Canadian Social Research Newsletter
September 12*, 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 1456 subscribers.

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

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Analysis of Social Safety Net Reveals Major Gaps,
Says Task Force of Civic Leaders (PDF file - 119K, 8 pages)
Press Release
September 8, 2005
"TORONTO – A new report prepared by TD Economics on behalf of the Task Force for Modernizing Income Security for Working Age Adults (MISWAA) highlights the need for broad-based income security reform in Canada. The MISWAA Task Force, of which TD Bank Financial Group is a member, was launched last year by the Toronto City Summit Alliance (TCSA) and Toronto’s St. Christopher House to identify failings in the present income security system and recommend a road map for change. The Task Force is composed of leaders from the business, academic, government and non-profit sectors, including those with first-hand experience dealing with income security issues."

Executive Summary (HTML)

Complete report:
From Welfare to Work in Ontario: Still the Road Less Travelled (PDF file - 467K, 54 pages)
"Ontario Works and other provincial/territorial welfare systems have been turned into "providers of first resort" for too many people and too many things - for a path into work, for more income when work doesn't pay enough, for sundry health benefits, and for child care. And, not surprisingly, welfare programs have responded to this surfeit of demands on their systems by raising entry barriers, with the result that a growing number of low-income adults are at risk of falling through the cracks." [Excerpt, page 33]

Source:
TD Economics

Related Links:

Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working Age Adults ("MISWAA")
- incl. links to : In the News · Press Releases · Task Force and Working Group Members · Contact Us · Reports · Frequently Asked Questions

Toronto City Summit Alliance
"The Toronto City Summit Alliance is a coalition of civic leaders in the Toronto region. The Alliance was formed to address challenges to the future of Toronto such as expanding knowledge-based industry, poor economic integration of immigrants, decaying infrastructure, and affordable housing."

St. Christopher House
“St. Chris has 92 years of experience working with diverse individuals, families and groups. We provide support to people of all ages, including immigrants and people who are lower-income. We are not a religious organization in any way. St. Christopher House is strongly committed to community development in all aspects of our work.”

Now, even a bank slams workfare
TD report pokes holes in welfare and EI policies, offers new blueprint for safety net
Thomas Walkom
National Affairs Writer
The Toronto Star
September 9
"The worm turns. Old ideas gain currency again. Now, even hard-headed business people are beginning to realize that taking a sledgehammer to the welfare state was a bad, bad idea. The latest evidence is a remarkable paper released yesterday on how Canadian governments should deal with welfare, poverty and unemployment. (...) What is remarkable is the report's provenance. It was written by the TD Bank Financial Group, a big, rich bank. And it appears destined to form the basis of recommendations that a joint panel of business, labour and anti-poverty activists is to present to federal and provincial governments next month."
Source:
The Toronto Star
NOTE: the Toronto Star requires visitors to register their e-mail address (for free) to access the full text of articles like this one.
I know that many people refuse on principle to give out their e-mail address (to prevent their name from ending up on a spam list), but I still recommend registering for this type of web account --- the advantages far outweigh the hassles. Just be careful where you register, eh...

On a personal note...
I find it SO refreshing to see this kind of information produced by a financial institution --- makes me feel that there's some hope for us yet!

Thanks, TD Economics!

- Go to the Ontario Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk3.htm

"Off Welfare … Now What?": A Literature Review on the Impact of Provincial Welfare to
Work Training Programs in Saskatchewan (PDF file - 449K, 37 pages)
by Carmen Dyck
October 2004
Community-University Institute for Social Research
University of Saskatchewan
"This research project seeks to understand the effects of Saskatchewan's government job training programs, such as Jobs First, not only on poverty in Saskatchewan, but also on participants in these programs. The provincial government claims that job training programs have decreased the number of people living on social assistance, and while this may be true, it does not capture the realities of people who have been moved from assistance into job training programs or minimum wage full time jobs, neither of which provide an adequate sustainable income. This report gathers and evaluates the literature on welfare to work programs for both Saskatchewan and Canada. It seeks to understand the difficulty of living on assistance rates, regardless of whether they are called training benefits, transitional employment allowances, or supplementary employment benefits, as well as the reality of living on minimum wage, the differences for people in rural areas, and the disparities of these programs for women and men."

Source:
Publications ===>links to over three dozen reports in CUISR's three focused research modules:
1. Community Health Determinants and Health Policy
2. Community Economic Development, and
3. Quality of Life Indicators.
[ Community-University Institute for Social Research ]
- incl. links to : About CUISR - Research Modules - Research Series - Publications - Resource Library - Other Resources - Conferences & Seminars - Funding & Training - Employment - Search - Contact Us
[ University of Saskatchewan ]

- Go to the Saskatchewan Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/skbkmrk.htm

Gender Equality Consultation
"From September to October 21, 2005, Status of Women Canada is consulting Canadians of all ages, with the goal of developing future directions on gender equality. Please share your views with us."

Click the link above to access a questionnaire asking for your views on specific aspects of gender equality - you have until October 21 to return the completed questionnaire. The consultation website also includes links to the following related resources:

* Information on international commitments and government action
Beijing +10 fact sheets

* A statistical trends and patterns background paper
HTML (Web page)
PDF (11 pages, 113 KB)

* A background paper on poverty by Monica Townson
HTML (Web page)
PDF (11 pages, 89 KB)

* A background paper on Aboriginal women
HTML (Web page)
PDF (8 pages, 53 KB)

Source:
Status of Women Canada

Selected recent publications from SWC:

* Rural Women's Experiences of Maternity Care: Implications for Policy and Practice
(Information posted September 9, 2005)

* Public Policy and the Participation of Rural Nova Scotia Women in the New Economy
(Information posted September 8, 2005)

* Increasing Gender Inputs into Canadian International Trade Policy Positions at the WTO
(Information posted August 25, 2005)

* Gender-based Analysis / Gender Mainstreaming Annotated Bibliography
(Information posted July 25, 2005)

* Results-Based Status Report on Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act 2004-2005
(Information posted July 11, 2005)

- Go to the Canadian Government Sites about Women's Social Issues page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/women.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 Daily [Statistics Canada]:

September 9, 2005
Labour Force Survey, August 2005
Employment increased by 28,000 in August, the result of gains in full-time work. This brings the increase in employment over the past 12 months to 234,000 (+1.5%). The unemployment rate remained unchanged from July at 6.8%.

September 9, 2005
Labour productivity, hourly compensation and unit labour cost, second quarter 2005
Labour productivity in Canada's business sector was stagnant for the second consecutive quarter between April and June, extending a lethargic pace that began in 2003. South of the border, productivity growth in the American business sector was virtually flat, the first time this has occurred since the fourth quarter 2003.

NOTE: Although I scan StatCan's The Daily on a regular basis, I don't necessarily capture everything relating to social programs. For example, on September 9, Statistics Canada's The Daily featured two more items that appeared interesting for social researchers at first glance : Pension plans in Canada, January 1, 1974 to January 1, 2004 and Longitudinal Employment Analysis Program, 1991 to 2003. It turns out that the pension plans item is an announcement that "for the first time", historical data on pension plans in Canada are available, going back to January 1974 - but those data are only available to users of CAN$IM. The second item, about the Longitudinal Employment Analysis Program (LEAP), is an announcement that the 2003 LEAP file is now available and that a publication entitled Business Dynamics in Canada ($25) is based on LEAP data. My policy is to try to stick with info that's free, so I don't generally link to such reports on my site. If you wish to see *everything* that StatCan releases, just set some time aside every day or two to visit The Daily for yourself:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/dai-quo/index.htm
...or check out The Daily Archives:
http://www.statcan.ca/cgi-bin/DAILY/daily.cgi?s=last

September 7, 2005
Community Corrections
Nearly 369,000 adults were admitted to federal or provincial-territorial correctional services in 2002/03, of which 30% were admitted to community supervision. At the same time, there were about 50,000 young people aged 12 to 17 years old admitted to provincial or territorial correctional services, with half admitted to probation. (Youth data excludes Ontario 12-to-15 year olds.)
Complete report:
Community Corrections in Canada (PDF file - 972K, 141pages)

September 6, 2005
Study: Chronic unemployment, 1993 to 2001
Two small groups of unemployed people were responsible for a disproportionate share of unemployed weeks between 1993 and 2001. Just 15% of unemployed people accounted for 41% of all unemployment, according to a new study.
Complete report:
Chronic Unemployment:A Statistical Profile (PDF file - 210K, 16 pages)
by Bradley Brooks

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

10th Annual International Metropolis Conference
October 17-21, 2005
Toronto
"Our diverse cities: migration, diversity and change International migration is dramatically changing the world's cities. When urban environments have good policies and programs, everyone benefits including immigrants, refugees and their new host communities.

The 10th International Metropolis Conference, hosted by the City of Toronto, Canada, will feature some of the world's key thinkers who will stimulate debate on:
Ø Increasing diversity's effect on the economic, social, cultural, justice, and political aspects of the world's cities.
Ø The benefits and challenges of diversity.
Ø Are national migration policies consistent with the interests of cities?

Registration fees are $1,010 and include access to 80 plus Plenary Sessions, Conference Centre Based Workshops, Community Based Workshops, and Study Tours in and around the City of Toronto. Also included is an enriched Social Program that features a Welcome Reception at the Hockey Hall of Fame, and a Closing Dinner at the historic Liberty Grand. Special registration rates available are a one-day-only rate of $300, and the full conference for $300 for students, and $400 for non-government organizations."

- for more information on speakers, panelists, and program highlights and descriptions, please visit the official 2005 Metropolis website at the link above.

Source:
Metropolis Canada
Related Link:
City of Toronto

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

9-Sep-05

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WHAT’S NEW
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>> The non-profit advantage: Producing quality in thick and thin child care markets
by Cleveland, Gordon & Krashinsky, Michael
Report from the University of Toronto finds that non-profit child care centres are higher quality than for-profits in situations where there is high demand.

>> Women and poverty
Fact sheet from the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women highlights lack of child care as a contributor to women’s poverty; calls on government to fulfill child care promise.

>> In for the long haul: Women’s organizations in Manitoba
by Grace, Joan
Report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is the first report in a study of women’s organizing and activism in Manitoba -- their ideas, political action strategies and impact.

>> Forging social futures: Canadian Social Welfare Policy Conference proceedings
Full proceedings, daily highlights and links to papers from the Canadian Council on Social Development’s national conference on social policy.

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CHILD CARE IN THE NEWS
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>> Martin to pledge $633 million for child care, learning in B.C. [CA-BC]
Vancouver Sun, Sept. 7, 2005
A $633 million, five-year funding agreement with the B.C. government for early learning and child care programs will be announced Sept. 30 by Prime Minister Paul Martin.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=81444

>> Workers face premium hikes to finance Quebec's parental leave system [CA-QC]
Canadian Press, Sept. 9, 2005
Quebec workers will pay more to finance the province's generous parental leave system, Premier Jean Charest's Liberal government has confirmed.

>> Daycare strike called off [CA-QC]
Montreal Gazette, Sept. 1, 2005
Quebec's unionized child care workers voted yesterday to give talks with the provincial government one last chance. Workers have voted to set aside negotiations for a pay increase to focus solely on pay equity.

>> City workers demand 24-hour daycare [CA-QC]
Montreal Gazette, Sept. 9, 2005
City employees in Montreal, fed up with the struggle to find care for their children during night and weekend shifts, presented a 5,000-signature petition to City Council demanding a 24-hour daycare service.

>> Lifting profit simple as ABC [AU]
Brisbane Courier-Mail, Aug. 30, 2005
Australian child care chain ABC Learning Centres has bumped up its 2006 profit forecast by $10 million on the expectation of further expansion from its merger with two rival child care companies.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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)

September 8, 2005
Today's subjects include: Poverty Statistics - Editorial and Opinion // Hurricane Katrina and Medicaid // Hurricane Vistims, Poverty, and Race // Minimum Wage - Opinion // Food Stamps - Opinion // Social Safety Net - Opinion // Poverty and Jobs - Wisconsin, Indiana // School Choice - Minnesota // Minimum Wage - California

September 6, 2005
Today's subjects include: Hurricane Victims, Poverty, and Race // New Poverty Statistics - Editorials and Opinion // High Poverty Rate - Milwaukee // Jobs, Wages, Benefits, and Poverty - Wisconsin // Poverty and Politics - New York City // Unspent Poverty Funds - Ohio // Wealth Gap - New York City // Working Poor - Ohio and Michigan // Minimum Wage - Connecticut // Medicaid - Wisconsin // Shortfall in Prescription Aid for the Poor - Ohio

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

Human Development Report 2005
International cooperation at a crossroads:
Aid, trade and security in an unequal world
September 7, 2005
"This year’s Human Development Report takes stock of human development, including progress towards the MDGs. Looking beyond statistics, it highlights the human costs of missed targets and broken promises. Extreme inequality between countries and within countries is identified as one of the main barriers to human development—and as a powerful brake on accelerated progress towards the MDGs."

Click on the link above to access both the complete report and the individual chapters, plus all of the related news releases, background papers, charts and graphs and much more.
Table of Contents:
Foreword, Acknowledgements, Contents
Overview: International cooperation at a crossroads: aid, trade and security in an unequal world
Chapter 1: The state of human development
Chapter 2: Inequality and human development
Chapter 3: Aid for the 21st century
Chapter 4: International trade—unlocking the potential for human development
Chapter 5: Violent conflict—bringing the real threat into focus
Notes, Bibliographic note, Bibliography
Human Development Indicators
Technical Notes

HDR 2005 Summary (PDF file - 750K, 40 pages)
Human Development Index (PDF file - 50K, 1 page) - just the list, nothing else (Canada is 5th.)

Source:
Human Development Reports
[ United Nations Development Programme ]

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UN: Millions face death as world fails to meet targets for reducing poverty
"JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - Unless drastic measures are implemented, the world will not meet its targets for reducing poverty and millions of people will die needlessly during the next decade, according to a major UN report released Wednesday. Despite progress globally, many countries are falling behind, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where the HIV/AIDS pandemic is dramatically reducing life expectancy and creating financial and social burdens that slow development."
Source:
CBC News

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Google News search Results : "Human Development Index, 2005"
Google Web Search Results : "Human Development Index, 2005"
Source:
Google.ca

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Millennium Development Goals
"By the year 2015, all 191 United Nations Member States have pledged to meet these goals"-
- Millennium Development Goals: Progress Report, 2004 (PDF file - 3.8MB, 3 pages)

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- Go to the United Nations Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/un.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

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FAMOUS EPITAPHS

On the grave of Ezekiel Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia:
 Here lies
 Ezekiel Aikle
 Age 102
 The Good
 Die Young.

In a London, England cemetery:
 Ann Mann
 Here lies Ann Mann,
 Who lived an old maid
 But died an old Mann.
 Dec. 8, 1767

Playing with names in a Ruidoso, New Mexico, cemetery:
 Here lies
 Johnny Yeast
 Pardon me
 For not rising.

Memory of an accident in a Uniontown, Pennsylvania cemetery:
 Here lies the body
 of Jonathan Blake
 Stepped on the gas
 Instead of the brake.

In a Silver City, Nevada, cemetery:
 Here lays Butch,
 We planted him raw.
 He was quick on the trigger,
 But slow on the draw.

A widow wrote this epitaph in a Vermont cemetery:
 Sacred to the memory of
 my husband John Barnes
 who died January 3, 1803
 His comely young widow, aged 23, has
 many qualifications of a good wife, and
 yearns to be comforted.

A lawyer's epitaph in England:
 Sir John Strange
 Here lies an honest lawyer,
 And that is Strange.

Someone determined to be anonymous in Stowe, Vermont:
 I was somebody.
 Who, is no business
 Of yours.

Lester Moore was a Wells, Fargo Co. station agent for Naco, Arizona in the cowboy days of the 1880's. He's 
buried in the Boot Hill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona:
 Here lies Lester Moore
 Four slugs from a 44
 No Les No More.

In a Georgia cemetery:
 "I told you I was sick!"

John Penny's epitaph in the Wimborne, England, cemetery:
 Reader if cash thou art
 In want of any
 Dig 4 feet deep
 And thou wilt find a Penny.

On Margaret Daniels' grave at Hollywood Cemetery Richmond, Virginia:
 She always said her feet were killing her
 but nobody believed her.

In a cemetery in Hartscombe, England:
 On the 22nd of June
 - Jonathan Fiddle -
 Went out of tune.

Anna Hopewell's grave in Enosburg Falls, Vermont has an epitaph that sounds like something from a Three 
Stooges movie:
 Here lies the body of our Anna
 Done to death by a banana
 It wasn't the fruit that laid her low
 But the skin of the thing that made her go.

More fun with names with Owen Moore in Battersea, London, England:
 Gone away
 Owin' more
 Than he could pay.

On a grave from the 1880's in Nantucket, Massachusetts:
 Under the sod and under the trees
 Lies the body of Jonathan Pease.
 He is not here, there's only the pod:
 Pease shelled out and went to God.

Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York:
 Born 1903--Died 1942
 Looked up the elevator shaft to see if
 the car was on the way down. It was.

In a Thurmont, Maryland cemetery:
 Here lies an Atheist
 All dressed up
 And no place to go.