Illustration by Michael Haddad
Inequality and poverty
Taxes are the foundation of a healthy democracy. They fund the public services we depend on every day: roads, schools, community and social services, health care, justice, environmental protection and much more. But over two decades now, governments have undermined the progressivity of our tax system by cutting corporate and top income tax rates and letting tax loopholes proliferate. The top 1% of Canadians by income now pay a lower overall rate than all other income groups, including the poorest 10%.
First published in the Winnipeg Free Press September 23, 2019
In this issue:
Recent attention to issues of addiction in Manitoba has shifted from concern over opioids to methamphetamine use. Questions about government response have remained a hot topic during the run up to the provincial election. As a result harm reduction is starting to become a part of the public discourse.
Cleveland Model graphic taken from community-wealth.org.
Nearly 25 years ago, Canada participated in the 4th World Conference on Women, which resulted in global adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The conference set a new course for feminist activism by recognizing women’s rights as human rights. Bodily autonomy, the ability to decide freely over our bodies, was declared critical to realizing those rights.
For centuries, the political right has opportunistically blamed immigrants for everything from economic slowdowns to lousy weather. The ferocity of these baseless attacks in the 20th century produced tragic results. Yet we are letting it happen again—in the United States, Brazil, Australia, different parts of Europe, and here in Canada.
We must confront this vile political discourse wherever we come across it on social media, in classrooms, at public events, and in daily conversations with family and friends. But how can we do it?
Photo by Hillary Beattie