At the first #WellesleyTalks panel event, A.I. and Health Equity: Opportunities and challenges for ethics and policy, held on April 3, 2019, a panel of thought leaders explored the role and implications of artificial intelligence on health equity issues of the day. We expanded the conversation by asking our in-house and digital audience to pose […]
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Ontario Works should work for Ontarians
Social assistance is a lifeline for Ontarians living in poverty and without it, many people would be destitute. The new plan to reform social assistance announced by the Ontario government cuts rate increases in half, leaving some of those in most need with less money to live on. The new plan also penalizes people who […]
Institutional racism: what we can learn from London
18-year-old Stephen Lawrence was waiting for a bus in South London, England in 1993. Racist thugs attacked him, beat him and he died from his injuries. Everyone knew who did it, but the police bungled the investigation so they walked free. Stephen’s parents and the community pressed the UK government for a public inquiry. When […]
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(Not) Playing Politics: Workers’ Rights Matter for Health
The federal government has spoken out against the “politics of cruelty” of the Ontario government’s reduction of workers’ rights. For Canadians and Ontarians who are tired of bickering politicians, this might just feel like another political fistfight. However, moving beyond the distraction of pre-election politics, we shouldn’t forget that protecting basic workers’ rights is a […]
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TTC: Is It Really The Better Way?
The TTC has committed to making transit more efficient. But making public transit better is about more than just quicker service – it’s about protecting our health. We need a public transit system that works for public health. For the TTC to build an equitable and healthy transit system, it should begin by: Putting riders […]
(Postal) Coded Meanings: Toronto Life’s Neighbourhood Rankings and Rising Inequality
This month, Toronto Life published its list of the top neighbourhoods in Toronto, ranking every neighbourhood in the city from ‘best’ to ‘worst.’ Lists and rankings have become a mainstay of how we entertain ourselves, and are often harmless fun, but this ranking at best plays up already entrenched perceptions, and at worst will aid […]
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Torontonians divided on spending $11 billion annual City of Toronto budget
With advance polls opening for the Toronto municipal elections this week, and election day only two weeks away, the Wellesley Institute’s Healthy Budget Builder lets the user ask the question: what would you do if you had control of the $11 billion annual city operating budget? The results have been coming in strong and here’s […]
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Housing affordability improves health: Rent subsidies #1 choice in Wellesley’s Budget Builder
Last month, Wellesley Institute released our Healthy Budget Builder Toronto simulation. It allows users to create their own fully-funded City of Toronto budget, and make decisions over which city services to fund and how to pay for them. Since then over 800 people have used the website, and many chose to submit their balanced budgets. […]
Where is the refuge for refugee claimants in Toronto?
Tomorrow, hundreds of refugee claimants who sought safety in Toronto must leave the dorms they have been temporarily housed in to make way for returning students. In recent months, there has been much debate around Ontario’s ability to house refugees. And while the recent influx of asylum seekers may have sparked the current debate, Toronto’s […]
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The either/or of retirement: What does it really cost to thrive?
For many, retirement is a time to pick up a hobby, travel the world, and spend time with family. Unfortunately for some Ontarians, the dream of “the golden years” will be just that – a dream. For Mary Hynes, a retired teacher living in the GTA, living paycheque-to-paycheque has meant having to compromise certain areas […]
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