Canadian Social Research Newsletter

Canadian Social Research Newsletter
June 10, 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. Supreme Court of Canada says collective bargaining protected by Charter (Supreme Court of Canada) - June 8
2. An Update on Canada’s Two Economies - Implications for Workers and for Monetary Policy (Andrew Jackson, Canadian Labour Congress) - June 8
3. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Labour Force Survey, May 2007 - June 8
--- How Statistics Canada Identifies Aboriginal Peoples - June 7
--- StatCan launches Teacher's Guide to Data Discovery - June 5
4. Mothers under siege - BC (The Georgia Straight) - June 7
5. The Family Benefit Packages in Alberta and BC Do Not Measure Up (Institute for Research on Public Policy) - March 7
6. Leading the Way: The BC/Alberta economy (Canada West Foundation) - December 2006
7. Canada West Foundation survey respondents rate homelessness as high priority - May 25
8. The Canadian Immigration System: An Overview (Institute for Research on Public Policy) - March 2007
9. Child Health and Safety in Canada, the United States and Mexico (Children in North America Project, Canadian Council on Social Development) - June 4
10. First Peoples Child & Family Review - 2007 (First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada) - June 2007
11. Canadian Labour Online - electronic newsletter (Canadian Labour Congress)
12. What's New - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto)

International Content

13. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs
14. G8 Summit Heiligendamm - June 6-8 2007
15. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - recent content (various sources)
--- Income poverty, subjective poverty and financial stress
--- Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: key indicators 2007
--- Life risks, life course and social policy
16. Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion [CERC, Paris] Bulletin # 128 (May 29) - selected content, various sources
--- [US] A comparison of poverty trends and policy impacts for working families using different poverty indexes - April 2007
--- The economic costs of poverty in the United States : Subsequent effects of children growing up poor
--- Ending child poverty within the European Union ? A review of the 2006-2008 national reports on strategies for social protection and social inclusion - January 2007
--- The intergenerational transmission of poverty in industrialized countries - April 2007
--- Social protection transfers for chronically poor people - February 2007
17. 45th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child - 21 May to 8 June 2007 (Child Rights Information Network)
18. PovertyNet Newsletter (World Bank) - May 2007 issue

Have a great week!

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

E-mail:
gilseg@rogers.com

1. Supreme Court of Canada says collective bargaining protected by Charter - June 8
(Supreme Court of Canada)

Supreme Court of Canada says collective bargaining protected by Charter
June 8, 2007
Canada’s largest union is hailing today’s landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada as the Court's most important decision in support of free collective bargaining in Canada. Referring to the Supreme Court of Canada's previous refusal to recognize collective bargaining as protected by Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Paul Moist, national president of CUPE, stated "In overruling its own decisions from 20 years ago, the Supreme Court of Canada has removed tremendous hurdles faced by the trade union movement in this country."

Source:
Canadian Union of Public Employees

Supreme Court rules collective bargaining protected by charter
By Beth Leighton, Canadian Press
June 08, 2007
VANCOUVER (CP) - The collective bargaining process is protected by the Charter of Rights, the Supreme Court said Friday in a ruling that will have a major impact on relations between governments and their unions.
Source:
Canada.com

The landmark case judgment in question:

Health Services and Support - Facilities Subsector Bargaining Assn. v. British Columbia, 2007 SCC 27
June 8, 2007
Source:
Judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada (Lexum - Montreal)
[ Supreme Court of Canada website ]

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"supreme court, collective bargaining "
Web search results page
News search results page
Blog Search Results page
Source:
Google.ca

- Go to the Union Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/unionbkmrk.htm

2. An Update on Canada’s Two Economies - Implications for Workers and for Monetary Policy - June 8
(Andrew Jackson, Canadian Labour Congress)

An Update on Canada’s Two Economies
- Implications for Workers and for Monetary Policy
June 8, 2007
By Andrew Jackson
Canadian Labour Congress
NOTE: This is a revised and extended version of the comments made by Andrew Jackson at a panel on the Canadian economy organized by the Bank of Canada and the IMF at the recent Canadian Economics Association meetings.
- incl. * The Hidden Jobs Crisis * Boom and Bust: Resources, Trade and the Manufacturing Crisis * Manufacturing Matters for Workers * The Poor Quality of New Jobs * Flat Real Wages * Implications for Labour Market Policy * Implications for the Bank of Canada
Source:
Relentlessly Progressive Economics
Commentary on Canadian economics and public policy

- Go to the Union Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/unionbkmrk.htm

3. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Labour Force Survey, May 2007 - June 8
--- How Statistics Canada Identifies Aboriginal Peoples - June 7
--- StatCan launches Teacher's Guide to Data Discovery - June 5

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

June 8, 2007
Labour Force Survey, May 2007
Employment was little changed for a second consecutive month in May, with full-time gains mostly offset by losses in part time. The unemployment rate held steady for the fourth straight month at 6.1%, a 33-year low.

Related link:
Labour Force Information,May 13 to 19, 2007
Table of contents:
1. Highlights
2. Analysis — May 2007
3. Tables
4. Charts
5. Data quality, concepts and methodology
6. User information
7. Related products
8. PDF version (351K, 59 pages)

June 7, 2007 (under "New products")
How Statistics Canada Identifies Aboriginal Peoples
This reference document presents an overview of the different questions used by Statistics Canada to identify Aboriginal peoples. It is divided into three parts. Part one is a brief description of the data sources and their limitations. Part 2 deals with the 2006 census questions used to identify Aboriginal peoples while Part 3 deals with the identification questions used in the Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) and the Aboriginal Children's Survey (ACS).

June 5, 2007
Study: Lower income and declines in self-rated health, 1994/1995 to 1996/1997
Individuals living in households with combined incomes of less than $20,000 are almost three times more likely to experience a decline in self-rated health than people with the highest incomes, according to a new study. This study, published recently in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, investigated whether income was associated with a decline in self-rated health, from good or better health to fair or poor, over a two-year period. It also examined whether stressors, such as job strain and financial problems, helped explain the relationship.

Related links:

Prime Minister Harper to participate in Canada-European Union and G8 Summits
June 3, 2007
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that he will participate in both the Canada-EU Summit in Berlin, Germany on June 4 and the G8 Summit taking place in Heiligendamm from June 6 to 8.
Source:
Canada's G8 Website - Government of Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
33rd G8 summit - Heiligendamm
G8 - general info

G8 Information centre - University of Toronto

G8 2007 NGO Platform

From the World Socialist Website:

Global social, political tensions dominate G-8 summit
By Peter Schwarz
June 6, 2007
The Group of 8 summit of industrialized nations, due to begin today in the German holiday resort of Heiligendamm, is dominated by extreme tensions, expressed both openly and indirectly. There has been no comparable summit in terms of the conflicts between the major powers since the launching of the annual meeting of world leaders 32 years ago.

On eve of G-8 summit: Tensions between US and Russia erupt in mutual recriminations
June 4, 2007

Tens of thousands to protest on eve of G-8 summit: Fight against war and social reaction requires a socialist strategy
June 1, 2007

- Go to the Globalization Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/global.htm

15. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - recent content (various sources)
--- Income poverty, subjective poverty and financial stress
--- Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: key indicators 2007
--- Life risks, life course and social policy

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

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Recent APO content:

Income poverty, subjective poverty and financial stress
Gary N. Marks / Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
This paper focuses on financial disadvantage among Australians using data from the first two waves (2001 and 2002) of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey.

Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: key indicators 2007
Productivity Commission
In April 2002, the Council of Australian Governments commissioned the Steering Committee to produce a regular report against key indicators of Indigenous disadvantage. This report has the long-term objective of informing Australian governments about whether policy programs and interventions are achieving positive outcomes for Indigenous people.

Life risks, life course and social policy
May 31 - June 1
OECD Seminar
As a result of diverse and ongoing social trends, the social order based on standard employment relations, the male breadwinner model and social security has changed. New risks have emerged and are often mutually reinforcing. A recent OECD seminar looked at whether the current designs of social protection systems in OECD societies are well-suited to contemporary life course realities. Background papers and presentations are available online.

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

16. Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion [CERC, Paris] Bulletin # 128 (May 29) - selected content, various sources
--- [US] A comparison of poverty trends and policy impacts for working families using different poverty indexes - April 2007
--- The economic costs of poverty in the United States : Subsequent effects of children growing up poor
--- Ending child poverty within the European Union ? A review of the 2006-2008 national reports on strategies for social protection and social inclusion - January 2007
--- The intergenerational transmission of poverty in industrialized countries - April 2007
--- Social protection transfers for chronically poor people - February 2007

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

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Selected content from CERC Bulletin #128 (May 29, 2007):

[US] A comparison of poverty trends and policy impacts for working families using different poverty indexes (PDF file - 866K, 38 pages)
By R. H. DeFina, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
April 2007
[Abstract] This study provides empirical evidence on recent trends in poverty among working families based on the headcount rate and a broader alternative that incorporates the headcount rate, the depth of poverty, and income inequality among the poor. Estimates reveal that the indexes produce significantly different trends. The headcount rate indicates a reduction in overall working poverty for the sample period, while the alternative index showed no statistically significant change. The same result was found for various population subgroups. Decompositions of the index changes show that tax changes contributed to lower values for both the headcount rate and the alternative index, largely due to recent expansions of the earned income tax credit. Changes in transfer payments added to measured poverty, mirroring the retrenchment of welfare and other transfer programs. Shifts in market-based income decreased both indexes.

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The economic costs of poverty in the United States : Subsequent effects of children growing up poor (PDF file - 237K, 32 pages)
By H. J. Holzer, Institute for Research on Poverty
April 2007
[Abstract] In this paper, we review a range of rigorous research studies that estimate the average statistical relationships between children growing up in poverty and their earnings, propensity to commit crime, and quality of health later in life. We also review estimates of the costs that crime and poor health per person impose on the economy. Then we aggregate all of these average costs per poor child across the total number of children growing up in poverty in the U.S. to estimate the aggregate costs of child poverty to the U.S. economy. Our results suggest that the costs to the U.S. associated with childhood poverty total about $500 billion per year, or the equivalent of nearly 4 percent of GDP.

---------------------------

Ending child poverty within the European Union ? A review of the
2006-2008 national reports on strategies for social protection and social inclusion (PDF file - 4.2MB, 91 pages)
From Eurochild (Brussels)
January 2007
[Excerpt]The fight against child poverty and social exclusion is at the core of Eurochild’s work programme. A key element of this is the monitoring of the National Action Plans on Social Inclusion (NAPs/Incl) from a children’s rights perspective. This report is a synthesis of the country analyses produced by NGOs and national experts of Member States’ national action plans for social inclusion.

---------------------------

Two from the Chronic Poverty Centre (U.K.):

The intergenerational transmission of poverty in industrialized countries (PDF file - 227K, 35 pages)
By S. P. Jenkins and T. Siedler
April 2007
[Excerpt] The general message is that growing up poor has a deleterious impact on later-life chances, and that this impact is not wholly explained by other factors that are themselves correlated with childhood poverty. At the same time, the studies also show that one should be cautious about drawing more specific conclusions.

Social protection transfers for chronically poor people (PDF file - 322K, 6 pages)
February 2007
"(...) 900 million people will still be living on $1 per day even if the Millennium Development Goals are met."
Related link:
Millennium Development Goals

17. 45th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child - 21 May to 8 June 2007
(Child Rights Information Network)

Committee on the Rights of the Child News
This page features resources and news updates on the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child as well as information on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- incl. links to : CRC sessions - NGO Group session reports - Alternative reports - CRC CRINMAILs - Concluding Observations - Follow-up workshops to Concluding Observations - General Discussion Days - CRC General Comments - CRC Decisions - Children's rights at the Commission on Human Rights - CRC training material - Reform of the UN human rights Treaty Bodies

Source:
Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)

Also from CRIN:

8 June 2007 - CRINMAIL CRC 10: 45th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
- CRC SESSION REPORTS: Kazakhstan, Maldives, Slovak Republic, Uruguay, Bangladesh, Guatemala
- CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS: Committee on the Rights of the Child issues recommendations to States Parties

24 May 2007 - CRINMAIL 883
Special Edition on the 45th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
- incl. links to:
- COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: 45th Session information
- ELECTIONS: 45th Session opens with election of new chairperson
- STATES PARTIES INFORMATION: State Reports and Alternative Reports
- DAY OF GENERAL DISCUSSION 2007: "Resources for the rights of the child - responsibility of States"
- EMPLOYMENT - ECPAT International - Save the Children UK [job postings]
**QUIZ**
Source:
CRINMAIL

Further information:

* NGO Group Session reports
* State Reports for the 45th Session
* NGO Alternative Reports
* CRC news page on the CRIN website
* CRINMAILs on the Committee Sessions

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

18. PovertyNet Newsletter - May 2007
(World Bank)

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

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World Bank PovertyNet Newsletter #102, May 2007
In this issue:
1. Informality in Latin America
2. World Development Indicators 2007
3. Capacity Day 2007
4. Socio Economic Database for the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Region
5. Development Marketplace Winners Announcement
6. Making Finance Work for Africa
7. Help Us!
8. To Receive this Newsletter

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

------------------------

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

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

Seven Famous Misquotes
(Great for correcting people at cocktail parties or meetings and making new friends!)

* from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare:

commonly: "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well."
actually: "Alas poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio"
source: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

* from The Bible:

commonly: "Spare the rod, spoil the child."
actually: "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."
source: Proverbs 13:24 from The Bible Gateway

* from The Bible:

commonly: "Money is the root of all evil."
actually: "For the love of money is the root of all evil" (King James Version), or "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." (New International Version)
source: 1 Timothy 6:10 from The Bible Gateway

* from Casablanca:

commonly: "Play it again, Sam"
actually: "Play it"
source: Audio Clip from Casablanca Sound Clips

* from The Divine Comedy, by Dante:

commonly: "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here."
actually: "Abandon all hope, you who enter."
source: Reader's Digest Book of Facts.

* from Rime of the Ancient Mariner, (1798) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge:

commonly: "Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink"
actually: "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink"
source: Rime of the Ancient Mariner, from the collection of S. T. Coleridge works at The University of Virginia Library

* from William Congreave:

commonly: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
actually: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
source: CyberNation

Source:
http://www.ojohaven.com/fun/misquotes.html
NOTE: follow the link above for links back to the sources for the correct quotes.
You'll be thanking me the next time one of these comes up in Trivial Pursuit...
(;-D
--------------------------------------------

And in closing...

Time, time, time, see what's become of me...
http://www.humanclock.com/clock.php