Blog
The Sisters of St. Joseph are concerned about how proposed changes to the federal health care program for newly arrived refugees will have negative impacts on refugees, refugee claimants, and health care systems across Canada.
Our Office for Systemic Justice has sent the following letter to the federal Minister of Health and the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada/IRCC to raise these concerns.
Read the letter here.
Ontario's water sources are under stress from climate change, land development, and population growth. That's why water permits (an important tool in assessing, monitoring and managing water sources) are important. They can help Ontario to pursue economic development within a wider vision that protects the wellbeing of water.
We invite you to read the attached letter from our Federation Office for Systemic Justice to Premier Ford expressing concerns about water and reminding the government that “it is more important than ever to have ongoing and careful assessments of the frequency and quantity of water-taking permits [which] requires strong structures for tracking, evaluating, and managing cumulative withdrawals across water sources…”.
-Sister Sue Wilson, csj
Image: David Becker @beckerworks/Unsplash
On this World Day of Social Justice, I've decided to highlight a troubling practice at the heart of capitalism, that is, the practice of socializing losses and privatizing gains. While it is certainly not the only inequitable pattern in capitalism, this flow of money from the government (public) to private corporations and wealthy citizens underlies many social injustices. For instance, it undermines the government's capacity to create strong social protections such as robust systems for health care, pharma care, dental care, education, child care, senior care, and work inspections.
Here's the thing. Privatizing profits and socializing losses means that a company's profit earnings can go to shareholders while passing part (or all) of the losses to society (to taxpayers). It's a practice that often occurs through government interventions such as bailouts, subsidies or cost-sharing arrangements for infrastructure projects where the public takes on the risks of any losses. Some examples include subsidies to the oil sector, the government paying for environmental clean-ups, and financial supports to banks during the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis.
Let's take a quick look at the Financial Crisis. Although Canadian banks remained relatively stable, the federal government still provided billions of dollars in support by purchasing mortgage assets from banks. This action seemed to be based on the assumption that allowing banks to collapse would cause widespread economic downturns and have much worse impacts on the working population than the rescues. However, the fact that banks continued to pay dividends to shareholders and award executive bonuses during this time, seems to suggest that this was about more than simply lessening any impact on the working population.
Maybe it's time we all do a little more thinking about how our economy works. Then we might be motivated to act for change.
-Sister Sue Wilson, CSJ
Image: Greg Rosenke @greg_rosenke/Unsplash
Our Office for Systemic Justice cites ethical concerns with legislation aimed at dismantling encampments.
December 9, 2024
Dear Premier Ford,
Recently, you proposed legislation to grant municipalities and police expanded powers to dismantle homeless encampments. You also indicated your willingness to use the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms if courts block the implementation of the legislation. You indicated your intention to give municipalities "the tools they need" to restore public order and safety, including measures to enhance penalties for trespassing, explicitly ban open drug use in public spaces, and enhance enforcement capabilities.
While no one thinks that encampments are an adequate solution, there are significant ethical concerns with this proposed legislation and, more widely, with this approach to homelessness:
Despite your government's promise of new funding to increase shelter beds for people being removed from dismantled encampments, it is clear that crowded shelters are part of the problem, not a long-term solution. Many people prefer living on the street, or in parks, because they find shelters unsafe, stressful, and lacking in privacy. In addition, overnight shelters leave people with nowhere to go during the day. Furthermore, many studies have demonstrated that funding overnight shelters is more expensive than funding deeply affordable and supportive housing options.
The notwithstanding clause should not be evoked to limit the rights and freedoms of people in vulnerable situations, particularly when there are more effective options for addressing the issues. The answers to homelessness are clear (see recommendations below). All that is lacking is the political will to invest in effective solutions. This is, at heart, an ethical issue for our society.
Recommendations:
An adequate response to homelessness requires the government to address the roots causes of homelessness. This means recognizing safe, adequate, and deeply affordable housing as a human right, and funding it as such. It also means providing supportive housing for people who require it.
We know that providing housing is cheaper than providing emergency shelters, but the problem is the steep upfront capital costs for housing. This means that the effective solutions we all seek require significant and sustained investments from all levels of government. It also requires tackling other systemic issues such as punitively low social assistance rates, an inadequate minimum wage, and insufficient mental health and addiction resources.
We urge you to be attentive to the Homeless Hub's Report on Encampments, which outlines a human rights approach. See Overview of Encampments Across Canada: A Right to Housing Approach. The report identifies key principles which would urge your government to recognize the residents of homeless encampments as rights holders, and to engage them in meaningful ways to explore alternatives to evictions. These rights-based principles also require governments to design and invest in long-term solutions, as suggested in the recommendations above.
Sincerely,
Sue Wilson, CSJ | Executive Director, Office for Systemic Justice
Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada
c.c. Minister Paul Calandra
Image of Homeless Jesus sculpture by Ashwini Chaudhary(Monty)
As Labour Day rolls around once again, there’s a different feeling in the air. For many workers, wages haven’t kept up with inflation. There’s a growing sense that workers have been pushed to the brink and they’re ready to stand together for a fair deal. For some that has meant strikes; for others, tough negotiating. Slowly, progress is being made.
But a recent article, by a former grocery-store worker, puts this progress in context. The article makes the point that there was a time when a person could build a solid career out of a full-time job at a grocery store. There were benefits, a pension, and a wage that would be about $46/hr in today’s dollars. Cashiers and clerks started at a wage that was triple the minimum wage.
Today, we can’t imagine such a thing. That’s how far removed from decent work our economy has become. It’s not that grocery stores are making less profit. In the quarter that ended July 1, Metro announced that net earnings increased 26 per cent to $346.7 million from $275 million during the same quarter a year earlier. That’s profit. Yes, their costs went up, but their revenues increased at the same time, ensuring these huge profits.
And, of course, it’s not just Metro. And it’s not just grocery stores. Profits don’t trickle down to workers; they flow to shareholders through increased dividends and buybacks. It’s how the system works.
“Profits don’t trickle down to workers; they flow to shareholders through increased dividends and buybacks. It’s how the system works.”
As we celebrate Labour Day, let’s also begin to imagine a new kind of economy. What about an Economy of Solidarity? An economy grounded in human rights and care for the earth and all earth’s inhabitants.
If we learn to stand together, we could make it happen.
-Sister Sue Wilson, CSJ
