Canadian Social Research Newsletter
March 1, 2009

Welcome to the weekly Canadian Social Research Newsletter,
a listing of the new links added to the Canadian Social Research Links website in the past week.

The e-mail version of this week's issue of the newsletter is going out to 1987 subscribers.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian content

1. Ontario Government tables The Poverty Reduction Act, 2009 - February 25
2. The Fiscal Monitor - December 2008 (Department of Finance Canada) - February 27
3. The World Social Forum, is it a Model for Political Change? (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) - January 2009
4. A strategy for eliminating poverty in Prince Edward Island? (The Charlottetown Guardian) - February 24
5. Minister of Finance Launches National Consultations on Private Pensions (Department of Finance Canada) - February 23
6. [BC] A Home for All : Solutions-oriented series on affordable housing for working people (The Tyee) - February 2009
7. Jobless? Why You Might Not Get Employment Insurance (The Tyee) - February 19
8. Social housing in Canada
9. What's New in The Daily (Statistics Canada):
--- Canada's balance of international payments, fourth quarter 2008 - February 27
--- Payroll employment, earnings and hours, December 2008 - February 26
--- Private and public investment, 2009 - February 25
--- Employment Insurance, December 2008 - February 24
10. What's new from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (Toronto) - February 25

International  content

11. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs (Institute for Research on Poverty - University of Wisconsin-Madison)
12. U.S. Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Overview - February 26
13. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - selected recent content
14. Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion (CERC, Paris) Bulletin - selected recent content:
--- Ending child poverty within the EU ? : A review of the 2008-2010 national strategy reports on social protection and social inclusion - February 2009
--- Health care reform in the United States - February 2009
--- Micro-simulating child poverty in 2010 and 2020 - February 2009
15. CRINMAIL (February 2009) - (Child Rights Information Network - CRIN)

Gilles

************************
Gilles Séguin
Canadian Social Research Links
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net

A New Era In The Fight Against Poverty
Proposed Legislation Commits Ontario To Long-Term Action
News Release
February 25, 2009
For the first-time ever, Ontario has introduced poverty reduction legislation that, if passed, would ensure that successive governments remain focused on the fight against poverty. As part of Breaking the Cycle: Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, the proposed Poverty Reduction Act would:
* Require successive governments to report annually on key indicators of opportunity – these will typically include income levels, school success, health care and housing.
* Mandate future governments to consult widely before developing future strategies, including consultation with those living in poverty.
* Require Ontario to develop a new strategy at least every five years.
* Require future governments to set a specific poverty reduction target every five years.
Source:
Ontario Government tables The Poverty Reduction Act, 2009
February 25, 2009
- incl. links to the complete Bill, the news release, background information, the province's December 2008 poverty reduction strategy report and more...

Complete Bill:

Bill 152, Poverty Reduction Act, 2009
HTML version
PDF version (358K, 6 pages)
Tabled by the Hon. Deborah Matthews, Minister of Children and Youth Services
February 25, 2009

Highlights of the poverty reduction strategy

What this Bill is About - Explanatory Note extracted from the Bill as introduced

Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy : Breaking the Cycle (PDF - 1.3MB, 45 pages)
December 4, 2008
Highlights (PDF - 199K, 2 pages) ]
Source:
Breaking the Cycle : Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy
- main page of the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy
[ Ministry of Children and Youth Services ]

Related links:

Social Assistance Rule Changes To Support Education And Employment
Fact Sheet, February 25, 2009
The following changes to social assistance rules (taking effect between March and May) are designed "to help recipients pursue educational and employment opportunities and improve their lives and the lives of their children."
* Enhancement of earnings exemptions rules for social assistance recipients who are full-time post-secondary students.
* Enhancement of the Up-front Child Care Benefit paid to social assistance recipients who are required to pay in advance for child care costs when they begin or change jobs or work-related activities.
* The process of internal reviews regarding a decision made affecting clients' assistance will be improved.

Related links:

Poverty plan slammed as an empty gesture
February 26, 2009
By Tanya Talaga and Laurie Monsebraaten
The provincial government's anti-poverty legislation was hailed yesterday as a historic step forward, but one that critics said lacked both direction and funds. The Liberals' long-anticipated bill to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent in five years was derided by critics as being full of loopholes and lacking direction when record numbers of people are using food banks.
Source:
The Toronto Star

---

From the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction:

Poverty reduction legislation positive;
budget action must follow: 25 in 5 Network
Toronto, February 25, 2008
Making poverty reduction the law in Ontario is an important step towards achieving a poverty free Ontario, says the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. But government must take concrete next steps that extend poverty reduction targets to all Ontarians over the next decade, and to make investments now to meet its initial target. “Legislation is critical to ensuring that poverty reduction becomes central to the Ontario government’s agenda. That’s why we need to get it right from the beginning.” said Greg deGroot-Maggetti of the Mennonite Central Committee. “We need a process to make sure the legislation that gets enacted is as strong as possible to ensure ongoing progress toward a poverty free Ontario, backed by broad public support and all-party endorsement.” [ More... ]

A Blueprint for Economic Stimulus and Poverty Reduction in Ontario
A Blueprint for Economic Stimulus and Poverty Reduction in Ontario – the result of consultations in 30 Ontario communities – lays out a plan that could reduce the number of poor Ontarians by 197,420 (15 per cent) and reduce the number of poor children in Ontario by 62,000 (19 per cent) within the next three years.
- incl. links to the press release and the full blueprint.

- Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm

Release of The Fiscal Monitor
February 27 2009
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today released The Fiscal Monitor for December 2008.
Highlights:
* December 2008: budgetary surplus of $0.2 billion
* April to December 2008: budgetary surplus of $0.5 billion

Related document:

The Fiscal Monitor - December 2008
HTML version
PDF version (598K, 8 pages)

Source:
Department of Finance Canada

- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Agriculture to Finance) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk.htm

A Movement of Ideas:
The World Social Forum, is it a Model for Political Change? (PDF - 562K, 19 pages)
By Jessica Corbeil
January 2009
[Posted on the CCPA website February 18]
"(...) Despite the criticisms of the World Social Forum, it is difficult to deny its strengths. Unlike the World Economic Forum, WSF promotes ideas of open and frank discussions which include people from a variety of different cultural and economic backgrounds. Rather than acting on behalf of a single agenda (as is often the case in organizations such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund) the WSF, instead, chooses to give the masses a voice. A comparable organization of such a grand scope is simply not present in the Northern hemisphere."
Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Related links:

World Social Forum (WSF)
The World Social Forum is an open meeting place where social movements, networks, NGOs and other civil society organizations opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialism come together to pursue their thinking, to debate ideas democratically, for formulate proposals, share their experiences freely and network for effective action.
- incl. links to WSF 2009 event

World Social Forum - from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"(...) The World Social Forum (WSF) is an annual meeting held by members of the anti-globalization (using the term globalization in a doctrinal sense not a literal one) or alter-globalization movement to coordinate world campaigns, share and refine organizing strategies, and inform each other about movements from around the world and their issues. It tends to meet in January when its "great capitalist rival", the World Economic Forum is meeting in Davos, Switzerland."

---

World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 28 January - 1 February 2009
The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the worldby engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

World Economic Forum - from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The World Economic Forum is a Geneva-based non-profit foundation best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland which brings together top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals and journalists to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world including health and the environment.

Canada at the 2009 World Economic Forum
Davos, Switzerland
January 30 - February 1, 2009
- incl. links to : Media Centre - Related Links - Photos and Videos - Fast facts on Canada (European Union commercial relations + European Free Trade Association) - more..
Source:
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

- Go to the Globalization Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/global.htm
- Go to the Social Research Organizations (I) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research.htm

A strategy for eliminating poverty in Prince Edward Island?

Social advocate encouraged by
commitment to poverty eradication strategy
February 24, 2009
By Jim Day
Talk is cheap when poverty eradication is on the table.
Yet Mary Boyd, one of the province’s most determined social advocates, liked what she heard from those in power last week.
Premier Robert Ghiz and Health and Social Services and Seniors Minister Doug Currie made a brief appearance Thursday at a workshop held by Island organizations Poverty Bites and the MacKillop Centre for Social Justice aimed at renewing efforts for action on the seemingly insurmountable goal of eliminating poverty in P.E.I.
Ghiz urged the group to not let up on government in pushing for change.
“It is important to stay at the forefront of issues,” he told the gathering that consisted of many people Boyd described as the voice of those suffering in poverty.
Source:
The Charlottetown Guardian

- Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
- Go to the Prince Edward Island Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/pebkmrk.htm

Minister of Finance Launches National Consultations on Private Pensions
February 23, 2009
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today announced the Government will begin scheduled public consultations across Canada on the legislative and regulatory framework for federally regulated private pension plans. (...) The Government released a discussion paper seeking views from Canadians on this issue on January 9. It followed up by announcing in Budget 2009: Canada’s Economic Action Plan that the national consultations will be chaired by Ted Menzies, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance.

The public consultations will run from March 13 to April 17; click the link above for the schedule of sessions in eight cities across Canada. Canadians who wish to attend these consultations or send submissions on the discussion paper are invited to submit an e-mail to this address: pensions@fin.gc.ca

Related links:

Minister of Finance Releases Discussion Paper on Private Pensions
News Release
January 9, 2009
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today released a discussion paper on improving the framework for federally regulated private pension plans. “The Government acted in the Economic and Fiscal Statement to provide temporary solvency relief to federally regulated pension plans that have been affected by the substantial declines in equity markets,” said Minister Flaherty. “The purpose of this paper is to get the views of Canadians on issues related to the legislative framework for federally regulated defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans with the objective of making permanent changes in 2009.”

Strengthening the Legislative and Regulatory Framework
for Private Pension Plans Subject to the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985
[ PDF version - 107K, 23 pages ]
These consultations are open to anybody interested in participating.
- incl. contact information for anyone wishing to submit any comments on the discussion paper

The closing date for these consultations is either March 16 or April 17, 2009.
The March 16 closing date appears in the January 9 news release, but the February 23 news release says that the consultations will end on April 17.
(Right hand, meet left hand.)

Source:
Department of Finance Canada

- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Agriculture to Finance) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Seniors (Social Research) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/seniors.htm

A Home for All
The Tyee's solutions-oriented series on affordable housing for working people.
For too many British Columbians, having a job or even a two-income family is no longer enough to guarantee a basic, comfortable place to live -- in fact, the average Metro Vancouver earner can afford only half a home. In a market that isn't delivering a variety of cost-effective housing, Tyee investigative editor Monte Paulsen reports on how different approaches to finance, government policy and design could whittle the costs down to manageable proportions. And we invite experts to weigh in with their own opinion pieces.The challenge to the ongoing economic and cultural vibrancy of B.C. is critical. The conversation about overcoming that challenge starts here.

In this series:

Fixing the Crazy Cost of Housing
10 Feb 2009
Ordinary people in BC can no longer afford ordinary homes. First in a series searching for solutions.

Affordable Housing: Five Myths
12 Feb 2009
Betting on 'market correction'? Home prices would have to plunge 55 per cent to fit average family income.

Homes that Cost Less than Rental
17 Feb 2009
How a Toronto developer creates 'cost-effective' condos sold to families making as low as $32,000.

No Money Down Mortgages Still a Good Idea? This One Works
24 Feb 2009
Helping renters buy homes, leave social housing, makes space for others.

[ more articles on affordable housing in The Tyee ]

Source:
The Tyee
"In November of 2003 The Tyee began its swim upstream against the media trends of our day. We're independent and not owned by any big corporation. We're dedicated to publishing lively, informative news and views, not dumbed down fluff. We, like the tyee salmon for which we are named, roam free and go where we wish."

- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk3.htm
- Go to the Homelessness and Housing Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/homeless.htm

Jobless? Why You Might Not Get Employment Insurance
These days, far fewer unemployed are eligible.
'Reforms' fattened surpluses, failed to prepare for bad times say critics.
By Tom Sandborn
February 19, 2009
If you are one of the 129,000 Canadian workers who lost a job last month, maybe you take comfort that all those employment insurance payments were deducted from your previous paycheques. Now you can count on insurance payments to get you through tough times, right? Maybe not. The EI safety net features a lot more gaps than it did a decade and a half ago. By some measures, only 42 per cent of Canada's unemployed workers are receiving EI payments, roughly half the percentage covered during the late 1980s. Just when far more Canadians are poised to need it, the nation's unemployment insurance scheme is broken, say a growing chorus of critics.
Source:
The Tyee

- Go to Employment Insurance Links : http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/hrsdc.htm#ei
[ Part of the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/hrsdc.htm ]

No 'one-size-fits-all' solution to homelessness
Activists, politicians gather in Calgary to discuss social problem made very difficult by variety of contributing factors, split responsibilities
By John R. Graham
February 18, 2009
The more I work in the area of homelessness, the more I am convinced of its contradictions. In the downtown core of any major Canadian city, the homeless are ubiquitous. A recent study estimates that 150,000 to 300,000 Canadians are without shelter every year. And yet we can be blasé about it; if it isn't a problem in our immediate community, we may not give it much attention. Homelessness is one of the great indecencies of our time; and it is one of our country's tragic indifferences.
Source:
The Edmonton Journal

Ottawa's social housing plan called a 'drop in the bucket'
Colette Derworiz,
February 19, 2009
As the federal government Wednesday touted its commitment to social housing, the people who work directly with the homeless population said it doesn't go far enough.
Source:
Calgary Herald

Related links:

Growing Home: Housing and Homelessness in Canada
Second Canadian Conference on Homelessness
Calgary, February 18 to 20, 2009

Read the daily conference blogs by Michael Shapcott
Source:
Wellesley Institute

- Go to the Homelessness and Housing Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/homeless.htm

What's New in The Daily [Statistics Canada]:

February 27, 2009
Canada's balance of international payments, fourth quarter 2008
The current account balance with the rest of the world (on a seasonally-adjusted basis) was a deficit of $7.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, the first since the second quarter of 1999. In the capital and financial account (unadjusted for seasonal variation), Canadians repatriated funds in the fourth quarter of 2008, as investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by a record amount.

February 26, 2009
Payroll employment, earnings and hours, December 2008 (preliminary)
The average weekly earnings of employees decreased 0.1% from November to $801.92 in December. During 2008, average weekly earnings rose 2.7%.Among Canada's largest industrial sectors, between December 2007 and December 2008, earnings increased by 7.3% in health and social assistance, 4.2% in educational services, 3.7% in retail trade, 1.6% in manufacturing, and 0.9% in accommodation and food services.
- includes two tables : Average weekly earnings and Number of employees
[ Previous release ]

February 25, 2009
Private and public investment, 2009
Investments in non-residential construction and machinery and equipment are expected to total $237.5 billion in 2009, down 6.6% from 2008. While public sector capital spending is expected to increase 9.5%, private sector investment is anticipated to fall by 13.1%, mainly due to the mining and oil and gas extraction industry.
- incl. charts and tables : * Investment is expected to fall in 2009 * Most provinces and territories show declines * Capital spending intentions of private and public organizations * Capital spending intentions of private and public organizations
[ Private and Public Investment in Canada, Intentions - report
NOTE: The latest version of this report is not yet posted to the StatCan site (as at Feb. 28).
Click the link to the report and, on the next page, click "View" to see the latest available version;
see Chronological Index for links to earlier editions of this report.]

February 24, 2009
Employment Insurance, December 2008
In December, 538,200 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, up 25,000 or 4.9% from November, after seasonal adjustment. The number of Canadians receiving regular EI benefits rose by 79,100 between December 2007 and December 2008, a 16.6% increase. The number of men receiving benefits went up 21.7% while for women the number increased by 8.6%.

---

The Daily Archives - select a year and month from the drop-down menu to view releases in chronological order
[ Statistics Canada ]

- Go to the Employment Insurance Links section: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/hrsdc.htm#ei
- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Fisheries and Oceans to Veterans Affairs) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk2.htm

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

Links to child care sites in Canada and elsewhere

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

Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)

- Go to the Non-Governmental Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd2.htm

Poverty Dispatch (U.S). ===> the content of this link changes twice a week
IRP compiles and distributes Poverty Dispatches twice a week. Each issue of the dispatch provides links to U.S. web-based news items dealing with topics such as poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.
Each Dispatch lists links to current news in popular print media.

February 26, 2009
* Joblessness and Unemployment
* Food Assistance Programs
* Enrollment in Public Health Insurance Programs
* State Medicaid Programs
* Homelessness and Housing
* Report: Recession Safety Net - Michigan
* Earned Income Tax Credit - Missouri
* Child Care Subsidies - Arizona
* Access to Legal Aid
* Income of the Retired and Those Near Retirement
* Recession and Aid to the World's Poor
* Cell Phones for Access to Banking
* Report: Family Planning and Abortion

February 23, 2009
* Economic Stimulus Spending and State Governments
* Economic Stimulus Spending and Education
* Economic Stimulus Spending and Homelessness
* Local Governments and Public Assistance
* Schools and Homeless Children - Tennessee
* Food Assistance Programs
* Colleges, Low-income Students, and Financial Aid
* Widows and Aid Programs - Iraq
* Faith-Based Organizations and Fighting Poverty
* Housing Subsidies Rent Bias Law - New York City
* Neighborhoods and Home Foreclosures

Past Poverty Dispatches
- links to two dispatches a week back to June 2006

Search Poverty Dispatches

If you wish to receive Poverty Dispatches by e-mail,
please send a request to rsnell@ssc.wisc.edu

Source:
Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP)
[ University of Wisconsin-Madison ]

- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm
- Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm

Obama drops $3-trillion budget
'We must add to our debt in the short run,' President says as deficit grows to $1.75-trillion
By Paul Koring
February 26, 2009
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled a monster $3.55-trillion (U.S.) budget today that includes sweeping health-care proposals, slaps the rich with new taxes and plunges America even deeper into debt. The budget — still only a 140-page summary and certain to be reshaped in the months ahead — lays out Mr. Obama's long-term objectives but is also certain to spark a nasty partisan battle as conservatives label him a "tax and spend" liberal. "We must add to our debt in the short run," Mr. Obama acknowledged in brief remarks as he unveiled the budget. He declined to take questions. The Obama budget added $250-billion (U.S.) to the deficit for this fiscal year, which sends it to a record $1.75-trillion. (The fiscal year ends Sept. 30.)
Source:
Globe and Mail

---

A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America’s Promise
U.S. Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Overview
February 26, 2009
HTML version - links to individual chapters of the document
PDF version (2MB, 146 pages) - complete report in one file
- provides a description of the Obama Administration’s fiscal policies and major budgetary initiatives; this document is an overview of the full Fiscal Year 2010 Budget expected to be released this spring.

Summary Tables (PDF - 138K, 22 pages)

[ previous U.S. budgets ]

Source:
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
[ The White House ]
HINT: you'll find many more links to budget-related resources on the OMB and White House websites.

For state budget links, see:
State Budget Links
(direct link to the website of the National Association of State Budget Officers)

---

Related links from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

Statement by Robert Greenstein, CBPP Executive Director, on the President's Budget Proposal
The President’s budget represents a bold and courageous proposal to make progress in restoring fiscal discipline while addressing two of the central problems of our time — a broken health care system and the threat of catastrophic global warming — and other national needs.

The full statement is posted to:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-26-09bud-stmt.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/2-26-09bud-stmt.pdf (PDF - 3pp.)

---

Trillion-Dollar Deficits Greet New Administration: CBO Analyzes Current Budget Policies
By Paul N. Van de Water
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has recently issued three scenarios that offer alternative views of the current budgetary situation. Assuming continuation of the budget policies that were in effect in January 2009, CBO’s analysis shows that the federal budget deficit would average more than $1 trillion a year over the next ten years and climb higher in the latter years of the decade. This is the outlook for the deficit before taking into account any policies enacted or proposed since President Obama took office.

The complete report is posted to:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-26-09bud2.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/2-26-09bud2.pdf (PDF - 2pp.)

Source:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is one of the nation’s premier policy organizations working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals. The Center conducts research and analysis to inform public debates over proposed budget and tax policies and to help ensure that the needs of low-income families and individuals are considered in these debates. We also develop policy options to alleviate poverty.

---

From the Washington Post:

In $3.6 Trillion Budget, Obama Signals Broad Shift in Priorities
Bold Agenda for Social Spending, Energy and Taxes Faces Fierce Fight
By Lori Montgomery
February 27, 2009
President Obama delivered to Congress yesterday a $3.6 trillion spending plan that would finance vast new investments in health care, energy independence and education by raising taxes on the oil and gas industry, hedge fund managers, multinational corporations and nearly 3 million of the nation's top earners.

Ambitious Blueprint a Big Risk The President Is Willing to Take
By Dan Balz
February 27, 2009
President Obama's first budget -- with its eye-popping $1.75 trillion deficit, a health-care fund of more than $600 billion, a $150 billion energy package and proposals to tax wealthy Americans even beyond what he talked about during his campaign -- underscores the breadth of his aspiration to reverse three decades of conservative governance and use his presidency to rapidly transform the country.

---

- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm

APO Weekly Briefing
The content of this page changes each week, and it includes links to a few book/report reviews, about two dozen new reports, a few job ads and 60 events (mostly conferences) of interest to social researchers...
Source:
Australian Policy Online (APO) - home page
With nearly 120 member centres and institutes, Australian Policy Online offers easy access to much of the best Australian social, economic, cultural and political research available online.
NOTE: the APO home page includes links to the five most popular reports on the APO website, and this list is updated each week.

APO Archive
The APO archive is grouped into 23 subject areas, with entries appearing in reverse chronological order.
* Ageing *Asia and the pacific * Citizenship and the law * Disability * Economics and trade * Education * Employment and workplace relations * The environment * Foreign policy and defence * Gender and sexuality * Health * Housing * Families and households * Immigration and refugees * Income, poverty and wealth * Indigenous * Media, communications and cultural policy * Politics and government * Population, multiculturalism and ethnicity * Religion and faith * Rural and regional * Science and technology * Social policy * Urban and regional planning * Youth

- Go to the Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internatngo.htm

CERC Bulletin - links to all CERC semi-monthly bulletins
Subscribe - To be informed of CERC activities and to receive the bulletin

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Selected content from Bulletin N°173 (February 23, 2009)
(click on the bulletin link above to access the studies mentioned below and more...)

Ending child poverty within the EU ? :
A review of the 2008-2010 national strategy reports on social protection and social inclusion (PDF - 1.7MB, 22 pages)
February 2009
Geographical area : Europe
Source:
Eurochild, Brussels

Health care reform in the United States (PDF - 750K, 44 pages)
D. Carey, B. Herring and P. Lenain
February 2009
Summary:
In spite of improvements, on various measures of health outcomes the United States appears to rank relatively poorly among OECD countries. Health expenditures, in contrast, are significantly higher than in any other OECD country. While there are factors beyond the health-care system itself that contribute to this gap in performance, there is also likely to be scope to improve the health of Americans while reducing, or at least not increasing spending. This paper focuses on two factors that contribute to this discrepancy between health outcomes and health expenditures in the United States: inequitable access to medical services and subsidized private insurance policies; and inefficiencies in public health insurance. It then suggests two sets of reforms likely to improve the US health-care system. The first is a package of reforms to achieve close to universal health insurance coverage. The second set of reforms relates to payment methods and coverage decisions within the Medicare programme to realign incentives and increase the extent of economic evaluation of different medical procedures
Source:
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris

Micro-simulating child poverty in 2010 and 2020 (PDF - 3.2MB, 65 pages)
M. Brewer and alii
February, 2009
Geographical area : United Kingdom
Source:
Institute for Fiscal Studies, London

***

More studies like this (this link takes you to Bulletin #173)

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Subscribe to CERC Bulletin - receive email notification when the bi-monthly bulletin is released.

Online Information Service
Information and online resources organized under five themes: Poverty * Social minima * In-work benefits * Minimum wage * Unemployment and return to work .
- includes links and resources for Canada...
HINT: click on the links in the right-hand margin of each theme page for more content

CERC Bulletins/Reports/Studies/Working papers
- Click on the links in the left margin of the CERC website home page for access to a large collection of online resources

- Go to the Government Social Research Links in Other Countries page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internat.htm

From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN):

26 February 2009 - CRINMAIL 1062
* YEMEN: Child marriage ban under threat [news]
* BENIN: Sorcery-linked infanticides persist in north [news]
* SIERRA LEONE: UN court convicts rebels of child recruitment and other war crimes [news]
* EUROPE: New website on physical punishment
* GLOBAL: US State Dept report on human rights 2008 [publication]
* UNITED STATES: Just Say Don’t Know: Sexuality Education in Texas Public Schools [publication]
* QUESTIONNAIRE: Corporal punishment
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

24 February 2009 - CRINMAIL 1061
* TURKEY: Dozens of children jailed under terrorism laws [news]
* UNITED STATES: Landmark case on child porn damages [news]
* N.IRELAND: Commissioner loses appeal against law that allows parents to smack children [news]
* REPORT: Dialogue on the Integration of a human rights based perspective in the response to rising food prices [publication]
* EUROPE: A special place for children in the EU? [news]
* CALL FOR PAPERS: Intergenerational Justice Review
* EMPLOYMENT: Save the Children UK
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

Earlier issues of CRINMAIL
- links to 300+ earlier weekly issues, many of which are special editions focusing on special themes, such as the 45th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Source:
CRINMAIL(incl. subscription info)
[ Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) ]

- Go to the Children's Rights Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnrights.htm

Disclaimer/Privacy Statement

Both Canadian Social Research Links (the site) and this Canadian Social Research Newsletter belong solely to me, Gilles Séguin.

I am solely accountable for the choice of links presented therein and for the occasional editorial comment - it's my time, my home computer, my experience, my biases, my Rogers Internet account and my web hosting service.

I administer the mailing list and distribute the weekly newsletter using software on the web server of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Thanks, CUPE!

If you wish to subscribe to the e-mail version of newsletter, go to the Canadian Social Research Newsletter Online Subscription page:
http://lists.cupe.ca/mailman/listinfo/csrl-news

You can unsubscribe by going to the same page or by sending me an e-mail message [ gilseg@rogers.com ]

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The e-mail version of this newsletter is available only in plain text (no graphics, no hyperlinks, no fancy bolding or italics, etc.) to avoid security problems with government departments, universities and other networks with firewalls. The text-only version is also friendlier for people using older or lower-end technology.

Privacy Policy:
The Canadian Social Research Newsletter mailing list is not used for any purpose except to distribute each weekly issue.
I promise not share any information on this list, nor to send you any junk mail.

Links presented in the Canadian Social Research Newsletter point to different views about social policy and social programs.
There are some that I don't agree with, so don't get on my case, eh...

To access earlier online HTML issues of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter, go to the Newsletter page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/news.htm

Please feel free to distribute this newsletter as widely as you wish, but please remember to mention Canadian Social Research Links when you do.

Cheers!
Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

Seventeen Google Tricks

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And, in closing...