Canadian Social Research Newsletter
May 3, 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 2015 subscribers.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian content

1. Update on the Ontario Poverty Reduction Act (Bill 152) - May 1
2. Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal launched (Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare) - April 30
3. BC Provincial election coverage from Straight.com:
--- Child poverty got worse in B.C. under the Liberals - May 1
--- Child-care crisis is a B.C. election issue - April 28
--- B.C. Liberals haven’t delivered on early child development - April 27
4. Is Canada’s Employment Insurance Program Adequate? (TD Economics) - April 30
5. Understanding the Link Between Welfare Policy and the Use of Food Banks (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) - April 30
6. Recession packs biggest wallop since 1930s: Study (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) - April 28
7. N.B. Liberals abandoning promise to raise social assistance rates (CBC New Brunswick) - April 29
8. Delayed BC Govt. report shows no real gains in poverty reduction (The Tyee) - April 27
9. Exposing the aboriginal industry (Toronto Star) - April 25
10. Ola! April 2009 - E-newsletter of Citizens for Public Justice
11. Alberta poverty strategy sought (Red Deer Advocate) - April 21
12. What's new in The Daily (Statistics Canada):
--- Education Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training in Canada (May 2009 issue) - May 1
--- Gross domestic product by industry, February 2009 - April 30
--- Payroll employment, earnings and hours, February 2009 - April 29
---Employment Insurance, February 2009 - April 28
--- Provincial and territorial economic accounts, 2008 - April 27
13. What's new from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (Toronto) - April 29
14. Canadian Social Forum (Calgary, May 19-22, 2009)
15. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs (Institute for Research on Poverty - University of Wisconsin-Madison)

International content

16. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - selected recent content
17. CRINMAIL (April 2009) - (Child Rights Information Network - CRIN)

Gilles

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

Update on the Ontario Poverty Reduction Act (Bill 152)

Update on Legislation - A Letter from Minister Matthews
May 1, 2009
I’m writing to give you an update on Bill 152, the Poverty Reduction Act. As you may have heard, the bill passed 2nd reading and was sent to the Social Policy Committee to get public input on the bill. This was a great opportunity to get feedback on the proposed bill and to further engage people on this landmark piece of legislation. Following the input of 24 deputants and 13 written submissions, I think we have a strengthened piece of legislation, and I’m grateful for the thoughtful contributions made by all those who participated.

Real gains made as poverty reduction becomes law
A Special Message from the 25 in 5 Legislative Action Table
April 29, 2009
Dear friends,
Ontario is on the cusp of an historic step forward on poverty reduction as final reading of Bill 152 is set to begin on Thursday of this week. We would like to send out a word of gratitude for everyone who helped craft the 25 in 5 recommendations and who participated in the hearings for Bill 152, the Poverty Reduction Act.

25-in-5 Submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy
regarding Bill 152, An Act respecting a long-term strategy to reduce poverty in Ontario (Word file - 226K, 6 pages)
April 2009

Source:
25-in-5: Network for Poverty Reduction
25-in-5 is a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty.

Related link:

Bill 152 : An Act respecting a
long-term strategy to reduce poverty in Ontario (PDF - 349K, 10 pages)
April 28, 2009
Second reading copy, changes annotated

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

Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal - launched April 30, 2009
[ version française : Portail canadien de la recherche en protection de l’enfance ]

"We are pleased to launch the new Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal!
This website has been designed to be a clearinghouse of information for child welfare professionals, researchers, and the general public. It is searchable by keywords and organized according to major topic areas so that you can find the information that you need quickly and easily. The Portal also contains a library of Canadian research content as well as an extensive database of child welfare researchers from across Canada.

Visit this site often for up-to-date, evidence-based information on a wide variety of topics, all based on information from research findings applicable to families involved with child welfare services in Canada. This website is an initiative of the partner organizations of the Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare, funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada, who collect, develop, and disseminate information on child abuse and neglect across Canada.

Source:
Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare (CECW)

- Go to the Children, Families and Youth Links (Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnbkmrk.htm

General election information links:

Elections B.C. (prov. govt. site)

Nodice Elections: British Columbia - from Nodice Elections

---

British Columbia Provincial election coverage from Straight.com:

Child poverty got worse in B.C. under the Liberals
May 1, 2009
[ Author Adrienne Montani is the provincial coordinator of
First Call: B.C. Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition ]
No matter which way you slice it, child poverty in British Columbia has gotten worse under the two terms of Liberal government starting in 2001. The numbers tell the story. B.C.’s child poverty rate has been the highest rate of any province for five consecutive years. The most recent data, from 2006, puts it at 22 percent (before-tax measure), or 16 percent (after-tax measure). And these provincial numbers mask the even higher child poverty rates in various cities and towns and among especially vulnerable populations. Half of the children in families led by single mothers are poor. High poverty rates among aboriginal and new immigrant and refugee families push the numbers up.

See also:

* Child-care crisis is a B.C. election issue
April 28, 2009
[ Author Rita Chudnovsky is a consultant with the
Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C. ]

* B.C. Liberals haven’t delivered on early child development
April 27, 2009
[ Author Vi-Anne Zirnhelt is the president of
Early Childhood Educators of B.C. ]

Source:
BC Provincial election coverage
[ Straight.com - "Vancouver's online source for news, arts, entertainment, culture and lifestyle" ]

- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk3.htm
- Go to the Political Parties and Elections Links in Canada (Provinces and Territories) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/politics_prov_terr.htm

Is Canada’s Employment Insurance Program Adequate? (PDF - 17K, 3 pages)
Press Release
April 30, 2009
TORONTO -- The sizeable discrepancy of Employment Insurance (EI) eligibility requirements between regions must be addressed, according to a new report by TD Economics. But its authors warn that any
reform must be balanced against undesirable effects such as the potential for increased dependency on EI and longer-term costs. (...) Currently the eligibility for and duration of EI benefits depends on the unemployment rate in the region in which the unemployed worker resides. The number of hours required to qualify for EI – known as the Variable Entrance Requirement (VER) -- increases if the regional unemployment rate is in a lower range. (...) In the immediate term, the report recommends “flattening” the eligibility structure whereby individuals qualify with 560 hours in all regions with less than 10 percent unemployment. Such a move would represent a cost of $500 million per year to the program.

Full Report (PDF - 120K, 16 pages)
By Derek Burleton and Grant Bishop
- includes the executive summary

Executive Summary (PDF - 19K, 2 pages)

Source:
TD Economics

---

Related links from The Daily [Statistics Canada]:

April 29, 2009
Payroll employment, earnings and hours, February 2009
Non-farm payroll employment fell by 79,600 in February, down 0.5% from a month earlier. Since it peaked in October 2008, the number of payroll employees has declined by 2.0% or 296,000.

April 28, 2009
Employment Insurance, February 2009
In February, the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits increased by 44,300 or 7.8% from January. Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan experienced the strongest increases.
[ Previous release ]

Related subjects:
o Labour
o Employment insurance, social assistance and other transfers
o Non-wage benefits

- Go to the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/hrsdc.htm

Understanding the Link Between Welfare Policy and the Use of Food Banks (PDF - 401K, 34 pages)
April 2009
By Michael Goldberg and David A. Green
This report examines who uses food banks in Canada and how food bank use relates to changes in government welfare policy. Data collected by Food Banks Canada show that food bank use increased dramatically from just over 700,000 Canadians using food banks during March 1998 to over 840,000 in March 2004. This increase occurred in spite of increases in employment rates and average wages and decreases in the number of welfare recipients over this period. Since then, the numbers using food banks have declined to levels near those in the late 1990s but this indicates that the prolonged economic boom simply by-passed a substantial number of the least well-off in our society. Now that the boom appears to be over, the number of persons using the food banks will almost certainly swell. The report makes several recommendations to help ensure that all residents have a right to adequate and appropriate food.
Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Related link:

Welfare cuts drive up food bank use, study confirms
April 30, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Canada's booming economy helped reduce food bank use before the recession, but it didn't erase the surge that followed provincial welfare cuts of the 1990s, says a study to be released today. And unless federal and provincial governments repair the country's tattered social safety net, more Canadians will be forced to rely on food banks as the economic crisis deepens, the study warns.The study, by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, is the first national analysis of how welfare policy affects food bank use.
Source:
Toronto Star

- Go to the Food Banks and Hunger Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/foodbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Social Research Organizations (I) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research.htm

Recession packs biggest wallop since 1930s: Study
April 28, 2009
Press Release
OTTAWA – This recession is hitting Canada harder and faster than any previous downturn and Canadians are more exposed to economic ruin than they’ve been since the 1930s, says a report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Exposed: Revealing Truths About Canada’s Recession examines the previous 13 economic downturns and discovers two troubling signs: no other recession since the Great Depression has come on this strong and Canadians face greater vulnerability than at any time since the 1940s because of low savings, high household debt and a weakened social safety net.

Complete report:

EXPOSED: Revealing Truths About Canada’s Recession (PDF - 1.3MB, 43 pages)
By Armine Yalnizyan
This report looks at the signs of the current recession and compares it to Canada’s 13 other recessions, going all the way back to 1926. It discovers that, including the Great Depression, Canada’s economy has only had six experiences of economic decline lasting two quarters or more. It reveals how this recession has several things in common with the two biggest downturns in post-war history, but there are also important, and troubling, differences.

[ All CCPA Reports and Studies ]

Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social and economic justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates.

Related CCPA link:

GrowingGap.ca
The growinggap.ca is an initiative of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Inequality Project, a national project to increase public awareness about the alarming spread of income and wealth inequality in Canada.

Related media link:

Deceptive economic glimmers
By Thomas Walkom
April 29, 2009
"(...) In the Great Depression, it took more than 12 years for the unemployment rate to return to 1929 levels. By a similar measure, the recession of the '80s lasted seven years. [Armine] Yalnizyan's remedy for this slump is to have government do more, more and more again – for the simple reason that there is nowhere else to turn. She makes a convincing case that Canada, in spite of entering this downturn from a relatively strong position, is more exposed than it has been at any time since the 1930s.
Source:
Toronto Star

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

From CBC New Brunswick:

N.B. Liberals abandoning promise to raise social assistance rates
April 29, 2009
A multimillion-dollar promise made to New Brunswick's poorest families during the 2006 election campaign is being quietly abandoned by the Liberal government. Premier Shawn Graham said he has had second thoughts about raising social assistance rates in New Brunswick to the Atlantic Canadian average. Instead, the province is freezing them at their level this year. Graham championed the idea of substantially raising rates for those on welfare as Opposition leader and later during the 2006 election. He included it as a central promise in his election platform and personally told social assistance recipients during the campaign he would deliver on the pledge, which could cost up to $30 million.

Liberals will still hike welfare rates,
Social Development Minister Mary Schryer insists, but Premier not so sure
April 29, 2009
NOTE: you'll find over a dozen links to related articles and videos
in the right-hand margin of this article, under "In depth: What happened to Liberal social assistance pledge"

Related link:

New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice
- includes links to Word and PDF files on the following topics:
* Assistance Annual Revenue: New Brunswick Lags Behind
* Social Assistance Rates in New Brunswick
* The Geography of Poverty in New Brunswick
* Comparison: Annual income of a person working full time at minimum wage versus the low-income cutoff
* Evolution of minimum wage in New Brunswick
* Annual income of single-parent families receiving social assistance versus the poverty line
* The Sad Side of Victor Boudreau's Budget, Open letter from Auréa Cormier, Provincial Council Member, Common Front for Social Justice, published in the Telegraph Journal March 27, 2009
* People living in poverty are ounce again left out by this Liberal government, CFSJ Press Release, March 18, 2009
* Open Letter to Shawn Graham: Heating Costs, March 9, 2009
* What should the priorities be in the upcoming budget? February 20, 2009

- Go to the New Brunswick Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nbkmrk.htm

Campbell's Claim that Jobs Lifted Many out of Poverty Proves a Myth
Delayed government report shows no real gains
By Andrew MacLeod
April 27, 2009
Jobs are Premier Gordon Campbell's answer to poverty. That position was repeated during the April 23 leaders' debate on CKNW radio when he responded to a caller's question about mandating poverty reduction targets by saying, "A job is, by far, the best social program you can have." Since taking office in 2001, B.C. Liberals have insisted they were creating jobs and people are better off. They pointed to a rapidly declining welfare caseload as an example of that success. And yet, the NDP and others point out even when B.C.'s economy was strong, the provincial poverty rate stayed high and the child poverty rate, at 21.9 per cent according to the most recent report, led the country for five years. Now a new report posted to the Housing and Social Development Ministry's website following pressure from The Tyee shows Campbell and his welfare ministers have been wrong on why the welfare caseload was shrinking and that major changes the Liberals made to the system did nothing to improve people's incomes.

Source:
TheTyee.ca
"...your independent alternative daily newspaper reaching every corner of B.C. and beyond"

- Go to the BC Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk3.htm

Exposing the aboriginal industry
Canada spends billions on its native people, yet many aboriginals remain plagued by poverty, addiction and other social ills.
Meanwhile, a handful of lawyers, band leaders and chiefs prosper, argue the authors of a controversial new book
April 25, 2009
By Frances Widdowson and Albert Howard
CALGARY–One of the most pressing problems in Canada today is the terrible social conditions that exist in many aboriginal communities. It is well known that the rates of poverty, substance abuse and violence are much higher for the native population, and that health and educational levels remain far below the national average. Even more disturbing is the fact that the alarming statistics persist despite billions of dollars being spent on programs and services to alleviate these Third World conditions. Why has so much government funding had so little impact?
Source:
The Toronto Star

Order the Book ($85) from McGill-Queen's University Press

Book review by the National Post:

Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry (by Frances Widdowson and Albert Howard)
A National Post Review:
Leftist couple's stance on aboriginals leaves them in the cold
Kevin Libin, National Post
October 31, 2008
"(...) Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry, due out this month, is 260 pages of unspeakable challenges to what they consider the "romantic mythology" of native culture, the "quackery" of promoting traditional healing, the meaninglessness of "traditional knowledge" and treacherous assertions that Indians were "barbarians" before Europeans introduced to them "civilization."Their scholarship has been denigrated. They have been denounced as racists. At this, they shake their heads and chuckle. None of it seems to bother them nearly as much as accusations that they are in collusion with, of all people, Fraser Institute types like Tom Flanagan and Melvin Smith.

- Go to the First Nations Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/1stbkmrk.htm

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

Source:
Citizens for Public Justice

- Go to the Non-Governmental Organizations Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ngobkmrk.htm

Alberta poverty strategy sought
April 21, 2009
Canada’s richest province, Alberta, is trailing behind others in reducing poverty, says an advocacy group that wants to create a provincial strategy. “We think Alberta, of all provinces, should be a leader in this,” said Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of Public Interest Alberta. The independent public advocacy group is planning meetings across the province — starting with a forum in Red Deer on April 29 — to examine what can be done to give more Albertans the tools to succeed.
Source:
Red Deer Advocate

Related link:

Public Interest Alberta

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

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

May 1, 2009
Education Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training in Canada - May 2009 issue
This issue of the free online publication Education Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training in Canada contains four fact sheets in a series entitled "Health human resources and education in Canada". The series draws on various Statistics Canada data sources relating to the education and training of workers in health and related occupations. Also, starting with this issue, the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program will release on a regular basis, through Education Matters, new tables and charts on particular aspects of education. Each release will be based on the most recent data available and will be accompanied by a fact sheet summarizing key trends.
[ previous issues of Education Matters ]

April 30, 2009
Gross domestic product by industry, February 2009
Real gross domestic product edged down 0.1% in February. Economic activity has declined by 2.4% since October 2008.

April 29, 2009
Payroll employment, earnings and hours, February 2009
Non-farm payroll employment fell by 79,600 in February, down 0.5% from a month earlier. Since it peaked in October 2008, the number of payroll employees has declined by 2.0% or 296,000.

April 28, 2009
Employment Insurance, February 2009
In February, the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits increased by 44,300 or 7.8% from January. Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan experienced the strongest increases.
[ Previous release ]

April 27, 2009
Provincial and territorial economic accounts, 2008
Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew in five provinces led by Saskatchewan with growth of 4.4%. GDP in Yukon and Nunavut also advanced. Declining export demand contributed to lower GDP in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Northwest Territories. Nationally, GDP rose 0.5% in 2008 following a 2.7% increase in 2007.

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

- 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

Canadian Social Forum
(Calgary, May 19-22, 2009)
The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) invites you to the first Canadian Social Forum, which will take place in Calgary, May 19-22, 2009. We're bringing together a dynamic combination of unusual suspects from social development, public health, environment, community safety and recreation to brainstorm about poverty.

Preliminary Program (latest version)
HTML version
PDF version (114K, 9 pages)
- incl. links to : * Preliminary Program * Speakers' Bios * Advisory Committee * Registration Information * Accommodations * Calgary * Abstracts * more...

Registration info

Speakers/moderators include:
* Richard Harwood * Sheila Watt-Cloutier * Charles Karelis * Alain Noël * Cornelia Wieman * Alain Noël * Richard Shillington * Michael Creek * Ruth MacDonald * Shirley Soleil * Steve Snyder * Roger Gibbins * Christine Walsh * Michael Prince * Yvonne Peters * Deborah Parkes * Lucie Dumais * Laurie Beachell * Cam Crawford * Michael Bach * Bruce Porter * Lois Klassen * Cindy Blackstock * Uzma Shakir * Tim Draimin * Michel Venne * Tim Draimin * Michel Venne * Mike McCracken * Jim Mulvale * Jacquie Maund * Laurel Rothman * Adrienne Montani * Ian Renaud–Lauze * Hugh Segal * Françoise David * Mark Kelley * James Hughes * Seth Klein * Derek Cook * Linda Hawke * Lois Klassen * more...

Source:
Canadian Council on Social Development

- Go to the Conferences and Events Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/confer.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.

April 30, 2009
* Report: Poverty in Illinois
* Joblessness and Unemployment
* Applications and Caseloads for Cash Assistance - New York
* States and Cuts to Social Services
* Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs
* Pollution in Low-income and Minority Neighborhoods
* National Assessment of Educational Progress
* School Funding Formula - New Jersey
* State Minimum Wages - Missouri, Rhode Island
* Editorial: Earned Income Tax Credit - Illinois

April 27, 2009
* Medicaid and Drug and Treatment Decisions
* Food Stamp Program - Indiana
* Health Care and the Uninsured
* Joblessness and Unemployment
* Low-income Schools and Teacher Experience
* Aid to Poor Nations
* Payday Lending - Texas
* Earned Income Tax Credit - Missouri
* Opinion: Aging out of Foster Care

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

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

From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN):

30 April 2009 - CRINMAIL 1080
* RUSSIA: Moscow plans to abolish office of ombudsperson for children [news]
* IRAQ: Violence lingers for women and children [news]
* EUROPE: European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS): Roma [publication]
* GLOBAL: Recruiters of Child Soldiers Defy UN Pressure [news]
* **FROM THE FRONTLINE** Hangama Anwari [interview]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

28 April 2009 - CRINMAIL 1079

* AFRICAN COMMITTEE: Civil society pushes for action on child rights [publication]
* AFGHANISTAN: Karzai backs down over child marriage law [news]
* MALAYSIA: Religious conversion of children tackled [news]
* DISCRIMINATION: Making the case - why children should be protected from age discrimination and how it can be done [publication]
* UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW: 5th session [event]
* CANADA: 5th World Congress on Family Law & Children's Rights [event]
* EMPLOYMENT: Arab Resource Collective
**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.

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Thanks, CUPE!

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

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Privacy Policy:
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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

Myths Busted

*****************

***************************

And, in closing...

What's the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?

Epidemics and pandemics both refer to the spread of infectious diseases among a population.
The difference between an epidemic and a pandemic is two-fold.
First, a pandemic is normally used to indicate a far higher number of people affected than an epidemic, and a pandemic refers to a much larger region affected. In the most extreme case, the global population is affected by a pandemic. An epidemic is defined by an illness or health-related issue that is showing up in more cases than would be normally expected. However, in the case of a pandemic, even more of the population is affected than in an epidemic.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-an-epidemic-and-a-pandemic.htm