Public services

Seven years after its passage, the Affordable Care Act (widely known as Obamacare), has suffered its share of abuse. Yet after hundreds of bills to repeal it, two high-profile Supreme Court cases, and countless hours of strategizing in Washington and in state capitols across the country, it just won’t die.

This screen grab taken from the Canada Revenue Agency website today promotes a post describing how the "Harper Government's Low-Tax Plan Benefits Canadian Families". It is part of a disturbing pattern of behavior.

Canada is one of the most decentralized federations in the world. Public services (notably health, education at all levels, social services such as elder care, and local services) are delivered and financed primarily by provincial and municipal governments.

The Canadian Constitution states that the provinces should have sufficient resources to provide “reasonably comparable services at reasonably comparable levels of taxation.”

Inequality is often described as differential status among individuals or groups. However, places can be unequal too. Canada’s cities are sites of growing urban inequality, and it is entire neighbourhoods that are experiencing these changes. About 80% of Canadians live in cities, and that percentage is rising. What does inequality look like in Canada’s urban communities and on city streets?