Child benefits have significant potential to reduce homelessness and the need for emergency shelter beds by putting more money into the hands of low-income parents. They also can (and do) reduce child poverty, though not always as much as governments claim. And because they do not carry the same stigma…
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Eighteen months into the federal government’s mandate, with several provincial elections approaching, child care is once again a topic of debate. And, inevitably, Quebec’s system of providing and paying for child care (European-inspired and unique in North America) comes up in the discussion. While Quebec’s program is by no means…
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The June 2018 provincial election is more than a year away, but there are already signs of pre-election fever. Look for them in the upcoming Ontario provincial budget. You see evidence of pre-election fever in the flurry of announcements coming out of the Premier’s office on everything from hydro affordability to attempting to…
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Even in the worst of times, budgets are rarely hemmed in by “economic necessity.” They are reflections of the values of the party in power. One government might look at economic data predicting low growth for the next five years (the current reality) and choose to cut program spending. Another…
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I’ve got my pussyhat. I’m ready to march. To strike. To get to work. Or I could stay home. And watch Netflix. What would happen if we all just called it a day? What if we said, ‘meh, close enough ladies’? What price would we pay? Right now, women’s employment…
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It’s no surprise—to anyone with even a modest awareness of the subject—that child care is expensive. But when we released our recent report (A Growing Concern: 2016 child care fees in Canada’s big cities), what did raise some eyebrows was the speed and intensity with which fees have increased over…
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Earlier this summer, Canada’s minister of families, children and social development, Jean-Yves Duclos, predicted the new Canada Child Benefit (CCB) would reduce child poverty in Canada by 40%, bumping 284,000 children above the poverty line between 2013 and 2017 (using the LICO-AT version of poverty). This was similar to the…
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The Ontario government has prorogued the provincial legislature, returning September 12 with a new throne speech. The impending throne speech has been cast as government “pressing the reset button” following a recent by-election loss and ongoing controversies such as election finance scandals, hydro privatization, and high hydro bills. Each of…
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As the Premier is fond of saying, the worst is behind us, and Quebec is now set to enjoy more prosperous days. Despite Mr. Couillard’s assurances, it was hard to take his word for it at the beginning of the year. The announcement last month that daycare funding is under review…
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Maybe you take the quietude of the holiday season as a time to unplug and reflect. Maybe, like me, you curl up with a pile of progressive reading that you’ve been meaning to catch up on. If so, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Ontario office is at your service. Embrace your…
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