Category: Blog

When teaching public policy, I often describe choices along a continuum. Take the high cost of food in Canada's North. At one end, government could do nothing and leave northern residents to absorb the higher cost themselves. Moving along the income support continuum, it could provide increasingly generous income supplements to low-income households. At the far end, it could provide enough additional income to compensate fully for the difference between northern and southern food prices. Those are all variations of the same policy. We change the amount of assistance in line with income support solutions But good policy analysis should always ask another question: Could we do something different that had similar results? Income solutions can almost always solve high-cost issues but are not always the best way to deal…

“Once verification of ineligibility and overpayment is provided, social assistance eligibility should be reassessed based on any new or changed circumstances. A reassessment requires that any other change in circumstance also be assessed. For example, in some cases people must repay the CERB because they returned to work earlier than expected. In these cases, any earned income received that had not previously been recorded (along with any other change in the person’s circumstances e.g. shelter) must be considered. In all cases, the CERB/CESB overpayment is attributed to the benefit month(s) where the payment was originally charged.” ODSP directive from 2020 found on Reddit For most of the twentieth century, Canada judged its social programs by a fairly simple standard: Did they improve people's lives? Old Age Security was designed to…

A sequel to "The Disability Tax Credit Was Never Meant to Carry This Much Weight" My first essay argued that the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) has evolved from a modest, non-refundable tax credit into Canada's principal federal definition of disability.  That institutional change has another consequence that deserves attention. The fiscal consequences of DTC eligibility are no longer confined to the tax system. They now extend deep into federal program spending. That changes everything. When Finance Canada estimates the cost of the Disability Tax Credit, it records the revenue forgone from the tax credit itself. Today that tax expenditure is on the order of $2 billion annually. But that figure no longer tells the real fiscal story. The DTC has become the gateway to a growing list of federal expenditures…

The Income Tax Act is an odd place to define disability. We do not define old age through the Income Tax Act before someone can receive Old Age Security. We do not define unemployment through the Income Tax Act before someone qualifies for Employment Insurance. Yet disability—uniquely—has become anchored in a provision originally designed to reduce income tax for people who owed income tax. That solved some administrative problems but has created a whole host of policy issues. Now, the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) has become one of the most important pieces of disability policy in Canada. That was never its intended purpose. The DTC was created as a non-refundable income tax credit. It was designed to answer a straightforward tax policy question: ‘Should a taxpayer with severe disabilities pay…

As Canada's wildfire seasons become longer and more destructive, a familiar proposal keeps resurfacing: appoint a national fire czar. The idea has appeal. Canadians want to know someone is in charge. But many wildfire professionals push back. They argue that the best decisions are made close to the fire, not in Ottawa. Local incident commanders understand the terrain, the weather, the fuels, the communities at risk and the resources available. Another level of bureaucracy risks slowing decisions that often need to be made in minutes. They have a point. Yet those calling for stronger national leadership also have a point. The mistake is assuming these are the same job. Canada does not need one person in Ottawa directing every wildfire response. It does need someone Canadians trust to explain what…

Everyone knows one reason charitable giving has declined. Life has become more expensive. Families have less disposable income. When budgets tighten, donations are often among the first expenses to be reduced. But perhaps there is another reason that receives far less attention. Perhaps donors are beginning to wonder whether all of this effort is actually changing anything. Every year charities publish impressive annual reports. I have said this before: More meals served. More families assisted. More people housed. More counselling sessions. More tax returns completed. The numbers are real. The work is real. The dedication is beyond question. Yet when donors step outside their front door, they often see something quite different. Food bank lines continue to grow. Homelessness has become more visible. People with disabilities continue living far below…

There is a paradox at the heart of Canada's social sector that we rarely acknowledge. The organizations doing the most good may also be making it easier for governments to avoid solving the problems they exist to address. That is not because charities, foundations and community agencies are doing anything wrong. Quite the opposite. They are staffed by dedicated people who improve lives every day. They feed hungry families, keep people housed, help people file their taxes, connect isolated seniors, and support people with disabilities. Society would be immeasurably poorer without them. But they operate within a system that rewards success in ways that can unintentionally hide failure. Every organization depends on someone for funding. Governments. Foundations. Corporate donors. Individual donors. To survive, they must demonstrate impact. Annual reports celebrate…

For thirty years, governments in Canada have carefully stepped away from a responsibility they once openly accepted. There was a time when governments at least claimed responsibility for ensuring that the most vulnerable people in society had enough income to survive. Today that commitment has become increasingly difficult to find. Provincial welfare rates have experienced a long-term decline (33 years long in Ontario) in real value. Cost-sharing arrangements between senior governments disappeared around the same time. The public conversation now rarely focuses on income adequacy. Few politicians speak passionately about ensuring that social assistance provides enough to live on. Yet something remarkable has happened. The political consequences have been surprisingly limited. Why? Because as governments retreated, others stepped forward. Food banks expanded. Housing and homelessness organizations and their advocacy expanded.…

Every Saturday I do something that may surprise people. I turn to the Business sections of the print newspapers to which I subscribe. Not first to the markets. Not to Bay Street. Not to the latest GDP figures. I turn to the death notices – the obituaries or obits. And over many years I have noticed something curious. The Business section is filled with stories celebrating productivity, economic growth, investment, mergers, corporate performance and wealth creation. Turn a few pages and you encounter something entirely different. Lives. The death notices follow a remarkably consistent pattern. We learn where someone was born; who their parents were; the siblings they loved; the children and grandchildren they cherished. We read about cottages, sailboats, curling clubs, volunteer work, bridge games, favourite fishing spots and…

“Every breath you take And every move you make….Every step you takeI'll be watching youEvery single day….And every word you say Every night you stayI'll be watching you”  Every Breath You Take Synchronicity The Police 1983 A friend of mine recently travelled from Ontario to Nova Scotia. Not for a vacation. His stepfather had died unexpectedly. His elderly mother needed help. He did exactly what the Ontario Disability Support Program requires. Before leaving, he informed his caseworker that he was going. He explained that he had purchased a one-way ticket - with the help of his family - because he did not know how long his mother would need him. He promised to report back once he had booked his return passage. His caseworker expressed sympathy for his loss and simply…