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I have thought for some time of how our aboriginal people have been offered and have accepted bad deals. Treaties were signed before aboriginals could truly understand the importance of individual rights and freedoms and also the incredible value of being a full participant in a modern society. Stuck in the poverty trap of the reservation system, many of these people produce little and consume much. it is a soul-destroying ...more »

Data in the justice policy field: The challenges in the justice policy field are endless and it is encouraging to see the introduction of the new Safer Communities legislation (Bill 175) this fall. However, one area of concern that has not been sufficiently addressed is the topic of data access and data management, who owns the data and how is it used. The negative reputation of police is fuelled by how data is used. ...more »

The government has made strides in tuition support for students in low to middle income households. It is time to take the next step and make post secondary education totally free. Textbooks, tuition and on campus housing should be free to all students who are accepted to post secondary sites. we need to prepare for the post industrial society and the development of machine intelligence. If Ontario and Canada are to be ...more »

The Old Age Security pension (or OAS or OAS-GIS) is a taxable monthly social security payment available to most Canadians 65 years of age or older with individual income less than $114,815. As of September 2017, the basic amount is $583.74 per month. OAS quite often literally means the difference between a life of poverty in old age and being able to put food on the table for millions of Canadian seniors - especially ...more »

Government must improve regulations of Senior living as it pertains to Senior Care. As a senior, I would be frightened to have to go into a Senior Care facility as they are simply not regulated properly and some simply slip through the cracks as far as humane care. We therefore must improve at home care where feasible for the elderly. As well, in regard to taxing of CPP etc, I believe taxing of pensions based on a ...more »

WHEREAS according to the 2009 General Social Survey (GSS), visible minorities more often reported experiencing discrimination or unfair treatment than non-visible minorities in the workplace ; WHEREAS research has found there to be disproportionately high unemployment rates among Black Canadians of African-Caribbean descent, many of whom are forced to take low-paying jobs with little security and poor prospects ; WHEREAS ...more »

Credit Card companies charge 19.99% when the cost of money is near zero. The government should disallow those kind loan shark practices.

Ontario will miss out on breakthroughs in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics and nanotechnology if the provincial government fails to allocate more money for research and development in nurturing these exciting emerging industries which have the potential to create literally millions of good paying jobs in just Ontario alone - if done properly. While countries such as China, South Korea and Japan have invested ...more »

As you may be aware, a profoundly discriminatory act recently occurred in Vancouver, British Columbia. A gay man who had temporarily rented a room in Vancouver was forced to move out because of his sexuality. Caleb Gardiner had found the room to rent on the social media website Craigslist as a temporary solution while he sought out a more permanent address. He was told if he wanted anybody to stay over it would cost ...more »

Legal aid should be expanded to all people with low income and cover all subjects that can be sent to court as the low income earners are the ones that are the most vulnerable, to be subject to lawsuits and other cases that would further increase there vulnerabilities in society.

The Government of Ontario should guarantee women's rights to reproductive choice and guarantee access to free at the point of use abortion on demand for all women. While abortion is currently covered under OHIP - they are typically performed in abortion clinics - which are usually only available in larger Ontario cities. All Ontario hospitals shouid be required to provide abortion services and free transportation should ...more »

There was just an OMB hearing of ward boundaries for Toronto - the City had not reviewed the boundaries in 17 years, since 2000, and some wards were nearly double the population of other wards. Federal and provincial riding boundaries are automatically redrawn every 10 years - the federal boundaries are done after the census, and the Ontario boundaries are done once the federal boundaries are determined. There needs ...more »

The Safe Streets Act has an ambiguous definition of aggressive panhandling and was enacted following drastic cutbacks to social programmes for the poor, homeless and disenfranchised. I believe that poverty is, at its root, an economic and social problem, not a criminal problem. The Safe Streets Act is an attempt to criminalize poverty and homelessness. Therefore, the Government of Ontario should repeal the Safe Streets ...more »

The Canadian state was established through the genocidal colonial theft of indigenous lands, including the unceded traditional indigenous territories of Ontario. During next year's election, I believe that the Government of Ontario should implement the following policies to help achieve true reconciliation and justice: a) Full recognition of inherent indigenous title to all unceded traditional territories. b) Provincial ...more »

Carbon fee border adjustments will discourage businesses from relocating and encourage other nations to introduce their own price on carbon. Import fees on products imported from countries without a carbon fee, along with rebates to Canadian industries exporting to those countries, will discourage businesses from relocating where they can emit more CO2 and motivate other countries to adopt similar carbon pricing policies. ...more »