Open Policy Ontario

Premier Ford’s mental health

johnastapleton — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 20:28:51 +0000

Premier Doug Ford noted in a recent speech that he is being driven crazy by people on Ontario Works who are healthy. It further bothers him that they are (apparently) sitting at home. Here is what he said[1]: I always say, if someone’s on ODSP, I’ll support them for life…. What drives me crazy is people […]

The post Premier Ford’s mental health first appeared on Open Policy Ontario.

An intelligent Martian asks a question that we can’t answer

johnastapleton — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 17:24:15 +0000

“Why does Canada have child benefits for modest income families and a child care deduction that favours the well-to-do?” Many of us fantasize what it would be like to brief an intelligent Martian on an earthbound topic. Recently a colleague and I got the chance. A spaceship landed in Scarborough Ontario and a female Martian […]

The post An intelligent Martian asks a question that we can’t answer first appeared on Open Policy Ontario.

Gaslighting the working poor – pathologizing poverty reduction

johnastapleton — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 14:31:29 +0000

Pandemic hardship is still a daily event for low-income workers who received pandemic benefits and must now repay those benefits. They must repay even though significant numbers of people were ordered to apply for them by governments that deducted them from other benefits. The CERB and CRB programs although cancelled in 2022, are still with […]

The post Gaslighting the working poor – pathologizing poverty reduction first appeared on Open Policy Ontario.

The News and mental health

johnastapleton — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 14:10:18 +0000

A few Sundays ago, I woke up at 7:25 and turned on the radio to listen to the CBC regional news at 7:30. There were 9 news items of apparently local interest: The first was a shooting that happened in Scarborough overnight The second was another shooting that happened overnight The third was another […]

The post The News and mental health first appeared on Open Policy Ontario.

Stop stigmatizing and delegitimizing poverty reduction in Canada

johnastapleton — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 17:39:19 +0000

In Canada, poverty dropped by a whopping 55.8% from 2015 to 2020, a reduction that few if anyone really expected by 2030, let alone much earlier. But when Canada achieved this legislated goal in record time, there was neither announcement nor self-congratulation. There was no news release and no celebration. The delegitimizing of poverty reduction […]

The post Stop stigmatizing and delegitimizing poverty reduction in Canada first appeared on Open Policy Ontario.

Go placidly among the noise of a new Canadian mythology

johnastapleton — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 17:38:52 +0000

The myth Thousands, if not millions, of non-working people (those who did not earn the $5,000 CERB threshold) illegally collected billions of dollars and now do not want to pay it back. The federal government is right to go after them. These people took advantage of a hurried design with few safeguards and took advantage […]

The post Go placidly among the noise of a new Canadian mythology first appeared on Open Policy Ontario.

The loneliness of the long-distance poverty strategy: A race the Government of Canada did not want to win

johnastapleton — Tue, 30 May 2023 17:22:56 +0000

This short essay[1] attempts to make a difficult and perhaps unseemly comparison between the Government of Canada’s newest narrative on poverty reduction and the actions of a fictional antihero who decided not to finish a marathon race he had won in all other respects. The analogy I make is not perfect and is incomplete. I […]

The post The loneliness of the long-distance poverty strategy: A race the Government of Canada did not want to win first appeared on Open Policy Ontario.

Poor-bashing is making a post-pandemic comeback

johnastapleton — Mon, 22 May 2023 15:24:58 +0000

Who would have ever thought – when the dust settled following the worst of the pandemic – that poor-bashing would make a comeback? When we all experienced the lifestyle changes and losses of freedom characterized by Covid-19, many of us hoped that this could bring diverse elements of civil society together. In many ways, it […]

The post Poor-bashing is making a post-pandemic comeback first appeared on Open Policy Ontario.

Higher, lower or nothing!

johnastapleton — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 21:01:22 +0000

Indexation to inflation turns out to be a myth for all With higher inflation, increases in indexed benefits have been more noticeable lately. For example, Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) – which are indexed quarterly – have been increasing far faster than the cost of living as measured by the […]

The post Higher, lower or nothing! first appeared on Open Policy Ontario.

Achingly close: Part 3 – Salt on the wound

johnastapleton — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 22:30:03 +0000

In two earlier blog entries, I talked about the Federal Court case lost by Amanda Coscarelli. Her earned income in 2019 fell $7.26 below the $5,000 threshold required for eligibility for the Canadian pandemic benefits called the CRB. In the first blog, I made the case explaining why Amanda should have been found eligible on […]

The post Achingly close: Part 3 – Salt on the wound first appeared on Open Policy Ontario.