Even with the minimum wage increase on October 1, young Ontario residents are hardly making enough money to cover their basic living expenses

On March 31, 2023, the Ontario government announced it would be increasing minimum wage by 6.8 per cent to $16.55 an hour on Oct. 1, 2023. The Ford government stated that this pay raise will help offset the rising costs of living for nearly one million low-income workers. On the official Ontario government website Monte McNaughton, the former minister of labour in Ontario, declared the wage increase was a fair and balanced approach that would lead to building a stronger province for all residents.

But $16.55 an hour is still far away from truly being a fair wage.

A minimum wage is the lowest rate an employer is legally required to pay their employees. In Canada, minimum wage policy was created to protect workers from exploitation. However, minimum wage employees still face workplace mistreatment. Low-income workers are the most vulnerable to wage theft. They aren't paid for overtime work, are expected to do more work for less pay, and are not given their legally mandated meal breaks.

In 2018, 52.3 per cent of minimum wage workers were between the ages of 15 and 24 years old, making young Canadians the largest demographic at risk of minimum wage exploitation. In addition, young workers may not be aware of their rights as an employee, meaning they can be easily taken advantage of.

In my own experience working minimum wage jobs, I faced significant mistreatment. While working as a shift manager at McDonald's, I was rarely paid for my overtime work and I was never given medical benefits, despite being a full-time employee. I was also expected to pick up the slack for other employees and give up my breaks to help support staff during peak business hours. Yet I never received a raise for my additional work. I ultimately quit because I felt so unvalued by the company.

Other young Canadian workers are experiencing similar disparagement in their work environments.

Minimum wage tends to be the lowest number the government can get away with while still maintaining positive public perception. Even with the recent increase, working a minimum wage job can mean being condemned into poverty because these boosts fail to reflect the rising costs of living.

Even with the recent increase, working a minimum wage job can mean being condemned into poverty. Boosts in minimum wage fail to account for inflation. Minimum wage tends to be based upon the lowest number the government can get away with while still maintaining positive public perception.

As Ontario continues to grapple with inflation, it is also experiencing a housing crisis and growing food insecurity. Minimum wage doesn't allow people to live comfortably. Young Canadians are struggling to picture their futures as half are living paycheque-to-paycheque. And workers that insist on higher pay are often labelled as difficult, have their hours reduced or are fired. Similarly, increases in minimum wage are also linked to decreases in healthcare insurance offered by employers.

In contrast to minimum wage, a living wage is the hourly rate an employee must be paid, before taxes, to cover their basic living expenses. The Ontario Living Wage Network calculates living wages by taking into consideration the current costs of food, services, shelter, transportation, internet and cellphone plans among other expenses.

Living wages look like having your basic needs met consistently, while having money left over for other things meaningful to you. It means being able to eat nutritious food everyday, having access to services such as healthcare and being able to afford housing with the necessary amenities.

Living wages look like having your basic needs met consistently, while having money left over for other things meaningful to you. It means being able to eat nutritious food everyday, having access to services such as healthcare and being able to afford housing with the necessary amenities.

Living wages varies by region across Ontario. The OLWN determined that residents of the GTA should be paid $25.05 an hour and residents of Hamilton $20.80 an hour. Evidently, $16.55 an hour is far from being a living wage.

Employers have a corporate responsibility to protect their employees by providing them with the funds for affording a comfortable standard of living. To live without the constraints of poverty is a basic human right that must be respected.

The future doesn't need to be as unliveable as it seems. It is possible for more employers to start paying living wages. The OLWN certifies employers who provide living wages and publicly recognizes these businesses. Businesses that want to ensure their employees are able to live comfortably should look to their leading counterparts for guidance.

Introducing a living wage can provide businesses with many valuable benefits. When workers are paid well, businesses can become more profitable and sustainable. Living wages are a win-win for both employers and employees. Some companies are putting in the work, but our provincial government still has a long way to go if it truly wants to build a better, stronger province.

C/O Tony Sebastian, Unsplash

While we may perceive ourselves as worlds away, we’re much closer than we think

Let’s set this story during Welcome Week of 2019. Surrounded by other 2023s, I ventured into the thick swarm of students on the field outside Burke Science Building. Before I could take a breath, I was asked a question that all of us had heard countless times during that week.

“What program are you in? Like, are you a science kid or an English kid?” 

I’d answer with “science kid” and move on with my life. No big deal, right? Well, not exactly. As I went through two more years of university, I discovered there was a greater divide in the sciences and humanities than I had first realized. Science kids were the kind that would rather solve complex chemistry problems than go near an essay. Humanities kids could write 20-page essays but god forbid they took a physics class.

As far from the truth as these generalizations may be, they do exist and they do persist. The general public’s perception of students who pursue science and students who pursue the humanities are closer to these reductive statements than we may think. 

This issue has been discussed at length, not only by students like us, but also by renowned professors across the world. In 2018, the University of King’s College in Halifax held a roundtable discussion on this exact topic. These scholars, particularly Evelyn Fox Keller, talked about the territorial criticism they felt as an expert in history, physics and biology. The roundtable came to the conclusion that the sciences and humanities are often presented with the same problems, such as climate change, but rarely work together to solve them.

Not only does this divide affect worldly problems, but it also affects us all on a smaller scale of interests and extracurricular activities. Why are only science students expected to take on research positions? This rush to get involved in research activities is a constant discussion in the echo chamber of undergraduate science students, often with no mention of research efforts in the social sciences and humanities.

With such a binary in expected extracurriculars, this frame of thinking has also found its way into job interviews. Mahnoor Malik, a third-year health sciences student, reflected on her experience of this phenomenon. 

With such a binary in expected extracurriculars, this frame of thinking has also found its way into job interviews.

“I was in an interview, hoping to get a position writing for this website I’m really fond of. The interview was going great, but they did comment on how my writing experience was largely scientific. I understand where they were coming from, but it was also shocking to see how my scientific writing experience wasn’t valued as much as other writing experiences were,” explained Malik. 

This experience isn’t unique to one individual. The separation between these two fields has led to a lack of understanding of each other from both sides. By allowing this distance to exist, we inevitably divide ourselves into different social and professional groups. 

By allowing this distance to exist, we inevitably divide ourselves into different social and professional groups. 

We allow these preconceived notions to affect our judgement of each other. From a STEM perspective especially, we’re all somewhat guilty of assuming that non-STEM programs have fewer career opportunities. However, graduates of social sciences programs not only have similar employment rates to STEM graduates, but are also valued by employers for their critical thinking,  emotional intelligence and ethical reasoning. 

On a personal level, I have had a passion for writing for as long as I can remember. However, I assumed that once I chose my path of health sciences, writing could be nothing more than a hobby. My label was now to be science and science alone. 

Imagine my surprise when I joined the Silhouette and found just as many science kids as humanities kids as arts kids on our staff. In a short couple of months, this team has opened my eyes to the fact that these insurmountable obstacles that we created are largely imaginative. 

As students, we need to take it upon ourselves to throw this arbitrary barrier to the wind. By doing so, we gain the chance to learn more about ourselves, each other, and the plethora of opportunities available to not just X or Y students, but to all of us. 

In the aftermath of the fire that destroyed their studio, Grey Harbour Tattoo is back and better than ever

C/O @greyharbourtattoo

Located in Hamilton’s art district on James Street North, Grey Harbour Tattoo is a semi-private tattoo studio that has been offering client-centred service to customers since April 2015. The studio was opened by tattoo artists and owners Tom Penny and Ron Vino and formerly, Sherlane White.

Penny was born and raised in Hamilton. After several years working in the automobile industry, he changed direction to study visual arts at Sheridan College, where he learned to tattoo at a local studio. After returning to Hamilton, Penny approached fellow tattoo artist and current business partner, Vino, with the idea of opening up his very own studio.

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Penny himself tattoos primarily nature-based and traditional tattoos, drawing on flora and fauna as his subject matter. Meanwhile, Vino’s tattoos are very saturated and characterized by bold lines and bright colours.

“What I strive for is just to constantly progress. It's a very competitive industry, and there's people constantly coming up. Even just in our shop, we have a few new artists and working alongside them pushes us to constantly get better,” said Penny.

On April 21, 2020, about one month after the first business closures due to COVID-19, Grey Harbour Tattoo was caught in an arson attack on James Street North that destroyed it as well as La Bichette boutique and Born & Raised restaurant.

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“[The fire] was something obviously that we didn't expect. How do you explain something that was just so shocking? I came in [so distraught] that it was almost hard to believe that we went through it,” said Penny.

“[The fire] was something obviously that we didn't expect. How do you explain something that was just so shocking? I came in [so distraught] that it was almost hard to believe that we went through it,” said Penny.

Penny was first alerted to the fire by Vino, who rushed to the scene when the building owner initially realized that Born & Raised had caught fire.

“I just remember we were all sitting at home doing our own things, and I got a message from Rob saying, “[the] building's on fire.” Thankfully, it didn't get out of hand and someone was present there to put the fire out. At first I just couldn't believe it—within 10 minutes [of receiving a phone call] I was there, seeing what I didn't ever expect to see. Obviously I've seen fires in my time, but to see your own space just demolished was pretty shocking,” said Penny.

In the aftermath of the fire, they set up a GoFundMe campaign with the help of fellow local tattoo artist Brock Ryan, which hit its $25,000 fundraising goal in order to cover expenses outside of the studio’s insurance coverage. Through collaboration with local artists to raise awareness, the studio received immense support from the local community.

“Word spreads. Even overseas I was getting messages from people and so just seeing that kept us positive. Knowing that we were going to be okay, we were going to get through it and we had support,” said Penny.

In a stroke of good luck, the owners of a space across the street reached out to Penny, so the studio transitioned from a second and third storey location to a spot opening straight onto James Street North. They are now located at 172 James Street North.

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“No one was hurt and the building was vacant because of COVID, so there were so many things to be thankful for rather than [focusing] on the negative,” said Penny.

Although they are currently closed due to COVID-19 lockdown procedures, Grey Harbour was open from August to December 2020. They have changed the way they operate due to COVID-19. Now clients contact the artist they’d like to tattoo them directly in order to book an online consultation.

From there, the artist will discuss design ideas, placement and determine if tracings or pictures are necessary. Depending on the artist, wait times range anywhere from a couple of weeks to months due to limited client capacity and enhanced sanitation procedures.

Grey Harbour Tattoo takes a special pride in tailoring to the interests of each individual that comes to their studio, with a very client-centered approach to tattooing.

“The way we run the studio is you choose the artists you want to work with, you look at the work, you check out their social media page. If someone came to me with an idea that I felt another artist at another studio is better for . . . I'll refer them to another artist. We just want our clients to get the best possible tattoo,” said Penny.

After a difficult year, Grey Harbour Tattoo is happy to be back from the face of hardship and delivering the best possible service to their clients once again. Their experience is a testament to the resounding support of the local Hamilton community.

Photo by Cindy Cui / Photo Editor

By Yashpreet Birdi, Contributor 

Demonstrating leadership is a concept that we have all likely come across in our course outlines, student club activities or job postings. Figuring out how to show others your leadership capabilities can be scary for those of us who identify as introverted. But maybe we should focus on redefining the term “leadership”. I have realized over time that there can be many opportunities for introverted students to become leaders.

McMaster University is constantly promoting initiatives such as Welcome Week, student elections and executive positions for student clubs. These activities are constantly tied to being extroverted and well-suited for future leaders.

For example, these opportunities usually consist of campaigning and delivering speeches which require you to be comfortable engaging with others. In other words, you can’t experience terrible anxiety when you’re put on the spot!

Because of the popularity of such initiatives at McMaster, it can become difficult for introverted students to realize that there is also space for them to demonstrate and develop strong leadership skills. If you are introverted, here’s how you can become your own type of leader.

 

Dare to challenge traditional perceptions

When I, an introvert, used to hear the term “leader” I would automatically visualize an extroverted person confidently standing at a podium, making motivational speeches that would eventually propel others towards a brighter future. I would rarely imagine someone who is seen as more “behind the scenes”. Why are these quieter personalities not often described to be motivational, ambitious, influential and powerful? It’s interesting to see how our brains automatically connect certain terms with specific visuals. But my stereotype visual is not the only possible depiction of a successful leader.

Through my recent observations, I have seen that leadership can be diverse. In our everyday life, we can see the several personality types that surround us — not just limited to introverts and extroverts. All personality types have different abilities, strengths, goals and preferences.

 

Create your own definition for ‘leadership’ and ‘success’

The dream of becoming the next great leader forces introverts to reimagine their idea of success and leadership. Try the simple practice of closing your eyes and visualizing yourself as a powerful and successful leader. What do you see? What are your strengths? What do you bring to the table? When you have a strong passion to contribute to making the world a better place, you must not let biases against your personality type prevent you from working towards your goals.

 

Take advantage of unique opportunities

There are many opportunities for introverted students to showcase their skills without having to change their personalities to fit into traditional ideologies of success. 

Attending lectures and office hours for me is not only an opportunity to gain knowledge from experts. It is also a chance to get inspired and examine the hard work that professors perform behind the scenes to prepare for their academic duties. These experts have the amazing ability to influence various policy, health, science, politics and religious debates. Just by looking at these leaders, you can see endless opportunities for introverts. Think about the possibility of conducting research with your professors to contribute to their efforts of influencing the world.

Additionally, I believe that the best opportunity for us to demonstrate leadership is to exercise our right to vote as Canadian citizens. Commit to voting in the upcoming Canadian federal election on Oct. 21, 2019! If running for elections is seen as a leadership initiative, voting should be seen in a similar lens.

By making the firm decision to vote for the upcoming election, you not only take the initiative to take action, but you also strongly voice your opinion, and attempt to improve how our society and country operates. Does this not sound like taking a strong step towards leadership and making an impact?

 

Reflect, Define, Proceed, Repeat!

We should always remember that Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

It is essential to reflect on your personal missions, define what success and leadership mean to you and confidently proceed in your individual path. And don’t forget to repeat this process whenever you feel overwhelmed during your journey towards success and strong leadership!

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Photo by Kyle West

From the Student Representative Assembly requiring a survivor to disclose their assault in order for the removal of a perpetrator on the assembly to news of rampant sexual assault within the McMaster Students Union Maroons, this past year has been filled with controversy.

Given the events of this year, and what has occurred in the past, it is shocking that the MSU lacks a formal human resources department.

HR departments exist to deal with workplace disputes and ultimately ensure that employees are aware of their rights as minimally outlined by the Ontario Employment Standards Act. This includes the creation, implementation and enforcement of policies and structures that support employee rights like formal complaint structures and disciplinary policies.

Currently, the only HR presence that exists within the MSU is through the operations coordinator, Maddison Hampel. Though Hampel has formalized HR training and experience, her role does not allow her to adequately support all HR functions of the MSU.

Unfortunately, the only HR-focused training for student employees ends at the mandatory online workplace health and safety training modules that all employees of McMaster University are required to complete.

The majority of student employees, myself included, have never even been formally introduced to Hampel or made aware of our employment rights during our training sessions.

If we had a formal HR department, it is extremely likely that the Maroons sexual assault allegations would have been dealt with appropriately.

In fact, with a proper HR department, policies for sexual assault and workplace harassment would likely already be in place, and be created by individuals with the expertise to do so.

A formal HR department could also allow for better and more comprehensive hiring practices wherein individuals who were previously reported to the department are properly dealt with and not re-hired for other positions within the MSU, a consistent problem of the institution.

At the very least, an HR department that is independent of the MSU could allow student workers to feel comfortable reporting any issues. As it stands, I report my workplace issues to my direct supervisors, but this gets complicated if my concerns are about individuals in positions of power.

An HR department can ensure supervisors are accountable for their actions and held to an expected level of professionalism.   

Josh Marando, president-elect of the MSU for the 2019-2020 year, has acknowledged that the lack of a formal HR department is an issue. One of his platform points is to restructure the internal operations of the MSU.

According to his #BuildTogether platform, he plans to divide the current full-time staff position of operations coordinator to create a specific HR coordinator who is independent from the board.

While the operations coordinator’s role would be shifted to focus largely on supporting clubs and internal operations, the proposed HR coordinator is meant to “support our students through connecting with university programs that have a focus on equity and anti-discrimination.”

Though creation of an independent HR coordinator is an important first step, it is not enough. The MSU is comprised of over 40 full-time permanent staff and 300 part-time student staff. A singular HR coordinator cannot possibly support this vast number of employees.

The lumping of the HR coordinator role with equity and anti-discrimination programs can also be problematic. Certainly the future HR coordinator can and should consult with equity groups to ensure their policies are consistent with student needs, but it is important that the two ultimately remain separate.

This is because it is possible that issues concerning diversity and discrimination may arise from the HR department. This would then make it difficult for individuals to report issues to the same department where the issues stem from.

What the MSU needs is a full-blown autonomous HR department, with policies in place and trained personnel. Only through implementation of an HR department can the MSU truly account for the safety of its student employees.

It’s important to remember that students employed by the MSU are employees. They deserve the same respect and safety enforced by a HR department in any other workplace.

Honestly, student workers should be unionized to ensure their rights are defended. Until they are, the MSU must do a better job in the 2019-2020 year of protecting their employees through implementation of formal HR resources and personnel.

 

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By: Jenna Tziatis, Marketing Assistant, McMaster University Continuing Education

In today’s tough job market a degree alone may not be enough to get you the job or promotion that you’re looking for.  Employer expectations are higher and are expecting more than the knowledge that comes with a degree. They are also scrutinizing candidates based on their enhanced skill-sets and experience to ensure they are hiring someone who will fit and integrate into their business and culture with the least disruption.

Savvy students are realizing this trend and responding by upskilling themselves to ensure that they stand out in the employment crowd and that their resume rises to the top of the pile.  If you’re thinking about getting ahead, McMaster Continuing Education offers a variety of learning options from diplomas and certificates to micro learning options. Whether your focus is in the field of business, health or professional development, there are many to choose from:

To make it easier for Mac students, McMaster Continuing Education offers a faster route to get you ahead with Degree + Diploma.  This opportunity allows you to earn a diploma or certificate while you work toward your degree.  You can use your elective credits in your current program of study toward a diploma or certificate with Continuing Education, allowing you to gain your qualifications faster. This opportunity is gaining popularity among Mac students and can be easily set up by contacting your Academic Advisor.    

If you’re not ready to jump straight into getting a diploma or certificate you can always try one of McMaster Continuing Education professional development courses or attend our upcoming free Business Entrepreneur Series micro learning session that is running in spring.  It’s a great way to gain valuable and recognized skills in a condensed learning format.  To attend this series you can sign up at mcmastercce.ca/events/free-business-entrepreneurship-series

Regardless of what you decide, by recognizing the demands of today’s job market and being proactive to acquire the skills that businesses are looking for will make you more visible and appealing to employers.  Continuing Education will give you that competitive edge to get ahead and land that job you’re looking for.

To learn more about these valuable learning options visit www.mcmastercce.ca

 

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Photo C/O Kyle West

Here’s a look at five major provincial, Hamilton and McMaster stories that hit the newscycle last week.

 

1. Provincial government releases sexual assault survey results

After falling under scrutiny this winter for not releasing the results of the Ontario-wide Student Voices on Sexual Violence survey, the Ontario government finally published the report in full.

The survey, which was sent out last year, asked students to outline their experiences with sexual violence at their post-secondary institution.

The results of the survey, released on March 19, also describe the experiences of sexual assault and violence McMaster students have had while completing their degrees. Here are some of the report’s key findings:

More information about the results of the survey, including McMaster University and McMaster Students Union’s response to them, will be included in the Silhouette’s April 4 issue.

 

2. New study suggests ‘clear relationship” between mental health and precarious employment

A new McMaster-affiliated study underscores the strong link between precarious employment and mental health, offering a snapshot into the mental health of precariously employed millennials in Hamilton.

The comprehensive 103-page study reveals the results of the 89-question online Hamilton Millennial Survey, which surveyed nearly 1,200 employed millennials living in Hamilton last year.

 

3. Hamilton-based white supremacist Paul Fromm under investigation for ties to New Zealand manifesto

Following the massacre of 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, Hamilton Police Services launched an investigation into Paul Fromm, a Hamilton-based white supremacist. Fromm recently ran for mayor in the 2017 municipal election and received 706 votes.

 

4. Hamilton declares state of climate change emergency

As part of a global push to confront climate change, Hamilton has joined hundreds of other municipalities, voting to declare a climate emergency last Monday.

5. McMaster students call for sweeping changes to education

On March 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., students marched through the McMaster University Student Centre and protested outside of the building’s courtyard, demanding radical changes to the post-secondary education system.

The protest was part of the Red Spring campaign and launched by the Revolutionary Student Movement, an anti-capitalist organization on campus.

Some of the demands of the protest include:

While there are no definitive plans for another protest, Khan notes that the campaign will not end anytime soon.

 

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Photos from Silhouette Photo Archives

Hamilton is a city of stark inequalities. As the city’s economy booms, many Hamiltonians are swept to the sidelines as a result of a housing crisis and employment insecurity. Compared to other cities in Ontario, Hamilton also has a high proportion of working class people, disabled people and refugees, who are often the first to feel the brunt of these changes.

Health outcomes over the past decade have been bleak, and according to many disability justice and healthcare advocates, show no signs of changing unless bold steps are taken to support Hamilton’s marginalized populations.

 

The Code Red Project

In 2010, the Hamilton Spectator released Code Red, a project that mapped the connections between income and health across Hamilton to explore the social determinants of health. Using census and hospital data from 2006 and 2007, the report showed strong disparities in health outcomes between the Hamilton’s wealthiest and poorest neighbourhoods.

The Code Red project shows that social and economic inequalities lead to health inequalities. The lower city, which experiences disproportionately higher rates of poverty, also has significantly poorer health outcomes.

In February 2019, an updated Code Red project was released using data from 2016 and 2017. The updated Code Red project found that in general, health outcomes in Hamilton have declined and inequalities have grown.

Since the first Code Red project in 2010, the average lifespan in parts of the lower city has declined by 1.5 years. Furthermore, the gap in lifespan between Hamilton neighbourhoods has grown from 21 to 23 years.

 

Hamilton: the past 10 years

These results come as no surprise to Sarah Jama, an organizer with the disability justice network of Ontario. According to Jama, given the lack of political change coupled with changes in the city of Hamilton, it was inevitable that poverty would worsen and inequalities would deepen.

Jama notes that health care and social services tend to be compacted into the downtown core, which has tended to have a higher concentration of people who rely on these services.

However, rising costs of living within the downtown core has meant that the people who access these services are being priced out. According to a report by the Hamilton Social Planning and Research Council, eviction rates have skyrocketed in the past decade. As a result, the people who rely on these services have to make compromises about whether to live in a place with supports available close by, or a place that is affordable.

“The more compromises you have to meet with regard to your ability to live freely and safely in the city the harder it is to survive,” said Jama.

Denise Brooks, the executive director for Hamilton Urban Core, works directly with people at the margins of Hamilton’s healthcare system. Brooks noted that the 2010 Code Red project was a wake up call for many.  

“For me one of the biggest takeaways [from the first Code Red project] was even greater resolve that this really is a political issue and that it hasn't been looked at and is not being looked at as a crisis,” stated Brooks.

The 2010 Code Red project sparked projects including the Hamilton neighbourhood action strategy and pathways to education program. According to Brooks, while these initiatives were beneficial, more robust policy is needed to substantially address poverty.

“... [C]an we see any change in policy orientation? Did we see a reallocation of resources? Did we see a redistribution of priorities in any way? I would have to say no,” said Brooks.

 

Looking ahead

The updated Code Red project calls for a restructuring of the traditional health care system to include social and economic programs that contribute to people’s overall health.

However, recent political changes have led many health advocates to worry that the coming years will see change for the worse. Matthew Ing, a member of the DJNO research committee, notes that provincial cuts to a slew social assistance programs threaten to further exacerbate the existing inequalities in Hamilton.

In November 2018, the provincial government announced reforms to Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program that aimed to streamline social assistance and incentivize people to return to work. Among many changes, this includes aligning the definition of disability to align with the more narrow definition used the federal government.

According to Jama, narrowing the eligibility requirements for disability support makes it likely that people will slip through the cracks. They will put the responsibility on the municipality to provide services, meaning that care is likely to differ between providers.

“The onus is going to be on individual service providers on all these people to really decide who really fits this idea of being disabled enough to be on the service versus it being like sort of supervised by the province,” stated Jama.

Additionally, in February 2019 the provincial government announced plans to streamline and centralize the health care process. Under the proposed model, Ontario Health teams led by a central provincial agency will replace the existing 14 local health integration networks across the province.

Brooks noted that this has not been the first time that the province sought out to reform healthcare. Having worked in community health for years, Brooks remarks that the changes that are made to healthcare frequently exclude people on the margins.

“It's always the people who are the most marginalized, the most vulnerable, the socially isolated and historically excluded that remain on those margins all the time regardless of the change that go through,” said Brooks.

Currently, patient and family advisory committees work to inform the work of LHINs. The government has not announced whether PFACs will be retained under the new model, but Ing worries that a centralized model would leave patients and families out of the decision making process.

However, Ing recognizes that the current system is far from perfect, noting that disabled communities were not adequately represented on PFACs. According to Ing, this speaks to the much larger problem of political erasure of people with disabilities.

“Disability justice means that we must organize across movements, and we must be led by the people who are most impacted,” writes Ing.

The DJNO was created in order to mobilize disabled communities and demand a holistic approach to healthcare reform. According to Jama, this includes seeing race, income, and disability as fundamentally interconnected.

However as social assistance measures are cut at the provincial level, the future for disability justice is murky. The results of the updated Code Red project paint a sobering picture of the state of health inequality in Hamilton. Given the direction that healthcare reform is taking on the provincial level, health and poverty advocates worry about the future of healthcare equality in Hamilton.

 

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Photo C/O Kyle West

McMaster University is currently taking its second employment equity census to evaluate the diversity of McMaster’s staff and faculty.

The voluntary census is open to all McMaster employees and identifies the representation of five target groups: women, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples and LGBTQA2S+ employees.

The census comes three years after the first census, which was taken in 2016 and produced the first employment equity report and led to the development of McMaster’s employment equity framework.

According to the report from the 2016 census, 43.07 per cent of all McMaster staff and faculty participated. Of that 43 per cent, only 2.12 per cent across the institution self-identified as part of the LGBTQA2S+ community.

In a number of high participation-rates groups, less than two per cent per cent identified as Aboriginal, 10.18 per cent indicated they were members of visible minority groups and less than four per cent indicated that they had a disability.

61.93 per cent identified as women.

According to the report, the representation of women was above representation in the overall Canadian labour force statistics, while internal representation of Indigenous individuals and individuals with disabilities fell below them.

The visible minority representation was far below external representation.

One recommendation from the first census was that McMaster form an employment equity implementation team to promote the employment equity framework.

Since 2017, May-Marie Duwai-Sowa, the university’s employment equity specialist, has been working closely with Arig al Shaibah, the associate vice president (Equity and Inclusion), to improve McMaster’s employment equity.

According to Duwai-Sowa, over a thousand faculty members, chairs and directors have undergone training for equitable hiring and recruitment practices. The EEIT will also run Indigenous cultural competency training for many McMaster employees on March 8.

One pilot project that has been implemented by the EEIT is a self-ID survey for interviews within certain faculties, where applicants were asked to identify their background.

“If you have candidates from diverse backgrounds that meet the requirements, there should be no reason why they should not make your long or short list,” Duwai-Sowa said. “The focus is still obviously hiring excellent candidates that meet the bar of excellence and meet the requirements that are in the posting.”

Duwai-Sowa also pointed to McMaster’s efforts to reach applicants from different backgrounds. For example, McMaster is ensuring its jobs are posted on Indigenous Link, a website to help Indigenous communities find employment.

“It is really about making sure our workforce is diverse now so we are meeting the needs of our students because our student population is also diverse,” Duwai-Sowa said.

One key recommendation from the 2016 report yet to be implemented is a systems-wide review of current hiring and retention practices and policies. This is expected to begin soon and be released by the end of 2019.

Noticeably absent from both the 2016 report and the upcoming 2019 employment census is race-specific data.

Many major Canadian universities still do not collect data on the race of their faculty and students.

“We are currently working on incorporating disaggregate breakdowns of radicalized groups and Indigenous peoples for both the employee census, applicant self- ID survey and student self ID survey, which is planned to be initiated this fall,” said Duwai-Sowa.

The equity and inclusion team is hoping to release the results of this year’s employment census in the upcoming fall.

 

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Photo by Kyle West

By: Tanvi Pathak

In March, McMaster Students Union is slated to release its second annual municipal budget submission to Hamilton city council.

According to Shemar Hackett, the MSU associate vice president (Municipal Affairs), the budget submission will prioritize transit, student housing, student employment, bylaws and enforcement and lighting.

After consulting students and reviewing data from The Your City survey, the MSU decided these key areas were ones that stood out as issues that needed immediate attention.

The committee’s decision to focus on these areas is also linked to the rising demand for off-campus housing.

According to Andrew Parashis, a property manager at Spotted Properties, the largest property management in the McMaster community, demand for student housing has soared in recent years.

Parashis notes that with the increase of local and international students attending McMaster, the waiting list for students seeking accommodations through Spotted Properties has tripled in the last year alone.

The municipal budget submission will also focus on accessible employment opportunities.

The union’s education department and municipal affairs committee’s recommendations aim to offer proactive solutions for each issue and improve Hamilton’s attractiveness to students and recent McMaster grads.

One of the committee’s recommendations is for the city of Hamilton to implement a lighting audit across Ward 1.

Hackett emphasized that there are neighborhoods off-campus substantially lacking in visibility. As a result, many students do not feel comfortable walking home late at night after classes.

A lighting audit would reduce these issues in these neighborhoods and identify priority locations for new street lights.

The committee reached out to the Ward 1 councilor Maureen Wilson, who was receptive to the committee’s recommendation and is confident that the proposal will be valuable to McMaster and Ward 1.

Another recommendation calls for city council to move forward with the landlord licensing project discussed in December.

Hackett and Stephanie Bertolo, MSU vice president (Education), articulated their stance on landlord licensing to Ward 8 city councilor Terry Whitehead, who sits on the Rental Housing sub-committee.

Since then, the motion to implement a pilot project was brought to council and endorsed by many councilors.

Prior to the development of the budget submission, the committee consulted city officials.

The committee plans to continue to meet with the city staff and councillors to push for their recommendations and make them a priority for the council.

Thus far, they have met with Terry Cooke, CEO of the Hamilton Community Foundation, to discuss student engagement and retention and the ways in which organizations can support one another in the future.

The municipal affairs committee has also been successful in implementing its Landlord Rating system, a platform developed by the MSU education department.

The landlord licensing project, which the committee has also been lobbying for, got the Hamilton city council rental housing sub committee’s stamp of approval and will be put forth into discussion during the next city council meeting.

“The council has been extremely receptive to all our points about the agreements we put forth,” said Hackett, adding that the MSU budget submission has proven to be a valuable resource for lobbying municipal stakeholders.

Over the next few weeks, the municipal affairs committee will meet with city councilors and community stakeholders to advocate for their budget submission proposals.

 

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