Canadian Social Research Newsletter
January 7, 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 --- or two.
I took some time off to celebrate the Christmas season with friends and family - hope you did too, even if you weren't celebrating the same holiday...

So this is the first newsletter since the December 17th issue.

The e-mail version of this week's issue of the newsletter is going out to 1727 subscribers.
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see some notes and a disclaimer.

Canadian Content

1. First Peoples Child & Family Review - January 2007 issue (First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada)
2. fACTivist Newsletter - Winter 2007 issue (Edmonton Social planning Council)
3. France set to declare right to housing (The Wellesley Institute Blog) - January 4
4. Understanding the Early Years: An Update of Early Childhood Development Results in Four Canadian Communities (Human Resources and Social Development Canada) - July 2005
5. Ontario minimum wage increasing February 1 (Ontario Ministry of Labour)
6. The Social Condition in British Columbia [Discussion Paper on Social Condition] (BC Progress Board) - December 15
7. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Labour Force Survey, December 2006 - January 5
--- Foreign and domestic investment in Canada, 2006 - January 4
--- Employer pension plans (trusteed pension funds), second quarter 2006 - January 4
--- Deaths, 2004 - December 20
--- Gross fixed assets (non-residential), 2006 - December 20
--- Consumer Price Index, November 2006 - December 19
--- Study: Literacy and the official language minorities, 2003 - December 19
--- Employment Insurance, October 2006 - December 19
--- Leading indicators, November 2006 - December 18
8. What's New from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto) - January 5

International Content

9. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs
10. Policy Hub Bulletin: December 2006 (Policy Hub - U.K.)

First Peoples Child & Family Review
Volume 3 Number 1
January 2007
"The latest issue of First Peoples Child & Family Review is now available online. We encourage you to check out our latest articles, as well as our offerings from past issues. If you are interested in contributing to the First Peoples journal, as an author or as a reviewer, information can be found on our website or by contacting the coordinating editor at mbennett@fncfcs.com. The deadline for the next call for papers is March 31st, 2007."

Excerpts from the
Table of Contents of the January 2007 issue:
- Ensuring Knowledge Transmission in the Aboriginal Child Welfare Field
- Keeping First Nations children at home: A few Federal policy changes could make a big difference
- The politics of kith and kin: Observations on the British Columbia government's reaction to the death of Sherry Charlie
- Reflections of a Mi’kmaq social worker on a quarter of a century work in First Nations child welfare
- Promising practice for maintaining identities in First Nation adoption
- Identity lost and found: Lessons from the sixties scoop
More...

Source:
First Peoples Child & Family Review [<=== incl. links to two earlier issues of the review]
A Journal on Innovation and Best Practices in
Aboriginal Child Welfare Administration, Research, Policy and Practice
[ First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada ]

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

Recent release from the Edmonton Social Planning Council:

fACTivist Newsletter - Winter 2007 issue (PDF file - 268K, 5 pages)
(PDF File dated December 22, 2006)
Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC)
"The Winter 2007 edition of the fACTivist features articles on social inclusion and health. In this issue of the fACTivist, we revisit the social determinants of health (SDOH) and how they relate to social inclusion."
Table of Contents: Year in Review * Social Determinants of Health * Social Inclusion * Projects & Initiatives * United Way Campaign * Membership

[ Earlier ESPC Newsletters - links to six newsletters going back to summer 2003 ]

Mentioned (among other news) in
this issue of the fACTivist:

Making a LIVING:
Defining a Living Wage for Alberta (PDF file - 638K, 8 pages)
(PDF File dated March 2006)
Public Interest Alberta (PIA) contracted the ESPC to produce this report as part of its province-wide Living Wage campaign. The report analyses recent data on income and employment, as well as the results of PIA’s Living Wage survey. The report will be the foundation for PIA’s future advocacy around establishing Living Wage policies at the municipal and provincial levels. Visit PIA’s website (www.pialberta.org/) in early January to view a copy of the report.

Public Interest Alberta and the Living Wage

Living Wage Links

Source:
Public Interest Alberta

- Go to the Alberta Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/abkmrk.htm

France set to declare right to housing
January 4, 2007
France is set to declare housing as a fundamental right following a high-profile protest in downtown Paris by homeless people and housing advocates. The right to housing has been recognized in international law for decades, and is incorporated in countless international covenents, treaties, declarations and other legal instruments. However, many countries sign the international documents then fail to incorporate the right to housing in domestic law, which makes it difficult for people to realize that right.

Source:
The Wellesley Institute Blog

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

Understanding the Early Years:
An Update of Early Childhood Development Results in Four Canadian Communities
July 2005 (Posted to the Internet January 2007)
HTML Table of Contents - links to HTML files for each chapter in the report
HTML Executive Summary
PDF version - (169K, 52 pages)
This report highlights some of the key findings from data collected from four diverse UEY pilot communities: Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Prince Edward Island; and Southwest Newfoundland. The findings address how kindergarten children are doing in each community and family and community factors which influence young children’s development.
The author of the report, J. Douglas Willms, is the University of New Brunswick’s Canada Research Chair in Human Development and the director of the Canadian Research Institute for Social Policy at the University of New Brunswick.

Source:
Human Resources and Social Development Canada

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

Ontario Government Raises Minimum Wage
Increase Helps Lowest-Paid And Most Vulnerable Workers
News Release
January 3, 2007
TORONTO — The Ontario government is raising the minimum wage on February 1, 2007, for the fourth time since taking office, Labour Minister Steve Peters announced today.
“We are providing Ontario’s lowest-paid and most vulnerable workers with the fourth increase in the minimum wage in four years,” said Peters. “It is to Ontario’s economic advantage to see that our workers are paid a fair wage.” The general minimum wage will be raised to $8.00 per hour on February 1, 2007.

Backgrounder
- incl. current and historical minimum wage levels for specific job categories going back to 1995 under the former Tory government

Source:
Ontario Ministry of Labour

Also from the same Ministry:

Ontario Employment Standards

Minimum Wage - Frequently-Asked Questions
Source:
WorkSmartOntario
"... the official website of the Ontario Ministry of Labour
for young workers and new workers."

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Minimum wage (International)
This resource is worth viewing --- it contains information on minimum wages in 17 countries (including Canada), along with some objective information on the debate over consequences of minimum wage laws, costs and benefits of minimum wage legislation, recent trends in the U.S., policy alternatives to the minimum wage and much more.
TIP: See "References" and "External Links" (at the bottom of the table of contents) for links to dozens and dozens of free online resources!

WorkRights.Ca
WorkRights gives you a chance to access the latest information on the labour codes to your province, and to compare practices in your region with those of other provinces and territories in Canada.
HINT: for info on Canadian minimum wages, click on "Getting Paid" in the left margin of the page, then on "minimum wages"

Google Web Search Results:
"Ontario, minimum wage"
Google News Search Results:
"Ontario, minimum wage"
Google Blog Search Results
"Ontario, minimum wage"
Source:
Google.ca

The U.S. and minimum wage
Now that the Democrats have regained power in the U.S. Congress, they're planning quick action
on legislative priorities that include boosting both the minimum wage and stem cell research.
(The link takes you to a Google.ca search results for "U.S., minimum wage")

- Go to the Minimum Wage /Living Wage Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/minwage.htm
- Go to the Ontario Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk.htm

BC Progress Board Releases Discussion Paper on Social Condition
On December 15, 2006, the BC Progress Board released a discussion paper on social condition in British Columbia. The paper, entitled "The Social Condition in British Columbia", examines the causes and costs of low income in British Columbia and provides eight suggestions for provincial and federal government consideration. The report was prepared for the Progress Board by Dr. Keith Banting, C.M., Queen's Research Chair in Public Policy at Queen's University.

News Release - December 15, 2006
Executive Summary (PDF file- 292K, 3 pages)

Entire Report:
The Social Condition in British Columbia (PDF file- 2.3MB, 54 pages)

Related Links:

Sixth Annual Benchmarking Report Released
On December 15, 2006, the BC Progress Board tabled its Sixth Annual Benchmarking Report "Building on Our Progress - Striving for Excellence" today with the provincial government. The two volume report benchmarks British Columbia's performance against other jurisdictions nationally and internationally on measures of the economy, innovation, education, environment, health and society. Indicators used in the report reflect the most recent final data, usually for 2005.

News Release Volume I
Backgrounder PDF (318K)

News Release Volume II
Backgrounder PDF (202K)

Building on Our Progress - Striving for Excellence:
Sixth Annual BC Progress Board Benchmarking Report

Volume I - External Performance Review: Inter-Provincial and International (PDF file - 5.3MB, 202 pages)
Volume II - Internal Performance Review: Regional (PDF file - 5.5MB, 76 pages)
NOTE: if you don't want to download these two massive files, go here:
===>Table of Contents + links to individual chapters (each chapter is in PDF format)

Request a paper copy by mail

Source:
BC Progress Board
"The BC Progress Board, formed by Premier Gordon Campbell in July 2001, is an independent Panel of 18 senior business and academic leaders. The Progress Board benchmarks BC's performance on measures of economy, innovation, education, environment, health and social condition over time and relative to other jurisdictions. The Board also advises on ways to improve performance."

- Go to the BC Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk.htm

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

January 5, 2007
Labour Force Survey, December 2006
Employment increased by an estimated 62,000 in December, pushing the unemployment rate back down to the 30-year low of 6.1% (-0.2 percentage points). Employment grew by 2.1% (+345,000) in 2006, the highest growth rate since 2002. This was the 14th consecutive year of employment increases in Canada.

January 4, 2007
Foreign and domestic investment in Canada, 2006
Foreign-controlled firms in Canada recorded double-digit investment growth in 2006, propelled by investment in mining and oil and gas extraction, retail trade and manufacturing. Investment by foreign-controlled establishments increased 10.7% to an estimated $53.8 billion in 2006. At the same time, investment by domestic firms rose 7.4% to $153.2 billion.

January 4, 2007
Employer pension plans (trusteed pension funds), second quarter 2006
The value of retirement savings of 4.6 million Canadian workers with trusteed pension plans declined during the second quarter of 2006, halting seven consecutive quarters of gains. Market value of assets amounted to $819 billion, down 2% from the first quarter. The losses reflect the performance of Canadian stocks in the Toronto Stock Exchange for the same period.

December 20, 2006
Deaths, 2004
Life expectancy in Canada for both sexes combined surpassed 80 years for the first time in 2004, increasing from 79.9 years to 80.2.

December 20, 2006
Gross fixed assets (non-residential), 2006
By the end of 2006, the country will have more than $3.1 trillion in structures and equipment, measured in current prices, in use to produce goods and services in the economy. About three-quarters of this total consist of building and engineering structures, while about one-quarter comprises machinery and equipment. A decade ago, this ratio was closer to two-thirds for structures and one-third for machinery and equipment.

December 19, 2006
Consumer Price Index, November 2006
Canadians paid 1.4% more for the goods and services in the Consumer Price Index basket in November than they did a year earlier. Despite this increase, the growth rate of the all-items index remains well below the 2.3% average for the last five years.

December 19, 2006
Study: Literacy and the official language minorities, 2003
The literacy situation of Canada's francophones has improved since the mid-1990s. However, individuals with English as their mother tongue still did much better than their francophone counterparts in literacy tests in 2003, according to a new study of literacy among the nation's official language minorities.

December 19, 2006
Employment Insurance, October 2006
An estimated 489,100 Canadians (seasonally adjusted) received regular Employment Insurance benefits in October, down 0.8% from September and 3.6% lower from a year ago. (...) Regular benefit payments in October totalled $710.3 million, while 224,140 people made initial and renewal claims.

December 18, 2006
Leading indicators, November 2006
The composite leading index rose 0.5% in November, nearly double its upward-revised gain in October. This is the strongest sign yet that the recent slowdown in growth should not be prolonged.

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

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

5-Jan-07

---------------------------------------------------
What's new
---------------------------------------------------

EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD CARE SERVICES FOR CANADA: BUILDING ADVANTAGE FROM THE FOUNDATION
Submission by the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada to the federal government in response to their 2006 Economic and Fiscal Update and their strategy document titled Advantage Canada.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94495

FROM CRADLE TO CAREER: CONNECTING AMERICAN EDUCATION FROM BIRTH TO ADULTHOOD
11th annual Quality Counts publication from the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center (US) “begins to track state efforts to create seamless education systems from early childhood to the world of work.”
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94494

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: PATHWAYS TO QUALITY AND EQUITY FOR ALL CHILDREN
Report from Australian Council for Educational Research finds provision of child care services in Australia to be “insufficient, fragmented, under funded and inconsistent.”
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94493

PREPARING CULTURALLY COMPETENT EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS
Briefing note from FPG Child Development Institute (US) summarizes the study “Diversity competencies within early childhood teacher preparation: Innovative practices and future directions."
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94492

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Child care in the news
--------------------------------------------------

Solberg good choice for human resources job [CA]
Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 5 Jan 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94487

Kindergarten, Italian style: A growing movement eschews top-down
learning and lets children set their own education goals [CA]
Ottawa Citizen, 3 Jan 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94490

Child care so costly immigrants sending babies back to China [CA]
Globe and Mail, 1 Jan 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94485

Childcare funding too low – developer [NZ]
The Marlborough Express, 27 Dec 0
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94488

Importance of early childhood education [US]
Paper of Montgomery County, 26 Dec 06
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94491

No guarantee of free childhood education hours [NZ]
Sunday Star Times, 17 Dec 06
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94489

Henry Wilson reports significant progress in early childhood education [JM]
Jamaica Information Service, 12 Dec 06
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94486

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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
- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm

Poverty Dispatch - U.S.
- links to news items from the American press about poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.
NOTE: this is a link to the current issue --- its content changes twice a week.

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

Policy Hub Bulletin: December 2006
- incl. links to the following recent reports:
* Childhood Obesity Database 2005-06 - DH report
* Alcohol strategy and the drinks industry - JRF report
* Christmas and families after divorce - ESRC research
* Gun crime: the market in and use of illegal firearms - HO research
* Poverty and social exclusion - report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
* Health inequalities update - DH report
* Crime and anti social behaviour on public transport - DfT report
* Monitoring anti-social behaviour - NAO report
* Social benefits and economic costs of taxation - CCPA report
* Sure Start Children’s Centres - NAO report
* Poverty in the UK - report of the Social Justice Policy Group [About the SJPG]
* Social determinants of health - CPRN report
* Website of the Month:
SPEaR launched its next generation website in November 2006, . The SPEaR website in New Zealand is 'a "virtual community" of social policy researchers and evaluators. The aim is to provide a focused and interactive forum for social policy researchers and evaluators across the sector. The website allows us to support research and evaluation into new areas, and encourages researchers, evaluators, and providers to co-ordinate and publicise their work.' (website)

Source:
Policy Hub - 'the first port of call for improvements in policy making and delivery'
[Policy Hub is part of HM Treasury]

Sign up to receive an e-mail alert when the latest issue of the monthly Bulletin is posted on the Policy Hub website.
You don't actually receive the bulletin content - just the notification that it's available online and the URL to access the page.

News Archive - view the contents of previous Bulletins

Publications - 200+ links
A-Z Key Links - Index of resources featured on Policy Hub

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