Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.
Wellesley Institute’s Policy Briefs draw on our research and expertise to succinctly highlight pressing policy issues and identify practical courses of action to address them. They can be a useful resource for anyone who is interested in transforming the research evidence on health equity and the social determinants of health into policy action.
The Wellesley Institute is a non-profit and non-partisan institute that works on research and policy to improve health and health equity across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This includes using research to inform policy development to ensure health is advanced and health and wellness are shared equally by all. Our work has shown that a […]
Continue ReadingPolicy Brief: Ontario Portable Benefits Program
We can build a future in which everyone in the Greater Toronto Area [GTA] has the opportunities and resources they need to have a healthy home. Healthy housing must be affordable, as people spending more than 30% of their income on housing means significant stress on their resources. Healthy housing must also be safe, of […]
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)
Housing that is affordable and in good condition is important for health and well-being. Non-profit, public, and co-operative housing provides this for disadvantaged people who cannot afford market rental. A first step is to preserve our existing affordable housing. Ontario needs an action plan, with ongoing provincial funding, to keep this housing affordable and in […]
Continue ReadingSustaining Ontario Social Housing Download PublicationOntario Social Housing Policy Brief
The number of Ontario households with significant repair issues is growing and Wellesley Institute is concerned about the impact of housing disrepair on tenants’ health and well-being. The province can mitigate the increasing state of disrepair in private rental housing through a comprehensive policy approach that invests in repair and prevents further deterioration. By clarifying […]
Continue ReadingHealthy Rental Housing Download PublicationHealthy Rental Housing Policy Brief
Ontario has set a goal of ending chronic homelessness. A significant proportion of those who are homeless either have mental health problems, are youth or are Indigenous. Ending chronic homelessness requires action on these groups. This policy brief focuses on the 2 to 3 percent of the population that lives with a severe mental illness […]
Continue ReadingOntario Supportive Housing Policy Brief Download PublicationOntario Supportive Housing Policy Brief
New permanent residents are unable to receive public coverage for essential health care (OHIP) within their first three months in Ontario. This policy brief brings together research evidence on the impacts of the three-month wait and identifies options to improve access to health care for new Ontarians. Wellesley Institute’s Policy Briefs draw on our research […]
Continue ReadingThe OHIP Three Month Wait – Policy Brief Download Publication3MonthWaitPolicyBrief
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.