Canadian Social Research Newsletter
June 3, 2007

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 1794 subscribers.
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see some notes and a disclaimer.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian Content

1. Québec : Site du Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale (Website of the consultative committee in the strategy against poverty)
2. . It's a bad time to be poor (BC) (Straight.com Vancouver) - May 31
3. The Feds Are Widening, Not Closing, the Prosperity Gap (Canadian Policy Research Networks) - May 31
4. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Employment, Earnings and Hours, March 2007 - June 1
--- Canadian economic accounts, first quarter 2007 and March 2007 - May 31
--- Income of individuals, 2005 - May 31
--- Residential care facilities, 2004/2005 - May 30
5. Repairing Canada's Social Safety Net (Caledon Institute of Social Policy) - May 2007
6. Prince Edward Island Provincial Election 2007 - May 28
7. Brigit's Notes: Women's Health E-bulletin (Le bloc-notes de Brigit : Babillard électronique) - monthly
8. What's New - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto) - June 1

International Content

9. U.S. Federal minimum wage increase passed May 21 (Poverty Dispatch)
10. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs
11. World Development Report 2007 (The World Bank) - April 15
12. Policy Hub Bulletin / Government Social Research Bulletin (monthly) - United Kingdom
13. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing
14. CERC Bulletin (Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion [CERC] - Paris)
15. PovertyNet Newsletter (World Bank)
16. Chronic Poverty Updates (Chronic Poverty Research Centre)

Have a great week!

Site du Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale
(Website of the consultative committee in the strategy against poverty)

Note to English-only social researchers:
This site is currently available only in French.
The Comité consultatif is a public body whose role is to advise the Québec Minister responsible for the application of the Action Plan to combat poverty and social exclusion. This mission is similar to that of the National Council of Welfare (NCW) with respect to the Minister responsible for Human Resources and Social Development Canada, that is, to represent the interests of all Canadians in offering counsel to the HRSDC Minister in all matters relating to social development. Both the Comité consultatif and the NCW carry out evaluations and other studies, and they present their views and and recommendations directly to the Minister responsible and also to the public. Both groups also monitor the social policies of their respective governments with a special focus on the impacts of new policies on the incidence of poverty and social exclusion.

I hope the site will be translated into English to share this information as widely as possible; in the meantime, here's where you'll find the French news release and website, if you have a working grasp of French or if you know how to use one of the free online translation services. Here are a few of those:
*Google's Language Tools
*Alta Vista Translation Service
*Freetranslation.com
*Dictionary.com Translation

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1er juin 2007
Le Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale lance son site Internet
C’est maintenant au tour du Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale de mettre en ligne son site Internet. Le président du Comité consultatif, M. Tommy Kulczyk, vous invite à le parcourir pour prendre connaissance des travaux réalisés et des travaux en cours, ainsi que des réflexions, des recherches et des projets mis de l’avant en matière de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale

Site du Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale
- liens vers le contenu suivant : * Comité consultatif * Initiatives de lutte contre la pauvreté * Échos sur le Comité * Communiqués de presse * Publications * Liens utiles * Nous joindre

Source:
Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale

- Go to the Québec Links (English) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qce.htm
- Rendez-vous à la page de liens de recherche sociale au Québec: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qcbkmrk.htm

It's a bad time to be poor
May 31, 2007
On May 7, the Impact of the Olympics on Community Coalition released a report urging the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) and its partners–the City of Vancouver and the British Columbia provincial government–to live up to their so-called Inner-City Inclusivity commitments. These include commitments to housing, environment, civil liberties, and transparency.

Source:
Straight.com Vancouver

- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (C-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk3.htm

The Feds Are Widening, Not Closing, the Prosperity Gap (PDF file - 32K, 2 pages)
by David Hay
May 31, 2007
A recent Statistics Canada report revealed a growing gap between the rich and poor in this country. The report on income inequality and redistribution suggests that the labour market and specifically high-earning couples are the reason behind this. "A key driver of this is the rising earning power of the two-earner family, especially when both earners are highly educated" says the report. David Hay, CPRN's Director, Social Development, in his commentary on the Globe and Mail's Web site, has found an additional explanation for this growing divide between rich and poor. He writes that further examination of the report's tables reveals "…some other potential contributors to rising after-tax inequality, and these have more to do with governments than the labour market."

Source:
Canadian Policy Research Networks

Related links from Statistics Canada:

Income Inequality and Redistribution in Canada: 1976 to 2004
May 11, 2007
By Andrew Heisz
StatCan's The Daily release
Executive summary
Complete study (PDF file - 395K, 58 pages)
Previous issues in this series

Income Inequality and Low Income in Canada: An International Perspective
February 2005
by Garnett Picot and John Myles
StatCan's The Daily release
Complete study (PDF file - 841K, 31 pages)

Other StatCan reports on
Low income and inequality
Source:
Update on Analytical Studies Research
- click on a category in the left margin of the research update page to access the links to relevant studies and reports

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

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

June 1, 2007 (New products)
Employment, Earnings and Hours, March 2007 (PDF file - 2.2MB, 503 pages)
Highlights - HTML
Earlier issues of this report - (back to July 2000)

May 31, 2007
Canadian economic accounts, first quarter 2007 and March 2007
The economy picked up steam in the first quarter of 2007 as real gross domestic product advanced 0.9%, more than twice the pace of last quarter. A slight pick-up in consumer spending and an inventory build-up resulting from strengthened production fuelled the advance. Economic output was up 0.3% in March.

Related link:

Canadian Economic Accounts Quarterly Review

May 31, 2007
Income of individuals, 2005
The median total income of individuals amounted to $25,400 in 2005, up 1.9% from 2004 after adjusting for inflation. This is the largest annual increase in median total income of individuals since 2001. The median is the point where one half of incomes are higher and the other half are lower.

May 30, 2007
Residential care facilities, 2004/2005
Only 1 out of every 30 seniors aged 65 and over lived in one of Canada's 1,952 homes for the aged in the fiscal year 2004/2005, according to new data from the Residential Care Facilities Survey. Data for all provinces and territories, except Quebec, show that nearly 151,000 seniors, 3.4% of the total, resided in a home for the aged in 2004/2005.

Complete report:
Residential Care Facilities, 2004/2005
- incl. links to : Highlights * Introduction * Analysis * Tables * Data quality, concepts and methodology * User information * Related products * PDF version

Other StatCan reports on residential care facilities

- Go to the Seniors (Social Research) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/seniors.htm
- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Fisheries and Oceans to Veterans Affairs) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk2.htm

Repairing Canada's Social Safety Net (PDF file - 276K, 14 pages)
Sherri Torjman, May 2007
The Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada invited departmental representatives and four outside panelists to a roundtable to consider options for repairing Canada’s social safety net. This paper summarizes the highlights from Caledon’s contribution, which made the case for the need to reform Employment Insurance and welfare in concert and in association with labour market changes... (Read the complete abstract)

Other Caledon reports - links to all 500+ reports from May 1993 to date
Search Caledon publications

Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy

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

Prince Edward Islanders go to the polls
Prince Edward Islanders are heading to the polls on Monday, deciding whether to hand Pat Binns' Progressive Conservatives a historic fourth term of office or give Robert Ghiz's Liberals a shot at government.
Source:
CBC News

Prince Edward Island Provincial Election 2007
Includes ridings, candidates, poll results, news, historical information
Source:
Nodice.ca

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"Prince Edward Island Provincial Election 2007 "
Web search results page
News search results page
Blog Search Results page
Source:
Google.ca

- Go to the Prince Edward Island Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/pebkmrk.htm
- Go to the Political Parties and Elections Links in Canada (Provinces and Territories) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/politics_prov_terr.htm

Brigit's Notes: Women's Health E-bulletin (latest issue of the bulletin)
Brigit's Notes is an electronic bulletin full of great women's health news. This monthly bulletin will keep you informed about what's new on the CWHN web site, including new policy initiatives, research, calls for submissions, events and conferences, new resources and updates on women's health issues and activism.

Subscribe to receive the E-bulletin by email

Network online magazine - latest issue
Back issues of Network magazine (links to several hundred articles going back to 1996)

Source:
Canadian Women's Health Network

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Version française:

Le bloc-notes de Brigit : Babillard électronique
Dernière édition
Abonnement au bulletin par courriel

Le Réseau - dernier numéro
Anciens numéros de la revue Le Réseau (jusqu'à 1996)

Source:
Réseau canadien pour la santé des femmes

- Go to the Health Links (Canada/International) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/health.htm
- Go to the the Canadian Non-Governmental Sites about Women's Social Issues page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/womencanngo.htm

What's New - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) - University of Toronto

The Childcare Resource and Research Unit offers a free weekly "e-mail news notifier" service.
Below, you'll find selected content of the latest issue of this bulletin.

For more information about this service,
including instructions for (un)subscribing, see:
http://www.childcarecanada.org

1-Jun-07

---------------------------------------------------
What's New
---------------------------------------------------

REPAIRING CANADA’S SOCIAL SAFETY NET
Report from the Caledon Institute discusses rebuilding Canada’s social policy; recommendations include resurrecting federal-provincial child care agreements.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=103472

ENQUÊTE SUR LES BESOINS ET LES PRÉFÉRENCES DES FAMILLES EN MATIÈRE DE SERVICES DE GARDE, 2004
Report from Institut de la statistique du Québec provides a portrait of Quebec families with children under five and describes their child care needs and preferences.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=103471

EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD CARE PUBLIC CONSULTATION
New Brunswick government has launched a public consultation as they develop their ELCC plan; website features discussion paper, surveys and instructions on submitting briefs.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=103470

PROVINCIAL UNDERFUNDING FAILS CHILDREN
Press release from the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care calls on the Ontario government to increase funding and strengthen policy in light of media reports of poor quality.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=103469

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Child care in the news
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Daycare staff get low pay, no respect [CA]
Toronto Star, 1 Jun 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=103464

Getting off to a bad start [CA-ON]
Letters, Toronto Star, 30 May 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=103468

Ontario plans to expose problem day care centres [CA-ON]
CBC News, 29 May 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=103487

Dirty little secrets: Abuse in daycares [CA-ON]
Toronto Star, 28 May 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=103465

Generous gift won't solve child care crisis [CA]
Belleville Intelligencer, 28 May 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=103466

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This message was forwarded through the Childcare Resource
and Research Unit e-mail news notifier. For information on the
CRRU e-mail notifier, including instructions for (un)subscribing,
see http://www.childcarecanada.org

The Childcare Resource and Research Unit
University of Toronto, Canada
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Related Links:

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

Link to the CRRU home page:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) - University of Toronto

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

U.S. Federal Minimum Wage

Congress passes increase in the minimum wage
By Stephen Labaton, New York Times. May 25, 2007

Congress OKs raise for minimum-wage workers
By Jesse J. Holland (Associated Press), Chicago Tribune. May 25, 2007

A long-overdue raise for millions (Editorial)
Editorial, St. Petersburg Times. May 29, 2007

Minimum wage increase was long overdue (Opinion)
By Bill Boyne, Rochester Post-Bulletin. May 30, 2007

Source:
Poverty Dispatch (see immediately below)

Related links:

Federal Minimum Wage Rates, 1955–2006
Expressed in 1996 Constant Dollars, the federal hourly minimum wage in the U.S. was $4.39 in 1955 and $4.04 in 2006.
Source:
InfoPlease

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"U.S. Federal Minimum Wage "
Web search results page
News search results page
Blog Search Results page
Source:
Google.ca

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

Poverty Dispatch (U.S). ===> the content of this link changes each week
- links to news items from the American press about poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.

Past Poverty Dispatches
- links to two dispatches a week back to June 1 (2006) when the Dispatch acquired its own web page and archive.

Poverty Dispatch Digest Archive - weekly digest of dispatches from August 2005 to May 2006
For a few years prior to the creation of this new web page for the Dispatch, I was compiling a weekly digest of the e-mails and redistributing the digest to my mailing list with IRP's permission.
This is my own archive of weekly issues of the digest back to August 2005, and most of them have 50+ links per issue. I'll be deleting this archive from my site gradually, as the links to older articles expire.

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

Poverty Drops Below 1 Billion, says World Bank
Press Release
WASHINGTON, April 15, 2007 — Global poverty rates continued to fall in the first four years of the 21st century according to new estimates published in the World Development Indicators 2007, released today. The proportion of people living on less than $1 a day fell to 18.4 percent in 2004, leaving an estimated 985 million people living in extreme poverty.

World Development Report 2007 ($)
World Development Indicators publication is the World Bank's premier annual compilation of data about development. The 2007 WDI includes more than 900 indicators in over 80 tables organized in 6 sections: World View, People, Environment, Economy, States and Markets, and Global Links

Source:
The World Bank

Policy Hub Bulletin ===> the content of this link changes each month
News Archive - view the contents of previous Bulletins back to September 2002
Subscribe to this Bulletin - free, by email

Evidence Hotlinks
This area of Policy Hub provides access to a wide range of organisations and resources that will help you find evidence on social and economic issues in the United Kingdom and Internationally.
* United Kingdom Evidence * International Evidence - including Country Resources - including Canada * Using Evidence
===> recommended reading - excellent collection of U.K. and international resources!

Source:
Policy Hub (U. K.)
"... a web-site developed by the Government Social Research Unit, which aims to improve the way public policy is shaped and delivered."
[ Government Social Research ]
[ HM Treasury website ]

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Government Social Research Bulletin - link to the latest monthly issue
[archive - earlier issues]

Current Research News - continuously updated
[archive - back to 2004]

Source:
U.K. Government Social Research
[ HM Treasury website ]

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

APO Weekly Briefing ===> the content of this link changes each week
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 50+ events of interest to social researchers...
Source:
Australian Policy Online (APO)
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 Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC [version française]

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

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

PovertyNet Newsletter ===> the content of this link changes each month
The PovertyNet Newsletter is a monthly newsletter containing updates on new information and resources available on the PovertyNet web site, covering:
* Poverty Reduction Strategies * Pro-Poor Growth and Inequality * Poverty Analysis * Poverty Monitoring * Impact Evaluation * Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) * Empowerment
- includes links to earlier issues
Source:
The World Bank

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

Chronic Poverty Updates ===> the content of this link changes each month
Source:
Chronic Poverty Research Centre (U.K.)
CPRC is an international partnership of universities, research institutes and NGOs established in 2000 with initial funding from the UK's Department for International Development.Chronic Poverty Research Centre -

CPRC Resources - incl. links to : Working Papers - Special Journal Issues - Books, reports and other publications - Policy Briefs - CPRC Conference Papers - Methods Toolbox - Bibliographic Database - Chronic Poverty Updates

Related link:

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (U.K.)

- Go to the Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internatngo.htm
- Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.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

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