Speeches & Commentary

Whither Evidence?

By Alan Broadbent (Maytree Opinion, April 2013)
When it was revealed last week that the federal government was ending its funding of the Health Council of Canada, there was outrage but few found it surprising. In the wake of cutbacks to agencies that collect and share information, such announcements have lost their shock value. In this month’s Maytree Opinion, Alan Broadbent asks: What can be done to preserve the soon to disappear data sources, and who is going to do it?

It is time for a national focus on housing

By Alan Broadbent (Maytree Opinion, March 2013)
At the present time, the waiting list at the Toronto Community Housing Corporation is over 160,000, representing over 85,000 households. This is roughly the population of St. John’s, Kingston, or Kelowna. In this month’s Maytree opinion, Alan Broadbent wonders why this number doesn’t produce the outrage that a similar number would do in a smaller place. Housing is a vital platform for successful lives. People who have success at work, in their family, and in their neighbourhood and community will be productive citizens. It is time for all our governments to act.

Civility in Leadership

By Alan Broadbent (Maytree Opinion, February 2013)
Kathleen Wynne is Ontario’s new Premier, and quite appropriately much is being made of her victory in the Liberal leadership race and her being Premier. We at Maytree are delighted, and congratulate her. One of the things we celebrate in our new Premier is a triumph of civility, which in many places is becoming lost. Throughout her public life, as in her private, Premier Wynne has displayed respect and courtesy. It has won her allies and friends, and some commentators have said it brought other leadership contenders to her side at the end.

Five signs of hope for 2013

By Alan Broadbent (Maytree Opinion, January 2013)
The beginning of the new year is traditionally a time for resolutions or wishes. In this this month’s Maytree Opinion, Alan Broadbent starts off 2013 with five concrete signs of hope for the year ahead. Among them are the launch of the Caledon Institute’s The Canada Social Report, responding to the demise of two key reports that defined poverty in Canada; and the Workers’ Action Centre ongoing fight against wage theft.

Five reasons Canada leads the world on immigration

By Alan Broadbent and Ratna Omidvar (Maytree Opinion, December 2012)
December 18 is International Migrants Day, a time to reflect on the 214 million international migrants in countries around the world. If migrants all gathered in one place, they would constitute the fifth most populous country in the world. It is also the eve of a new year, a time when we take stock of what we’ve done over the past months and look forward to what we will do in the coming year. Now might be the right time to take a look at the success that Canada has made out of immigration. While we are not perfect, Canada has made determined and deliberate efforts to encourage conditions in which newcomers can flourish. We are recognized internationally as a leader in immigrant integration.

Five myths about Canada’s immigration system

By Alan Broadbent (Maytree Opinion, November 2012)
Recent media reports have characterized Canada’s immigration system as “broken,” and so ridden with problems that the only solution is a set of heroic measures, such as the current federal government changes, to set it on the right path. This view is largely false, and is only held up by the constant perpetration of a set of myths.

Let your light shine

By Alan Broadbent (Maytree Opinion, October 2012)
How many of us hide our light under a bushel. As the old saying has it, many of us hide our light, rather than raise it on a candlestick for all to see. We hold to ourselves the valuable learning we have, rather than exchange it with other people who might benefit from it, and who might have learning to share with us. The recent DiverseCity onBoard Learning Exchange is an example of what can happen when you bring many lights together and let them shine as a beacon.

Voter equality for a healthy democracy

By Alan Broadbent (Maytree Opinion, September 2012)
If we told you that voters in some Ontario ridings have twice the influence in Parliament as voters in Oak Ridges-Markham, what would your response be? In the latest Maytree Opinion, Alan Broadbent discusses how our democracy is healthy only when Parliament represents people in all parts of the country equally. Currently, we’re a bit ill.

Immigration Policy: The Sound of One Hand Clapping

By Alan Broadbent (Maytree Opinion, August 2012)
As Alan Broadbent writes, while there may be many views of Canada’s immigration system, most would agree that that Canada needs immigration. The unrest caused by the changes to immigration policy in the last year and a half raises immediate questions about what should constitute good policy. However, we need to start with a different question: How big do we want Canada to be?

Caledon rescues data

By Alan Broadbent (Maytree Opinion, July 2012)
Many Canadians have been puzzled as their federal government has been eliminating valuable sources of data and information. The elimination of the Statistics Canada long form census last year has been followed by continuing cuts or reductions to reports. In the spring 2012 budget, the budget of the National Council of Welfare (NCW) was eviscerated, essentially shutting down the organization. The NCW produced two important reports, Welfare Incomes and Poverty Profile. These reports were developed 25 years ago at the Council, and have become essential to policy makers and researchers trying to understand poverty in Canada. It is fortunate for Canada that the Caledon Institute of Social Policy has stepped up to rescue some of these important data. But it comes at a cost.