“Solutions to America’s challenges are being developed every day at the grass roots – and government shouldn’t be supplanting those efforts, it should be supporting those efforts.” With those stirring words, US President Barack Obama announced “a new kind of partnership between government and the non-profit sector” in a speech on Tuesday at the White House […]
Archives for July 2009
Privatizing health care services: my un-philosophical objection
According to the Vancouver Sun, new B.C. health minister Kevin Falcon doesn’t “have any philosophical objection” to patients being allowed to pay for faster access to medical services in private surgery clinics (http://www.vancouversun.com/Health/Health+minister+says+private+ health+clinics+okay+with+limits/1729495/story.html). I don’t have a philosophical objection to it either. My objection is practical. If we allow health care procedures to be […]
Continue ReadingPrivatizing health care services: my un-philosophical objection
Help build a housing and homelessness map of Canada! Share your local housing and homelessness stories
Canada urgently needs a national housing plan – millions of Canadians are calling for one, and the United Nations has added its voice. The best national housing plan is built from the community up – a plan that identifies local housing and homelessness needs across the country, and pinpoints effective local housing and homeless initiatives […]
'Sorry, it's rented!' – tens of thousands of Torontonians face discrimination in housing: New report from CERA
“Sorry, it’s rented”, new research from the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation, reports that tens of thousands of Torontonians – people from racialized communities, people with mental health issues, single parents, people receiving social assistance – face serious discrimination when they try to rent a home, contrary to the Ontario Human Rights Code.
New video documents health impact of poverty
Population Health: The New Agenda from Vancouver Coastal Health is a brilliant new video that documents the health impact of social determinants of health; or, in simple terms, why poor people get sick and die while higher-income people live longer and healthier lives. It provides a powerful complement to Poverty Is Making Us Sick, recent research […]
Continue ReadingNew video documents health impact of poverty
Home ownership still out of reach for most low, moderate income households
Entry into home ownership markets remains out of financial reach for low, moderate and even middle-income Canadians, according to a new analysis from the Wellesley Institute. In its latest semi-annual review of ownership affordability in Canada, RBC Economics reports that “low mortgage rates and persisting downward pressure on housing prices will to continue to help […]
Continue ReadingHome ownership still out of reach for most low, moderate income households
Greater Toronto Region economic recovery plan needs vital and healthy non-profit sector
Economic recovery throughout the Greater Toronto Region requires the active engagement of all sectors, including the vital non-profit sector that delivers a variety of critical programs and services and provides a valuable boost in the form of jobs and other economic activity. The Wellesley Institute joined with other leaders from the government and private sectors […]
An Ambitious Plan to Reform US Health Care
Recently, Democrats in the US House of Representatives unveiled a 1,018 page health reform package, entitled “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act,” which was based on the requirements set out by President Obama to lower health care costs, let people kept their current insurance and substantially decrease the number of uninsured Americans (currently estimated at 45.7 […]
Both private and non-profit enterprises fall short in pandemic planning
Both private companies and non-profit enterprises are struggling to deal with the current recession, and many don’t have proper pandemic flu plans in place, warns Wellesley Instititute CEO Rick Blickstead in a front page article in today’s Toronto Star. “Many organizations have not done proper risk management to prepare for the inevitability of people being […]
Continue ReadingBoth private and non-profit enterprises fall short in pandemic planning
Three important Ontario housing facts: Highest housing costs, lowest provincial spending, worst municipal download
As the Ontario government’s province-wide consultations for a comprehensive provincial housing plan open the first of three sessions in Toronto this evening, here are three housing facts to consider: Highest housing costs: Ontario has the highest housing costs of any province (median household shelter costs of $10,878, according to Statistics Canada). One in every three […]