Almost 17,000 of Ontario’s children are in the care of Children’s Aid Societies: one out of every 182 children. Only 44 percent of youth in care graduate from high school. In Ontario, Aboriginal people make up two percent of the population, but 22 percent of Crown Wards. Whichever way you look at it, Ontario’s child […]
Hardship Fund is vulnerable… again
The Hardship Fund is a municipal program that provides essential medical supports to people who do not receive social assistance, but who have very low or precarious incomes. The Fund meets the needs of residents where the cost of medical items would cause undue financial hardship. Supports and services that are covered include vision care, […]
Raising a child is cheap and cheerful, as long as mom stays at home
A new report released by the Fraser Institute claims that it is possible to raise a child on about $3,000-$4,000 per year. The catch is that, apparently, child care is a ‘frill’. Their approach is that expenses associated with having a child, like clothing, food, and education, can be separated from other household expenses. Expenses […]
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Violence Against Women: The Importance of Housing
As we mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, it is important to consider whether women experiencing violence have supports available to help them to leave dangerous situations. For women experiencing violence, financial dependence on their abusive partner is often a reality. This means that accessing funds to establish a […]
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Supervised injection services play a critical 3rd role in health
Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health recently announced that the three clinics currently providing safe injection services are planning to apply to the federal government for permission to operate safe injection services. There is a strong case for providing integrated supervised injection services as part of a harm reduction approach to drug use. Supervised injection services […]
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The Real Cost Of Cutting The Interim Federal Health Program
On June 30, 2012, the federal government made changes to the Interim Federal Health (IFH) program that resulted in the effective elimination of health care coverage for many refugees and refugee claimants and reduced access to health care services for most. The new program provides different health care services to various categories of refugees and […]
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Health Care Access for the Uninsured in Ontario: Symposium Report
On February 9th, 2016 the Health Network for Uninsured Clients, in partnership with Wellesley Institute and Women’s College Hospital, hosted a day-long symposium on improving access to health care for people who are uninsured in Ontario. The Symposium: 1. Showcased research on barriers to health care and opportunities for policy change that have emerged since […]
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Health Equity Roadmap: Community Health Days
Equity is being emphasized in many Community Health Days organized across the province by Community Health Centres and other local partners. I spoke at the Kitchener day whose focus was on mobilizing for health equity for immigrant and refugees. I set out an overview of how to build health equity strategy, priorities and tools into […]
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Health Equity and the Occupy Movements
With Occupy movements, born out of Occupy Wall Street, happening in Canada and around the world, social and economic inequality are on the agenda. More and better jobs, more equitable distribution of wealth, and greater corporate responsibility and accountability are important goals, and the Occupy movements have made great progress in making these issues mainstream. […]
Toronto Board of Health sees the real cost of cutting refugee health benefits
Yesterday afternoon, the Wellesley Institute’s Steve Barnes made a deputation to the Toronto Board of Health about the upcoming changes to the Interim Federal Health Benefit (IFHB). Barnes spoke about the results of our Health Equity Impact Assessment, which found that: Refugees are amongst the most vulnerable people in Canada and are therefore hugely impacted by […]
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