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Updated April 2, 2008
| |
See
also: |
War
on Poverty - from The
Toronto Star --------------------------- The
2007 Ontario provincial election and referendum took place on October 10. |
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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)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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. Whos Hot,
Whos 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
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ontario
Poverty Reduction Strategy:
-
Go to the Antipoverty Strategies and Campaigns page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 McGuintys child benefit program is,
the provinces 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
Ontarios 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:
Ontario
Child Benefit (OCB)
In July 2007, eligible families received a one-time
down payment of up to $250 for each dependent child under 18. Beginning in July
2008, the Ontario Child Benefit will be delivered to eligible families each month.
In July 2008, about 460,000 families will receive a monthly Ontario Child Benefit
payment of up to $600 per child annually. When the program is fully implemented
in 2011, more than 600,000 low-income families will receive up to $1,100 per child
annually.
Ontario
Child Benefit Calculator - from the Ontario
Ministry of Finance
New
Ontario Child Benefit - from the 2007
Ontario Budget (March 22/07)
OCB
Backgrounder - from the 2007
Ontario Budget
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211Toronto.ca
- your free online companion to 211, Toronto's 24/7 information line
-
incl. links to Toronto (and Ontario-wide) resources in the following areas :
Abuse,
including sexual assault - Child and family services - Consumer protection and
complaints - Emergency and crisis services - Employment, education and training
- Financial assistance - Food - General community services - Government officials
- Health - Homelessness - Housing - Legal - Seniors - Settlement and newcomer
services - Youth
[ version
française du site 211Toronto.ca ]
"211
is your first call for information about community, social, health and government
services in Toronto.
Just dial 211 in the 416 and 647 area codes.
A trained
Information and Referral Specialist will:
* assess your situation
* help
you find answers to your questions
* provide you with options and appropriate
referrals.
This 24-hour-a-day service is free, confidential and available in
many languages.
Source:
About
211
Access
to Professions and Trades in Ontario
- connects
internationally trained people with services that can help put their skills and
knowledge to work.
Justice
Service Resource Directory Directory of Justice Services and Resources in Ontario
-
a public website developed by and for people who work in correctional services.
Directory
of Youth Justice Services in Ontario
- connects
the youth justice system with supports in the community for young persons in conflict
with the law.
Inventory
of Programs and Services leading to employment
-
a comprehensive database of employment programs and services in your local area
that can lead to employment. In addition to local programs, you will find information
on provincial available throughout the province of Ontario and federal available
throughout Canadaprograms and services.
Ontario
Aboriginal Services Directory
- guide to social,
recreational, educational, counselling and other resources and support services
for Aboriginals in Ontario.
Source:
211Ontario.ca
211 is an easy-to-remember source of information on human services. It is the
first stop for information on education, job skills, housing, child
care, health services and more. The service is for everyone from individuals,
families and professionals to community agencies and people facing barriers due
to poverty or personal difficulty. 211 is a multi-channel service, offering access
to information through an easy-to-remember 211 telephone number and online database.
Initiatives are currently (April 2007) underway to bring 211 to all Ontario. Currently,
211 telephone service is available in Niagara Region, South Georgian Bay and Toronto.
25-in-5:
Network for Poverty Reduction
This is a multi-sectoral
network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations
and individuals working on eliminating poverty. We have organized ourselves around
the call for a Poverty Reduction Plan with a goal to reduce poverty in Ontario
by 25% in 5 years and 50% in 10 years.
- incl. links to : About Us - Events - News/Media - Resources - Contact Us - FAQ
Resources
page
- incl. 60+ links to info about poverty reduction strategies
in Canada (NL, QC) and internationally (U.K., Italy), community proposals for
poverty reduction, housing and homelessness resources, links to non-governmental
organizations working with disadvantaged populations and much more
Related articles in the Toronto Star:
Drawing
up a poverty plan
Editorial
February 04, 2008
As a new Ontario
cabinet committee meets this week to begin the serious work of devising a poverty
reduction strategy, it would do well to remember that a complex problem requires
complex solutions. The "25 in 5 network," a coalition of more than 100
anti-poverty groups who want the government to commit to cutting poverty by 25
per cent in five years, last week cautioned the government against trying to solve
the problem with piecemeal measures. History shows that approach hasn't worked.
Indeed, Ontario's disjointed and inadequate system of supports for the poor has
left 1 million Ontarians struggling below the Statistics Canada low-income line,
a rate that has not changed in a generation.
Matthews
takes aim at poverty
More efficient to catch province's most vulnerable
before they fall through cracks, minister says.
We have people accountable
for programs but we don't have people accountable for people
February
4, 2008
Ontario's anti-poverty czar Deb Matthews often talks about a homeless
man named Murray. Million-dollar Murray. That's what U.S. officials estimate the
Nevada man cost the government in hospital visits, treatment programs and other
services before he died. With Ontario's disjointed and inadequate network of supports
for the poor, it's just the kind of thing that could happen here, says Matthews,
minister of children and youth services. As chair of the cabinet committee on
poverty reduction, she plans to change that.
Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance
(formerly the Ontarians with
Disabilities Act Committee)
Ontario
Human Rights Reform - A Call to Action
November 27, 2006 - First
Day of Toronto Public Hearings on Bill 107 - November 15, 2006
November 27, 2006 - McGuinty
Muzzle Motion is an Even Bigger Flip-Flop
November 26, 2006 - AODA
Alliance's November 26 2006, Toronto Sun Guest Column on Bill 107
"(...)
We agree the underfunded, backlogged human rights system needs to be fixed. We've
offered alternatives. The Liberals just slough them off and shut down legislative
hearings, where we'd present and debate them. Instead, they heed the call of Bill
107 supporters -- a small vocal group of self-designated "human rights lawyers."*
* November 23, 2006 - Toronto
Star Editorial Blasts McGuinty for Shutting Down Promised Bill 107 Public Hearings
* November 22, 2006 - Download and listen to David
Lepofsky's Interview on CBC Radio 1 Ontario Today Program (MP3 audio
file)
* November 22, 2006 - Keep
Up Pressure on McGuinty Government for Shutting Down Bill 107 Public Hearings
* November 21, 2006 - McGuinty
Government Blasted in Legislature for Plans to shut Down Promised Bill 107 Public
Hearings
NOTE: the Call
to Action page contains links to dozens of resources providing extensive background
and contextual information.
-----------------
*And now, a different perspective from the so-called "small vocal group of self-designated human rights lawyers" mentioned above:
[Ontario]
Human Rights Reform website
This is a clearinghouse for submissions,
presentations, letters and papers supporting reform of Ontario's human rights
enforcement process. Please click on our Open Letter for a list of supporters;
click on Letters or Briefs to Justice Committee to read what many community organizations,
disability rights activists, members of racialized communities, gay and lesbian
advocacy groups, community legal clinics and social justice lawyers have said
about why now is the time to move forward with reform of our outdated human rights
system.
- incl. links to: Home
* Endorse Open Letter
* Analysis of
Bill 107 * Myths
& Reality * Briefs
to Justice Committee * Letters
Related Government Links: Commission
Defines Connection Between Human Rights and Family Relationships The Cost of Caring: Report on the Consultation on Discrimination on the Basis of Family Status Policy
and Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Family Status Fact Sheets - links to 35 fact sheets on a variety of topics under the theme of human rights, such as discrimination based on age, race or disability, accommodation of people with disabilities, mandatory retirement, etc. From the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General: Government
Tables Key Amendments to Related Links: Proposed
Amendments to Bill 107 Bill
107, |
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.
Related Links:
Ontario Government Rent Reform Home Page
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 years 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 Ottawas 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
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)
Ontarios
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 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 todays 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 links from Campaign 2000:
Campaign
2000 Media release: Poverty Should Top First Ministers Agenda
January
10, 2008
Reducing poverty should lead the agenda of todays 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
Prosperity
gap weakens province
July 16, 2007
Excerpt
re. anti-poverty strategies and targets:
"(...) In the United Kingdom,
the government set a target to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent by 2004, missing
it only by a small margin. The target is twice as ambitious for 2010, with a total
elimination of child poverty by 2020. With similar goals, Ireland reduced its
child poverty rate from 15 per cent in 1994 to less than 5 per cent and aims to
hit zero. Here at home, Newfoundland has set a goal to be the province with the
least poverty within a decade. And Quebec hopes to have one of the lowest poverty
levels among the industrialized nations by 2013.
Source:
The
Toronto Star
Also from The Star:
Poverty
plan targets election:
Blueprint by activists urges Ontario
political parties
to commit to strategy during upcoming campaign
July 13, 2007
By
Kerry Gillespie
"(...) More than 330,000 Ontarians rely on food banks
to survive and 40 per cent of them are children. Today, a group dedicated
to ending child poverty in Canada is releasing a blueprint for reducing child
poverty in Ontario in the hopes of setting the agenda for the Oct. 10 provincial
election. The Campaign 2000 report, obtained early by the Star, calls for all
three political parties to commit to developing a comprehensive poverty reduction
strategy. The goal should be to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent within five
years and by 50 per cent within 10 years, the report states."
The Discussion Paper:
A
Poverty Reduction Strategy for Ontario (PDF file - 425K, 14 pages)
July
2007.
By Jacquie Maund (Campaign 2000), Sarah Blackstock (Income Security Advocacy
Centre), Greg deGroot -Maggetti (Citizens for Public Justice), Sara Farrell (Toronto
Public Health), Elizabeth Ablett (Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care).
This
report calls on all Ontario political parties to commit to a Poverty Reduction
Strategy for Ontario as they finalize their party platforms for the October
election.
Source:
Ontario Campaign
2000
[ Campaign 2000 ]
Ontario's political parties respond:
No
commitments offered on poverty group's targets
But parties to meet with Campaign
2000 officials
July 14, 2007
By Kerry Gillespie
"Ontario's
political parties yesterday would not commit to the firm targets for reducing
poverty that have been proposed in a new report by the non-profit coalition Campaign
2000. Liberal officials said they appreciate the suggestions and the dedication
of the group, which yesterday called on Ontario politicians to commit during the
upcoming election campaign to cut child poverty in half within 10 years. The Liberals
also talked about improvements they've made, including raising the minimum wage
and welfare rates and introducing a child benefit for low-income families."
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)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Ontarios 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. Childrens
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.
Campaign
2000 continues: Keep the promise to eliminate child and family poverty in Canada
June 5, 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
its 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 Canadas 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:
Ontarios
income gap at all-time high
Press Release
May 7, 2007
TORONTO
Ontarios 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
TORONTOFour 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 provinces population
and its housing needs continue to grow significantly.
A
spinner of tales: Ontarios 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 Ontarios budget balance forecasts
for 200607 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:
Ontarios
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
"(...) Ontarios minimum wage used to be
more in line with the provinces 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
governments 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 Childrens 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
Ontarios 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
provinces 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 Ontarios nonprofit social services."
Building
Strong Communities:
A call to reinvest in Ontarios nonprofit social
services (PDF file - 46K, 7 pages)
January 2004
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,
Americas 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!
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.
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)
CANADAS
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 Centres 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 Torontos neighbourhoods,
19702000 (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 Torontos 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 Canadas 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 Source : Interfaith
Social Assistance Reform (ISARC) |
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