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Poverty

November-December 2016

Inside the Canadian government’s plans to help thousands of homeless veterans

A 2015 study found nearly 2,250 veterans use emergency shelters on a regular basis

Tyler Hooper@thooper8

Photo by the Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson The federal government is preparing to offer rental subsidies to homeless veterans as part of a draft strategy called Coming Home. The plan is meant to address the staggering reality that almost 2,250 veterans use emergency shelters on a regular basis, according to a 2015 study by Employment and […] More »
September-October 2016

Meet the woman helping the homeless rebuild their lives in Canada

Lia Grimanis's Up With Women focuses on the effects of poverty on homeless and at-risk women

Talia Wooldridge@TaliaWooldridge

Alexandra Shimo, left, and Lia Grimanis. Photo courtesy of Lia Grimanis Uncommon rain and no wind in April 2014 in the mountains of Pokhara, Nepal, nearly halted Lia Grimanis’ elaborate wedding proposal to award-winning author, Alexandra Shimo. After planning the para-hawking proposal (a combination of paragliding and falconry) for three-and-a-half years, Grimanis couldn’t back out […] More »
September-October 2016

How to end homelessness in Canada

Getting innovative about housing in our country is the solution

Kishone Tony Roy@kishoneroy

For our special 50th anniversary issue, Canada’s brightest, boldest, and most rebellious thinkers, doers, and creators share their best big ideas. Through ideas macro and micro, radical and everyday, we present 50 essays, think pieces, and calls to action. Picture: plans for sustainable food systems, radical legislation, revolutionary health care, a greener planet, Indigenous self-government, […] More »
September-October 2016

Canadians need to stop improving gentrifying neighbourhoods

It's our opportunity to put the brakes on run-away real estate prices

John Lorinc@johnlorinc

For our special 50th anniversary issue, Canada’s brightest, boldest, and most rebellious thinkers, doers, and creators share their best big ideas. Through ideas macro and micro, radical and everyday, we present 50 essays, think pieces, and calls to action. Picture: plans for sustainable food systems, radical legislation, revolutionary health care, a greener planet, Indigenous self-government, […] More »
September-October 2016

Canada needs a new strategy to tackle anti-poverty work

How to break the class ceiling

Pat Capponi

For our special 50th anniversary issue, Canada’s brightest, boldest, and most rebellious thinkers, doers, and creators share their best big ideas. Through ideas macro and micro, radical and everyday, we present 50 essays, think pieces, and calls to action. Picture: plans for sustainable food systems, radical legislation, revolutionary health care, a greener planet, Indigenous self-government, […] More »
May-June 2016

Is welfare sexist?

Some provincial governments will cut off social and disability assistance if a woman’s partner makes too much money—a 1950s era policy that curbs independence, reinforces the marry-rich cliché, and can even put women in danger

Amanda Van Slyke

Independence has never come easy for me—but it’s always been vital. I was born premature in 1989 with undiagnosed dyspraxia, a neurological disorder that permanently affects memory, coordination, and processing speed. Because my development was delayed and I was held back in kindergarten, I heavily relied on my classmates throughout school. I nodded my head […] More »
January-February 2016

The People Do Good Stuff Issue: Evelyn Encalada

The professor who fights to stop exploitation and improve migrant workers’ rights

Sam Juric@Samjuric

IN 2001, EVELYN ENCALADA TRAVELLED to Leamington, Ont. for the first time. Driving through the province’s tomato industry capital, flanked by farm fields on each side, made her feel like she was entering a different world, rife with exploitation and poverty. Encalada, an advocate for the rights of migrant workers, was there with a group […] More »
January-February 2016

The People Do Good Stuff Issue

Available to buy on newsstands now!

This Magazine

HERE AT THIS MAGAZINE, we spend a lot of time focusing on what’s gone wrong in Canada. It’s our job as independent media to loudly speak out and brightly shine a light on issues too often left in the dark. And there is, after all, so much that’s worth criticizing: violent Islamophobia; an ever-deepening rape […] More »

WTF Wednesday: Foster care youth earn less than the “average”

Kelsey Braithwaite

If you are leaving the foster care system to face the world of employment, be prepared to earn less than your fellow “average Canadian.” A recent report from the Conference Board of Canada (CBoC) said former foster care youth will earn about $326,000 less in their lifetime compared to youth not in the system. Your […] More »

FTW Friday: Woodgreen’s ad campaign turns celebrity gossip on its head

Simon Treanor

To me, the mark of good writing is taking something that everyone is familiar with, and presenting it in such a way that it surprises the reader. When that also highlights the struggles of those living in poverty, it helps improve the lives of everyone. Take  Toronto’s Woodgreen Community Services’ recent ad campaign.  For the […] More »

WTF Wednesday: free trade celebrated as prosperity reigns!

Joe Thomson

On November 21st the Macdonald-Laurier Institute will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Free Trade with a “gala” dinner that promises to be a “remarkable evening”. It’s being billed as a can’t-miss event, presumably attended by autocratic millionaires who will be outfitting themselves with new monocles and pocket watch fobs for the evening. I imagine most […] More »