Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.
Bob Gardner |
The Institute of Health Equity in London, led by Sir Michael Marmot, has published a major report on what the health sector can do to address health inequities and their roots in social determinants of health. Working for Health Equity: the Role of Health Professionals notes that “those in the health sector regularly bear witness […]
Continue ReadingWhat the Health Sector Can Do To Reduce Health Inequities
Bob Gardner |
News emerged today that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is promising a special deal to provide Toronto with a larger slice of the proceeds if a casino is built in the city. The OLG figures suggest that Toronto would receive somewhere in the range of $50 to $100 million per year in hosting fees. […]
Continue ReadingHow much OLG money is enough to harm the health and well-being of Torontonians?
Bob Gardner |
The media had a field day yesterday with the proposal from Ontario’s Healthy Kids Panel to ban marketing of junk food to kids under 12. Sadly, this missed a number of crucial recommendations that would address the underlying contributors to childhood obesity. The Wellesley Institute provided a key report that informed the Healthy Kids Panel: […]
Continue ReadingChildhood obesity: it’s about more than banning marketing of junk food
Bob Gardner |
Addressing “wicked” policy and social problems such as systemic health inequities and their underlying social determinants requires comprehensive and coordinated action across government and other sectors – and that needs good planning. Health equity impact assessments have been emphasized here in Ontario and in many other jurisdictions as one key way to ensure equity is […]
Bob Gardner |
A new study in Toronto shows how socioeconomic status can have a significant impact on your access to health care. The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, examined whether patients who identified themselves as either a bank employee or a welfare recipient (implying that they had a high or low income) were able […]
Continue ReadingWealth equals health in Toronto, but we can change that
Bob Gardner |
The Wellesley Institute deputed to the Board of Health in November 2012 about the population health impacts of problem gambling. Our health equity impact assessment of the proposal to build a casino in the GTA and found that a casino would likely result in poorer health for those living in poverty, seniors, new Canadians, and […]
Continue ReadingCommunity Health Impacts Of A Toronto Casino Download PublicationCommunity Health Impacts Of A Toronto Casino
Bob Gardner |
By Steve Barnes and Jo Snyder A new report from Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David McKeown, provides more evidence about the community health impacts of a casino in Toronto. Dr. McKeown sets out how building a casino will impact the health of Torontonians through changes in employment, economic development, neighbourhood impacts, and social […]
Continue ReadingMore evidence that a casino is bad for Toronto’s health
Bob Gardner |
Incoming premier Kathleen Wynne announced this week that social assistance reform is one of her key priorities. Wynne has asked the Secretary of the Cabinet – Ontario’s top civil servant – to put together an implementation plan for the recommendations made by the social assistance review commission. Moreover, Wynne appointed Commissioner Frances Lankin to her […]
Continue ReadingSocial assistance reform is happening: Here’s three things to look out for
Bob Gardner |
Ontario recently eliminated the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB). The CSUMB helped people receiving social assistance to pay for large or unexpected housing-related costs, supporting them to become and remain housed. As of January 1, 2013, the CSUMB ended and 50 percent of its funding was passed to municipalities as part of a consolidation […]
Continue ReadingTracking the impact of cuts to housing and homelessness supports
Bob Gardner |
A new Wellesley Institute health equity impact assessment – The Real Cost of Casinos – shows that building a casino in Toronto will contribute to poor health in our city. Almost 560,000 Ontarians can be defined as problem gamblers and experience tells us that building new casinos increases problem gambling and leads to poorer health […]
We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.
Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.