This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- Martha Friendly
highlights how families at all income levels can benefit from a strong child care system:
Isn’t it the Canadian way to include people from diverse groups and social classes in community institutions like public schools, community recreation facilities, public colleges and universities so all can learn to live, play and work together? Indeed, research shows that early childhood is the ideal time for beginning to learn to respect differences and diversity by engaging with and getting to know children and adults of all varieties.
Childcare as an inclusive community institution is great for families, as well as children. Childcare that’s responsive to the community can unite families from diverse origins through participation in common activities related to their children. This can demonstrate to adults and children that co-operation among social classes and ethnic groups is possible and valued. Thus, the idea of good childcare as an agent of social change that fosters social inclusion is an important aspect of a vision of Canadian childcare in the future, and one that is already embraced by many quality childcare programs.
- Meanwhile, Jordan Brennan and Jim Stanford
examine the effect of increasing the minimum wage - which improves equality without affecting employment growth. And for good measure, Danny Vinik
highlights a new U.S. study confirming the same point.
- Murray Dobbin
writes about the Harper Cons' Orwellian foreign policy:
Harper's amoral political calculations about who and when to bomb
people has little to do with any genuine consideration of the
geopolitical situation or what role Canada might usefully play -- or
even in what Canada's "interests" are. So long as he is prime minister
it will be the same: every calculation will be made with the
single-minded goal of staying in power long enough to dismantle the
post-war activist state. The nurturing of his core constituency includes
appeals to a thinly disguised pseudo-crusade against Islamic infidels, a
phony appeal to national security (preceded by fear-mongering) and in
the case of Ukraine, a crude appeal to ethnic votes.
Reinforcing this legacy is a mainstream
media that lets him get away with it, and in particular, refuses to do
its homework while the bombing -- or posturing -- is taking place and
then refuses to expose the negative consequences of the reckless
adventures. The result is what cultural critic Henry Giroux calls "the fog of historical and social amnesia."
- And Frank Graves'
issues chart likely explains the Cons' obsession with spreading fear at home and abroad, as "national security" and "crime" are the only issues where they seem to have any meaningful advantage over the other federal parties. But the good news is thatfewer and fewer Canadians are
showing any interest in settling for what the Cons are offering.
- Finally, Ryan Meili and Danyaal Raza
make the case to make health impacts a central consideration in developing all kinds of public policies.
