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Local libraries contributes to community, deserves funding

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By Robert Washburn

As municipalities get down to number crunching over the next few weeks, expect a barrage of rhetoric surrounding the 2012 budgets as various council members decry the unstable economy as justification for slashing services. Public libraries are an easy target.  Hamilton Township council is reviewing its longtime relationship with Cobourg library, which provides support for two satellite libraries in Gores Landing and Bewdely. A similar review is underway with the Garden Hill library in Port Hope. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Columns, Community, Politics

Income security once and for all

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By Deborah O’Connor

For Frances Lankin and Dr. Munir Sheikh, co-chairs of the Social Assistance Review Commission, the task of making final recommendations for the reform of Ontario’s welfare system has to be one of the hardest they’ve ever faced. With a generation of reports behind them from both in and outside government and a variety of ancillary programs that aren’t part of welfare but support welfare recipients, just absorbing all the information involved is a monumental job in itself. By next summer, they’re expected to come up with a road map for reform that will please Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, recipients and advocates alike; most especially the finance minister, who will have to find the money to make real change happen. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Community, Social Justice

Welfare reform: a long time coming

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By Deborah O’Connor

After looking at the history of Ontario’s welfare system in last week’s column, it’s time to see where the goal of reforming it has led us. When Premier Dalton McGunity was first elected in 2003, he promised to overhaul what every recipient and most advocates knew was a dysfunctional, inadequate and punitive bureaucracy that served nobody well. Putting newcomer Deb Matthews in charge, she embarked on the exercise of producing a report that would lay the groundwork for real reform. In her role, she travelled all over the province, meeting with everybody from staff at welfare offices, social service agencies, legal clinics, municipal representatives and even a few low income groups. By 2004, the report was finished, put up on a shelf and forgotten. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Community Voices, Community, Social Justice

The golden age of moustaches

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By Robert Washburn

The 19th century was the golden age of moustaches. Throughout history men have grown hair above their upper lip. But, beginning in about the 1850s a wide variety of moustaches became popular across Europe and North America. In England, military men returning from the Crimean War made moustaches popular. Many of the men let their facial hair grow on the battlefield. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Thinking Out Loud, Community

The tough part of Movember’s journey

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By Robert Washburn

The worst part of any journey is the middle. It is the time when the original enthusiasm associated with the outset of an adventure is gone and the relief of finally arriving is not there. Yup, it is the drudgery, the boring part where the expectations are meeting reality. With week three of Movember under the belt, the outline of the moustache is easily seen from a distance, not just up close. There is enough length to feel a bit prickly. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Thinking Out Loud, Community

The trouble with corporate charity

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By Deborah O’Connor

As times have become tougher in recent years for so many families and governments have pared their mandates and services down to the bone, Big Business has stepped up to the plate in a very big way, supporting all sorts of charities all over the world with campaigns and donations that are quite impressive. By applying their considerable talents and resources, they have made a huge difference in the charitable sectors they support. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Community Voices, Community