Non-Governmental Organizations - Organismes non-gouvernementaux

Inequality rises across the G20 as economic growth leaves the poor behind
Strong economic growth since 1990 has failed to lift people out of poverty in almost every G20 country, according to a study by international agency Oxfam.
http://www.oxfam.ca/news-and-publications/news/inequality-rises-across-g20-economic-growth-leaves-poor-behind
News Release
18 January 2012
Left behind by the G20? shows the importance of policies to address inequality if growth is to benefit those living in poverty. (...) Since 1990, income inequality has increased in 14 of the 18 Group of 20 countries for which there are comparable statistics, says Oxfam’s report card. Inequality increased fastest in Russia, China, Japan and South Africa, with Canada following close behind.

Left behind by the G20? How inequality and environmental degradation
threaten to exclude poor people from the benefits of economic growth (PDF - 648K, 47 pages)
http://goo.gl/8x0qe
January 2012
Average global income per person has doubled over the last forty years.2 The proportion of the world’s population living in poverty has fallen significantly over the same period, but the absolute number remains high: 1.3 billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day. More than half of these women and men are in G20 countries. [Source : Introduction, p. 6]

Source:
Oxfam International
http://www.oxfam.org/
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working together in over 90 countries and with partners and allies around the world to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice.

Oxfam Canada
http://www.oxfam.ca/
Oxfam Canada is a member of the international confederation Oxfam. Oxfam has 15 national Oxfam agencies that together work in 92 countries. Oxfam Canada works with partner organizations in developing countries; tackling the root causes of poverty and inequity and helping people to create self-reliant and sustainable communities.

Poverty lingers in prosperous G20, Oxfam says
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1117866
January 18, 2012
By Olivia Ward
The image of the G20’s rising giants is enticing: Chinese tourists trotting the globe, Indians lining up for electronic luxuries, Russian petrodollars fuelling designer boutiques. But the reality for many in the world’s most prosperous countries is far grimmer, says a report released Thursday by the international charity Oxfam. And economic growth numbers tell only a fraction of the story.
Source:
Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/

Poverty: A Huge Cost to Our Health-care System
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/megan-yarema/canada-health-care-transfers_b_1209145.html
January 16, 2012
By Megan Yarema
Today the premiers meet with the federal government to discuss the future of the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) and Canada Social Transfer (CST) which support provincial health and social systems. The transfers are critical funding streams that can improve the dismal welfare rates, long hospital wait times, and limited child care spaces that plague all provinces. As governments are expected to do more with less, it is important to talk about addressing poverty. Poverty equals poor health and costs society billions of dollars each year, making it a key component of any conversation on health and social programs. (...) While the debate on the future of the CHT has garnered media attention in the past few weeks, little commentary is surfacing on the funding of the CST, which directly impacts programs that benefit people with low-income. The CST specifically supports provincial and territorial social assistance, post-secondary education, and reaches other social programs such as housing and childcare. Adequately funding these programs and reducing poverty saves money -- the federal government could save $7.6 billion annually on health costs, and $2.9 billion in Ontario alone according to the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) Cost of Poverty report. (...) Both the CHT and CST will be renewed in 2014 and discussions around these investments are taking place this week in Victoria, B.C. at the Council of the Federation meeting amidst talk of budget cuts and austerity.

[ Author Megan Yarema is with Canada Without Poverty (CWP) : http://www.cwp-csp.ca/ ]

New Year, Same Challenges
http://www.cwp-csp.ca/2012/01/new-year-same-challenges/
January 3, 2012
The beginning of a new year can offer a sense of promise – a hopefulness for change and opportunity – and yet what many people with low-income face remains the same: poor housing, increased costs of living, and dismal welfare rates. While the solutions to poverty are around us in numerous reports and from the voices of those who are currently experiencing low-income, the political will needed to shift policy continues to be sidelined.

2011 Year in Review : Canada Without Poverty (CWP)
http://www.cwp-csp.ca/2011/12/highlights-from-2011/
December 21, 2011
The past year offered many high-points for Canada Without Poverty including speaking opportunities, new partnerships, and increased media attention. In light of the approaching new year, it felt appropriate to look back and reflect on some key moments that had great significance for the organization. Here are just a few:
* Dennis Raphael released the second edition of Poverty in Canada. Features a foreword by Canada Without Poverty Executive Director Rob Rainer, and the late Jack Layton.
* Executive Director Rob Rainer co-hosted a special edition of CBC’s The Current that looked at poverty across the country.
* The first Dignity for All policy summit on housing and early childhood education and care was held on March 3-4th
* In November, Canada Without Poverty held a workshop in Calgary on ethno-cultural engagement and leadership on poverty in partnership with the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women and the Calgary Centre for Culture, Equity and Diversity
* Speaking engagements included: the Bissell Centre in Edmonton, Whitehorse, at Carleton and Waterloo University; and Basic Income Conference in New York City
* In September, CWP appeared on Parliament Hill before the federal Finance Committee, one of the first groups to do so in response to the federal government’s invitation for pre-budget consultation.
* More, including CWP plans and activities for 2012...
Source:
Canada Without Poverty (CWP)
http://www.cwp-csp.ca/
Canada Without Poverty is a federally incorporated, non-partisan, not-for-profit and charitable organization dedicated to the elimination of poverty in Canada .

More CWP site content - this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading

Canadian Foundations
Table of contents:
The Modern Foundation | Past and Present Canadian Foundation Benefactors | The Number and Financial Assets of Canadian Foundations | Canada's Major Foundations | Types of Foundations | Areas of Interest of Foundations | Important Contributors to Canadian Society | Suggested Reading | Links to Other Sites
- includes links to ~20 foundation websites and other related resources

Foundations are "non-governmental, non-profit organizations with funds (usually from a single source, either an individual, a family, or a corporation) and program managed by (their) own trustees or directors, established to maintain or aid social, educational, charitable, religious, or other activities serving the common welfare through the making of Grants" (the late F. Emerson Andrews, first president, The Foundation Centre, New York Center). Dwight MacDonald of the Ford Foundation coined a somewhat lighter definition: "A body of money completely surrounded by people who want some." Generally, a foundation does not carry out a direct charitable activity but rather gives grants to operating charities for this purpose.

Source:
The Canadian Encyclopedia
The full text of The Canadian Encyclopedia and its related resources has been made available online by the Historica Foundation as a public service since 1999. Since its publication in book form in 1985, The Canadian Encyclopedia has provided the most comprehensive, objective and accurate source of information on Canada for students, readers and scholars across Canada and throughout the world.

Tax isn't a four-letter word
Alex Himelfarb
October 14, 2011
Ironically, it is in the anti-tax United States that a conversation has erupted on taxes. Warren Buffett and a few other billionaires helped to open the door, if only a crack, and President Barack Obama made taxing the rich a key means of funding his jobs plan (though it was ultimately ill-fated). In the context of all that is happening right now on Wall Street and beyond, these now seem like small and belated steps. Bigger things are in the air. But the conversation on taxes is now engaged and, judging from the reaction – accusations of class warfare, “no-tax” pledges – tax is a proxy for these bigger things.

[ Alex Himelfarb is a former clerk of the Privy Council. He gave a speech on this subject in Toronto this week that was co-produced by the Literary Review of Canada and TV Ontario. ]

Alex Himelfarb on the consequences of tax cuts (video, duration 4:03)
Alex Himelfarb, former clerk of the Privy Council, looks at how tax cuts became a bad word in Canada. He argues that a continued commitment to tax cuts will lead to greater inequality, the erosion of services, and to a meaner and less just society. This is an excerpt from his full lecture that will air on TVO's Big Ideas on November 12th. The lecture was produced in collaboration with the Literary Review of Canada.
Source:
TVO

Balancing the Books on the Backs of the Poor
By Senator Art Eggleton (Liberal)
September 30, 2011
With fears of a double-dip recession on the rise, some have questioned whether this is the right time for the federal government to begin drastic and hard cuts. Some have even called for a second round of stimulus to ensure that Canada can steer through these troubling economic waters. Although the Harper government has no problem spending money, I believe that they will probably ramp up the cuts that have already started. When they do come in full force, we must make sure that we are not balancing the books on the backs of the poor. This doesn't make moral sense and it doesn't make economic sense either. Because make no mistake, poverty costs us all. It forces up our tax bills, depresses the economy, increases health care bills and breeds alienation and crime.

A recent Ontario study (the next link below) by the Ontario Association of Food Banks, guided by economists and policy experts such as Don Drummond, Judith Maxwell and James Milway, estimates that poverty costs this country about $7.5 billion dollars every year in health care costs alone and between $8 and $13 billion in lost productivity. All told, they set poverty's bill at over $30 billion annually.

Taxing the Rich
By Andrew Jackson
September 22, 2011
Over at the Globe and Mail Economy Lab our friend Stephen Gordon argues [below] that there are only limited revenues to be gained by taxing the rich. He plays around with some back of the envelope calculations based on CRA data on the incomes of those making more than $500,000 – accurately enough, I think - and concludes that each percentage point increase in the marginal tax rate of this very affluent group would yield only $400 Million per year in increased annual revenues. Thus “a tax on millionaires’ is unlikely to generate much new revenue.” (Those of you out there inclined to pile on Stephen should note that he does not oppose higher taxation of the very affluent on equity grounds.) The problem with Stephen’s approach is that he does not include the option of raising the taxable incomes of the very affluent by ending or limiting preferential treatment of the property income which goes to the very top of the income distribution. This is actually much more important than the marginal tax rate issue, as has been recently highlighted by Warren Buffett who points out that he pays much less tax than his secretary since his income is in the form of capital gains (taxed at 15% in the US) rather than wages.
Source:
Progressive Economics Forum

Taxing the rich may be fair, but it won’t fill the coffers
By Stephen Gordon
September 19, 2011
President Obama’s proposal to increase taxes on those earning more than $1-million may help him persuade U.S. voters that his government is trying to do something to attenuate the increasing trend to which incomes have been concentrated among a very small group of high earners. But as the article notes, this measure is not expected to be an important source of government revenues.

Get Up Stand Up: An Evening of Insight and Inspiration
Poverty and social and economic rights in Canada: where are we today, 40 years after the founding of Canada Without Poverty (as the National Anti-Poverty Organization)? To explore this question, join us for an evening of information, insight and inspiration: Thursday, September 29, 7:00-9:00pm

Benefit Concert Featuring Will Ackerman
Grammy-award winning musician, composer and music producer, William Ackerman, will headline a special benefit concert for Canada Without Poverty on September 30th in Ottawa. Performing with Will will be long-time accompanying guitarist, Grammy-award winning David Cullen and Jill Haley.

Poverty & Punchlines Vancouver – Tickets on Sale!
Join us on Thursday, October 13th at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island from 7-10pm for a night of ‘laughter with a message’ in support of Canada Without Poverty, a national charity dedicated to eliminating poverty in Canada. Local BC comedians Ivan Decker and Erica Sigurdson will bring down the house, and the message [...]

Source:
Canada Without Poverty
Canada Without Poverty is a federally incorporated, non-partisan, not-for-profit and charitable organization dedicated to the elimination of poverty in Canada

Golden Years Postponed
Canadian Payroll Association survey finds
many Canadians living pay cheque to pay cheque,
unable to save, faced with the prospect of working longer before retirement
News Release
September 8, 2011
For many Canadians, the 'golden years' are now a more distant dream. They are struggling to save for retirement and to make ends meet. According to the third annual survey of employees conducted by the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA), 40% of Canadians said they now expect to retire later than they previously planned. The primary reason (cited by 40%) was "I'm not saving enough money for retirement." A major contributing factor to the low savings rate is that many Canadians are living close to the line. The CPA survey found that the majority of Canadian workers continue to live pay cheque to pay cheque, with 57% saying they would be in financial difficulty if their pay was delayed by even a week.

Source:
Canadian Payroll Association (CPA)
The CPA comprises payroll professionals in 1.5 million organizations across Canada who are responsible for ensuring the timely and accurate payment of $810 billion in wages and taxable benefits, along with statutory remittances to Canadian governments and health and retirement premiums. (...) As the authoritative source of Canadian payroll knowledge, the CPA affects the legislative processes and practices of payroll service and software providers, as well as hundreds of thousands of small, medium and large employers.

3D Policy
October 18, 2010
Andrew Jackson says:
There is a new economics blog in town.
http://www.3dpolicy.ca
It is put together by former Finance Deputy Minister Scott Clark and former Director of Fiscal Policy, Peter Devries. I disagree with their fiscally very cautious line, but this is highly informed commentary on the numbers - with a major piece on the recent Economic and Fiscal Update - so do go visit! It should help keep Finance more honest!
Source:
Relentlessly Progressive Economics Blog
[ Progressive Economics Forum (PEF) ]
The Progressive Economics Forum aims to promote the development of a progressive economics community in Canada. The PEF brings together over 125 progressive economists, working in universities, the labour movement, and activist research organizations.

Aboriginal Youth Network (Canada)
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
The Aboriginal Youth Network is foremost an online resource created by youth for youth

ACORN Canada
ACORN is building a national movement for social and economic justice by organizing low- and moderate-income communities for power and social change; we want living wage jobs, decent affordable housing, tenant rights, ending predatory lending, opportunities for youth, voting and electoral rights. If it affects poor and working class communities, ACORN Members are organizing to win equity in Toronto and across the country. ACORN Canada is made up of more than 9,000 low- and moderate-income member families. There are more than 20 local chapters of ACORN throughout the country, organized democratically through community organizing. Our work is getting results and making change!
[ ACORN Canada reports ]

Bloomberg
Bloomberg is a New York-based company employing more than 10,000 people in over 135 offices around the world. Bloomberg is about information: accessing it, reporting it, analyzing it and distributing it, faster and more accurately than any other organization.

Canada’s Fiscal Edge to Fade Without Tough Action: David Dodge
Commentary by David Dodge
May 25, 2010
The problems facing Greece, Spain and Ireland may lead investors to think Canada is free from fiscal worries. They should think again when looking ahead for the next few years. Canada’s relatively sound position by international standards masks a structural deficit that is poised to resume growth later this decade unless governments find more permanent solutions to cutting expenses than in their latest budgets, and introduce new measures to durably boost revenue.
(...)
Can Canadian governments balance their budgets by mid- decade with program spending cuts alone? It would mean a significant reduction in services or income-support programs, even if there were unprecedented productivity gains in public services. Specifically, it would require significant cuts in public-pension payments, employment-insurance benefits and welfare payments, health and long-term care coverage as well as increased co-payments. The quality of education, and investment in roads and public transit also would decline. [bolding added]
[Author David Dodge David Dodge is former Deputy Minister of the federal departments of Finance* and Health, and the former governor of the Bank of Canada.]
(*...thus proving that you can take David Dodge out of Finance but you can't take Finance out of David Dodge. Gilles)

Canada's Fiscal Future:
What to make of former Bank of Canada
governor David Dodge's predictions on Canada's economy?
By John Stapleton
June 11, 2010
(...) In a recent piece called Canada’s Fiscal Edge to Fade Without Tough Action, former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge set out his predictions respecting the economic troubles that Canada faces in the next decade unless the country can get its fiscal house in order. Dodge does not believe that spending cuts alone will be sufficient to stem the tide of red ink despite recent GDP growth, and he calls for more consumption taxes in order to balance the books in the future. Yet in his assessment of the spending cuts that will be required, he notes that "cuts would need to be both continuing and more radical than those of the mid-1990s."
Source:
The Mark
The Mark is a national movement to record Canadian ideas and propel the people behind them. It is a collection of thoughts and a tool for facilitating interdisciplinary dialogue and debate between outstanding Canadians.

Broadbent announces new left-wing institute
By Laura Payton
June 17, 2011
Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent is setting up a new institute to explore social democratic policy and ideas. The think tank, named for Broadbent, will reach out to social democrat-leaning academics for their ideas, provide education and train activists, but be independent from the party, he announced Friday. (...) It's not clear how the institute will be funded, although Broadbent said it will operate as an NGO. (...) He hopes to have the Broadbent Institute running by the fall. Broadbent made the announcement just before the NDP kicked off its convention in Vancouver, celebrating its 50th year of existence and its new status as the Official Opposition to the governing Conservatives.

Campaign 2000 Partners - Complete list of all Campaign 2000 national, provincial and community partners - including links to 60+ websites of these NGOs and other groups from across Canada.

Campaign 2000 Report Cards - Links to the most recent report cards on child poverty at the national level as well as for the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Ontario. You'll even find a link to the child poverty report card for the City of Toronto on the report card page. (Click on the links down the left side of the page)

First Ministers told to take action to lower shameful poverty rates
News alert - Campaign 2000
Kelowna, BC, 23 Nov 05
"Activists took their annual child poverty report directly to the First Ministers meeting here today. The findings are discouraging. For almost 30 years the poverty rate has been stuck at one-in-six children. Whether families are mother-led, have two parents, are working full time or on social assistance the numbers are static. A particularly disturbing finding is that child poverty rates for Aboriginal, immigrant, and visible minority children are twice the national rate. Campaign 2000 National Coordinator Laurel Rothman, whose organization prepares the annual update, was joined by Peter Dinsdale of the National Association of Friendship Centres. They are clearly frustrated by misplaced government priorities and jurisdictional wrangling."

Provincial Child Poverty Report Cards were also released in BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia;
you'll find links to these on the Children, Families and Youth Links (NGO) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnngo.htm

Reducing Child Poverty to Increase Productivity: A Human Capital Strategy
Brief to the Standing Committee on Finance (PDF file - 89K, 8 pages)
Pre-Budget Consultation
September, 2005
By Laurel Rothman
National Coordinator, Campaign 2000
"The fact that 15% of our youngest citizens are growing up in poverty does not bode well for Canada’s future productivity performance, which is the focus of the 2005 Pre-Budget Consultations. Broad based investment in our human capital is essential for a productivity agenda. "Canada’s Fiscal Outlook projects surpluses of almost $30 billion over the next five years. With consecutive multi-billion dollar budget surpluses, Canada has the resources to make substantial progress. We call on the federal government to commit a portion of these surpluses to invest in children, as they have committed portions for healthcare and equalization payments."

Submission to the Federal Labour Standards Review - Excerpts
September 26, 2005
Campaign 2000
"Campaign 2000 maintains that federal labour standards should be modernized to reflect leading standards and 'best practices'in other advanced economies. They need to be updated to reflect changes in the labour market and workforce over the past 40 years, with a particular emphasis on ensuring protection for vulnerable workers."

Child poverty: setting new goals
November 24, 2004
CAROL GOAR
"Giving up is not an option. But clinging to a faded dream is not a solution.
So today, on the 15th anniversary of his parliamentary resolution to end child poverty by 2000, Ed Broadbent will set a new goal. He will challenge Canadians to reduce the child poverty rate to 5 per cent within 10 years. His new target lacks the tidy finality of the one he persuaded all MPs to endorse on Nov. 24, 1989, shortly before his retirement as leader of the New Democratic Party. It is less ambitious, less appealing.But Broadbent, who returned to active politics this year, believes it is realistic and achievable. He calls it 'a new agenda for a new time.'
The child poverty rate currently stands at 15 per cent. It was 15.2 per cent when Broadbent issued his clarion call 15 years ago."
Source:
The Toronto Star

------
NOTE: Campaign 2000 focuses on child poverty and other child-related issues.
You'll find many more links to Campaign 2000 site content on these Canadian Social Research Links pages (especially the first):
Canadian Social Children, Families and Youth Links (NGO) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnngo.htm
Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd.htm
------

Settlement.Org
"The Settlement.Org Web site helps immigrants and refugees to find the help and information they need to start a new life in Ontario."
[...and it also includes a wealth of social program information!]
Source:
Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

CanadaInternational.gc.ca (Government of Canada)
"...the best links to government services, information and resources, for citizens of other countries"

Canada Matters
By Canbyte, a Progressive Blogger
http://www.canbyte.ca
- blog entries and links to online resources on a number of themes, from Bad Canada and Childcare to Poverty and Well Being

Canada-U.S Human Rights Information and Documentation Network (CUSHRID Net)
CUSHRID Net was developed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information between human rights organizations; establishment of uniform standards for human rights documentation, information management and exchange; development of co-operative projects in the areas of documentation and information management to avoid duplication; training in various aspects of documentation and information management; and contacts and exchanges with information and documentation networks in other parts of the world.
See Links to Members' Websites for links to two dozen related sites

Canada Without Poverty / Canada sans pauvreté
Canada Without Poverty is a federally incorporated, non-partisan, not-for-profit and charitable organization dedicated to the elimination of poverty in Canada. Poverty is a violation of human rights. We work to address the structural causes of poverty by raising awareness, educating and inspiring others to support its eradication in Canada.
- incl. links to:
* Poverty * Action * Get Involved * Resources

Resources
A vast array of publications, articles, organizational reports and bulletins on poverty and related issues exist online. This section is to help you find relevant material on specific subject matter by organizing all documents into categories. If you are unsure of where to start, try using the search tool above, or click one of the buttons and browse by theme.
Buttons include:
* Vulnerable populations * Poverty, Inequality and their Impacts * Poverty and Human Rights * Combating Poverty * Just the Facts * Other Resources

Cuts Coming to the Canada Health Transfer
and the Canada Social Transfer?
[ Email alert from Rob Rainer of Canada Without Poverty ]
February 1, 2011

A rapidly emerging issue of immense public interest is the future of the Canada Health and Canada Social transfers. Critical decisions are coming about these transfers that could greatly shape the health and social security of Canadians in the coming years – and thus the very fabric of Canada. Through these transfers of many billions of dollars, the federal government helps support provinces and territories in the delivery of health care and social security services.

The legislation authorizing these transfers expires March 31, 2014.

In a remarkable open letter on January 25 to federal Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, former senior Department of Finance officials Scott Clark and Peter Devries lay out the stark implications of this issue. This lengthy open letter (requires 20-30 minutes to read but well worth it), with detailed analysis, closes with these words and questions (bold lettering added here for emphasis):

Canada Without poverty
Fall 2010 Newsletter
November 17, 2010
[ PDF version - small file]
Canada Without Poverty and the CWP Advocacy Network have prepared their Fall 2010 Poverty & Parliament Newsletter.
Highlights include:
* Review of “The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger” by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett
* Expansion of Dignity for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-free Canada to include Make Poverty History
* Updates on Bill C-304 [small PDF file], which calls for a national housing strategy, and Bill C-545, An Act to Eliminate Poverty in Canada
* A look at recent actions & events: Poverty & Punchlines, and the Red Tent Campaign
Source:
Canada Without Poverty (CWP)
Canada Without Poverty is a federally incorporated, non-partisan, not-for-profit and charitable organization dedicated to the elimination of poverty in Canada.(...) One of the special characteristics of Canada Without Poverty is that, since our inception in 1971, we have always been governed by people with direct, personal experience of living in poverty, whether in childhood or as adults. This lived experience informs and helps to guide our work. (...) Acting from the belief that poverty is a violation of human rights and that poverty elimination is a human rights obligation, our work includes raising awareness about poverty, participating in research to generate new knowledge about poverty, and striving to influence public policy to prevent and alleviate poverty.

CWP Advocacy Network
The CWP Advocacy Network is a new national non-profit but non-charitable organization. It exists to directly lobby politicians and other public policy makers, at all levels of government in Canada, for policies and legislation that help prevent, alleviate and eliminate poverty in Canada.

Dignity for All - Support the campaign for a poverty-free Canada
Dignity for All is a multi-year, multi-partner, non-partisan campaign. This campaign’s vision is to make a poverty-free and more socially secure and cohesive Canada a reality by 2020. The conviction behind this campaign is that Canadians must respect and defend the right of every person to dignity and security.

A Labour Day 2010 Message from Rob Rainer:
(Executive Director, Canada Without Poverty)

Monday September 6 is Labour Day in Canada.
In recognition of this statutory holiday – the origins of which “can be traced back to April 14, 1872 when a parade was staged in support of the Toronto Typographical Union's strike for a 58-hour work-week” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Day) – Canada Without Poverty and the CWP Advocacy Network are this year championing the call – led by Canadian labour and with the support of groups like the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, for significant pension and retirement security reform.

1) Increase Canada Pension Plan benefits;
2) Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors; and
3) Introduce federal pension insurance to protect retirement savings.

The Canadian Labour Congress (“the umbrella organization for dozens of affiliated Canadian and international unions, as well as provincial federations of labour and regional labour councils”) has excellent, accessible information in support of labour’s Retirement Security for Everyone campaign.

Canada Without Poverty and the CWP Advocacy Network shall work with Canadian labour (particularly within the context of Dignity for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-free Canada) to help advance public and political support for pension and retirement security reform. Under international human rights law to which Canada is signatory, everyone has the right to “social security” and an “adequate standard of living.” Government has a duty to ensure such economic and social rights are honoured and upheld. Government must therefore work with business and civil society to construct a sustainable system of retirement security so that these rights – and the related right of “security of the person” (per international law and Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) – are made real.

* Rob Rainer is Executive Director of
CANADA WITHOUT POVERTY
http://www.cwp-csp.ca/
Founded in 1971, Canada Without Poverty (formerly the National Anti-Poverty Organization) is an incorporated, not-for-profit, non-partisan, member-based organization dedicated to the eradication of poverty in Canada. We believe this ideal can be realized by 2020, if not sooner, especially in a country as wealthy as Canada

Below, Terence Corcoran of The National Post tears into Simpson, whom he calls
"an old fogie ...knee-jerk anti-Conservative" for his views on taxation and his critique of Stephen Harper's tax comment.
Simpson says "Only libertarian anarchists believe that all taxes are bad, and that society can get along without them."
Corcoran replies: "To call Stephen Harper a libertarian anarchist is akin to calling Maurice Strong a free market capitalist."

Terence Corcoran:
The frightening thought that taxes are bad
http://tinyurl.com/lgqmrp
July 14, 2009
Jeffrey Simpson turns a sound Harper tax comment into a ‘scary, scary’ idea
Source:
The National Post

The Canadian Abolition Project - Canadians working together to end the death penalty
"The Canadian Abolition Project was founded to campaign in support of Canadian government policies that will ensure consistency with Canada's position as a completely abolitionist nation. We will encourage and support interventions by the Canadian government in defence of Canadians facing the death penalty abroad. We are dedicated to achieving abolition of the death penalty for all, in all countries of the World and particularly in the United States of America. ."
- incl. links to : Canadian Abolition Sign Up Page - Canadian Abolition Email Archives - Canadian Resources [contact info for Canadian Senators, MPs and committees] - Invitation to the 1st Annual Peaceful Presence and Public Awareness Day in Toronto
Source:
Stop Capital Punishment Now!
"Stop Capital Punishment Now! is an Internet based initiative attempting to achieve total abolition of the death penalty in all countries of the world and particularly in the United States of America. We believe that the taking of a human life is morally and ethically wrong. We believe that the premeditated killing by the state of its own citizens is barbaric and reprehensible."
Abolition Organizations and Web Sites - links to 40+ sites, mainly American...

Canadian Alternative Investment Cooperative (CAIC)
CAIC was formed in the early 1980’s by a number of religious communities who wanted to pool their resources in order to make investments that support positive social change and promote alternative economic structures. CAIC has since grown to 51 members with a lending pool of $6.5 million invested in worthwhile projects across Canada.

Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies
"CAEFS is a federation of autonomous societies which works with, and on behalf of, women involved with the justice system, particularly women in conflict with the law. Elizabeth Fry Societies are community based agencies dedicated to offering services and programs to marginalized women, advocating for legislative and administrative reform and offering fora within which the public may be informed about, and participate in, aspects of the justice system which affect women."
-large site, easy to navigate, incl. information about CAEFS, programs and services, , conferences, fact sheets, annual reports, issue papers (Human Rights - Battered Women - Women’s Prisons - Young Women - Restorative Justice - Literacy), responses to proposed legislative changes - related Internet sources on prison issues and violence against women

Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (CCP) - "We're on your Side"
"The Canadian Centre for Philanthropy is a national, charitable organization with a mandate to advance the role and interests of the charitable sector for the benefit of Canadian communities. The Centre accomplishes this mission through various programs, including Public Affairs, Research, Imagine, and Membership. Information about these programs as well as resources, tools and information are available on this site."
"We're on your side" --- for a fee...
I guess even philanthropy is big business these days - membership is a must to see any of the real content of this site, and that'll run you at least $225 per year for a small organization ($495 for a consultant or a government)...
...and then you have to pay $200 for their "Canadian Directory to Foundations & Grants" (16th Printed Edition, 2002) --- (Non-Member price is $300.00). If you want the regularly-updated online version, that's $350 for members and $ 450 for non-members.
BUT WAIT - here's some free stuff --- and it's good, too...
CCP Voluntary Sector Links - 100+ links divided into 4 categories: Nonprofit organizations(Canada), Resources and Tools, Nonprofit Management Education, and U.S. and International sites.
CCP Resource Centre - info and articles about : Board & Governance - Nonprofit Management - Fundraising - Legal & Regulatory - Volunteering - Trends & Statistics - Foundations/Corporate - Article Index
"Please also visit other sites in the CCP family for additional information on research (www.givingandvolunteering.ca and www.nonprofitscan.ca) and corporate social responsibility (www.imagine.ca)."

Excerpts* from Security/Insecurity (March 2010)
(*Click the link above for the complete list of numbers for the March Hennessy Index.)
===> 1.4 million = Number of Canadians officially unemployed in January 2011
===> 1.2 million = Population size of the nation’s capital, Ottawa
===> 14.4% = Canada’s youth unemployment rate in January 2011 (age 15-24); nearly twice the national average for all unemployed.
===> 867, 948 = Number of Canadians who used food banks in March 2010; record high.
===> $5 billion = Estimated new additional annual costs of running provincial and federal jails by 2015/16 due to the latest Harper government crime law.
===> $220 billion = Total cost of Harper government tax cuts between 2006 and 2013/14. (Source)

The Hennessy Index- "A number is never just a number"
- includes a link to the February Hennessy Index on Inequality

Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)
The CCPA is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social and economic justice

Canadian Civil Liberties Association(CCLA)
The CCLA is a lobbying and law-reform, non-profit, non-government organization dealing with issues of fundamental civil liberties and human rights that affect those who live all across Canada.

Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition - The Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition is a coalition of over 100 anti-poverty, consumer, community economic development, labour and small business groups representing over three million people from every province and the Northwest Territories that advocates for bank accountability in Canada.

Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC)
The Canadian Council for International Co-operation is a coalition of over 100 Canadian organizations seeking to change the course of human development in ways that favor social and economic equity, democratic participation, environmental integrity and respect for human rights.
"...working on the frontlines of social justice, humanitarian aid, economic and democratic development in the world"

Canadian Payroll Association
The Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) has been representing employers’ payroll interests since 1978, through its mission of Payroll Leadership through Advocacy and Education and its values of Community, Professionalism and Authoritative Knowledge

Canadians precariously close to financial instability, study finds
News Release
September 13, 2010
Six out of 10 Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque and most are one pay slip away from financial instability, according to a new study. On Monday, the Canadian Payroll Association reported that of 2,700 Canadians surveyed 59 per cent are stretching their pay to the limit and expect they would be in financial difficulty if their pay was cut or delayed by one week. That figure is unchanged from last year. Dealing with debt is also top of mind, the study showed. (...) In May the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada reported that the amount of household debt across the country reached a new high of $1.41 trillion in December 2009. About six out of 10 Canadians said even though their debt load had increased they felt they could manage it or take on more.
Source:
Toronto Star

Related links:

Canadian Workers living from paycheque to paycheque
Employees worried about the economy, debt and retirement (PDF - 1.3MB, 35 pages)
August 2010
TORONTO (September 13, 2010) – A major national survey of working Canadians, released today, shows that employees continue to live paycheque to paycheque. They are concerned about how interest rates and the economy will affect their personal finances and retirement.
Source:
Canadian Payroll Association
The Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) has been representing employers’ payroll interests since 1978, through its mission of Payroll Leadership through Advocacy and Education and its values of Community, Professionalism and Authoritative Knowledge.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.*
[*Translation: http://tinyurl.com/2fenacz ]
In 1995, the federal government announced that the Canada Assistance Plan (federal cost-sharing of approved welfare costs) would be terminated in April 1996 in favour of the Canada Health and Social Transfer, a block fund that would see less federal cash flowing to the lower order of government for welfare. In return, there would be no conditions for the cash from Ottawa except for a ban on a residency requirement for welfare eligibility purposes.
---
For links to more detailed information about the transition from CAP to CHST, go to the
Canada Assistance Plan / Canada Health and Social Transfer / Canada Social Transfer Resources page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/cap.htm
---
I was employed as a researcher in the federal government at the time, and I was invited in the summer of 1995 to attend a roundtable with some academics, some NGO people and some labour movement reps in the boardroom of the National Council of Welfare here in Ottawa. Over the course of a day-long session, the group discussed what national standards Ottawa might/should impose on the provinces and territories to qualify for federal contributions to provincial/territorial welfare costs. I can't recall any great resolutions being crafted or a plan being hatched --- but I do remember a senior person from a national union stating bluntly that the majority of her union's rank and file were one or two paycheques away from financial crisis. And yet, she said, her union members were consistently and viscerally critical of people on welfare and how generous they perceived the welfare system to be. That's what we're fighting in our own union, she said - the power of the right-tilting media that can influence many rank-and-filer union members to trash the very system that would be there to help them if they were destitute.
I don't think things have changed much.

The Connection between Low Income,
Weak Labour Force Attachment and Poor Health (PDF - 2MB, 28 pages)
May 2010
By Myriam Fortin
Social Policy Directorate
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Abstract
Using 1994-2004 data from the National Population Health Survey, this paper sheds light on the health situation of working-age Canadians and tests the connection between low income, weak labour force attachment and poor health using logistic regressions. Results indicate that persistently poor or weakly employed Canadians are in much poorer health than other Canadians, and that being persistently poor increases the probability of experiencing deterioration in health as much as being in poor health increases the probability of becoming poor, but that being persistently unemployed has an even stronger impact on health status.
Source:
Canadian Studies in Population
[ Directory of Open Access Journals --- all articles from Volume 1, 1974 to the current issue.]
(Refereed Journal of the
Canadian Population Society)

Canadian Teachers' Federation
The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) speaks for approximately 200,000 teachers in Canada as their national voice on education and related social issues.

Child poverty: The Canadian Teachers’ Federation urges federal government to take action
April 20, 2010
(CTF News Service – Ottawa) Teacher leaders from across the country are adding their voices to the national call for action to end child poverty when they meet with Parliamentarians today as part of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation’s (CTF) annual Hill Day.

“Our task is to remind federal politicians that social issues are just as important as economic ones,” explains CTF President Mary-Lou Donnelly. “It is shameful that child poverty is a tragic fact of life in a nation as wealthy as ours. Among the most vulnerable groups affected by child poverty are Aboriginal children, children of new immigrants and children with disabilities.

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)
CJFE is a Canadian organization founded in 1981 that works to defend and protect the right to free expression in Canada and around the world. CJFE is a non-governmental organization with an active Board of Directors that draws from the media, legal and business communities. Membership is open to all who support free expression.

Report gives Harper government a failing grade for transparency
By Sarah Boesveld
May 10, 2011
It’s a good thing ‘Access to Information’ isn’t a class in school. If it were, Stephen Harper’s government would flunk — and flunk hard, according to a report from a prominent media advocacy group that awarded the prime minister an F- on the subject this week. For the second year in a row, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression gave the prime minister’s government the lowest grade possible, saying it has taken longer than ever to access information on Mr. Harper’s watch and that the information they finally get is far more incomplete.

Review of Free Expression in Canada 2010/2011
HTML version - Click the cover of the report to view it in e-zine format (requires Flash Player)
PDF version:
--- [ Part 1 - 1.6MB, 21 pages ]
--- [ Part 2 - 1.5MB, 19 pages) ]

Source:
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)
CJFE is a Canadian organization founded in 1981 that works to defend and protect the right to free expression in Canada and around the world. CJFE is a non-governmental organization with an active Board of Directors that draws from the media, legal and business communities. Membership is open to all who support free expression.

Canadians for Tax Fairness
Canadians for Tax Fairness promotes a progressive tax system, based on ability to pay, to fund the public services and programs required to meet our social, economic and environmental needs.

96 more everyday reasons to feel good about taxes
- reasons like : governors-general - access to information - adoption records - critical infrastructure protection - airbag safety - fisheries - elections - pensions - money-minting - aviation museums - polar ice-watching - police college - social assistance - unemployment insurance - autopsies - ferries - bingo permits...

Canada's Quiet Bargain:
The benefits of public spending (PDF - 1.3MB, 40 pages)
April 2009
By Hugh Mackenzie and Richard Shillington
This study adds a dimension that has been missing to the public debate over taxes and public spending in Canada. It weighs the benefits of public services provided by federal, provincial, and municipal governments against the benefits of recent tax cuts.

Source:
Canadians for Tax Fairness
Canadians for Tax Fairness promotes a progressive tax system, based on ability to pay, to fund the public services and programs required to meet our social, economic and environmental needs.

Centre for Public Justice (CPJ)
CPJ is committed to seek human flourishing and the integrity of creation as our faithful response to God’s call for love, justice and stewardship. We envision a world in which individuals, communities, societal institutions and governments all contribute to and benefit from the common good.

Taxes and the Common Good
May 20, 2011
Taxes raise the revenues used to pay for democratic institutions and to provide government programs and services. Taxes can also be used to promote other economic and social policy goals through the use of tax expenditures.

Over the past decade, significant changes have been made to Canada’s tax system, including deep cuts to tax rates. The impact of these changes is a cause for concern. In this background research paper, (PDF - 702K, 43 pages - May 2011), policy analyst Chandra Pasma explores the changes and their impact, as well as policy options currently being advocated for to change Canada’s tax mix.
(...)
CPJ recognizes that in order to raise sufficient revenue for the government to carry out its public justice tasks, multiple tax changes need to be implemented. CPJ addresses these recommendations in our position statement on taxation (PDF - 335K, 5 pages - May 2011).

Source:
Centre for Public Justice (CPJ)
CPJ is committed to seek human flourishing and the integrity of creation as our faithful response to God’s call for love, justice and stewardship. We envision a world in which individuals, communities, societal institutions and governments all contribute to and benefit from the common good.

CPJ's Early Childhood Education and Care Policy
November 24, 2010
Childcare in Canada is currently a hodgepodge of formal and informal care, characterized by high demand, low accessibility, high cost and varying levels of quality. This has lead to barriers of accessibility for low and middle income families, especially unattached mothers, as well as childcare that fails to engage the developmental potential of young children.

From a public justice framework (PDF - 178K, 7 pages - 2007), CPJ believes that every person has a rightful claim to live in dignity, be respected by others, and have access to the resources needed to live out God’s calling. In order to fulfill their responsibility to their children parents need adequate income and access to sufficient resources such as shelter, food, clothing, community, education and health services. Consequently, the government has a unique ability to promote justice through resource redistribution and service provision, including supporting families in their many diverse forms.

CPJ’s position paper on childcare (PDF - 442K, 16 pages- May 2010) argues that an important manifestation of this government responsibility is the creation and provision of a national childcare program. This would be guided by the principles of the best interests of children as the primary consideration, but also affordability, accessibility, high level of quality, and promotion of child development and learning

Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)
The Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) is a policy and research oriented facility that focuses on early childhood education and child care (ECEC) and family policy in Canada and internationally.

Subscribe to the CRRU email announcements list
Sign up to receive email notices of updates and new postings on the CRRU website which will inform you of policy developments in early childhood care and education, new research and resources for policy, newly released CRRU publications, and upcoming events of interest to the child care and broader community.

CRRU Publications - briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications
ISSUE files - theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info

Church Council on Justice and Corrections (Canada)
"We are a national faith-based coalition of eleven founding churches, created in 1974, to promote a restorative approach to Justice with an emphasis on addressing the needs of victims and offenders, mutual respect, healing, individual accountability, community involvement and crime prevention. We believe there can be no criminal justice without social justice; we can only deal with crime by building a peaceful, safe and just society."
- incl. links to : About Us - The Well - CCJC News - Current Issues - Archives - Legislation - Links - Site Map - Contact - Discussion Board - Justice for the Soul - Video & Bookstore - Donation / Membership - Resources / Presentations
Related Link:
Conflict Resolution Network

Citizens for Public Justice
We are a faithful response to God’s call for love, justice and stewardship. We envision a world in which individuals, communities, societal institutions and governments all contribute to and benefit from the common good. Our mission is to promote public justice in Canada by shaping key public policy debates through research and analysis, publishing and public dialogue.

Ola! October-November 2010
Table of Contents:
* Red Tent Event and Bill C-304 (for a National Housing Strategy)
* The Great Turning – David Korten comes to Ottawa October 29
* Climate Change as a Moral Issue
* Poverty & Punchlines: Laughter with a Message!
* Corporate Social Responsibility – in your own backyard
* CPJ On Top of the Hill
* Web Features
* Less than fair? Canada’s commitment to climate change
* The Great Turning: A choice for a brighter future
* Government response void of substance
* May God’s love and justice stream from your heart

Ola! (E-newsletter of Citizens for Public Justice) - May 2010 issue
Table of Contents:
* CPJ releases research paper on the impact of the recession
* Progress towards a federal anti-poverty Act
* CPJ meets new HUMA Committee Chair
* “Poor no More” launch on Parliament Hill
* CPJ development and fundraising news
* BIEN Canada conference
* CPJ comes to Toronto
* How will you and your congregation respond?
* Climate change as a moral problem: CPJ attends retreat
* CPJ’s Annual General Meeting, Thursday, May 27, 2010: Everyone welcome!
* World Religious Summit on the G8/G20 meetings: Sign the Petition
* Connect with CPJ on Facebook
* Web Features
* Still waiting for recovery: Recession increases poverty rate in Canada
* The G8 – G20 in Canada: A time for inspired leadership and change
* Muted Voices? Public Justice and the Canadian Churches
* Time for an Affordable Housing Act?
* The Commission of Hope
* Does representative democracy threaten national security?
* Closing Prayer: God has given us a dream

Bearing the Brunt
May 3, 2010
Bearing the Brunt: How the 2008-2009 Recession Created Poverty for Canadian Families details the rise in poverty and economic insecurity caused by the recession. The report examines key economic trends, comparing them to the baseline of 2007 (the last year for which poverty measures are available) in order to understand the recession’s impact.

Bearing the Brunt:
How the 2008-2009 Recession
Created Poverty for Canadian Families (PDF - 1MB, 82 pages)
By Chandra Pasma
May 2010
Recessions create poverty. The 2008]2009 recession was no different as thousands of Canadian families were pushed into poverty. But while we have to wait until 2011 for most standard measures of poverty, there are a number of key economic indicators that already reveal the trends of increased poverty and economic insecurity throughout the recession...

What Economic Recovery?
By Chandra Pasma
May 31
For many Canadian families, the recession has meant increased poverty and insecurity.

Ola! April 2009
E-newsletter of Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ)
Table of Contents:
* Edmonton – a cradle of CPJ
* Covenantal economics and poverty
* CPJ in Quebec
+ New CPJ resources on electoral reform
* CPJ staff to participate in the Canadian Social Forum
* Web features
* Earth Day 2009 – Going deeper green
* What’s God got to do with it? Faith and politics at the cabinet table
* Language requirements counter to public justice values
* Human Trafficking: the modern-day slave trade
* CPJ Annual General Meeting – May 7, 2009
* The end of the world as we know it ...Thank God! KAIROS Gathering 2009
* Earth Day – April 22
* A Prayer of Healing

Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations
The Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations (NVO) is a not-for-profit organization which promotes volunteerism and enhances the profile of Canada's voluntary and charitable sector. NVO is an umbrella coalition that has as its members 130 national voluntary charities active in a variety of fields ranging from health and social services to the environment, justice, education and international development.
Great resource site for people working in or with the voluntary sector...
Voluntary Sector Task Force (Privy Council Office version)
- see also Volunteer Canada

Community Foundations of Canada
We are the Canadian movement for community vitality, representing 174 Community Foundations across the country. Together, we help Canadians invest in building strong and resilient places to live, work and play.

Vital Signs 2010 is part of a growing nation-wide initiative by Canadian community foundations to measure quality of life and take action to improve it.
On October 5, fifteen local Vital Signs report cards were released by community foundations across Canada.

Unemployment four times higher among
university-educated newcomers, says national report card
News Release
October 5, 2010
Despite the fact that Canada will soon rely on immigration to replenish its shrinking labour force, newcomers with professional credentials are suffering unacceptably high unemployment rates, in comparison to non-immigrants with the same level of education, says Canada's Vital Signs 2010, the annual report card on quality of life from Community Foundations of Canada.

Vital Signs
Vital Signs is an annual check-up conducted by community foundations across Canada that measures the vitality of our communities, identifies trends, and shares opportunities for action in at least ten areas critical to quality of life. Since Toronto's first Vital Signs publication, the Report has been adopted by 16 communities across Canada and is now conducted nationally by Community Foundations of Canada.

Canada's Vital Signs 2010
Indicators used in this year's study:
1. Getting Started - Unemployment Rate of Immigrants
2. Housing - Average Housing Prices as a Proportion of Median Income
3. Environment - Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Private Vehicles
4. Health - Physicians per Capita
5. Gap between Rich and Poor - Overall Poverty Rate
6. Work - Unemployment Rate
7. Learning - Proportion of Population with Completed Post-Secondary Education
8. Safety - Property Crime Rate
9. Arts & Culture - Employment in Cultural Industries
10. Belonging & Leadership - Sense of Community Belonging

Local Reports
Click the link above to access
reports for each participating city and area:
* Saint John (NB) * Lunenburg County (NS) * Montreal * Sudbury (the Sudbury report is missing as at Oct. 6/10)* Ottawa * Toronto * Hamilton * Kingston * Kitchener & Waterloo * London * Calgary * Medicine Hat * Southeastern Alberta * Red Deer * Victoria * Vancouver

Select a city or region from the list below to access its
Community Foundations Vital Signs page, where you'll
find a link to the news release and the report.

Related research - links to info about the following complementary indicator initiatives : Canadian Index of Wellbeing, Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Quality of Life Reporting System and Composite Learning Index, along with Key Sources of Data for Canadian Communities, and more...
Source:
Vital Signs Canada

Fewer jobs for well-educated new immigrants: study
October 5, 2010
Recent immigrants to Canada with a university education are more than four times more likely to be unemployed than Canadian-born workers with a university degree, a new study suggests. The study, released Tuesday by Community Foundations of Canada, found that in 2009 university-educated immigrants who had been in Canada fewer than five years had an unemployment rate of 13.9 per cent, compared with 3.4 per cent for their Canadian-born counterparts.
Source:
CBC

CED Learning Network
"Community economic development (CED) involves initiatives that attempt to strengthen the community by building equitable and inclusive economies. (...) The Toronto CED Learning Network is a group of over 350 organizations and individuals who are interested in CED in the Toronto area. Its membership reflects an exciting range of perspectives and approaches. Its main goal is to provide a space where members can learn from each other, share their resources and work together to develop healthy, equitable and sustainable business activity in Toronto."

CEDTAP - The Community Economic Development Technical Assistance Program
"CEDTAP is a five-year, Canada-wide initiative that aims to assist 500 communities by 2006. CEDTAP helps community-based organizations engaged in CED by supporting technical assistance, study tours, target group initiatives and requests for computer hardware and software. CEDTAP is also committed to strengthening the CED sector as a whole by disseminating innovative models, funding the development of tools and resources, and organizing learning events.
- incl. links to : About CEDTAP - News - Approved Initiatives - Application Guidelines - Application Form - Directory of Technical Assistance Providers - CEDTAP Forum - Gender and CED - Resources and Links - Contact Information

Canadian Community Economic Development Network
"(CCEDNet is a national member-based, democratic organization. We are a registered charitable non-profit organization. The membership of CCEDNet is made up of Community Economic Development (CED) community-based organizations and practitioners from every region of Canada. CED can be defined as action by people locally to create economic opportunities and enhance social conditions in their communities on a sustainable and inclusive basis, particularly with those who are most disadvantaged."

Conflict Resolution Network
"For almost two decades, Conflict Resolution Network Canada has been drawing people together to grapple with conflict, share insights and ideas, and act on the latest developments in conflict resolution theory and practice. Through our national conferences, comprehensive collection of conflict resolution books, content-rich Web site, cutting-edge programs and flagship quarterly newsletter, we have helped thousands of Canadians to build constructive approaches to conflict in every sphere of Canadian society."
Directory of Restorative Justice Programs in Canada (Adults)
Youth Restorative Justice Directory
Neighbourhood Conflict Resolution Programs in Canada

National Consultation on Basic Principles for the Use of Restorative Justice in Canada
"The United Nations recently endorsed Basic Principles for the Use of Restorative Justice Programmes in Criminal Matters, and Conflict Resolution Network Canada has undertaken a national consultation to explore what impact these principles might have here. An electronic Dialogue Group will be a vital part of the consultation, and we hope you will join it. (...) The Dialogue Group will begin discussions on Monday, June 10, and continue until mid-September."
The Conflict Resolution Network's seven distinct program areas are : Community and Restorative Justice - Schools and Youth - Organizational and Workplace - Environment and Public Policy - International - Media and Conflict Portrayal - Conflict Resolution Teaching and Training Support
To register for the Dialogue Group, or to review the Principles first, go to the Restorative Justice Consultation Web site (the link above) and follow the links to Registration or to Basic Principles.

Related Link:

Family Mediation Canada

Council of Canadians
Founded in 1985, the Council of Canadians is Canada’s largest citizens’ organization, with members and chapters across the country. We work to protect Canadian independence by promoting progressive policies on fair trade, clean water, energy security, public health care, and other issues of social and economic concern to Canadians.

Stephen Harper’s Assault on Democracy
Murray Dobbin details the harm Prime Minister Stephen Harper is doing to the political and social fabric of Canada in a new, hard-hitting essay commissioned by the Council of Canadians titled Harper’s Hitlist: Power, Process and the Assault on Democracy.
- includes links to individual files for each of the 10 parts of the report.

Stephen Harper’s Hitlist:
Power, Process and the Assault on Democracy (PDF - 683K, 36 pages)
April 2010
Table of contents:
Part 1 - Stephen Harper’s Assault on Democracy
Part 2 - Two Prorogations in Less Than a Year
Part 3 - Thwarting Democracy
Part 4 - Controlling Critics
Part 5 - Manipulating and Muzzling the Media
Part 6 - A Personal Agenda
Part 7 - Failing to Protect Canadian Citizens
Part 8 - Harper Attacks Rights
Part 9 - Political Advocacy Under Fire
Part 10 - Conclusion

Source:
Council of Canadians
Founded in 1985, the Council of Canadians is Canada’s largest citizens’ organization, with members and chapters across the country. We work to protect Canadian independence by promoting progressive policies on fair trade, clean water, energy security, public health care, and other issues of social and economic concern to Canadians.

[ Author Murray Dobbin has been a freelance journalist, broadcaster and author for thirty-five years. He is also a leading activist and analyst in the movement against corporate globalization. He has written extensively on various trade agreements and their impact on democracy and on neo-liberalism’s attack on social programs. He is a past executive board member of the Council of Canadians. ]

Court Challenges Program
Court Challenges Program of Canada is a national non-profit organization which was set up in 1994 to provide financial assistance for important court cases that advance language and equality rights guaranteed under Canada's Constitution.
Check the Site Guide for an overview of the site - includes a great database of links in almost two dozen areas of social policy research, including : Aboriginal - Colour, Race, National Origin, Ethnicity - Disability - Education Rights - Government - Human Rights - Immigration - Poverty Sexual Orientation - Womens Rights, and more...

Coalition to Save Court Challenges
The Coalition to Save Court Challenges is a broad coalition of concerned organizations and individuals committed to ensuring the continuation of funding for the Court Challenges Program of Canada. New organizations and individuals are signing onto our campaign every day.

Faces of the Cuts: The Impact of Federal Program Cuts on Communities in Toronto
An Early Look at Selected Areas Slated for Funding Cuts (PDF file - 129K, 31 pages)
Forum Convened by
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto
Held at the Ontario Bar Association
Toronto
October 11
"On September 25, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Treasury Board President John Baird announced $1 billion in federal program cuts to be implemented over two years. At the same time that cuts to youth employment, literacy organizations, women’s groups, Aboriginal health initiatives, and other equity-relevant programs were announced, the federal government also reported a staggering $13.2 billion surplus.(...) The Community Social Planning Council of Toronto convened a forum to bring together local communities and organizations across sectors and issues to share information, and discuss and strategize around the proposed cuts and related federal actions. (...) Focusing on selected areas, the report paints only part of the picture of the cuts and its impact on Toronto communities."
Source:
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto

DAWN - DisAbled Women's Network Canada
[ Réseau d'action des femmes handicapées du Canada ]
DAWN-RAFH Canada is a national organization controlled by and comprised of women who self-identify as Women with disAbilities. We are from all backgrounds and all disAbilities. We are a feminist organization working to achieve control over our lives and end the stereotype that labels us dependent burdens on society. Our Network began in 1985. Our Society Status was received in 1992.

Democracy Watch
Democracy Watch is a national non-profit, non-partisan organization, and Canada's leading citizen group advocating democratic reform, government accountability and corporate responsibility. Democracy Watch is the most effective and successful national citizen advocacy group in Canada at winning systemic changes to key laws since it opened its doors in fall 1993 - it has won more than 110 changes to federal and provincial good government and corporate responsibility laws, many of which are world-leading.

20 Steps towards a Modern, Working Democracy
Democracy Watch's campaign mandate, 20 Steps towards a Modern, Working Democracy, sets out changes that all governments in Canada should enact (according to their respective powers) to ensure that Canadian citizens have a greater and more meaningful role in government and business decision-making in Canada.

democracylawblog.ca
Your online resource for news, resources and analysis of the laws that are the foundation of democracy and governance in Canada, including election law, campaign finance, lobbying and conflicts of interest.

Directory of Development Organizations, 2010
January 10, 2010
The Directory of Development Organizations 2010 is a comprehensive listing of 60,000+ development organizations dedicated to good governance, sustainable development and poverty reduction. The directory is divided into 6 geographical sections: Africa, Asia and the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, and Oceania.

Halifax Initiative
Halifax Initiative is a Canadian coalition of development, environment, faith, rights and labour groups. [It] was formed in the context of an international movement of non-governmental organizations focused on evaluating the role and record of the Bretton Woods Institutions at the time of their 50th Anniversary. Canadian NGOs formed the Halifax Initiative in December 1994 to ensure that demands for fundamental reform of the international financial institutions were high on the agenda of the G7's 1995 Halifax Summit.
- incl. links to : Debt - Export Credit Agencies - International Monetary Fund - Tobin Tax - World Bank - G-20 - Finance for Development - Publications - Media - Events - Links
Related Links : See the Canadian Social Research Links Globalization page

Directory of Canadian and International Think Tanks
Links to over 100 Canadian, U.S. and international think tanks
You'll just have to figure out for yourself which ones wear the black hats and which ones wear the white hats...

Idealist, a project of Action Without Borders. In this site you will find 20,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 150 countries, which you can search or browse by name, location or mission. Includes tons of links to Canadian sites - organizations, resources, volunteering, services, and much more.
Includes 700+ Canadian NGOs and 400+ Canadian services, just to whet your appetite...

In Common - "Global action against poverty"
Led by the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC), 100+ Canadian organizations have joined in common -- a campaign to make action against poverty a public and political priority.

Intraspec.ca
Intraspec.ca is an online journal of readings, writings and research on matters of health and well-being. Categories include psychology and cognition, health and fitness, diet and nutrition, politics and economy, society and culture, earth and climate change.

Comment:
Recommended resource!
Intraspec.ca is the personal website of fellow Ottawan Richard Dagan, and it's an excellent complement to this (Canadian Social Research Links) website. The range of topics covered in the site is quite impressive, and the seven poverty and homelessness resources pages whose links appear below include many interesting reports that you won't find on this (CSRL) website, so it's well worth a visit. And the presentation of the site is a lot neater too --- not quite as overwhelming and chaotic as this (CSRL) site. [There. I've said it.]

* Homeless in Canada: Resources
Selected resources on housing and homelessness in Canada, research and statistics, homelessness initiatives and services by major population centre, provincial and national initiatives, plans to end homelessness, homeless counts, research and policy organizations, legal aid and public legal education by province, food banks by province, a customized poverty and homelessness search engine, related search functions and social research links.

* Homelessness in Canada: News & Reports
Selected media releases and special reports regarding housing and homelessness, human rights and legislation, call for action, plans and strategies; welfare issues, average rents, cost of living and related issues may be included, but are presented chiefly in the Poverty sections.

* Homelessness: Definitions, Strategies & Solutions - Ideas and Approaches
Selected definitions, strategies and solutions applied to research, resolution and prevention of homelessness. This page presents a collection of useful excerpts and links for ready reference - from Europe, the United States and Canada.

* Poverty in Canada: Resources
Selected statistics, news and resources on poverty and child poverty in Canada, including the definition of poverty, Low Income Cut Offs (LICOs) and other measures of poverty, minimum wage across Canada, welfare incomes across Canada, legal aid and public legal education resources, provincial and community anti-poverty strategies, national and provincial Campaign 2000 poverty report cards, etc.

Laidlaw Foundation (Toronto)
"The Laidlaw Foundation uses its human and financial resources in innovative ways to strengthen the environment for children, youth and families, to enhance opportunities for human development and creativity and to sustain healthy communities and ecosystems."

Go to the Canadian Social Research Links page of links for Children, Families and Youth (Canadian NGOs) for links to content from the Laidlaw Foundation website

Literary Review of Canada (LRC)
The LRC is Canada’s leading magazine for discussions of public affairs and culture. No other magazine in Canada today has our fifteen-year track record of providing Canadians with robust, intelligent public discourse on a wide range of topics from the country’s very best thinkers and writers.

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Tracking Those in Poverty
A review of Telling Tales: Living the Effects of Public Policy (PDF file - 1.6MB, 4 pages)
by Sheila Neysmith, Kate Bezanson and Anne O’Connell
Review by John Stapleton
[Posted with permission of the reviewer]
November 2005 issue of the Literary Review of Canada
"...there is little political will at the provincial level to address the plight of the disadvantaged in terms of improving income security programs. If the province does just a little, they bring the inadequacy of programs into sharp relief and shine a light on everything that they are not doing. If they were to consider doing a lot, it would cost more money than they can spend on a target group that has little political support or public sympathy."
- includes the table of contents for the November 2005 issue of the Literary Review of Canada and subscription information

More info about Telling Tales and how to order it
- incl. links to "Poverty study full of surprises", an article (June 10/05) by Toronto Star Columnist Carol Goar about Telling Tales and a book review (September 2005) by Brice Balmer, secretary of the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition.

Make Poverty History (Canada)
Here's what we want in 14 words:
* More and Better Aid
* Trade Justice
* Cancel the Debt
* End Child Poverty in Canada

Steering Committee - includes members from : the Assembly of First Nations - Campaign 2000 - Canadian Council for International Co-operation - Canadian Labour Congress - National Anti Poverty Organization - Results Canada - World Vision - and more...

Make Poverty History (International)

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News search Results:
"Make Poverty History"
Web Search Results:
"Make Poverty History"

Web Search Results:
"End Child Poverty in Canada"
Google News search Results:
"End Child Poverty in Canada"

Source:
Google.ca

Mental Health Commission of Canada
The Mental Health Commission of Canada is a non-profit organization created to focus national attention on mental health issues and to work to improve the health and social outcomes of people living with mental illness.

Mental Health Commission of Canada Launches National Research Project to Find Sustainable Solutions for
People With Mental Health Issues Who Are Homeless : Study will investigate ‘Housing First’ approach (PDF - 139K, 2 pages)
News Release
TORONTO, November 23, 2009 – The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has implemented a ground-breaking national research project in five cities to find the best way to provide housing and services to people who are living with mental illness and homelessness. Using a ‘Housing First’ approach, the research project focuses on first providing people who are homeless with a place to live, and then the other assistance and services they require. The goal is to see if this approach is better than traditional ‘care as usual.’
Source:

Related links:

Mentally ill get housing in study
565 Toronto homeless will enrol in research
November 23, 2009
The largest project in Canada's history to study the link between mental illness and homelessness kicks off Monday, offering hope – and a home – to more than 1,300 street people across the country. Housing first, rehabilitation will follow – that's the philosophy behind a national research project on homelessness and mental illness being launched by the new Mental Health Commission of Canada. (...) Altogether, 1,325 people will be given a place to live and social services during the study, which is to get $110 million in funding over the next five years. Participants are expected to contribute 30 per cent of their income, including welfare and disability payments. Canada has an estimated 300,000 homeless people. (...) The program is modelled after the successful Pathways to Housing Project, which was founded in New York City in 1992 and has since spread out to 40 cities worldwide.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Pathways to Housing - U.S.
Pathways to Housing was founded by Dr. Sam Tsemberis in 1992, and is widely credited as being the originator of the "Housing First" model of addressing homelessness among people with psychiatric disabilities. The Housing First model is simple: provide housing first, and then combine that housing with supportive treatment services in the areas of mental and physical health, substance abuse, education, and employment.

Name changed Feb. 3, 2009 - see Canada Without Poverty (higher up on the page you're now reading)

Progressive Economics Forum (PEF)
The Progressive Economics Forum aims to promote the development of a progressive economics community in Canada. The PEF brings together over 125 progressive economists, working in universities, the labour movement, and activist research organizations.

Blog : Relentlessly Progressive Economics
Authors : Andrew Jackson - Arun DuBois - Erin Weir - Iglika Ivanova - Jim Stanford - Marc Lee - Mathieu Dufour - Toby Sanger - Wenonah Bradshaw

Selected site content:
NOTE: I tend to post links to PEF commentaries on the theme pages of this site, so the selected content below is definitely not comprehensive nor necessarily recent. Check the PEF link above for the latest content.

Who Holds the Family Purse-Strings?
By Andrew Jackson
June 24, 2011
Statscan have released an interesting paper, “The Income Management Strategies of Older Couples in Canada.” It looks at who controls the family finances in couples with one partner aged 45 and over. (They used the age cut off because a special question was added to the General Social Survey which is restricted to that age group.) This is important because most economists (famously, Becker) and policy-makers often assume that income is shared equitably among all members of the household, within which power relations do not exist. Sociologists, historians and feminist economists, by contrast, have long-known that the neo classical assumption that families approximate individuals in their economic behaviour is bunk. (Canadian women economists Shelley Phipps and Frances Woolley have contributed to our understanding of the complex reality of families considered as economic units.)

Source:
Progressive Economics Forum

He hung out at last weekend’s CEA meetings at the University of Ottawa for a while, and caught a few PEF members (including myself, David Robinson, and Brendan Haley) on the way into various sessions. He filmed those interviews, and a film version of his coverage will also appear on his site at some point [ www.straightgoods.com ]. (...) Remember, the PEF was founded at the U of O back in 1998, at the CEA meetings there that year. So there we were back at our “alma mater,” so to speak, 13 years later. In the meantime, the PEF has grown to 100+ dues-paying members, we have a high-profile presence at the CEA meetings each year, we support critical-thinking economics students (including through our essay contest...

Progressive Economics Forum at the
Canadian Economics Association meetings
Here's a selection of Progressive Economics Forum sessions scheduled for the Canadian Economics Association conference on June 3-5 at the University of Ottawa:
* Debt Wall? Trends in Canadian Household Debt ?
* Financial Literacy: Where are We and Where Should We be Going
* Philosophy of Money and Finance
* The European Debt and Currency Crisis: Causes, Consequences, and Implications for North America
* Dissecting the Fiscal Issues Facing Canada
* Canadian Provincial Budgeting Priorities and Risks
* Measuring the Credit Union Difference: The Economic Consequences of Credit Unions.
Source:
Progressive Economics Forum

The Progressive Economics Forum (PEF) at the
Canadian Economics Association 2010 meetings
March 10, 2010
The PEF will once again be hosting panels at this year’s Canadian Economics Association meetings, May 28-30 in Quebec City. The lineup for the PEF events includes panel discussions on the following broad topics:
* Was Financialization Rational for Capital?
* Canada’s Economic Security and the Great Recession: What Have We Learned?
* Is There a Market Fundamentalist Message in the Introductory Textbooks?
* Labour in a time of crisis, comparing experiences and prospects in Canada and the US.
* Perspectives on Happiness in Canada and the United States
* Integrating Climate and Industrial Policies
* Canadian Public Finances and Monetary Policy: Sound Finance or Functional Finance

Click the link above to see the complete program, including the list of speakers and all sub-topics.

The Recovery Slows
By Erin Weir
April 30th, 2010
In February, Canada experienced its slowest economic growth since October 2009. Of course, no one expected the initial rapid rebound out of recession to continue forever.

PovNet
PovNet is an online resource for advocates, people on welfare, and community groups and individuals involved in anti-poverty work. It provides up-to-date information about resources in British Columbia and Canada. PovNet links to current anti-poverty issues and also provides links to other anti-poverty organizations and resources in Canada and internationally. PovNet is a clearinghouse of information necessary to address issues of anti-poverty. Regulations and laws can change so quickly it is difficult to know if the information you are using is up-to-date. PovNet strives to keep advocates and those who may be experiencing difficulty with the social service system informed.
[ Source : About PovNet ]

* News - Anti-poverty & poverty related news stories, current events, reports & press releases.

* Regional - View news, resources government info & links sorted by territory or province.

Recession Relief Coalition [Toronto Chapter] *
The Recession Relief Coalition is a broad-based group of organizations and individuals concerned about the impact of the recession on Canada’s most vulnerable and marginalized residents. Over 260 organizations and over 1,100 individuals across Canada have endorsed the coalition’s call on the federal government to create a recession relief fund to prevent cuts to public and private not-for-profit agencies serving vulnerable communities, and to increase funding to support vital social services including homelessness programs and settlement services.
- incl. links to: home - actions - indicators - contact - participate - video - gallery - news - archives - blog - submit your story
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* We intend to open chapters across Canada to share ideas and information, sponsor events and pressure government at all levels to take strong action to protect us all from the harmful effects of this recession and to alleviate poverty nation wide.
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We're "All" in this Together is a quarterly newsletter from the Recession Relief Coalition designed to keep you informed about the real story of this recession. There will be stories about our activities and our history and about the recession and how it affects the people and communities of Canada, as well as information about recession related events that are coming soon. We will include photos from our events and links to our photo gallery and to our videos page where you will find videos created by Ronzig about us and the things we are doing.

We're All in This Together - fall 2009
October 30, 2009
PDF format (151K, 5 pages)
Word format (730K, 5 pages)

When will we move beyond a Stone Age mentality?
By Ron Craven
October 16, 2009
Throughout the history of the human race there has been a division of power resulting in an elite few who did little while the majority worked every waking hour just to survive. While the privileged few grew fat off the labour of the rest, the progress of the race was hampered because most of the population had no time to work at creating a better society. Today is no different. While 90% of the population slaves every waking hour to maintain the few comforts they have been allowed to enjoy primarily through a credit system that ensures they will never escape an indentured state of existence, the dominant 10% enjoy their multi million dollar yachts, private jets and mansions.

This Is What the Recession Looks Like: June 2009 (PDF - 161K, 8 pages)
Research Bulletin #1
- calling for immediate government action on: * Social Assistance Reform * Unemployment Income (EI Reform * Funding for Non-Profit Sector, including Housing and Homelessness Programs
- incl. Key Facts & Trends in this Recession
Source:
Indicators

Combating Poverty, Homelessness and
Hunger: Create a Peace Dividend (PDF - 65K, 7 pages)
By Cathy Crowe (Street Nurse and Atkinson Economic Justice Fellow)
June 1, 2009
"(...) Canadians need and want a peace dividend that is an investment in people not destruction. In the meantime however, this recession further necessitates program spending that will provide emergency recession relief – monies to expand Employment Insurance benefits, bolster provincial social assistance rates, prevent evictions, and expand emergency life saving services such as food and shelter."

Employment Insurance Reform and Poverty (PDF - 83K, 3 pages)
Submission to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills, Social Development
and the Status of Persons with Disabilities
By the Toronto City Summit Alliance
May 31, 2009 (in connection with appearance on June 2, 2009)

Recession Relief Coalition:
This is what the recession looks like for Canadians
Jun 11, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
As Canada's federal government is set to release its first major report on its economic initiatives (including the multi-billion dollar economic stimulus package that was part of the January federal budget), the Recession Relief Coalition has released its own report on "what the recession looks like" this morning. The coalition is a broad-based group of more than 260 organizations and 1,100 individuals across Canada.
Some key findings from the coalition's research report:
* the number of single people on Ontario Works (provincial welfare) reached an all-time record of 130,180 in April, 2009
* Ontario's real unemployment rate (the official unemployment rate, plus people who are "discouraged" and have dropped out of the labour market, plus involuntary part-time workers) is now well into the double digits at 13.6% and is a staggering 28% for youth aged 15 to 24.
* Credit Canada (which helps people deal with debt) has had a 42% increase in new clients in the past year.
* Non-profit and community-based programs and services are being over-whelmed with growing demand; foodbanks in Toronto report that a record one million people were forced to line up for food last year.
The Recession Relief Coalition sets out a policy agenda that includes increases to federal and provincial income assistance programs (including welfare and employment insurance); plus increased funding for the non-profit sector, including housing and homelessness programs.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Research Forum on Children, Families and the New Federalism
(U.S. site hosted by the National Center for Children in Poverty)
- the Research Forum database includes 41 reviewed and 28 unreviewed research projects dealing with issues of welfare reform in the U.S. and its effects.
- includes the Canadian Self-Sufficiency Project page (a welfare research and demonstration project in New Brunswick and British Columbia) - more info about SSP

Rights & Democracy - The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
This site works best in Internet Explorer. (I'm being polite here - actually, this site works like crap in Netscape 4.75)
Incl. Globalization and Human Rights - Indigenous Peoples' Rights -International Human Rights Advocacy -Women's Rights
Rights & Democracy - The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development is a non-partisan organization with an international mandate. It was created by Canada's Parliament in 1988 to encourage and support the universal values of human rights and the promotion of democratic institutions and practices around the world.
President : Warren Allmand
- Don't miss the excellent collection of links to Canadian and international directories and databases - but I can't offer you a link to it because this site uses frames.
You'll have to go there, using Internet Explorer.

Royal Canadian Legion
The Legion is Canada's largest veterans', ex-service persons' and community service organization with more than 500,000 members and more than 1,600 branches in Canada, the USA (21) and Germany (3). The Legion puts more than $300 million into our communities each year and provide services to veterans, ex-service persons, seniors, youth and numerous community-based charities. Visit this site for a wealth of information on the Legion and its activities. Sections include About Us - Remembrance and Poppy - Dominion Convention - Legion Sports - Membership - Ladies Auxiliaries - Veterans and Ex-Service Persons Service - Links - Leadership and Development. You'll also find links to all Legion Commands across Canada, a number of issues of Reveille, the newsletter of the Dominion Command, and much more.

Salvation Army Launches The Dignity Project to Inspire, Educate and Activate Public Support
March 1, 2011
News Release
A report released today by The Salvation Army finds that many Canadians continue to believe persistent myths about poverty and the poor. The study is being released in conjunction with the launch of The Dignity Project, a campaign designed to educate and inform the public about the challenges facing society’s most vulnerable people.

Myths about Poverty Persist Throughout Canada
March 2001
NOTE: The location of the eight-page report isn't immediately obvious.
Click the link above, then (on the next page) scroll down to the lower portion of the page to the image of the old fella reaching up for a red blanket.
Click on the cover page to read the report full-screen.

Report finds poverty myths rampant
By Shannon Proudfoot
March 1, 2011
More than half of Canadians think a family of four can get by on $30,000 a year or less, while a similar number believe that if poor people really want to work, "they can always find a job."
A new Salvation Army report exploring attitudes on poverty in Canada suggests many people believe the poor are "part of the problem" and their decisions led them to poverty, even while most also agree that everyone deserves basic dignity and a helping hand. (...) the report shows 89 per cent of Canadians agree that people in poverty deserve a helping hand and 81 per cent say helping poor families sets up their children for success. Almost all (96 per cent) agree that everyone deserves a sense of dignity, though just 65 per cent believe being poor robs people of their dignity.(...)
Selected results from the Dignity Project report:
- 49 per cent of Canadians say if poor people really want to work, they can always find a job
- 43 per cent agree that "a good work ethic is all you need you to escape poverty"
- 41 per cent say that if we gave poor people more assistance, they would "take advantage"
- 28 per cent believe people living in poverty "usually have lower moral values"
- 23 per cent believe people are poor because they're lazy
- 37 per cent agree that people living in poverty in Canada "still have it pretty good"
- 24 per cent say they don't really see many people in Canada who are "truly poor"
- 18 per cent say poverty is a problem we can't really do much about
Source:
Ottawa Citizen

Social Policy Cafe
Havi Echenberg's blog is rich with resources and insights - hardly surprising, given the breadth and depth of her experience in Canadian social research and social policy. Every week in her blog, Havi does a review (see "Triage" below) of selected social research resources such as studies and reports, and a section called Hidden gems that promises some, well, hidden gems.

Selected content from the Social Policy Cafe:
(in reverse chronological order)

Triage: Homelessness and more
April 2, 2010
- includes links to, and Havi's thoughts about, three items on homelessness and two other items - one on planned federal spending, and one on optimal tax rates.
1. The US Interagency Council on Homelessness has engaged in an extensive consultation on new ideas to end homelessness.
2. A report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development looks at costs associated with first-time homelessness for singles and families.
3 . The Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness recently released a report card for the year 2009, including data on shelter usage.
4. The team at Inside Ottawa at the Globe and Mail has done an analysis of planned spending for each of the next three years, based on reports by 97 departments and financial agencies. The resulting document lists these departments and agencies and associated projections based on greatest reductions in absolute spending and greatest reduction as a percentage of budgets.
5. “The optimal size of government is a partisan issue. The optimal tax mix isn’t” - a recent entry in an economics blog entitled Worthwhile Canadian Initiatives.
Click the "Triage" link above to access these five items and related links...

Social policy: into the future
March 31, 2010
Two reports released recently focus on social policy moving into the future.
1. ACSW Social Policy Framework 2010: Visioning a More Equitable and Just Alberta, from the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), explicitly recommends a shift from individualism to a more collective approach, to reduce what it describes as growing disparity in Alberta
2. Canada at 150: The Social Agenda, is a speech by Sherri Torjman of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy on Emerging Pressures and Approaches in Social Policy at the Canada@150 Conference (Liberal policy conference) held in Montréal, March 26, 2010.

Triage: Three Canadian reports worth reading
Reviews of the following:
* How Canada Performs: A Report Card on Canada (by the Conference Board of Canada)
--- ranking Canada’s socio-economic performance against that of peer countries
* Mending Canada’s frayed social safety net: The role of municipal governments
--- from the Quality of Life surveys conducted by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
* The Preston Manning Centre Barometer
--- an "annual look at Canadians’ attitudes towards values and policies generally ascribed to Conservatives”

Hidden gems: Community information database
The Community Information Database (CID), developed by the Rural Secretariat with the cooperation of provincial and territorial governments, is intended to be "a free internet-based resource developed to provide communities, researchers, and governments with access to consistent and reliable socio-economic and demographic data and information for all communities across Canada." And it delivers. Despite a clunky interface, and a steep learning curve that can’t be bypassed, in my experience, the CID provides a rich source of information about all communities, including urban ones, with data from the 1996, 2001, and 2006 Census. In fact, more than 500 pieces of data can be retrieved for all of Canada, by province, region, Census Metropolitan area, Census subdivision, or regional health district.

Triage: top three social policy stories of the week
By Havi Echenberg, Social Policy Cafe
March 12, 2010
1. How many homeless people are there in Canada? (incl. references to homeless counts in the U.S. and Australia)
2. Caledon releases five short papers on the interaction of student financial aid and social assistance.
3. The Toronto-Dominion Bank has just issued a report on the future of the labour force, echoing many of the same themes raised in a Canadian Chamber of Commerce report a few weeks ago.
Click the link above to read all three stories.
- includes 10 links to related resources
Source:
Social Policy Cafe

The top five Canadian sources for connected social policy wonks
By Havi Echenberg
January 20, 2010
"These start with the basics for anyone who’s been at this a while, but someone had to tell us about them, right? And these are focussed pretty narrowly on Canada; another entry will get us beyond our own borders. So, here goes."
[NOTE: click the above link for Havi's blog entry with more information on each of these sources.]

Source:
Social Policy Cafe
Havi Echenberg's blog
["I am social policy analyst, currently employed by the Library of Parliament. I have had the privilege to work in social policy for 30 years, at the municipal and federal level, with governments and non-government (civil society) organizations. My interests within that sphere are broad, and I am most interested in passing on what I read, hear, and know, so that others can share and challenge my observations."]
---
* Thanks for including my work in your list and for your kind words, Havi - and welcome back online!
Havi was Director of the National Antipoverty Organization (NAPO) when we first met "a few" years ago.
She's now with the Parliamentary Library, and still as strong a supporter of social justice as ever...

Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI)
"SEDI stands for Social and Enterprise Development Innovations. (...)We are a national charitable organization dedicated to enabling poor, unemployed and under-employed people to become self-sufficient. We take a variety of leading-edge social and economic approaches to this goal in areas such as policy development, program management, information exchange, capacity building, public education and research. Above all, SEDI is a catalyst..."

Learn$ave
"One of the most important assets is education. SEDI is offering an exciting chance for over 3,000 low-income earners to boost their savings so that they can afford skills training, schooling or to start-up a small business:will match the savings each participant puts aside in an Individual Development Account (IDA), dollar for dollar, paid directly to the school or institution . Through the IDA account, participants can build their personal savings and earn a credit for a matching amount by saving as little as $10 a month over 1 to 3 years. In most areas, the personal savings will be matched at $3 for every dollar saved up to the first $1,500. This matching contribution puts low-income Canadians on an equal footing with higher income Canadians who can afford to put away more of their own money. Between 2001 and 2003, partner organizations recruited candidates in 10 communities across the country. Recruitment is now complete in 9 of the 10 sites. Vancouver will be recruiting until December 2003. This project is the largest of its kind in the world. It’s delivered in partnership with the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) and is funded by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC)."
Learn$ave FAQs

Tamarack - An Institute for Community Engagement
"Tamarack is a charitable organization dedicated to helping Canadian communities take ownership of local issues by making use of proven strategies for community engagement. Community Engagement is commonly defined as citizens from different sectors of a community joining together taking leadership, to address issues that affect them all. Tamarack was founded as a partnership between Alan Broadbent of the Maytree Foundation, and Paul Born. Designed to promote community building across Canada, the institute's mission is to develop a process to help people create bold visions for the future of their communities, and work together to achieve those visions more easily and effectively."

Vibrant Communities
Vibrant Communities is a community-driven effort to reduce poverty in Canada by creating partnerships that make use of our most valuable assets – people, organizations, businesses and governments.Vibrant Communities links communities from all across Canada, British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador, in a collective effort to test the most effective ways to reduce poverty at the grassroots level.
[ more about Vibrant Communities ]

Vibrant Communities Across Canada:
Click the above link and then select one of the communities for information on its approach to poverty reduction, an update on how poverty reduction is proceeding, contact info and links to key related documents.
Participating Communities:
* Abbotsford * Calgary * Edmonton * Hamilton * Montreal * Saint John * St. John's * Surrey * Trois-Rivières * Victoria * Waterloo * Winnipeg

Source:
Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement:
Tamarack exists to build vibrant and engaged communities in Canada. Our work will result in more collaborative approaches and less poverty.

Vanier Institute of the Family (VIF)
Established in 1965, the Vanier Institute of the Family is a national charitable organization dedicated to promoting the well-being of Canadian families. It is governed by a volunteer board with regional representation from across Canada. The programs of the Institute generally fall into four categories: Research - Public education - Consultation - Advocacy

Hallmarks of a Compassionate, Civil Society
Press Release
March 27, 2007
Ottawa—Love, sympathy, reason and morality – all evolutionary imperatives according to Darwin – are the hallmarks of a compassionate, civil society. Sadly, our collective reading of Darwin’s theories of human development emphasizes an almost universally accepted notion of human nature as predominantly aggressive, violent, selfish and competitive.

Building Emotional Intelligence: Darwin Reconsidered
by Jenni Tipper
2006
HTML version
PDF version (303K, 36 pages)

World Socialist Website
The World Socialist Web Site is the Internet center of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). It provides analysis of major world events, comments on political, cultural, historical and philosophical issues, and valuable documents and studies from the heritage of the socialist movement.

Canadian Non-Governmental Organizations
(Social Issues)

Organismes non-gouvernementaux canadiens
(Mission sociale)

Canadian Non-Governmental Organizations (Social Issues)

Organismes non-gouvernementaux canadiens (Mission sociale)

Canadian Non-Governmental Organizations
(Social Issues)

Organismes non-gouvernementaux canadiens
(Mission sociale)