Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.
The COVID-19 virus is clever. Most people who spread COVID-19 do not know that they have it. They have no symptoms at all, they are early in their illness and have mild symptoms, or they are getting better and do not know their illness was COVID-19. If we want to stop the spread, we have […]
Across the province, personal support workers (PSWs) have been walking out on their jobs because of unsafe working conditions created by COVID-19. Lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), infrequent COVID-19 testing, and a chronic shortage of staff have put PSWs at greater risk of contracting the virus. These issues coupled with long-standing concerns such as […]
Continue ReadingSupporting support workers: PSWs need increased protections during COVID-19
Access to prescription medication often depends on where and how you work, rather than your need. Using the data from the Canadian Community Health Survey, we examined the size of the benefit gap between part-time and full-time workers and explored how disparities are greater for some workers in Ontario. We found that those who work […]
Continue ReadingWho Benefits? Gaps in Medication Coverage for Ontario Workers Download PublicationWho Benefits? Gaps in Medication Coverage for Ontario Workers
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 […]
Wellesley Institute draws on the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA) tool to identify the potential health and health equity impacts that the proposed changes made by the Making Ontario Open for Business Act (Bill 47) will make to the Employment Standards Act. This report focuses on the potential health […]
Continue ReadingThe Real Cost of Bill 47: Potential Health Impact of ESA Changes Download PublicationPotential Health Equity Impacts of the Making Ontario Open for Business Act (Bill 47)
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 […]
Continue Reading(Not) Playing Politics: Workers’ Rights Matter for Health
If you are injured in an accident in Ontario, you may face barriers in getting the supports you need. This is because the mix of private and public programs and insurance leads to variation in what you get depending on your income, employment, and how or where you were injured. Our patchwork of coverage falls […]
Continue ReadingSupporting Healthy Lives for Accident Victims Download PublicationSupporting Healthy Lives for Accident Victims
Recently, reports of a surge in food bank use has renewed concerns about poverty and affordability in the city. The report has prompted calls for greater investment in affordable housing and increasing the adequacy and accessibility of existing income programs for seniors and those with disabilities. Understandably, advocates and policy-makers have reacted with alarm and […]
Continue ReadingPoverty vs. Participation: Thriving in the City Framework
Maytree is trying to help the non-profit sector thrive in these changing times. They asked me as a psychiatrist and CEO of Wellesley Institute, a policy think tank, to give my Five Good Ideas to decrease employee stress. I hope you find them useful. Stress can be brought about by factors at home and factors […]
Continue ReadingFive Good Ideas to Decrease Workplace Stress
A recent change to Ontario’s motor vehicle insurance has left one man and his family on the verge of bankruptcy after a tragic motorcycle accident in Hamilton, Ontario. These changes, brought about this past summer, significantly decrease the amount of financial support one can receive from a catastrophic vehicle injury. The Hamilton incident raises questions […]
Continue ReadingWhere you get hurt matters in Ontario, but should it?
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.