Inequalities in income, race, ethnicity and gender are driving differences in health outcomes – making some Americans sicker and increasing infant deaths, according to major new research released today by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among the findings: Lower income people have fewer healthy days and infant mortality rates are up to […]
Celebrating 100 years since the founding of the Wellesley Hospital
In 1911, when Dr Herbert Bruce founded the Wellesley Hospital, Toronto was a city teeming with immigrants. Many of the new arrivals lived in substandard housing, lived on low incomes and suffered poor health. Fast forward to Toronto of 2011, a city that celebrates its cultural diversity, yet many recent immigrants still suffer higher rates […]
Continue ReadingCelebrating 100 years since the founding of the Wellesley Hospital
Latest federal spending estimates confirm sharp cuts to national housing, homelessness investments
The latest federal spending estimates for the coming fiscal year show a sharp drop in investments in national housing and homelessness programs – confirming a trend over the past two decades of steady erosion in federal support for affordable housing and homelessness initiatives (as noted in the Wellesley Institute’s Precarious Housing in Canada 2010 report).
Federal election and housing: When candidates ask for your vote, ask them about affordable homes
Millions of Canadians are precariously housed – and the nation-wide affordable housing crisis is costly to individuals, communities, the economy and government. But will housing get serious attention in the federal election? The Wellesley Institute has prepared a flip sheet so that when federal election candidates ask for your vote, you can ask them about […]
It takes a province to end homelessness: Presentation notes
Yesterday I delivered the keynote presentation to the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing and Homelessness Network conference at Port Blandford on Oct. 26. In my presentation, I warned that the ongoing erosion of federal housing investments will cut vital funding that local groups across Newfoundland and Labrador require to develop effective housing solutions. Working together so […]
Continue ReadingIt takes a province to end homelessness: Presentation notes
As Ontario braces for Drummond report, lessons from Million Dollar Murray need to be considered
As Ontario braces for the report from economist Don Drummond on provincial public service spending, an early leak from his work raises a powerful question. In a Toronto Star column by Martin Regg Cohn, Drummond is reported to be ‘staggered by the statistic that a mere 1 per cent of the population accounts for fully half […]
Ontario Budget 2012 continues erosion of affordable housing investments
Ontario Budget 2012 continues the erosion of affordable housing investments at a time when the housing needs of households who are precariously housed remain deep and persistent. The budget sets out yet another annual cut to the operating budget of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the fourth cut in the last four years. […]
Continue ReadingOntario Budget 2012 continues erosion of affordable housing investments
For the health of all, Ontario needs to reverse its cuts to housing investments
For the health of all Ontarians, the provincial government needs to maintain critical investments in affordable housing. That is the key message delivered by the Wellesley Institute in our written submission to the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs during its hearings on the provincial budget. The Wellesley Institute’s submission focuses on […]
Continue ReadingFor the health of all, Ontario needs to reverse its cuts to housing investments
Remembering Abner William ‘Bill’ Buss: Let’s all demand an end to homelessness
Earlier today, I joined with others for the funeral service of Abner William ‘Bill’ Buss, the 71-year-old man who died alone in a dark crawl space of an abandoned building near Parliament and Shuter in June. While the official cause of death was ‘natural causes’, there was nothing natural about the final days of Bill Buss. […]
Continue ReadingRemembering Abner William ‘Bill’ Buss: Let’s all demand an end to homelessness
Stifling public health leadership is bad for Toronto’s health
Dynamic public health leadership in Toronto over the past 100 years has been a critical factor in creating a healthier and more equitable city. Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health has recently been the target of political and personal attacks for his evidence-based research and policy advice on the public health dimensions of traffic safety. The specifics of those […]
Continue ReadingStifling public health leadership is bad for Toronto’s health