At the moment’s letters: Supporting individuals with disabilities; paying well being employees; and notes on Pierre Poilievre

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Nobody can reside on this quantity

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Re: ‘I’d like, not less than, to be on the poverty line,’ July 29.

Bravo to reporter Joanne Laucius for her article. She writes concerning the Ontario Incapacity Help Program’s woefully insufficient assist for individuals similar to Scott Ferguson, who receives ODSP of solely $1,197 per thirty days, of which $497 is meant to pay his lease. His mom strives to cowl his recurring scarcity of funds.

Everyone knows {that a} single grownup can not survive lengthy on $1,197 month-to-month in Ottawa. Our elected politicians know higher, but don’t tackle the issue. Folks with disabilities usually are not in a position to manage and draw public consideration to their very own wants. Accordingly, our ODSP recipients will proceed to fall farther and farther beneath the poverty line.

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It’s a message that ought to be aimed loudly and clearly at every considered one of our provincial politicians.

Bob Garrow, Ottawa

ODSP has not been elevated for ages

Lastly somebody has publicized the shame of ODSP. Thanks, Joanne Laucius.

I hope that individuals extra highly effective than I can get this Ford authorities to acknowledge that ODSP has not been raised for many years; to say it’s being raised 5 per cent is a joke. What number of can reside on $1,197 a month? No person.

The one approach individuals on ODSP can reside a good life is to depend on household who in some instances barely get by themselves. The desperation of those individuals usually results in homelessness.

What number of of you have got felt disdain when seeing somebody homeless? You have to be those demanding the provincial authorities present a minimal wage for everybody. And extra importantly, we could have individuals with disabilities via no fault of their very own, residing a good life.

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Katharine R. Elliott, Ottawa

We are able to simply afford correct assist for disabled

Hurrah for Joanne Laucius’s article on the miserliness of our incapacity pension system. As a lawyer for 35 years working subsequent to a number of of Ottawa’s low-income communities, I noticed many individuals left destitute via no fault of their very own — in one of many richest nations on this planet. It ought to be thought of a nationwide embarrassment.

We might simply afford to offer Scott Ferguson and different disabled individuals pensions of $5,000 a month, with out making a drop of distinction in our ocean of presidency spending. These usually are not abusers of a system; they’re individuals who deserve the care and love promised by the marginally paraphrased maxim, “a nation is to not be judged by the way it treats its finest residents, however by the way it treats its poorest.”

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Tom Curran, Prince Edward County

‘Ontario Works’ is a good worse shame

Ontario Incapacity Help Program (ODSP) advantages for a single individual are $1,197 a month; Ontario Works (OW) pays $733. It took three years for Scott Ferguson to get on ODSP. Presumably, he was on OW throughout that point. Actually, many disabled individuals are caught on OW and by no means get ODSP.

Sure,$1,197 is shamefully insufficient, however what  can we are saying about $733?  Yr after yr, the hole between the 2 charges solely will increase.

The Registered Nurses’ Affiliation of Ontario has joined these demanding a rise in ODSP charges, however nary a phrase about OW. Is that the most effective skilled recommendation they can provide?

Reuel Amdur, Gatineau

Let’s evaluate academics and nurses

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I acknowledge that every one provincial workers should be paid pretty, however I might solely shake my head on the information that Ontario graduated extra academics this yr than in earlier years, whereas nursing applications are begging for candidates. Let’s see why.

Full-time academics in Ontario work 194 days a yr, they’ve three paid skilled improvement days, together with 100 per cent pass-through medical and dental care, and get a mean of 10 weeks go away which can’t be cancelled. If a instructor has to remain house as a result of their little one is unwell, they’ve the choice of getting a provide instructor.

The mandated working day for academics is 300 minutes or 5 hours, Monday to Friday, totalling 25 hours per week. The common annual wage of a brand new elementary instructor is $51,263. After 15 years, the typical wage is $94,612. After 25 years, the typical elementary instructor makes the Ontario Sunshine Checklist of over $100,000 a yr. There is no such thing as a authorized requirement for academics to improve their abilities. Lecturers can legally strike. Full-time academics have a beneficiant pension plan.

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Full-time nurses in Ontario usually work shifts, normally consisting of 4 12-hours shifts, which legally might be prolonged to 16 hours, then they’ve 4 days off, they usually work weekends and stat holidays.  Nurses get a mean of 5 weeks’ paid go away a yr, which might be cancelled at any time, they don’t have any paid skilled improvement days, and their medical and dental plans usually are not 100 per cent pass-through.

If their little one is sick, they need to cowl the prices of a caregiver or keep house. The wage of a brand new full-time RN in acute care is $34.24/hr, or $58,831.50. After 25 years, an acute care RN with plenty of time beyond regulation would possibly make the Ontario Sunshine checklist. Nurses legally must improve their abilities. Nurses can not legally strike. Full-time nurses have a good pension.

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So which profession would you select?

Judy Warren, Ottawa

Teaches, nurses don’t simply need cash

I want our political leaders and unions actually understood what our well being care employees and academics actually need and want (this additionally goes for different professions as effectively). All we hear is cash, cash, cash. However what individuals actually hope for is:

1. A transparent understanding of their roles, tasks and aims;

2. Recognition and reward;

3. Communication, development and assist;

4. Belief, accountability, respect and delight within the work;

5. Studying and achievement;

6. Higher inner teamwork and communication.

Brenda Houle, Ottawa

Why we must always preserve revenue out of long-term care

Re: For revenue companies have a spot in long-term care, July 26.

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4 chief medical medical doctors from for-profit LTC chains not too long ago said that there isn’t a approach “to siphon” revenue from long-term care. But a research printed in Could by Canadians for Tax Equity discovered that for-profit LTC properties have taken virtually $4 billion in income in public cash away from “enhancing care in LTC” within the decade earlier than COVID. The identical group estimates 2019 income at $440 million.

A 2020 report by the B.C. Seniors Advocate discovered that though non-profit and for-profit LTC properties obtain the identical funding “not-for-profit care properties spend $10,000 or 24 per cent extra per yr on take care of every resident (and) for-profit care properties didn’t ship 207,000 funded direct care hours.”

Quite a few research have proven that for-profit properties have larger dying charges and charges of hospitalization than their non-profit counterparts; they’ve decrease staffing ranges, decrease wages and advantages and better workers turnover; and their residents have extra pressure-ulcers and usually tend to be inappropriately prescribed anti-psychotics. COVID mortality charges have been considerably decrease in municipal and non-profit properties.

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Opposite to what seems within the article, the COVID-19 Fee beneficial that resident care be separated from the development of long-term care buildings, as it’s for hospitals.

That is why, as Dr. Samir Sinha said “revenue has no enterprise mixing with the availability of long-term care.” We agree.

Grace Welch, Chair, Champlain Area Household Council Community, Ottawa

Conflict Memorial doesn’t belong to veterans

Re: Sacred web site or rallying level? The politicization of Canada’s Nationwide Conflict Memorial, July 31.

It is very important acknowledge that warfare memorials usually are not monuments to veterans. They’re monuments to Canadian warfare lifeless. To solid them as monuments to Canadian veterans is to embolden some disaffected veterans to assert them as their very own. These monuments are websites of reflection and conscience for your entire individuals of Canada.

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I’m a Canadian veteran and I don’t really feel I’ve any better declare to any Canadian warfare memorial than some other citizen. If something, these monuments are extra for the contemplation of the civilian public than for some other demographic.

John Moses (former Communicator Analysis Operator 291), Ottawa

Many issues plague the general public service

Re: Federal authorities should higher ship core providers, July 18.

I used to be a federal civil servant for 30 years. Former clerk of the Privy Council Kevin Lynch’s article about enhancing supply of federal providers has ignored some essential points:

1. On account of greying demographics and retirements, speedy
promotions have created “competency gaps.”

2. The precise construction of the federal public service has remained
unchanged for the reason that 1960 Glassco Fee beneficial modernizing the group.

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In immediately’s digital world, departmental partitions want to come back down so public
servants from completely different departments can staff up for simpler
service supply.

3. Coverage capabilities are rewarded extra readily than program supply
abilities. This was additionally true when Lynch was clerk.

4. Lynch was clerk for 3 years underneath Stephen Harper, whose PMO was so extremely centralized that ministers recurrently obtained their “media
scripts” from the PMO.

This didn’t have an effect on the issuance of passports, however neither was there a
extended pandemic to disrupt providers.

Julianna Ovens, Ottawa

Eco-anxiety: Attempting to do my half

Re: Eco-anxiety is rising as excessive climate turns into commonplace, July 25.

I’ve been attempting to do my half in defending our area’s native flora. After buying a property that backs onto wilds, then a creek, I made a decision I wished to arrange my property as a template for promote native flora and scale back invasive and poisonous vegetation in our space.

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I’ve reached out to 5 organizations in Ottawa whose mandate is selling eco-friendly habits or defending the environment, searching for steering. Two replied “can’t assist,” two didn’t reply and the fifth informed me over a month in the past they might come by and assist me determine native versus invasive vegetation on my property, however haven’t proven up to-date.

I then contacted two native panorama upkeep corporations, laid out my plans and requested if they might assist me meet my objectives if I employed them. Two weeks later, nonetheless no reply.

Given all of the issues about local weather change, it shouldn’t be so troublesome for residents to do their half. I don’t have the time to analysis this, which is why I used to be reaching out to native organizations with comparable objectives and finally paid providers.

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One remaining request: companies (non-public or public), when you personal land that’s vacant, please take away all Wild Parsnip. I see fields and bounds of Wild Parsnip in every single place there may be vacant land. Metropolis of Ottawa, please enact a bylaw to this impact. This could assist scale back the trouble/price all of us put in to eradicating this harmful plant.

Diana Thibodeau, Ottawa

A lot for serving to vacationers in Ottawa

We not too long ago returned from the Maritimes and have been extraordinarily impressed with the primary vacationer info centres in Halifax, Charlottetown and St. John. There was a wide array of brochures, from websites to accommodations, museums and so forth.

This final weekend, we went to the primary Ottawa centre on Wellington Avenue. What a humiliation for the capital of Canada: hardly any materials, and even brochures in French, though outnumbering the English, have been very restricted. After I requested for sure brochures, I used to be informed they didn’t have them but. It’s now August.

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Peter Sharman,   Westboro

Take a correct have a look at the NDP

Re: Need to cease Pierre Poilievre? Then repair the Canadian financial system, July 28.

Andrew MacDougall considers the choices for the following federal election and identifies solely the Liberals, Conservatives and “the left.” He utterly ignores any point out of NDP financial coverage. If he cared to look he would see a plan to construct half one million reasonably priced housing models; extra assist for working class efforts to enhance wages; a variety of different measures to handle the price of residing; and a plan to reform the tax code in order to be easier and fewer beneficial to the wealthy.

Can anybody determine any populist regime (together with the latest one to the south), the place these measures have been taken severely? Do you actually assume Pierre Poilievre will do any higher? I agree with MacDougall that the foundation of the issue lies in failure to handle concrete issues of coverage. Maybe it could assist to contemplate the insurance policies of a celebration which has them clearly displayed on-line, for anybody who cares to look, as a substitute of specializing in a restricted vary of alternate options which solely give us alternatives for extra complaining.

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Joe Parchelo, Ottawa

Let’s not observe Harper’s recommendation

Andrew MacDougall is his typical humorous self, suggesting pissed off Conservatives ask what Stephen Harper would do. The voters have already declared what they consider Harper and his recommendation: they elected another person.

Pierre Poilievre is a throwback who sides with unlawful convoy actions, needs to stamp out carbon pricing (and rebates) and usually says something to please his base, with little consideration of penalties. So, listening to what Harper would do and selecting Poilievre is a surefire option to preserve the bottom intact with no development in conservative assist — and to get another person elected.

Michael Wiggin, Ottawa