This Magazine

Progressive politics, ideas & culture

Menu

Poverty

The cancellation of Ontario’s basic income project is a tragedy

Some 4,000 recipients of benefits in the pilot are now without the financial support that was promised to them

James Mulvale

The cancellation of Ontario’s basic income project not only violates our obligation as a society to ensure economic security for all. It also breaches the ethical obligations we have to those participating in research, and underscores the need for a multi-faceted research methodology in designing better income security programs. The new Conservative government in Ontario […] More »
July-August 2018

Inside Inuit homelessness in Montreal

A disproportionate number of Inuit slip into homelessness after landing in Montreal

Samantha Scalise

At any given time there are 150 to 200 Nunavik Inuit in Montreal accompanying a loved one receiving medical care. The lack of basic services in their northern communities forces a vast number of Inuit to fly south to receive treatment in the city. Once they arrive, many Inuit opt to stay in Montreal in an […] More »
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

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 »

Gender Block: so, the Pan Am games are a mess

Hillary Di Menna

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) led a rally and march last weekend in protest of Toronto’s Pan Am Games. As the event page description reads, “If there is money to spend on circuses, then the resources can be found to end the need for food banks, tackle the mounting problem of homelessness and ensure […] More »

Friday FTW: The movement to raise the minimum wage in Ontario

Espe Currie

The Workers’ Action Centre (WAC) is calling for a raise in the Ontario minimum wage, and has been organizing demonstrations and events since early March. On Tuesday, the Toronto Star published a piece from Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage members Navjeet Sidhu and Yvonne Kelly, in which the activists outline the myriad reasons an increase […] More »
March-April 2011

Photo Essay: Fort Chipewyan lives in the shadow of Alberta’s oil sands

Ian WillmsWebsite

The residents of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, live downstream from the most destructive industrial project on earth. A portrait of a community in peril Canada’s oil sands are the largest and most environmentally destructive industrial project in the world. So far, oil sands development has eliminated 602 square kilometers of Boreal forest and emits 29.5 million […] More »

Occupy Wall Street resists easy definition—and that’s exactly why it matters

Graham F. ScottWebsite@gfscott

[Note: this editorial appears in the November-December 2011 edition of This Magazine, which will be on newsstands and in subscribers’ mailboxes in early November.]  Looking back on autumn 2011, it seems increasingly clear that the movement known as “Occupy Wall Street” will be viewed as a genuinely important historical moment for the West. The idea, […] More »

Ethics Test: Should you give change to panhandlers? We asked the experts

This Magazine Staff

By Mary Dirmeitis and Megan Harris You’re walking down the street when you see a panhandler on the sidewalk, holding out a cup for passersby to give change. You can feel the loonie in your pocket left over from the coffee you bought earlier — but do you give it to the person? If you live […] More »