Non-Governmental and
Municipal Government Sites in Ontario
A-C

Updated April 2, 2008

version française

[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]

See also:
- Canadian Social Research Links Ontario Non-Governmental and Municipal Govt. Sites (D-W) page
- Canadian Social Research Links Guide to Welfare in Ontario
- Canadian Social Research Links Ontario - Government Links page
- Canadian Social Research Links Ontario - Spouse-in-the-House page ("The Falkiner Case")
- Canadian Social Research Links Provincial-Territorial Political Parties and Elections in Canada - incl. Ontario 2003 election links
- Rendez-vous à la page de Liens aux sites de recherche sociale en Ontario
Lists of Ontario Municipalities
Ontario Municipalities - from Links to Canadian municipalities' websites - from munisource.com

War on Poverty - from The Toronto Star
- links to a large collection of articles and editorials about the plight of Canada's needy and possible reforms to the social programs that assist them.
50+ links to articles by various Star writers and columnists!
(this link takes you to another page of the Canadian Social Research Links website)

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The 2007 Ontario provincial election and referendum took place on October 10.
For links to more info, see the Provincial-Territorial Political Parties and Elections in Canada page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/politics_prov_terr.htm

Fourth Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa Jan-Dec 2007
2007 - A Step Backwards!
HOUSING: C-
INCOME: C
HOMELESSNESS : D
LENGTH OF SHELTER STAY : D-
- incl. links to report cards for earlier years

Read the complete 2007 Report Card (PDF - 2.5MB, 16 pages)
[ version française ]

Highlights (small PDF file, 1 page)
[ English ]
[ Français ]

Source:
Alliance to End Homelessness (Ottawa)

Related link:

Ottawa failing its homeless
Advocacy group says municipal help for homeless falling far short of growing demand
By TERRI SAUNDERS, SUN MEDIA
The city could find itself getting an F for its efforts to battle homelessness.A report being released today by the Alliance to End Homelessness is expected to show the city didn't do nearly enough last year to help put shelters over the heads of thousands of residents.
Source:
Canoe.ca

More selected site content from the
Alliance to End Homelessness (this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading)

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Cathy Crowe's Monthly Newsletter
#44 - April 2008 Newsletter
Table of contents:
1. Home is more than four walls.
2. Stephen Harper and Stéphane Dion - Put down the Guns and pick up the Hammers and Nails!
3. Who’s Hot, Who’s Not!
PDF version of this newsletter (393K, 8 pages)

Newsletter Archive - links to newsletter issues back to the summer of 2007, PLUS a link (at the bottom of the page) to all issues back to #1 in 2004

To subscribe to Cathy's Monthly Newsletter,
send an email message to crowenews@sherbourne.on.ca

Source:
Cathy Crowe's website
Cathy Crowe has been a street nurse in Toronto for 19 years. She received the Atkinson Economic Justice Award which permits her to pursue her passions for nursing and working on homelessness and housing issues. In this newsletter she reports on her activities, she creates a link to a broader group of individuals who care about these social issues, and she encourages critical debate.

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2008 Ontario Budget : Growing a Stronger Ontario
March 25, 2008
- includes links to all budget papers and the following backgrounders : * Economic Plan * Education * Health * Infrastructure * Key sectors * Rural and Northern Ontario * Quality of Life * Skills

NOTE: for links to critiques and analyses of the 2008 Ontario budget, go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm

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Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy:
- Go to the Antipoverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm

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Foster children left behind, NDP charges
February 20, 2008
By Tanya Talaga
News that 20,000 Ontario foster children were left out of an anti-poverty plan proves how flawed Premier Dalton McGuinty’s child benefit program is, the province’s NDP leader says. In 2003, McGuinty promised he would end a clawback of the national child benefit supplement, which takes about $1,500 a year out of the pockets of families on welfare and disability support, Howard Hampton charged yesterday. However, parents who receive Ontario disability support or Ontario Works payments are still having the national child benefit deducted from those cheques, Hampton said.
Source:
The Toronto Star

McGuinty forgets vulnerable kids
February 18, 2008
NDP Children and Youth Services critic Andrea Horwath slammed Dalton McGuinty for once again failing Ontario’s poor and most vulnerable by forgetting to include foster children in his child benefit program.
Source:
Ontario NDP website

From the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services:

Making It A Little Easier For Low-Income Ontario Families
File Your Income Tax Return To Qualify For New Monthly Ontario Child Benefit
News Release
February 22, 2008
LONDON - Low-income families will begin receiving the new monthly Ontario Child Benefit in July 2008 - but they need to file their income taxes first. The Ontario Child Benefit will provide $100 a month to a family with two children under 18 and income of $20,000. For that same family, this amount will grow to about $180 a month in July 2011 when the benefit is fully implemented. Families earning more than $20,000 may also be eligible, based on the number of children.

Related Links:

Proposed Amendments to Bill 107
Backgrounder
November 15, 2006
The McGuinty government is proposing amendments to Bill 107 the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006, which was introduced in April 2006. Key proposed amendments to the bill would enhance the Commission’s independence, strengthen its investigative and public interest powers, promote greater fairness in the tribunal process, and entrench a range of available legal supports.

Bill 107,
Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006
Government Bill
38th Legislature, 2nd Session

Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO)
"The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) works to better the housing situation of Ontario residents who have low incomes including tenants, co-op members and people who are homeless. ACTO achieves this through: test case litigation; lobbying and law reform; housing policy work; community organizing; and public legal education.
ACTO works with legal clinics, tenant associations and other groups and individuals concerned about housing issues. ACTO is funded by Legal Aid Ontario and has been in existence since September, 2001."
- incl. links to : About ACTO - Cases - Community/Campaigns - Law Reform and Advocacy - Publications - Tenant Info - Rent Control/Affordability - Eviction and Homelessness - Maintenance and Supply - Tenant Duty Counsel Program

NOTE: some of the links below are from the DAWN Ontario: DisAbled Women's Network Ontario website and the website of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Residential Tenancy Reform Consultation
The provincial government has launched a consultation on the Tenant Protection Act.
There are ten town halls across the province (the first one has already happened in Waterloo) and comments are also being invited in writing and via e-mail. The government has produced a questionnaire that shapes the
consultation process (somewhat narrowly as you will see), and the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario has written a brief "guideline" on how those questions might be answered in the way that best protects tenants.
Comments can also be sent via e-mail or in writing by June 15.

Government's Online Questionnaire

Possible Answers to the Provincial Government's Online Questionnaire
on the Residential Tenancy Reform Consultation (PDF file - 96K, 4 pages)

Source:
Statement of Principles: New Landlord/Tenant and Rent Control Legislation
Released by the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) and theLegal Clinics' Housing Issues Committee (LCHIC)
June 5, 2003
"Issues Committee (composed of representatives from legal clinics in each region of Ontario) have jointly released this paper. Topics include: fair eviction application process, security of tenure against forfeiture, what a new tribunal would look like ... This platform will be distributed to the government and both opposition parties, and LCHIC/ACTO will request a meeting with all three parties."

Ombudsman Asked To Investigate Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal
ACTO media release
- concerning the Failure of the Tenant Protection Act and the Rules and Procedures of the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal to meet Ombudsman Fairness Standards

Background & Quick Facts
Media Conference
June 20, 2002

Submission to the Ombudsman Ontario Concerning the Failure of the Tenant Protection Act
and the Rules and Procedures of the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal to meet Ombudsman Fairness Standards
June 20, 2002
Table of Contents of the Submission to the Ombudsman Ontario (HTML)
Complete Submission (PDF file - 141K, 54 pages)
Complete Submission (Word file - 180K, 54 pages)

Advocates for Community-Based Training and Education for Women (ACTEW)
"A Women's Training Community"
ACTEW) is an umbrella group of agencies and programs delivering employment and training services to women in Ontario. ACTEW distributes information regarding labour force development policy, consults with various levels of government, conducts research projects designed to enhance our understanding of the training and education terrain, and advocates for women's access to quality employment and training services. Our mission is to promote and support community-based training opportunities for women.
- Publications and News
- Events and Job Listings
- Resources/Links - great links!!
- "Looking for Training?" Directory : Developed in collaboration by ACTEW and ONESTEP (Ontario Network of Employment Skills Training Projects), the "Looking for Training?" Directory includes detailed information about community-based employment and training programs in many communities in every region of Ontario. Visitors can search for training programs by location, type of training or employment service, or even eligibility criteria. Training and employment services include everything from job search workshops and career planning to self-employment information. The directory contains over 200 program listings.

Alliance to End Homelessness (Ottawa)
The Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa is a coalition of community stakeholders committed to working collaboratively to eliminate homelessness by gaining a better understanding of homelessness and developing and implementing strategies to end it.
- incl. links to : What's New * About the Alliance * About Homelessness * Action Centre * Events * Report Card on Homelessness in Ottawa * Ottawa Service Inventory for Agencies

Sample reports:

Experiencing Homelessness
Third Report Card on ENDING Homelessness in Ottawa, Jan-Dec 2006 (PDF file - 3.2MB, 16 pages)
"(...)On February 27, 2007, the Alliance to End Homelessness released the third annual Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa and for the first time, provided grades in four areas: housing, income, homelessness and length of shelter stay. This year’s Report Card also includes a Special Report on Homelessness & Health, another risk factor for homelessness."

NOTE: the home page of the Alliance website offers highlights from the third report on homelessness in Ottawa

Related link:
Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services - University of Ottawa

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"homelessness report card, 2006, Ottawa"
Web search results page
News search results page
Blog Search Results page
Source:
Google.ca

Proceedings of the 2006 Community Forum on Homelessness
Linking Ottawa Research with Action and Policy
In Honour of National Housing Day
November 22, 2006
On National Housing Day, the Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa held its third Community Forum on Homelessness - Linking Ottawa Research with Action and Policy.
- incl. links to over a dozen Powerpoint presentations from the community forum on a variety of topics related to homelessness, including an overview of the panel study of homelessness in Ottawa, homelessness and youth, cycles of homelessness, the Government of Canada's National Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) Initiative, and more...

Second Report Card on Homelessness in Ottawa, Jan-Dec 2005
Released February 28, 2006
Grade C+
Only slight progress made.
8,853 people were homeless and stayed in a shelter at some point in 2005.

Complete report:
English
Français

Experiencing Homelessness:
The First Report Card on Homelessness in Ottawa, 2005 (PDF file - 537K, 16 pages)
March 2, 2005
"This is the first Report Card on Homelessness in Ottawa. Report Cards measure progress over time or rate progress against defined criteria. Since this is Ottawa’s first Report Card, it will present a profile of homelessness in the City and introduce many organizations that work to reduce the impact of homelessness here. Future progress or lack of progress in Ottawa will be measured using the indicators in the table above."

Version française:
Être itinérant : Premier bulletin sur l'itinérance à Ottawa en 2005 (fichier PDF - 519Ko., 16 pages)

APOLNET
The Alcohol Policy Network's online service devoted exclusively to Canadian alcohol policy issues. This site is designed to stimulate informed discussion about various aspects of alcohol policy and to profile the prevention efforts and successes of individuals and groups across Ontario. APN is a project of the Ontario Public Health Association.

Mandatory Drug Testing and Welfare Recipients - "Action Pack"
- incl. links to : Background Information - Policy Framework - Research - Resources - Position Statements

ARCH: A Legal Resource Centre for Persons with Disabilities
"Founded in 1980, ARCH: A Legal Resource Centre for Persons with Disabilities is community-based not-for-profit legal clinic and legal resource centre for the Province of Ontario, dedicated to defending and advancing the equality and rights of persons with disabilities."
- incl. links to : about ARCH - direct service - litigation - law reform - PLE library - contact us - home - database - links - publications - FAQ - events - site map

Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) works with and for municipal governments. AMO's traditional activities include inter-government relations and policy development; information gathering and disseminating on all issues affecting municipalities. AMO also develops and delivers new and innovative products and services for municipalities.

Atkinson Charitable Foundation - Established in 1947, this private Canadian foundation provides grants for innovative, Ontario-based projects that focus on either early childhood education and development or economic justice.

Sample Atkinson Foundation reports:

Atkinson Foundation e-bulletin - April 2008 issue
Featuring news, views and updates from the Atkinson Charitable Foundation and its partners.
April 10, 2008
In this issue:
On the right track with the Canadian Index of Wellbeing... [See the link to the "Measuring the Progress of Societies" Newsletter after the red bar below]
Atkinson Charitable Foundation Partnerships for poverty reduction...
Deadline for Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award fast approaching ...
Trade guns and war for housing and peace...
Reality check on multiculturalism needed ...
New book: The Future of Medicare...
News from our partners...
[Click the link above to access all content from this issue.]

Selected content from this issue:

Campaign for poverty reduction building momentum
April 5, 2008
By Peter Clutterbuck, Social Planning Network of Ontario
Sustaining employment. Livable Incomes. Strong and supportive communities. When it comes to tackling poverty, these are the core messages that are emerging from communities across Ontario. The Social Planning Network of Ontario is currently traversing the province to build support for a bold poverty reduction vision. Local social planning members and community partners in 12 cities are bringing together Ontarians from all walks of life to discuss the best way to move forward on an anti-poverty plan.
Source:
Social Planning Network of Ontario
The Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) is a coalition of social planning councils (SPC), community development councils (CDC), resource centres, and planning committees located in various communities throughout Ontario. Each of the individual organizations has their own mandates but are connected in the cause of effecting change on social policies, conditions, and issues.
- incl. links to : * Home * News * Reports * Links * FAQs * About Us * Contact Us

Related link:

Poverty Watch Ontario - "To monitor and inform on cross-Ontario activity on the poverty reduction agenda"

Canada at pivotal moment in history,
Romanow writes in Walrus magazine
May 16, 2007
The quickening erosion of our nation's legacy and values places us at a pivotal moment in Canada's history. If Canada is to remain progressive, united, and strong enough to meet tomorrow's challenges, we must join together and stand up for our legacy as a nation based on fairness, opportunity, respect and balance between the individual and community, between nation and enterprise.Such is Roy Romanow's clarion call to Canadians, in "A House Half Built," featured in this month's edition of The Walrus magazine.

Read it online (HTML)
Download (PDF file - 1.4MB, 9 pages)

The Hon. Roy J. Romanow was Premier of Saskatchewan from November 1991 to February 2001 and the commissioner on the Future of Health Care in Canada. He is a senior fellow at the University of Saskatchewan and a fellow at the Atkinson Charitable Foundation.

Source:
The Walrus Magazine
The Walrus launched in September of 2003 with a straightforward mandate: to be a Canadian general-interest magazine with an international outlook.

Poverty study full of surprises
June 10, 2005
By CAROL GOAR
"In an ideal world, the poor would be blameless, resilient and sympathetic to others who have fallen on hard times. In real life, they're just like any other segment of society. Some are victims of circumstance; others are snared in troubles of their own making. Some are good neighbours; others denigrate immigrants, racial minorities and unconventional families. Some can see past their own misfortune; others have a permanent chip on their shoulder. Tempting as it may be for social activists to portray the poor in romanticized terms, it is not the basis for sound public policy. That is one of the lessons that emerges from a three-year study of 40 lower-income families struggling to survive in Ontario in the late '90s. The final report, entitled Telling Tales: Living the Effects of Public Policy [$], was released yesterday."
Source:
The Toronto Star

Telling Tales: New book connects dots between policy-makers and everyday citizens
June 2005
- from the Atkinson Foundation

Caledon Institute of Social Policy
The Caledon Institute of Social Policy is a private, non-profit organization with charitable status.Caledon’s work deals with poverty and other social and economic inequalities, and overs a broad range of social policy areas including income security (e.g., pensions, welfare, child benefits, Employment Insurance, benefits for Canadians with disabilities), taxation, social spending, employment development services, social services and health.

Although national in scope, Caledon is Ontario-based, and it does offer a large number of reports and commentaries about the Ontario social landscape. Search Caledon's publications using the term "Ontario" and you'll see links to about almost 70 online documents - most of which are critical of the Harris government's cuts to social programs - Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program in particular.

Transitions Revisited: Implementing the Vision
By John Stapleton
September 2004
"Transitions, the landmark 1988 report of the Social Assistance Review in Ontario, created a new vision for social assistance and related programs that called for a radically redesigned set of child benefits, a new income program for persons with disabilities and a new direction to bring welfare recipients into the mainstream of community life. Although some early investments were made to implement the vision, these reforms were largely dismantled in the mid- to late-1990s. John Stapleton, a former public servant and senior policy advisor to members of the Social Assistance Review Committee from 1986-1988, argues that there has never been a better time to bring some of the key proposals of Transitions up to date and to seriously consider implementing them."
[Abstract]

Complete report (PDF file - 135K, 38 pages)

Ontario’s Shrinking Minimum Wage (PDF file - 20K, 3 pages)
February 2003
"Ontario has seen a steady decline in the value of its minimum wage because the rate has been frozen at $6.85 for eight long years."
Source: Caledon Institute of Social Policy

Calmeadow Foundation

CALMEADOW is a registered Canadian not-for-profit charity with over fifteen years of experience in microfinance. Based in Toronto, CALMEADOW focuses its efforts on mobilizing and managing capital for direct investment in developing microfinance institutions.

Campaign 2000
Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Campaign 2000 began in 1991 out of concern about the lack of government progress in addressing child poverty. Campaign 2000 is non-partisan in urging all Canadian elected officials to keep their promise to Canada's children. There are over 85 national, community and provincial partners actively involved in the work of Campaign 2000. Hundreds of other groups across the country work on the issue of child poverty every day, such as children's aid societies, faith organizations, community agencies, health organizations, school boards, and low-income people's groups.
Follow these links from Campaign 2000's Home Page : What's New - Take Action - Report Cards - Resources - About Campaign 2000

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 Media release: Poverty Should Top First Ministers’ Agenda
January 10, 2008
Reducing poverty should lead the agenda of today’s First Ministers’ Meeting in Ottawa, says Campaign 2000, the national non-partisan coalition working to end child and family poverty. In an open letter, the coalition urged the First Ministers to use the meeting to take initial steps toward creating a national Poverty Reduction Strategy with targets and timetables.

Open letter to First Ministers from Campaign 2000 (PDF file - 32K, 3 pages)
January 11, 2008

Related link:

Eliminating poverty makes economic sense
January 11, 2008
By Ann Decter*
When Canada's First Ministers meet over dinner tonight in Ottawa, they'll sit down to the unusual opportunity to chew on an issue that has support from premiers of all political stripes. Along with dinner, they can take a big bite out of poverty. Any meeting focused on the economy and labour force requirements should take a hard look at the statistic that almost 12 per cent of Canadians under 18 are living in poverty. Meeting labour force requirements will mean ensuring all Canadian youth are prepared for the working world, and none are left behind with inadequate skills.
Source:
The Toronto Star

[ * Ann Decter is national co-ordinator of Campaign 2000, a coalition working to end poverty in Canada, and interim director of social reform at the Family Service Association of Toronto. ]

Related link:

War on Poverty - from The Toronto Star
- series of articles and editorials about the plight of Canada's needy and possible reforms to the social programs that assist them.
(...and a number of related Star articles)

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2006 Report card on child and family poverty in Ontario
Child Poverty in Ontario on the Increase: Campaign 2000 Calls for Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy
[ version française du communiqué ]
Media release
March 6, 2007
"A new report by Ontario Campaign 2000 finds that Ontario’s child poverty rate has been inching up since 2001 and is now at 17.4%. Based on the latest Statistics Canada data, the 2006 Report Card on Child Poverty in Ontario states that 478,480 children – one in every six children – in Ontario are living in poverty. The average low income family is living in deeper poverty now than they were twelve years ago."

Complete report card:

Child poverty in Ontario: Promises to keep …
2006 Report Card on Child Poverty in Ontario (PDF file - 297K, 6 pages)
March 2007

Version française:

Des promesses à tenir:
Rapport 2006 sur la pauvreté des enfants en Ontario (fichier PDF - 297Ko., 6 pages)
Le 6 mars 2007

Ontario budget moves forward on housing and education – but little else for low income families
News Alert
May 12, 2005
"The 2005 Ontario budget contains few measures that will make a difference in the lives of the approximately 373,000 Ontario children living below the poverty line. Children’s advocates were pleased to see new provincial funding for post secondary education and housing, but disappointed with the lack of progress on ending the clawback and ensuring adequate social assistance benefits."
Source:
Ontario Campaign 2000

Related Links:
Go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm

Moving Forward for Ontario's Children and Families:
2004 Report Card on Child Poverty in Ontario (8pp, 1,541KB)
November 2004
Source:
Campaign 2000

Related Links:

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

Complete report:

One million too many: Implementing solutions to child poverty in Canada
2004 report card on child poverty in Canada [pdf, 12pp, 186KB]
November 24, 2004

Source:
Provincial Child Poverty Report Cards: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia
NOTE: click the link above to access current and historical poverty reports for all six provinces.

Tackling the Human Deficit: Investing in Children & Families in Ontario
Brief to the Ontario Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (PDF file - 328K, 15 pages)
February 10, 2004
Presented by Pedro Barata & Colin Hughes
News alert - incl. highlights of the brief and a link to the full text
Campaign 2000 - Toronto, 10 Feb 2004

Legacy of Child Poverty Eclipses Government's Proposals
May 1, 2003
Campaign 2000
"Growing public concern with high levels of child poverty has forced the Ontario government to acknowledge the needs of vulnerable families, said children's advocates following the 2003 Throne Speech. But proposed actions appear too little to undo the harm done to Ontario's social safety net since 1995, much less make substantial progress on fighting child poverty."
Related Link : DAWN DisAbled Women's Network - Ontario (this Campaign 2000 press release is on the DAWN Ontario site)

Ontario Budget Leaves Out Poor Children
News Alert
Campaign 2000
March 27, 2003
"Today's provincial budget announcement spells a bleak future for Ontario's vulnerable children and families, said child poverty advocates. For the almost 400,000 children who remain in
poverty in Ontario, the government's continued lack of attention to income security issues is a huge disappointment."

2003 Report on Child Poverty in Ontario
"The persistence of child poverty in Ontario is a clear indication that economic growth alone is not sufficient to ensure the well-being of children and families. At a time of economic prosperity, 390,000 children remain in poverty in Ontario - an increase of 41% since 1989..."

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.
Child Poverty in Toronto - (April 2001, PDF file - 20pp, 312KB)
2000 National Report Card on Child Poverty in Canada (PDF file, 1.4MB)
2000 Ontario Report Card on Child Poverty (PDF file, 1.5MB) (Click on the links down the left side of the page)

Poor Children Left Off Eves’ Radar Screen
Campaign 2000
May 9 2002
"Campaign 2000 expressed disappointment with the scant attention given to poverty in the Eves' government first Throne Speech."

Ontario Pre-Budget Committee Urged to Address Child Poverty :
Campaign 2000 Brief to the Ontario Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
Presented by: Pedro Barata & Colin Hughes, on behalf of Ontario Campaign 2000
March 5, 2002
"The Ontario Government should commit to work with the federal government to implement policies that promote a more inclusive society. Campaign 2000 calls on the Provincial government to make a real difference for children and families by implementing a strategy to substantially reduce child and family poverty in Ontario."

November Initiative 2001
A National Disgrace....Child Poverty in Canada
This November, Campaign 2000 and its 85+ partner organizations from across the country will launch a series of activities to mark the 12th anniversary of the still unmet promise to eliminate child poverty (made on November 24th, 1989 by an all-party resolution of the House of Commons). On November 26th Campaign 2000 opens a photo exhibit at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and in nine other locations. A new update on child/family poverty in Canada will be released on that day as well at a News Conference in Ottawa. A postcard campaign urging the Prime Minister to take action will also be launched that day.

Quick-Fix Gesture Masks Seriousness of Child Poverty in Ontario
News Alert
12-Nov-01
Children's advocates responded with skepticism to today's announcement of a one-time payout to children of working poor families in Ontario. With a recession on the horizon, Campaign 2000 accused the government of failing to introduce lasting measures that will address the vulnerability of low income families during an economic slowdown. (...)
The bonus announced today will be mailed out in December to approximately 200,000 working poor families and will be worth $165 per child. Families on social assistance will not be eligible for the payment.

Get on with the job of a National Children's Agenda, groups urge Premiers

Stacking the Deck: The Relationship between Reliable Child Care and Lone Mothers' Attachment to the Labour Force
PDF file - 1,182K, 20pp
Summary Report from the Interviews, May 2001

The Early Childhood Development Initiative: A Vision for Early Childhood Development Services in Ontario
Ontario Campaign 2000 Consultation Paper
PDF file - 10pages, 229KB
April 9, 2001
Developed in consultation with representatives from: Campaign 2000, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, Ontario Association of Family Resource Programs, Toronto Public Health, Metro Association of Family Resource Programs and Toronto Coalition for Better Child Care.

Campaign Against Child Poverty
"The Campaign Against Child Poverty is a national, non-partisan coalition of citizens from faith-groups, social justice groups, charities, child welfare organizations and others concerned about the unacceptably high levels of child and family poverty in Canada. We are also concerned about the hazards to the future educational, social, physical, developmental and employment success of those children presently living in poor families"

Maybe it’s time we had a commission investigating child poverty...
April 23, 2005
The Campaign Against Child Poverty ran this full-page ad in the Toronto Star on April 23. It talks about the 15% of our children - more than 1,000,000 kids – who live below the poverty line, about how, more than 15 years ago, Canadian Parliament voted unanimously to end child poverty, and how Europe and Scandinavia have proven conclusively that child poverty rates can be dramatically reduced with no risk to national economies. It talks about the need for a national early childhood education and care plan, affordable housing, a livable minimum wage, and support for the National Child Tax Benefit.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) - National Office
"The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social and economic justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates. By combining solid research with extensive outreach, we work to enrich democratic dialogue and ensure Canadians know there are workable solutions to the issues we face. "

Ontario Office - CCPA
- Publications

Sample reports:

New from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:

Ontario’s income gap at all-time high
Press Release
May 7, 2007
TORONTO – Ontario’s after-tax income gap between the richest and poorest 10% of families raising children under 18 has reached an all-time high, according to a new study released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).The richest 10% of families now earn 75 times more than the poorest 10%. In 1976, they earned only 27 times more.

Complete report:

Ontario's Growing Gap: Time for leadership - (PDF file - 453K, 40 pages)

Related media coverage:

Ontario's rich-poor gap is huge: study
Report shows wealthiest 10% earn 75 times more than poorest 10%
By April Lindgren
May 8, 2007
TORONTO - The income gap between Ontario's richest and poorest families is greater than ever before and the most pronounced in the country, according to a study released yesterday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The research shows the most affluent 10 per cent of families with children under 18 had before-tax income in 2004 that was 75 times more than the poorest 10 per cent. In 1976, they earned 27 times more.
Source:
The Ottawa Citizen

Rich, poor gap widens
Few income gains during past 30 years for families with kids, Ontario study says
May 7, 2007
Rita Daly
Half of Ontario families raising children have seen their fortunes stagnate or fall behind compared with a decade ago, while the incomes of the richest have soared, says a new study on the growing income gap. And since 1998, the gap between Ontario's richest and poorest families raising children has widened at a faster pace than the rest of the nation as a whole, says the study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives being released tomorrow.

Ontario Alternative Budget 2007

Ontario Alternative Budget gives Liberals a failing grade, sets out plan to rebuild public services
Press Release
March 5, 2007
TORONTO—Four years after the McGuinty Liberals have been in office, Ontario is still living under the shadow of the Mike Harris/Ernie Eves government, says the 2007 Ontario Alternative Budget (OAB).

Ontario Alternative Budget 2007: No Time to Lose – An Action Blueprint for Ontario (PDF File, 2.1MB, 64 pages)
The McGuinty Liberals were elected in 2003 on the strength of Ontarians’ hopes that their new government would lift the dark cloud over public services left behind by the Harris-Eves Conservative era. There was great promise this new government would restore Ontario to a position of leadership on the key issues of the day. Measured against those expectations, the McGuinty government has, quite simply, been a disappointment.

Ontario Alternative Budget 2007: Budget in Brief (PDF file - 166K, 10 pages)

Fourteen cents a day won't build many homes (PDF file - 150K, 6 pages)
Ontario Alternative Budget Technical Paper #2
February 2007
The Ontario government spends about 14 cents per person per day on affordable housing — less than half the amount spent in 2000 — even though the province’s population and its housing needs continue to grow significantly.

A spinner of tales: Ontario’s Minister of Finance
prepares for his (re-)election budget (PDF file - 111K, 8 pages)
Ontario Alternative Budget Technical Paper #1
November 15, 2006
In evaluating Ontario’s budget balance forecasts for 2006–07 and beyond, it is important to take note of two key facts. First, the government has adopted a practice of underestimating revenue and overestimating expenditures in its budget forecasts. (...) This has enabled the government to claim extraordinary progress towards its goal of eliminating the deficit that it inherited in 2003-04. Second, Finance Minister Gregory Sorbara is also the chair of the Liberals’ re-election campaign.
Press Release:
Ontario’s finances in better shape than Liberals let on, says Ontario Alternative Budget
November 15, 2006

Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Related link:

Gas tax urged to help fund affordable housing
Think-tank pushes plan in alternative Ontario budget
March 5
The Ontario government should hike corporate taxes and add two cents at the gas pump to pay for a $10-billion injection into affordable housing, welfare and the environment when it tables its budget March 22, recommends a report to be released today. The annual alternative budget, compiled by the left-wing think-tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, argues little progress has been made under almost four years of Liberal government.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Raising the Minimum Wage in Ontario (PDF file - 167K, 3 pages)
February 2007
By Hugh Mackenzie
"(...) Ontario’s minimum wage used to be more in line with the province’s industrial wage. In fact, the minimum wage in Ontario was as high as $9.97 in 1976 (adjusted to 2007 dollars, based on the Toronto area consumer price index)."

Minimum Wage Fact Sheets (PDF file - 958K, 8 pages)

Liberals’ patchwork reinvestment strategy leaves
public services underfunded, says Ontario Alternative Budget
Press Release
March 16, 2006
"TORONTO— According to an Ontario Alternative Budget technical paper released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the McGuinty government’s current fiscal plan would result in program spending dropping to levels lower than it was when they took power. Despite funding increases in key areas, the McGuinty government has done little to reverse the cuts to government services imposed under the Harris/Eves regime."

Complete report:

Destination Unknown:
The McGuinty Government
Into the Home Stretch (PDF file - 230K, 7 pages)
March 16 2006
By Hugh Mackenzie

More Ontario Alternative Budget Papers

Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - Ontario Office

Related link:

Poor need help from budget, group says
McGuinty Liberals have ignored needy: Think tank report Funding urged
for affordable housing and child care
March 16, 2006
"Ontario's poorest people need more from the upcoming provincial budget than a $1.5-billion Spadina subway extension, a left-leaning think tank says. The influential Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says Premier Dalton McGuinty has done little for the province's most vulnerable people in more than two years in power. In a report today in advance of Finance Minister Dwight Duncan's budget next Thursday, the organization warns that things are worse than they were under Progressive Conservative premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves."
Source:
The Toronto Star

THE CANADIAN INDEX OF WELLBEING
"Imagine that amidst the daily news report, the sports scores, the latest stock info, and GDP figures, we hear the latest Canadian Index of Wellbeing report, a measure about how we are really doing as a nation. That day is getting closer. Experts from across the country are hard at work, under the leadership of the Hon. Roy J. Romanow, Dr. Ron Colman, and others to create a new measuring tool that will link the economic reality and longer-term economic prosperity of our country with the social, health and environmental conditions that shape our communities.
The latest issue of Reality Check Magazine has the scoop on the CIW, how it can help foster a common vision for the future of Canada and be used as a basis for improving health and wellbeing outcomes that matter to Canadians.
Reality Check May 2005 issue
PDF version (1.3MB, 4 pages)
HTML version

ROY ROMANOW CHAMPIONS THE CANADIAN INDEX OF WELLBEING
Mr. Romanow was in Toronto recently discussing an innovative new idea for achieving a healthier Canada. In a speech to the United Way of Canada's National Conference on May 6th, he gives his take on today's political hot waters and talks about his latest effort to re-focus Canadians on the things that really matter in building a stronger nation.

Mr. Romanow's Speech:
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing: Taking Measure of the Things that Count (PDF file - 120K, 13 pages)

National Network of Experts - graphic showing the complete list of government agencies, NGOs and universities across Canada that are working together to develop the Canadian Index of Well-Being
(the working group consists representatives from Statistics Canada and Environment Canada, and researchers from eight universities and six non-government research organizations across Canada; the work "is also part of a broader international effort to measure the things that count: the CIW researchers have been working closely with their counterparts in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, and elsewhere."

Source:
Canadian Index of Wellbeing website
[ Atkinson Foundation ]
The Atkinson Foundation "provides grants to Ontario registered charities for innovative, Ontario-based projects that focus on Early Chilhood Education and Development (innovative projects that demonstrate how to improve the futures of children and youth at risk through more effective early years programming and policies) and Economic Justice (innovative projects that demonstrate how to improve the employability of the unemployed, test out new economic models, and support other research and educational activities which are intended to reduce poverty.)
In the categories of health, social welfare, economic justice and education the Foundation has given more than $55 million since its inception.
The Atkinson Charitable Foundation also publishes or sponsors the publication of a number of educational materials on contemporary public policy issues."

Related links - see the Poverty Measures Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty.htm

Canadian Coalition of Community-Based Training (CCCBT)
The CCCBT is a national, non-profit organization whose membership is comprised of appointees from provincially chartered community-based training associations. Its goal is to help community-based trainers become known world-wide for excellence in client-centered training and employment services.

Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR)
The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research spans a country and connects with the world to initiate and conduct basic research in the natural and social sciences. CIAR links some of the best Canadian and international research minds in dynamic networks that often include unanticipated and innovative combinations of disciplines to collaborate on large questions from fresh perspectives. It constitutes Canada's research university without walls, creating communities of scholars from different places and divergent fields who are working at the frontier of knowledge and generating new insights.

Early Years Study : The Final Report - Reversing the Real Brain Drain
PDF file - 1330K, 207 pages
April 1999

The preparation of this report was funded by the Ontario Children’s Secretariat

Canadian Medical Association Journal

Risk of death among homeless women: a cohort study and review of the literature
April 13, 2004
Angela M. Cheung and Stephen W. Hwang
Abstract
Complete article:
HTML version
PDF version (146K, 5 pages)

Related Link:

Dying in the shadows: the challenge of providing health care for homeless people
Commentary on the article by Cheung and Hwang
By James O'Connell (Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School)
April 13, 2004
HTML version
PDF version (172K, 2 pages)

Homeless women 'crisis'
In Toronto, they're dying at 10 times the normal rate
AIDS, drugs, suicide common causes, researchers find
Elaine Carey
"Homeless women in Toronto are dying at 10 times the rate of other women between 18 and 44, according to a new study released today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal."
Source:
The Toronto Star

Canadian Policy Research Networks

More of the Same?
The Position of the Four Largest Canadian Provinces in the World of Welfare Regimes
November 5, 2004
by Paul Bernard, Sébastien Saint-Arnaud
"In More of the Same? The Position of the Four Largest Canadian Provinces in the World of Welfare Regimes, Paul Bernard and Sébastien Saint-Arnaud locate the welfare regimes of Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia among those of a group of advanced countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD]. They compare them in terms of a wide set of indicators representing public policy, social situations and level of public participation."

NOTE: This article is based partly on Gøsta Esping-Andersen's 1990 typology of welfare regimes in advanced capitalist societies and more recent related work. It's not a detailed comparison of welfare programs in certain Canadian jurisdictions, but rather an academic analysis of how the welfare systems in four Canadian provinces fit within the international typology. It should be emphasized that the analysis of welfare regimes in the four Canadian jurisdictions focuses on the mid-1990s, which was a tumultuous period in the evolution of the Canadian welfare system. Programs (and governments, except for Emperor Klein...) have changed since then, but ten years later, it's still true that "Alberta somewhat resembles the 'ultra-liberal' United States, while Quebec leans in the direction of Europe, and to some extent, of social-democracy." [Excerpt from the Abstract].

Complete report:

More of the Same? The Position of the Four Largest Canadian Provinces
in the World of Welfare Regimes (PDF file - 1.5MB, 32 pages)
November 2004
[translation of an article initially published in French in the
Canadian Journal of Sociology, Spring 2004]

Source:
Family Network - CPRN

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

ACCENTURE: A snapshot of cost overruns job loss and dissatisfaction
June 24, 2003
"Accenture has more than 75,000 employees based in more than 110 offices in 47 countries delivering a wide range of consulting, technology and outsourcing services. (...) Accenture is the new name for Andersen Consulting, (...) major provider of management and technology consulting. Outsourcing for government includes computer systems design and network creation and management. Accenture's history of public services outsourcing, and privatization of major parts of service delivery under a certain time period, has often been very problematic. There have been problems in many state governments in the USA and the Province of Ontario."

Related Link:
Accenture

NOTE: for more on Accenture, see the Accenture section of the Canadian Social Research Links Ontario Government Links page

Canadian Union of Public Employees - Ontario

Agencies and unions issue joint call for immediate reinvestment
in community-based, nonprofit social services
News Release
February 20, 2004
"TORONTO — Ontario’s community-based, nonprofit social services agencies need an immediate financial investment from the provincial government, says a group of agencies and unions who launched a province-wide lobbying campaign today. The province’s social service infrastructure is suffering under the weight of flatlined funding, increased demand for service and growing expectations from government, said the group in its report, Building Strong Communities: A call to reinvest in Ontario’s nonprofit social services."

Building Strong Communities:
A call to reinvest in Ontario’s nonprofit social services (PDF file - 46K, 7 pages)
January 2004

Cathy Crowe's Home Page

Cathy Crowe's Newsletter - issue #42 - February 2008
In this issue of her newsletter, Toronto street nurse Cathy Crowe reports on "a radical technology that will make great strides in solving the problem of global homelessness"; you can also read her January 2008 presentation on poverty hunger and homelessness to the provincial budget consultation; and finally, she appears somewhat skeptical with respect the prognostications of by Philip Mangano, America’s so-called ‘Homeless Czar’, who allegedly told the Edmonton Sun recently that Alberta's capital city can wipe out homelessness within a decade. Cathy wonders whether Canadians should be looking South for inspiration for solutions when there is plenty of evidence that there is an ongoing hunger and affordable housing crisis in most large American cities. She draws specific evidence from the latest report on hunger and homelessness from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which decries growing food insecurity and homelessness across the United States. (The link to the mayors' report appears further below in this newsletter.)

To subscribe to Cathy's Monthly Newsletter,
send an email message to crowenews@sherbourne.on.ca

Newsletter Archives - back to 2004, recommended reading!

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
CAMH is the largest mental health and addictions facility in Canada, only one of four such facilities in that field to receive designation from the World Health Organization as a Centre of Excellence. Underlying all of the Centre's efforts are two principal tasks: advancing our understanding of mental health and addiction, and translating this knowledge into practical resources and tools that can be used in our own programs and in the broader community.
- CAMH Resources 2000 - incl. links to : Counselling - Resource Materials - Reference/Periodicals - Ontario Reference Materials - Clinical Tools - Policy Development and Planning - Programs and Program Evaluation - Public Education Materials - Mental Health Public Education Materials - Addictions Ontario Public Education Materials
- Newsletters

Forcing welfare recipients into drug testing and treatment : The North American experience
March/April 2001
Journal of Addiction and Mental Health

CAMH Position Statement on Mandatory Drug Testing and Treatment of Welfare Recipients (November 2000)
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) does not support mandatory drug testing and treatment for people on welfare.
Position Statement (HTML version)
Background Paper (HTML version) - recommended reading!!

Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System (London Family Court Clinic)
The is a non-profit agency in London, Ontario, which advocates for the special needs of children involved in the justice system as young offenders, victims of crime or abuse, or as the subjects of custody disputes. Our advocacy includes assessment, counselling, prevention services, research, dissemination of information, and training for the community.
The Centre has seven core areas: Child Witness Project - Clinical Supports Program - Counselling Services - Custody and Access Project (including mediation) - Research Services - Young Offender Services - Violence Prevention Services
Web Links -excellent resources!
- incl. Child Abuse - Relationship Abuse - Restorative Justice - School Violence & Bullying - Victims of Crime - Women Offenders - Young Offenders

Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (Toronto)
The Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) provides advice and representation to individuals and groups facing discrimination in housing. CERA co-ordinates the work of the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues (CCPI) in advancing test case litigation dealing with poverty issues in Canada.

CERA's 5 core programs:
- Casework and Test Case Litigation
- Women
- Eviction Prevention
- H.O.M.E. - Housing Opportunities Made Equal
- Public Education and Research

Claims filed by single mothers at the Ontario Human Rights Commission charge
that the current maximum 'shelter allowance' discriminates against women and children
Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) and
Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO)
February 11, 2003
"Several women from across Ontario filed claims at the Ontario Human Rights Commission, charging that the current maximum 'shelter allowance' discriminates against women and children. The inadequacy of the shelter allowance makes it impossible for social assistance recipients to find and maintain housing in the private rental market."
Related Links:
Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation
Ontario Human Rights Commission

Voices: Experiences of Eviction in Ottawa
Report of follow-up interviews conducted by two Masters of Social Work Students from Carleton University with tenants who had been contacted by the CERA Ottawa Project
Source : Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation

Eviction Prevention - links to Voices: Experiences of Eviction in Ottawa - CERA's submissions to the provincial Standing Committee on General Government with respect to Bill
119, the "Red Tape Reduction Act" - Manufacturing Homelessness: An Op-Ed article on evictions and the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal (June 30, 2000) - Final Report of the Early Intervention Pilot Project (April 2000) - Interim Report of the Early Intervention Pilot Project (November 1999)
The Early Intervention Project is an eviction and homelessness prevention strategy whereby tenants in receipt of eviction applications are contacted by mail and telephone and informed of their rights and obligations under the Tenant Protection Act. They are also referred to appropriate services such as their local legal clinic or Social Services to access the Shelter Fund.

Centre for Independent Living in Toronto
"C.I.L.T. is a non-profit resource organization, consumer-controlled and community based. C.I.L.T. is funded through the United Way, City of Toronto grants, Federal and Provincial government grants, donations, earned income and membership support. C.I.L.T. is a consumer-controlled, community-based resource organization. We help people with disabilities to learn Independent Living skills and integrate into the community. (Please note: C.I.L.T. is a resource agency and does not do any political, systemic or group advocacy!)"

Parenting with a Disability Network (CILT)
"The Parenting with a Disability Network (PDN) is a peer support and information-sharing network for parents and prospective parents with a disability. The aim of PDN is to develop consumer friendly approaches to parenting with a disability by providing opportunities for networking, peer support, information-sharing and education."
- incl. links to : Nurturing Assistance - Parenting Bulletin - Parenting Peer Support - Parenting Resources - Workshops and Seminars
Direct Funding - "Self-manage your attendant services"
"Direct Funding enables adults with a physical disability to become employers of their own attendants. Attendants assist with routine activities of living, such as dressing, grooming and bathing."

Centre for Research on Community Services
(part of the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Social Sciences)
"The mission of the Centre for Research on Community Services (CRCS) is to conduct research and provide training that will contribute to the development of effective health and social services for vulnerable populations living in the community."
- incl. links to : About the Centre - What's New? - Personnel - Research Projects - Conferences and workshops - Online Publications - Newsletters - Internet Links
Faculty of Social Sciences
[ University of Ottawa ]

Online Publications - links to over two dozen online summaries and presentations of CRCS projects organized under the following themes : At-Risk Children and Adolescents, including Child Welfare - Homelessness - Community Mental Health

Internet Links - links to 30+ websites organized under the following headings: Child Welfare & High Risk Youth - Homelessness - Community Mental Health - Developmental Disabilities - Program Evaluation - Other Links

2004 A Community Forum on Homelessness Linking Ottawa Research with Action and Policy - Ottawa
November 22, 2004 (9:00a.m. – 4:00 p.m)
In Honour of National Housing Day
University of Ottawa
Presentations and themes include : • Homeless: The Perspectives and Experiences of Adolescents in Family Shelters in Ottawa • Promoting Social Inclusion through a Harm Reduction Approach • Investigating Diversity Among the Homelessness Population: Implications for Developing Effective Housing Policies and Programs • The Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy with People at Risk of Homelessness • Youth at Risk • Vulnerable Women • Supportive Housing - models and best practices • Rent Control - its impact on affordable housing • Harm Reduction
Keynote Speaker at lunch is Dr. Stephen Hwang (internationally recognized researcher in homelessness and health with the Inner City Health Research Unit at St Michaels Hospital in Toronto).
Information and Registration Form (PDF file - 36K, 1 page)

Centre for Social Justice (Toronto)
"The Centre for Social Justice was created in 1997 to carry on much of the work of the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice, which the Jesuits of Upper Canada were forced to close in 1997 for financial reasons. In an effort to continue the work of the Jesuits, a partnership of activists from unions, universities, faith communities and social movements approached the Jesuits, who agreed to help them in setting up a new independent centre. Since 1997, the Centre for Social Justice has concentrated on research and the production of materials on social justice issues. It has also had a strong education component that collaborated with other groups to popularize progressive ideas."

Selected links:

Life-Chance Guarantees:
A new agenda for social policy (PDF file - 2.09MB, 37 pages)
Brigitte Kitchen, Ph.D., York University
October 2005
"Almost one-fifth of Canadians are seriously under-employed, have no work at all, or are at risk of becoming unemployed. This booklet explores the concept and practical application of "life-chance guarantees" designed to improve the income, job creation and security of these Canadians. Offering life-chance guarantees means making a public investment in the capacities of individuals to make a success of their lives. Such guarantees would strengthen families, invest in human capital, and result in more equitable economies."

Poverty, Income Inequality, and Health in Canada (PDF file - 572K, 32 pages)
Dr. Dennis Raphael
School of Health Policy and Management
York University
The CSJ Foundation for Research and Education
Toronto
June 2002

From Poverty Wages to a Living Wage (PDF file - 764K, 34 pages)
Christopher Schenk
Ontario Federation of Labour
November 2001
"Some economists argue that raising the minimum wage will kill low wage jobs, hurting the very people it was intended to assist by pricing them out of the job market. Still others, primarily concerned with poverty and inequality, see raising the minimum wage as an important policy tool for eliminating poverty and promoting equality."
- A joint initiative of the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Centre for Social Justice Foundation for Research and Education.

When Markets Fail People (PDF file)
October 30, 2001
"A report released today shows an alarming growth of income inequality over the past 25 years,with a disturbing gap being created between high-income earners and the rest of the population.The report shows that during boom and bust periods, the gap between rich and poor has surged to a 25-year high,a finding with severe implications for a looming recession."

“And We Still Ain’t Satisfied ” : Gender Inequality In Canada
A Status Report for 2001
June 27, 2001
This new study of women and income inequality is a joint project of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women and the CSJ Foundation for Research and Education
Complete report (PDF file - 391K, 41 pages)

CANADA’S GREAT DIVIDE:
The politics of the growing gap between rich and poor in the 1990s (PDF file - 713K, 74 pages)
By Armine Yalnizyan
January 2000

Centre for Urban and Community Studies [ University of Toronto ]
"The Centre for Urban and Community Studies (CUCS) promotes and disseminates multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on urban issues. The Centre was established in 1964 as a research unit of the School of Graduate Studies. The Centre’s activities contribute to scholarship on questions relating to the social, economic and physical well-being of people who live and work in urban areas large and small, in Canada and around the world."

The Three Cities within Toronto: “a city of disparities” (PDF file - 96K, 3 pages)
Media Release
December 20, 2007
TORONTO – The City of Toronto is becoming increasingly divided by income and socio-economic status, says a new report issued today by the Centre for Urban and Community Studies (CUCS) at the University of Toronto. No longer a “city of neighbourhoods,” the study calls modern-day Toronto a “city of disparities.” In fact, Toronto is now so polarized it could be described as three geographically distinct cities made up of 20 percent affluent neighbourhoods, 36 percent poor neighbourhoods, and 43 percent middle-income earner neighbourhoods and that 43 percent is in decline.

Report:

The Three Cities within Toronto:
Income polarization among Toronto’s neighbourhoods, 1970–2000 (PDF file - 880K, 12 pages)
December 2007
by J. David Hulchanski

Related Table, maps and figures
* Characteristics of the Three Cities, grouped on the basis of 30-year average income trends, 1970 to 2000
* Change in Average Individual Income, City of Toronto, 1970 to 2000
* Average Individual Income, City of Toronto, 1970
* Average Individual Income, City of Toronto, 2000
* Toronto Neighbourhoods with a Persistent Change in Income, 1980 to 2000
* Change in Neighbourhood Income Distribution in the City of Toronto 1970 to 2000
* Change in Neighbourhood Income Distribution in Toronto’s Outer Suburbs (the “905 region”) 1970 to 2000

Policy Options for Rent Regulation and Tenant Protection in Ontario
Policy Options Forum
November 13, 2003
"A policy options forum on rent regulation, tenant protection and related issues was held on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003. This event was sponsored by the Centre for Urban and Community Studies at the University of Toronto and the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario. Julia McNally, Kenn Hale and David Hulchanski are among the policy experts who presented an overview of the issues and potential solutions."
- includes links to over two dozen documents: papers from the Forum, the Ontario Liberal Party's 2003 election promises, recommendations for tenant law reform, context: rental housing problems

Adequate & Affordable Housing for All
Research, Policy, Practice
An international conference held under the auspices of
Housing and the Built Environment, Research Committee 43, of the International Sociological Association
June 24-27, 2004
"The Centre for Urban and Community Studies is pleased to host the 2004 international housing research conference under the auspices of Housing and the Built Environment, Research Committee 43 of the International Sociological Association."
- follow the links in the right-hand column of the conference home page (the link above) to find the following info: Conference Theme - Auspices: ISA RC43 - Organizing Committee - Call for Papers - Conference Program - Housing Practice Field Workshops - Deadlines (Key Dates) - Registration & Fees - Delegates, Abstracts, Papers - Tours and Social Program - Accommodation - About Toronto - About Canada - Housing Issues in Toronto - ousing Information Gateway - ENHR Housing Conference July 2004
Related Link:
International Sociological Association

Child Advocacy Project - Ontario
Joint project of Justice for Children and Youth, Pro Bono Law Ontario and the Advocates' Society
"The Child Advocacy Project (CAP) is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the legal rights of children and youth across Ontario. CAP lawyers provide free legal services to:
* Students who are involved in the Special Education process
* Children and youth who are at risk of being suspended or expelled
* Young people who are living independently.

Related Links:

Justice for Children and Youth
"Justice for Children and Youth provides legal representation to low-income children and youth in Toronto and vicinity. We are a non-profit legal aid clinic that specializes in protecting the rights of those facing conflicts with the legal system, education, social service or mental health systems."

ProBonoNet Ontario
"ProBonoNet Ontario was built by Pro Bono Law Ontario (PBLO) to provide information for individuals, communities and lawyers about pro bono activities and opportunities in Ontario. Its goal is to support pro bono programs and increase access to justice for underserved groups and individuals across the province."

Advocates' Society
"Our Mission: Promoting Excellence in Advocacy
The Society's mission statement reflects five principal objectives that define our role and drive our activities: 1. Be the Voice of Advocates in Ontario 2. Promote Ethical and Professional Practice Standards for Advocates 3. Expand Our Leadership Role in Teaching the Skills of Advocacy 4. Protect the Independence of the Bar and the Judiciary 5. Foster Collegiality Among Members

OPICCO
"The Ontario Project for Inter-Clinic Community Organizing (OPICCO) grew out of the Toronto community legal clinic training session in April 2002, the theme of which was Community Development for Changing Times. (...) The purpose of OPICCO is to provide community organizations & community legal clinics in Ontario with tools for organizing."
- OPICCO members include community legal workers, staff lawyers, clinic directors and LAO staff.
- the Child Advocacy Project link was posted to the OPICCO website on September 24.

Child Welfare Research Unit - Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto (funded by Bell Canada)
The Bell Canada Child Welfare Research Unit (BCCWRU) was funded and established in 1998 to conduct and disseminate research on child and family services with a particular emphasis on child maltreatment. The BCCWRU helps focus and expand the University of Toronto, Faculty of Social Work's Centre for Applied Social Research's capacity to disseminate, support and conduct research on effective child welfare services.

Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) (University of Toronto)
Highly recommended, frequently-updated, large site!

To avoid duplication whenever I can, I've moved all CRRU links to the Early Learning and Child Care section of the Canadian Children, Families and Youth Links page of this site

Children's Aid Society of Toronto (CAST)
Large site, includes links to : Annual Report - Programs and Services* - Employment - Our Foundation - How You Can Help - Foster Parenting - Adoption - Discover Your Roots - Child Abuse - Online Publications - Related Links - Communicate Online
*[Integrated Family and Children's Services] [Protective Services] [Family Support] [High Risk Infant Program] [Pregnancy and After Care] [Day Treatment] [Community Work] [Research] [Community Education] [Branch Children's Services] [Long- term Care] [PARC] [Foster Care] [Health Services] [Internal Resources] [External Resources] [Adoption] [Adoption and Crown Ward Disclosure] [Volunteer Involvement]

Related Links:

Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies

Citizens For Local Democracy (CL4D)

Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) (national group based in Toronto)
"Citizens for Public Justice is a national, non-partisan organization which promotes justice in Canadian public affairs. We respond to God's call for love, justice, and stewardship through research, education and advocacy."
- visit this site to see the work of the CPJ in the areas of : Socioeconomic issues - Faith & Public Life - Refugees - Aboriginal issues

The Size and Costs of Reduced Social Transfers (PDF file - 197K, 12 pages)
September 2003
Greg deGroot-Maggetti
"(...) while the federal government has increased CHST cash transfers several times since 1995, by 2002-03 the funding for post-secondary education and social services remained well below the levels of 1992-93, while health spending has increased."
- incl. links to : Cash Transfers 1992-93 to 2002-03 - The Costs of Reduced Social Transfers (The case of children in care - Tuition climbs, enrolment gap grows - Declining Social Assistance Incomes) - Restoring Canada’s Social Safety Net (Comparative Frameworks for National Social Investments - Early Learning and Child Care - Income security - Post-secondary education)
Source : Citizens for Public Justice

Ontario's "grand experiment" fails the poor
By Greg deGroot-Maggetti
Opinion/Editorial
April 16, 2003
-critique of Ontario welfare reforms since the mid 1990s, including "the Ontario Government's 'clawback' of the federally-funded National Child Benefit for low-income families, (...) Ontario's approach to housing (relaxed rent controls and scrapped plans for social housing), minimum wages that have not been raised in eight years, no money invested by Ontario to create new child care spaces, cost overruns and the lavish expense accounts of Accenture executives. (...) Ontario needs to scrap its grand experiment in welfare reform. Ontario Works has enriched the private firm that designed it, while impoverishing those that welfare is supposed to assist."

Cutbacks in Ontario
May 2003 Issue of The Catalyst
[the Catalyst is a catalyst for Christian political action and a review of CPJ activities]
In the spring of 2003, ISARC held a community-based "social audit" in 20 communities across the province; this is an account from the Kingston audit

Related Link:
Ontario-Wide Community Social Audit
"An exciting new project to assess social conditions in Ontario"
Source : Interfaith Social Assistance Reform (ISARC)
"ISARC brings together diverse faith communities - mainly Christian, but also Jewish, Unitarian, Muslim and Buddhist - to advocate for fairness and justice for marginalized peoples

A measure of poverty in Canada : a guide to the debate about poverty lines (PDF file - 126K, 22 pages)
March 2002
Greg deGroot-Maggetti
"Choosing a poverty line depends on how high or how low we set our sights for the well-being of the materially disadvantaged in our society."

Citizens on the Web - Toronto
- incl. links to : Events List - Animal Rights - Job Links - Tenant Help - Web Liberty - Links Page - Sports Links - Election Pages [ Toronto, Federal, Provincial ] - Mail Politicians - Poverty Links - Green Links - Education - Protest Archive - Globalization - Site News Blog

Sample site content:

Activist and Citizen News Sites
- links to several hundred alternative media sites and activist groups working locally (in Toronto), provincially (in Ontario), nationally (acros

Non-Governmental and Municipal Government Sites in Ontario A-C

Non-Governmental and
Municipal Government Sites in Ontario
A-C