Publications, opinions, and speeches
Maytree publishes reports, backgrounders, briefs, opinions, and speeches to help inform decision-making and to engage in public discussions on social policy issues.
- For publications by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, visit this page.
- For publications on immigration and diversity (published before 2013), visit this page.
Published on 30/07/2021
Six recommendations for the federal government to consider to help ensure everyone in Canada has a place to call home.
Download the submission Housing is a human right. In Canada, this is enshrined in the National Housing Strategy Act, 2019. To realize this right, we need to pursue systemic solutions that can help ensure that everyone has safe, secure, affordable, and adequate housing. Maytree convenes the Housing Policy Research Exchange (HPRE)—a group of housing policy […]
Published on 28/07/2021
Cities have the power and potential to impact people’s lives. We must imagine, and plan for, a city that supports every person’s dignity and human rights.
This Maytree opinion is part of our series, “A life with dignity: Towards economic and social rights for all.” Each month, we will explore how our collective choices are bringing us closer to – or keeping us from – what we need for every person in Canada to live with dignity. Lately, I’ve been thinking […]
Published on 21/07/2021
This interview explores the historical roots of racism in the criminal justice system, in particular how racism and colonialism have contributed to the social and economic inequalities and discrimination experienced by Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in Canada, and in turn shaped their interactions with the criminal justice system.
This interview with Akwasi Owusu-Bempah is part of our series, “Advancing justice,” which explores the relationship between human rights, poverty, racism, and the criminal justice system. Listen to the full interview as a podcast: Elizabeth McIsaac, President of Maytree: To begin our series on human rights, poverty, racism, and the criminal justice system in Canada, I’m […]
Published on 21/07/2021
The criminal justice system – from police to courts to prisons – is intricately tied to our economic and social rights. Failure to fulfill these rights creates poverty, giving rise to and deepening cycles of marginalization and vulnerability. All this, of course, is exacerbated by systemic racism. In “Advancing justice,” researchers and practitioners will explore these issues as well as potential solutions and promising practices.
This article is the introduction to our series, “Advancing justice,” which explores the relationship between human rights, poverty, racism, and the criminal justice system. It’s written by the members of the editorial board. The full breadth of our human rights are at issue in the criminal justice system. Though most commonly associated with civil and […]
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Published on 28/06/2021
The proposed multi-tenant houses framework and approach is an opportunity to undo some of the harms caused by the City’s approach to housing. The City has an important opportunity to demonstrate that it is resolutely committed to helping residents realize their human right to housing.
Download the submission Submitted to the Planning and Housing Committee regarding agenda item PH25.10, “A New Regulatory Framework for Multi-tenant Houses,” to be considered on June 28, 2021. At Maytree, we believe the most enduring way to fix the systems that create poverty is to safeguard economic and social human rights for all people living […]
Published on 28/06/2021
Many people ask: Should encampments be allowed to remain, or should they be removed? But the question should really be: What do the people living in encampments think?
This Maytree opinion is part of our series, “A life with dignity: Towards economic and social rights for all.” Each month, we will explore how our collective choices are bringing us closer to – or keeping us from – what we need for every person in Canada to live with dignity. Don’t let the impersonal, […]
Published on 22/06/2021
The pandemic has shown us what happens when we don’t have good government. We must demand vastly more of our leaders than the “seat-winning business” can provide.
According to a key advisor to Premier Doug Ford, their party is “in the seat-winning business.” Whether they’d say it out loud or not, most politicians would likely agree. After all, you have to win an election in order to take power and form government. But what about being in the “good government business”? Isn’t […]
Published on 10/06/2021
This policy brief provides a summary and analysis of the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s (OPBO) report, Distributional and Fiscal Analysis of a National Guaranteed Basic Income.
Download the policy brief This policy brief provides a summary and analysis of the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s (OPBO) report, Distributional and Fiscal Analysis of a National Guaranteed Basic Income. Our analysis offers an overview of the OPBO’s report and an examination of some of the shortcomings of the OPBO’s costing. The following […]
Published on 31/05/2021
People suffer when we do not put them at the centre of our collective decisions. For example, our pandemic response for schools failed to prioritize the rights of children and youth.
This Maytree opinion is part of our series, “A life with dignity: Towards economic and social rights for all.” Each month, we will explore how our collective choices are bringing us closer to – or keeping us from – what we need for every person in Canada to live with dignity. People suffer when we […]