homelessness on behalf of the Wellesley Institute. The committee has accepted…
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What starts in the housing sector doesn’t stay in the housing sector
…dragged down as well. Michael Shapcott, Director of Community Engagement at the Wellesley Institute, outlined some key economic issues on housing and homelessness for the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance as part of its 2008 pre-budget consultation. Wellesley Institute’s Pre-Budget Submission to the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance…
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Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
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…Ontario by giving the accused an opportunity to be judged by a true jury of peers. _ [i] Toronto Foundation. (2018). Toronto Social Capital Study. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from https://torontofoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/TF-SocialCapitalStudy-Final-Clean-min.pdf. [ii] Tulloch, M. (2017). Report of the Independent Police Oversight Review. Ministry of the Attorney General. Retrieved June, 27,…
Looking beyond cuts to solve city budget woes
Conversations about balancing city budgets often focus only on cutbacks to services or changes in tax rates, but thriving healthy cities need to have more than two solutions. Another solution is to increase intensification. Reading an interesting piece on the positive fiscal impacts of intensification is a nice change. This…
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