Poverty

Thursday September 19, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 19, 2019

Political smorgasbord doesn’t come free

Transactional politics are nothing new. That’s where a politician and/or a party offers goodies on the front end of the transaction, and the voter supports the politician/party on the back end.

September 12, 2019

It’s not unlike shopping and being drawn to sales or special deals that look especially appealing. That outfit looks good, but wait, the one next to it looks as good but it’s cheaper, or perhaps nicer in some small way. So the natural tendency is to take the one that seems better, even if the difference is marginal.

But what if the front of the special buy is fine, but you see flaws or differences once it’s unwrapped? What if you find out it needs special treatment when being cleaned, or it requires some sort of investment you weren’t expecting?

The analogy with the kind of transactional politics we’re experiencing during this election campaign isn’t perfect, but it serves the purpose. The political store has been bustling with promises, especially over the last several days, as the competing parties roll out their platforms — bit by bit — and try to be the outfit with that special something.

October 10, 2015

There’s nothing wrong with all this, to a point. It serves the purpose of offering measurable alternatives. If you don’t like the Conservative plan to expand RESPs, you can choose the Liberals because you like their plan about helping first-time home buyers. Or vice-versa. But it can be problematic when this sort of offer-of-the-day political play dominates the campaign to the exclusion of all else, and that is what’s happening right now.

It’s a veritable smorgasbord. Pick the party that has enough you like, and just vote for them? Of course, it’s not that easy. We know that not all promises are kept. Remember Justin Trudeau on electoral reform. We know that not all promises are fully explained. Andrew Scheer’s tax cuts are phased in so the maximum benefit comes only after three years. And the cost of that promise alone is $6 billion, which has to be paid for by someone — who might that be?

A big problem with many of the promises made to date is that the parties haven’t explained fully — in some cases not at all — how they will pay for their promises. That’s a critical part of understanding how parties will govern if elected. And it’s not always just about balanced budgets or deficits. It’s also about what things — like government services and support — get sacrificed in order for promises to be kept.

All smorgasbords end the same way. There’s a bill to pay. We can all stand to be reminded of that. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Thursday December 13, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 13, 2018

Food price report predicts average family to pay $400 more for groceries next year

The average Canadian family will pay about $400 more for groceries and roughly $150 more for dining out next year, an annual food price report predicts.

December 8, 2016

Food prices will rise between 1.5 to 3.5 per cent in 2019, according to the report from researchers at the University of Guelph and Dalhousie University. That means the average family of four will spend $12,157 next year — up $411 from 2018.

Vegetables will see the biggest price jumps — between four and six per cent for the category, according to the report.

Meanwhile, meat and seafood prices are expected to fall, with the meat category to decline by one to three per cent and seafood costs to remain the same or fall up to two per cent.

Since 2015, the team has predicted prices in those two categories would rise as high as six per cent each year.

“This is a bit of a risk for us … We’ve never done that,” said Sylvain Charlebois, one of the lead researchers and a professor at Dalhousie University, referring to anticipating a decline.

But the team is confident in its prediction.

April 25, 2014

They believe there’s an oversupply of meat, he said, and Canadians are eating less animal protein. Instead, they’re showing more interest in alternative proteins, like quinoa and lentils.

The plant-based protein trend is evident in recent manufacturer and restaurant moves as well.

Meat processors Maple Leaf Foods Inc., for example, acquired two companies in this niche in recent years, Lightlife Foods and Field Roast GrainMeat Co. 

At the same time, fast food chains have started adding vegan and vegetarian options to their menus. A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. even temporarily sold out of its Beyond Meat patties shortly after adding them to its menu.

Industry watchers have attributed the demand for plant-based protein to millennials, health-conscious baby boomers and concerns around antibiotic use in agriculture.

December 23, 2004

A turning point for animal protein, though, was 2014 when beef prices started to rise dramatically, said Charlebois.

Between December 2013 and December 2014 the monthly average retail price for one kilogram of ground beef rose more than 26 per cent, according to Statistics Canada data. For comparison, the price advanced about 3.5 per cent from December 2012-13. It reached a record high of $13.23 in October 2015.

“It really spooked consumers,” said Charlebois, adding they started substituting plant-based protein into their diet.

Butchers and grocers will likely take it easy on beef prices next year in an effort to bring people back to the red meat, he said. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Friday April 7, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday April 7, 2017

Council shifts $50M anti-poverty plan into an affordable housing initiative

Hamilton’s $50-million anti-poverty plan has transformed into an affordable housing plan.

September 18, 2013

City council approved Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s motion almost a year ago to set aside $30 million for a decade of unspecified measures to combat poverty and $20 million to fix or grow Hamilton’s social housing stock.

The money will come from future hydro utility dividends as well as Hamilton’s Future Fund.

City health and social services staff consulted local advocacy groups and experts on how best to spend the cash and presented a wide-ranging set of proposals to councillors Wednesday, including “wraparound” support for poverty-stricken single parents, “portable” rents for those seeking affordable housing and special funding for the urban aboriginal community.

November 25, 2009

Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who initially pitched reserving $30 million for a menu of poverty-fighting measures, said he understands councillors want to see a “cleaner, simpler” direction on how to spend the “historic” investment over a decade.

He seconded Collins’ motion, calling the focused housing approach a “fantastic step forward for this community.”

Coun. Matthew Green said he would only support the radical shift in strategy if the original unique plan to allocate $10 million for indigenous-led poverty-fighting initiatives was maintained in some way. “This is a top priority for me,” he said. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Thursday December 15, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday December 15, 2016 ÒI failed my kidsÓ: An Ontario momÕs story on soaring hydro When Cambridge mother Adele Benoit sees an electricity bill in her mailbox it is a reminder of the constant sacrifices her family must make. Fearing the worst, she will often open the envelope slowly, unfold the bill and hold her breath. "Then you see the amount due on the bill," she said. That statement's final tally has been skyrocketing steadily, she explained, rising to amounts of more than $600 every two months. Not so long ago her hydro bills were half that amount. It's a tough haul for a mother of three boys, aged 16, nine and seven, who takes care of her family in a modest Cambridge Housing Authority affordable unit. With little choice but to pay that bill, Benoit is forced to ask her children to accept less than she knows they deserve. At this time of year that means fewer Christmas gifts and even limiting the time the family's tree is lit. "Our Christmas tree gets lit up for an hour and a half or two hours, and then I shut it off.Ó Though she is employed, her paycheques are no match against rising household costs like electricity. She has even borrowed money to buy winter coats and hats for her sons. The struggle is not an easy one to share. "It makes me feel like I failed my kids," she said. Though in tears at times when describing her family's financial troubles, Benoit shared her story with Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath while sitting together at her kitchen table Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 13). Horwath is on a tour meeting with residents about the rising costs of electricity as part of a bid to force the provincial Liberal government to make hydro more affordable and to "humanize" public policy around energy. Horwath is also aiming to generate more support to block Premier Kathleen Wynne and the government from further privatizing Hydro One. Using Quebec and Manitoba as examples, Horwath said

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 15, 2016

“I failed my kids”: An Ontario mom’s story on soaring hydro

When Cambridge mother Adele Benoit sees an electricity bill in her mailbox it is a reminder of the constant sacrifices her family must make.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday November 22, 2016 Wynne calls high electricity prices her ÔmistakeÕ Premier Kathleen Wynne is calling high electricity prices her "mistake," sounding a note of contrition on one of the major issues threatening the Liberals' re-election bid in 2018. Amid the usual rallying of the troops at the Ontario Liberals' annual general meeting Saturday, Wynne addressed her poor popularity numbers, which she called the "elephant in the room.Ó "I think that people look at me and many of them think, 'She's not who we thought she was. She's become a typical politician. She'll do anything to win,'" Wynne said. "Frankly, I may have and I think I sometimes have given them reason to think that.Ó Wynne said part of convincing Ontarians that she wants to do what is in their best interests is admitting when she has made a mistake. "People have told me that they've had to choose between paying the electricity bill and buying food or paying rent," Wynne said. "That is unacceptable to me. It is unacceptable that people in Ontario are facing that choice. Our government made a mistake. It was my mistake.Ó An eight-per-cent rebate on electricity bills comes into effect Jan. 1, but Wynne said she will find more ways to lower rates and reduce the burden on consumers. After her speech, Wynne wouldn't point to any specific decision on the electricity file that she deems a mistake, but said her focus was on the big issues facing the system and she hasn't always paid enough attention to how costs were accumulating on people's bills. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)Êhttp://www.thespec.com/news-story/6975602-wynne-calls-high-electricity-prices-her-mistake-/ Kathleen Wynne, Ontario, Hydro, Cap and Trade, politics, honesty, taxpayer, rocket, launch

November 22, 2016

Fearing the worst, she will often open the envelope slowly, unfold the bill and hold her breath.

“Then you see the amount due on the bill,” she said.

That statement’s final tally has been skyrocketing steadily, she explained, rising to amounts of more than $600 every two months. Not so long ago her hydro bills were half that amount.

It’s a tough haul for a mother of three boys, aged 16, nine and seven, who takes care of her family in a modest Cambridge Housing Authority affordable unit.

With little choice but to pay that bill, Benoit is forced to ask her children to accept less than she knows they deserve. At this time of year that means fewer Christmas gifts and even limiting the time the family’s tree is lit.

“Our Christmas tree gets lit up for an hour and a half or two hours, and then I shut it off.”

Though she is employed, her paycheques are no match against rising household costs like electricity. She has even borrowed money to buy winter coats and hats for her sons. The struggle is not an easy one to share.

“It makes me feel like I failed my kids,” she said.

Though in tears at times when describing her family’s financial troubles, Benoit shared her story with Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath while sitting together at her kitchen table Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 13).

Horwath is on a tour meeting with residents about the rising costs of electricity as part of a bid to force the provincial Liberal government to make hydro more affordable and to “humanize” public policy around energy.

Horwath is also aiming to generate more support to block Premier Kathleen Wynne and the government from further privatizing Hydro One.

Using Quebec and Manitoba as examples, Horwath said other provinces are keeping energy rates down and are not privatizing, ensuring their electricity systems are about people, not profit.

In Ontario, she said, it’s private companies that are reaping the benefits. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Wednesday April 13, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday April 13, 2016 Attawapiskat emergency debate to be held by MPs this evening The House of Commons will hold an emergency debate this evening over "the gravity" of the many suicide attempts on the northern Ontario First Nation reserve of Attawapiskat. Members of Parliament will address the crisis during the debate scheduled to begin at approximately 6:40 p.m. ET and expected to last until midnight. The request for an emergency debate comes as Attawapiskat Chief Bruce Shisheesh fears more young people will try to harm themselves while the community tries to grapple with the crisis after declaring a state of emergency Saturday, following reports of 11 suicide attempts in one day. There are also reports of over 100 suicide attempts and at least one death since September. On Monday, provincial and federal government officials sent a medical emergency assistance team and five additional mental health workers to the First Nation community of less than 2,000. Three mental health workers were already in the community, a spokesperson for Health Canada told CBC News on Tuesday. The emergency debate was approved by House Speaker Geoff Regan Tuesday morning on a request from NDP MP Charlie Angus, whose riding includes Attawapiskat. "The crisis in Attawapiskat has gathered world attention and people are looking to this Parliament to explain the lack of hope, that's not just in Attawapiskat but in so many indigenous communities. And they're looking to us, in this new Parliament, to offer change," Angus said in the House of Commons on Tuesday morning. Angus said the emergency debate would allow MPs to address "the lack of mental health services, police services, community supports" facing so many First Nations communities across the country. "In closing," Angus said, "the prime minister called the situation in Attawapiskat 'heartbreaking' but it is up to us as parliamentarians to turn this into a moment

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 13, 2016

Attawapiskat emergency debate to be held by MPs this evening

The House of Commons will hold an emergency debate this evening over “the gravity” of the many suicide attempts on the northern Ontario First Nation reserve of Attawapiskat.

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday June 3, 2015 CanadaÕs residential schools cultural genocide, Truth and Reconciliation commission says The residential schools that removed aboriginal children from their homes, subjecting many of them to substandard education, malnutrition, abuse, illness and even death was a key part of a government-led policy that amounted to cultural genocide, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission concludes. ÒThese measures were part of a coherent policy to eliminate Aboriginal people as distinct peoples and to assimilate them into the Canadian mainstream against their will,Ó says the 381-page summary of its final report released Tuesday in Ottawa. ÒThe Canadian government pursued this policy of cultural genocide because it wished to divest itself of its legal and financial obligations to Aboriginal people and gain control over their land and resources,Ó says the report. The heart-wrenching and damning report is the culmination of a six-year examination of the history and legacy of residential schools Ñ largely operated by churches and funded by the Canadian government Ñ that saw 150,000 First Nations, MŽtis and Inuit children come through their doors for more than a century. The exercise has been Òa difficult, inspiring and very painful journey for all of us,Ó said Justice Murray Sinclair, Canada's first aboriginal justice and the commission's chairman. ÒThe residential school experience is clearly one of the darkest most troubling chapters in our collective history,Ó Sinclair told a packed news conference Tuesday in Ottawa. ÒIn the period from Confederation until the decision to close residential schools was taken in this country in 1969, Canada clearly participated in a period of cultural genocide.Ó Through the testimony of residential school survivors, former staff, church and government officials and archival documents, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission pieced together a horrifying histor

June 3, 2015

Members of Parliament will address the crisis during the debate scheduled to begin at approximately 6:40 p.m. ET and expected to last until midnight.

The request for an emergency debate comes as Attawapiskat Chief Bruce Shisheesh fears more young people will try to harm themselves while the community tries to grapple with the crisis after declaring a state of emergency Saturday, following reports of 11 suicide attempts in one day. There are also reports of over 100 suicide attempts and at least one death since September.

On Monday, provincial and federal government officials sent a medical emergency assistance team and five additional mental health workers to the First Nation community of less than 2,000. Three mental health workers were already in the community, a spokesperson for Health Canada told CBC News on Tuesday.

January 25, 2012

The emergency debate was approved by House Speaker Geoff Regan Tuesday morning on a request from NDP MP Charlie Angus, whose riding includes Attawapiskat.

“The crisis in Attawapiskat has gathered world attention and people are looking to this Parliament to explain the lack of hope, that’s not just in Attawapiskat but in so many indigenous communities. And they’re looking to us, in this new Parliament, to offer change,” Angus said in the House of Commons on Tuesday morning.

December 10, 2011

Angus said the emergency debate would allow MPs to address “the lack of mental health services, police services, community supports” facing so many First Nations communities across the country.

“In closing,” Angus said, “the prime minister called the situation in Attawapiskat ‘heartbreaking’ but it is up to us as parliamentarians to turn this into a moment of hope-making.”

October 28, 2005

“That’s why I’m asking my colleagues to work with me tonight, to work together, to discuss this issue tonight and start to lay a path forward to give the hope to the children of our northern and all other indigenous communities,” Angus said Tuesday morning.

Regan acknowledged “the gravity of this situation” before granting Angus’s request.

Other Ontario First Nations communities declared public health emergencies earlier this year.

At least four aboriginal leaders have been scheduled to appear before the Commons indigenous affairs committee on Thursday to discuss the health crises facing their communities. (Source: CBC News)

Federal Minister of Indigenous & Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett was asked about former prime minister Jean Chretien’s suggestion this week that those living on remote reserves could consider moving.

“It is about people’s attachment to the land, people having a right to live a traditional life and but also with economic opportunities,” she said.

“There’s choice involved …. Some communities have chosen to change their location to no longer be flooded and be on higher ground. Some community members choose to go to town to get a job, but then be able to come back, but this is about us wanting to support the choices.” (Source: Globe & Mail)

 

Other media

Published in the Regina Leader-Post April 14, 2016

Published in the Regina Leader-Post April 14, 2016