Canadian Social Research Newsletter
July 10, 2005

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 1400 subscribers.

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

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IN THIS ISSUE:

How'd They Vote? - a resource for political accountability
"How'd They Vote? aims to be a non-partisan website which provides a variety of in-depth information on the operations of the Canadian Parliament, specifically, how our politicians vote and what they've said. We take the Hansards from the parliament website, and extract information on bills, members of parliament, votes, and speeches."
- incl. links to : * Find your MP * MP Statistics * MP Websites * Voting History * List of Bills

NOTE: As at October 4, 2007, this site is no longer accessible.

- Go to the General Federal Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fed2.htm

International Productivity Monitor - Number 10, Spring 2005
[version française]
Includes links to:
- Editor’s Overview
- An Analysis of the Labour Productivity Growth Slowdown in Canada since 2000
- Canada’s Productivity Performance in International Perspective
- Explaining Productivity Growth: The Role of Demographics
- Are Productivity Levels Higher in Some European Countries than in the United States?
- Productivity Trends in Asia Since 1980
- In Search of the Silver Bullet for Productivity Growth: A Review Article of The Power of Productivity and Transforming the European Economy
Source:
International Productivity Monitor - L’ Observateur international de la productivité
Centre for the Study of Living Standards - Centre d'étude des niveaux de vie
("... a non-profit, national, independent organization that seeks to contribute to a better understanding of trends in and determinants of productivity, living standards and economic and
social well-being through research.")

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

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

July 8, 2005
Labour Force Survey, June 2005
Employment edged up 14,000 in June, bringing total gains during the second quarter to 79,000 (+0.5%), three times the growth rate observed in the first quarter of 2005. The unemployment rate edged down to 6.7% in June, equalling the lowest rate in almost three decades last set in June 2000.

July 7, 2005
General Social Survey: Victimization - 2004
A growing proportion of Canadians are satisfied with their personal safety from crime, according to new data on victimization from the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS). Overall, the vast majority (94%) were satisfied that they were personally safe from becoming a victim. This proportion was up from 86% in 1993 and 91% in 1999.
Related Links:
General Social Survey on Victimization, Cycle 18: An Overview of Findings (PDF file - 303K, 28 pages) - June 2005
General Social Survey, Cycle 18 Overview: Personal Safety and Perceptions of the Criminal Justice System (PDF file - 234K, 29 pages)

July 6
Canadian Community Health Survey: Obesity among children and adults, 2004
Obesity rates among children and adults have increased substantially during the past 25 years, according to new results from the Canadian Community Health Survey, which directly measured the height and weight of respondents.
This release is based on two articles, Adult Obesity in Canada: Measured Height and Weight and Overweight Canadian Children and Youth, which are now available for free online:
Measured Obesity : Feature Articles
These articles are the first to be released in the Internet publication Nutrition: Findings from the Canadian Community Health Survey.

July 4, 2005
Social Policy Simulation Database and Model
The Social Policy Simulation Database and Model, Version 10.2 based on 1998 microdata, is now available. The most recent Social Policy Simulation Database and Model (SPSD/M) can be used to study the impacts of changes to federal and provincial tax and benefit programs on families and governments from 1988 through 2009.
Related Link:
The Social Policy Simulation Database and Model

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

Your Canada Child Tax Benefit for the period from July 2005 to June 2006 (PDF file - 192K, 28 pages)
(including related provincial and territorial child benefits and credits)

Canada Child Tax Benefit FAQs : Calculation and payment information

Source:
Child and Family Benefits Page
Canada Revenue Agency

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

Governments of Canada and Alberta sign an Agreement on Early Learning and Child Care
News Release
July 7, 2005
"CALGARY, ALBERTA — Ken Dryden, Minister of Social Development, and Heather Forsyth, Alberta ’s Minister of Children’s Services, announced today an important Agreement in Principle that further supports the development of quality early learning and child care for young children and their families in Alberta."

Moving forward on early learning and child care:
Agreement in principle between the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta (PDF file - 245K, 10 pages)
July 7, 2005

Early Learning and Child Care Agreements in Principle
- links to info for all jurisdictions that have signed an ELCC agreement with Canada since April 29, 2005:
Alberta - Nova Scotia - Newfoundland and Labrador - Ontario - Saskatchewan - Manitoba

Source:
Social Development Canada

Related Links:

Alberta deal props open the door to big box child care
Federal government & province sign deal that forks over cash to for-profit operators
July 7, 2005
"OTTAWA – The federal and Alberta governments have propped open the door to giant commercial child care chains in the deal they signed today, says D’Arcy Lanovaz, president of the Alberta division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). 'Without public delivery conditions attached to the federal funding, the door is now open in Alberta for giant commercial operators to pad their profits with taxpayer dollars,” says Lanovaz.
[NOTE: scroll to the bottom of the CUPE article for links to five more articles about child care .]
Source:
Canadian Union of Public Employees

Towards a national system of early learning and child care
- links to government and non-governmental reports, press releases, news articles and other documents dealing with the new (since April 2005) federal-provincial-territorial arrangements for early learning and child care in Canada.
Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) - University of Toronto

- Go to the Alberta Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/abkmrk.htm
- Go to the Government Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd.htm

From the Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (MESS) [English Home Page] of Québec:

Sécurité du revenu’s 2005-2006 action plan is now available on the website
June 30th, 2005
"On June 16, Sécurité du revenu’s 2005-2006 action plan was tabled in the National Assembly. This document is now available for consultation!"

...as long as you can read French (it's not available in English):
Au-delà de l’aide financière :
Sécurité du revenu - Plan d’action 2005-2006 (fichier PDF - 681Ko, 26 pages)
Juin 2005

Also available only in French:
(the next link below is to an overview of the first year of the Québec Government's Action Plan to Combat poverty and Social Exclusion)

Plan d’action gouvernemental en matière de lutte
contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale :
Bilan de la première année (fichier PDF - 508Ko, 49 pages)
Juin 2005
"Dans l’ensemble des régions du Québec, des projets ont été initiés et soutenus dans une démarche systémique pour s’attaquer tant aux causes qu’aux conséquences de la pauvreté. Au cours de la prochaine année, en s’appuyant sur le leadership régional et local, la priorité sera donnée à la prise en charge locale des actions, en particulier dans les milieux où la pauvreté se concentre. Cette mise en commun des actions, cette synergie plus grande des intervenants constitue des garanties de succès dans le développement des collectivités comme des personnes."
[Extrait de la conclusion du texte]

The following link is to the blueprint for the current welfare reforms in Québec.

English
Government Action Plan to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion (PDF file - 394K, 66 pages)
April 2004

Français
Plan d’action gouvernemental en matière de
lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale (fichier PDF - 484Ko. 69 pages)
Avril 2004

Synthèse du Plan d'action gouvernemental (fichier PDF - 249Ko, 27 pages)
(French only)
Février 2005

Source:
Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (Page d'accueil)

- 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

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

Each week, the Childcare Resource and Research Unit disseminates its "e-mail news notifier", an e-mail message with a dozen or so links to new reports, studies and child care in the news (media articles) by the CRRU or another organization in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). What you see below is content from the most recent issue of the notifier.

08-July-05

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WHATS NEW
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>> Moving forward on early learning and child care: Agreement-in-principle between the government of Canada and the government of Alberta
by Government of Canada & Government of Alberta
Bilateral agreement “will enable the Government of Canada to support elements of Alberta’s programs and services”; “Alberta will have flexibility to determine its priorities”.

>> Who cares for our kids?: The changing face of day care in Canada
By Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Radio and television clips from the CBC Archives look at child care in Canada “from its charitable beginnings more than a century ago to the ongoing fight for a federally funded system.”

>> Women’s empowerment: Measuring the global gender gap
By Lopez-Claros, Augusto & Zahidi, Saadia
Study from the World Economic Forum measures the extent to which women have achieved equality; includes information on child care availability and cost and the impact of maternity laws.

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CHILD CARE IN THE NEWS
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>> Province thinking over how to spend child care money [CA-AB]
CBC News, 8 Jul 05
Alberta Children's Services Minister Heather Forsyth has signed a bilateral agreement with the federal government after receiving assurances from Ottawa that Alberta can use the money for both profit and non-profit centres. But there are concerns that the Alberta-Ottawa funding agreement doesn't address the quality of care children are getting.

>> Family values, Santorum-style [US]
World Net Daily, 8 Jul 05
What do Republicans mean when they appropriate the term "family values"? Well, now we know. It's all spelled out by Republican Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. In his scary new book, "It Takes A Family: Conservatism and the Common Good" – due in book stores July 24 – Santorum speaks out against diversity, public schools, college education and working women.

>> Relish new role [CA-ON]
Toronto Star, 7 Jul 05
Carol Goar is correct that as the new Minister of Children and Youth Services I have big shoes to fill. The Premier has given me the opportunity to make a difference in the precious lives of our children and youth by giving them the best start possible.

>> Loan scheme on offer for child care [AU]
Sydney Morning Herald, 6 Jul 05
Australia's biggest chain of private child care centres, ABC Learning, is offering finance to help parents meet rising fees. While the first 14 months are interest-free, child care industry representatives are worried parents may run up debts.

>> Wrong message on child care [CA-ON]
Toronto Star, 6 Jul 05
Child care advocates hadn't expected Marie Bountrogianni, the Hamilton child psychiatrist who'd held the job since the Liberals took power, to be shuffled last week. They couldn't understand why Mary Anne Chambers, the Scarborough bank executive who'd previously served as minister of training, colleges and universities, had been given the portfolio.

>> Alberta poised to sign child care funding deal with Ottawa this week [CA-AB]
Canadian Press, 5 Jul 05
After threatening to walk away from new federal child care funding if too many strings were attached, Alberta expects to sign a deal with Ottawa this week after all.

>> The gathering storm: A controversial Conservative initiative should blow the child care debate wide open [CA]
Maclean’s Magazine, 1 Jul 05
The Liberals made childhood strategy a major thrust in last year's election, and are pressing ahead with their promised $5-billion, five-year program to boost regulated daycare. Now, the Tories are preparing to counterpunch with an even costlier proposal that they say would offer parents far greater choice.

**************************************************************************
This message was forwarded through the Childcare Resource
and Research Unit e-mail news notifier. For information on the CRRU e-mail notifier,
including subscription instructions , see http://www.childcarecanada.org
The Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto, Canada)
**************************************************************************

Related Links:

What's New? - Canadian, U.S. and international resources from Jan 2000 to the present.
Child Care in the News - media articles from January 2000 to the present
ISSUE files - theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info
Links to child care sites in Canada and elsewhere
CRRU Publications - briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications

Also from CRRU:

Early childhood education and care in Canada 2004
By Martha Friendly and Jane Beach
6th edition, May 2005, 232 pp
"Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada 2004 provides cross-Canada data and information on regulated child care, kindergarten, maternity and parental leave together with relevant demographic information."

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

POVERTY DISPATCH Digest
Institute for Research on Poverty - U. of Wisconsin
This digest offers dozens of new links each week to full-text articles in the U.S. media (mostly daily newspapers) on poverty, poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, and much more...
The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a free e-mail service that consists of an e-mail message sent to subscribers each Monday and Thursday, containing a dozen or so links to articles dealing with the areas mentioned above. The weekly Canadian Social Research Links Poverty Dispatch Digest is a compilation, available online, of the two dispatch e-mails for that week --- with the kind permission of IRP.

Here's the complete collection of U.S. media articles in this week's Poverty Dispatch Digest:
(click the link above to read all of these articles)

July 7, 2005
Today's subjects include: No Child Left Behind Act // Health Care Costs and Coverage - Opinion // Poverty and State Lottery - Wisconsin // Poverty in Resort Area - New Jersey // Health Care Program - Minnesota, Tennessee // Summer Free lunch Program - Florida // Educational Achievement - Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Washington // Graduation Rate - Rhode Island // Homeless Students - Green Bay, WI

July 5, 2005
Today's subjects include: Payday Lending // Results of Welfare Reform - Wisconsin // Extending Welfare - Arkansas // Work First Program - North Carolina // Poverty Level - Anne Arundel County, MD // Plight of the Working Poor - Texas // Shutdown of Government Services - Minnesota // Medicaid Cuts - Missouri // Health Care for the Homeless - Washington, DC // Homeless Students - Green Bay, WI // Food Stamp Program - Wisconsin // Food Stamp Promotion - Virginia // Food Assistance - Pennsylvania // Advocate for the Working Poor - San Diego // Newspaper about Homelessness and Poverty - Boston

Each of the weekly digests below offers dozens of links or more to media articles that are time-sensitive.
The older the link, the more likely it is to either be dead or have moved to an archive - and some archives [but not all] are pay-as-you-go.
[For the current week's digest, click on the POVERTY DISPATCH Digest link above]

Subscribe to the Poverty Dispatch!
Send an e-mail message to John Wolf < jwolf@ssc.wisc.edu > to receive a plain text message twice a week with one to two dozen links to media articles with a focus on poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, health, Medicaid from across the U.S.
And it's free...

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

For the current week's digest, click on the POVERTY DISPATCH Digest link at the top of this section.
Recently-archived POVERTY DISPATCH weekly digests:

POVERTY DISPATCH description/archive - weekly issues back to October 2004 , 50+ links per issue
NOTE: this archive is part of the Canadian Social Research Links American Non-Governmental Social Research page.

- 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

G8 Gleneagles - the official G8 Summit website
July 6-8, 2005
"Every year since 1975, the heads of state of the major industrial democracies have met to discuss and debate the major policy issues affecting the international community and their own domestic situations. This year this important meeting (referred to as the G8 Summit) was held at the Gleneagles Resort in Scotland. This site is the homepage for the summit, and as such, contains a host of materials on the meeting, including a FAQ section, information about the countries that participated in the G8, and a glossary of relevant terms. Of course, most visitors will want to learn about the main issues that will be dealt with this year, such as countering terrorism and climate change. The "Summit Documents" area is a section that definitely warrants a closer look, as it contains information on previous summits and policy statements that were adopted during these meetings."
Review by The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005

Signed Version of Gleneagles Communique on
Africa, Climate Change, Energy and Sustainable Development (PDF file - 328K, 32 pages)

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Here's Make Poverty History's Response to the G8 Communique - July 8
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Chair's Summary, Gleneagles Summit
July 8
"(...)We have agreed to double aid for Africa by 2010. Aid for all developing countries will increase, according to the OECD, by around $50bn per year by 2010, of which at least $25bn extra per year for Africa."

Day-by-day guide to G8 events
- includes links to news releases, analysis, background, and more...
Source:
BBC

Canada's G8 Website (Govt. of Canada)
- includes Summit documents from the current and past summits, news releases, ministerials, past and future summits, how the G8 works, G* backgrounders, members, and more...
G8 Information Centre - at the University of Toronto
G8 Alternatives Website

Make Poverty History (Canada) [Platform] - "...united by the common belief that poverty can be ended."
Make Poverty History Canada at the G8 Summit - A Make Poverty History (MPH) team is in Scotland at the G8 Summit.
Make Poverty History (International)
Live8 - The Long Walk to Justice

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From Google.ca:

News search Results : "Make Poverty History"
Web Search Results : "Make Poverty History"

News search Results : "G8 Summit, Scotland"
Web Search Results : "G8 Summit, Scotland"

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

SPEaR Bulletin - July 2005 (New Zealand)
Social Policy Evaluation and Research Committee
Contents of this issue of the SPEAR Bulletin:
- Towards 2020 for the social sciences
- Good practice progress
- Datasaving and sharing update
- Coming of Age feedback sought
- Clearinghouse for information on family violence
- Commission’s project to provide families snapshot
- Blue Skies research
- Social science and the challenges of the 21st century
- Chair’s comment
- Longitudinal study of Pasifika families’ health and wellbeing
- Labour market research trends
- Improving evaluative activities
- Linkages research methodology workshop
- People in R&E
- Diary notes
Source:
Social Policy Evaluation and Research Committee
"The Social Policy Evaluation and Research committee or SPEaR, was set up to oversee the Government’s purchase of social policy research to ensure the spending is aligned with the Government’s social policy priorities. (...)Headed by an independent chair, SPEaR has a secretariat based at the Centre for Social Research and Evaluation at the Ministry of Social Development. SPEaR reports to joint ministers (Social Services and Employment; Statistics; and Research, Science and Technology) through the chief executive of MSD"

- 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 and submit your coordinates:
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 include a link back to the home page of Canadian Social Research Links.

Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

More Actual Announcements from Church Bulletins
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For 
those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

Thursday 
night—potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.

Thursday at 
5 p.m. there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All wishing to become 
Little Mothers, please see the minister in his private study.

This being 
Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.

The 
ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind and they may be seen 
in the church basement Friday.

A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening 
in the church hall. Music will follow.

Weight Watchers will meet at 7:00 
p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side 
entrance.

The associate minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign 
slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge—Up Yours."

We need volunteers 
for summer camp. There will be sinning and dancing.

The rosebud on the 
altar this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. 
and Mrs. Julius Belzer.

Pastor is on vacation. Massages can be given to 
church secretary. 

Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the 
addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

The 
senior choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join 
the choir.

Please join us as we show our support for Amy and Alan in preparing 
for the girth of their first child.

Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles 
and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

Source:
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanfun/