Canadian Social Research Newsletter
January 14, 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 1734 subscribers.
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see some notes and a disclaimer.

Canadian Content

1. Social Assistance Statistical Report: 2005 (Federal-Provincial-Territorial Directors of Income Support) - August 2006
2. A state of constant dread - Poverty Today (The Toronto Star) - January 13
3. A National Showcase on Community Safety, Health and Well-being (Conference - Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police) - March 4-6 (Winnipeg)
4. New year, new homeless funding, new minister (Wellesley Institute) - January 8
5. What's New from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:
--- Canadian Drug Prices and Expenditures: Some statistical observations and policy implications - January 9
--- Timing is Everything: Comparing the earnings of Canada's highest-paid CEOs and the rest of us - January 2
--- Why Are Personal Income Tax Revenues Rising So Fast? - December 18
6. Seven Solutions to Homelessness (The Tyee - alternative news source in British Columbia) - January 9
7. PovNet Winter 2007 update
8. What's New from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto) - January 12

International Content

9. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs
10 CERC Bulletin N°118 (Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris) - January 8
11. What is poverty? Concepts and measures (United Nations Development Programme) - December 2006

Social Assistance Statistical Report: 2005
August 2006 (Second edition)
Report prepared by:
Federal-Provincial-Territorial Directors of Income Support

NOTE: Chapter Two of the report is a five-page descriptive overview of social assistance in Canada in 2005. It provides information about the federal contributions to provincial, territorial and municipal social assistance under the Canada Assistance Plan (1996-1996), the Canada Health and Social transfer (1996-2004) and the Canada Social Transfer (2004 to date).
Other chapters provide, for each province and territory, some general information of eligibility (including asset and income exemption levels) and benefits, as well as an impressive number of statistical tables, graphs and charts providing numbers of cases and beneficiaries (time series statistics going back as far as the mid-1990s, depending on the jurisdiction), profile information (age/education/sex of household head, cases by reason for assistance) and even (for most jurisdictions) the percentage of households reporting income.

Complete report
in one PDF file - (921K, 174 pages)

Link to the first edition of this report:
Social Assistance Statistical Report: 2004

Source:
Social Program Analysis
Strategic Policy - Children and Families
NOTES:
1. this is where I worked before my retirement in 2003 - Gilles
2. yes, I know that the link above takes you to a page called "Social Policy", but the group's name changes more often than its website, and that's where you'll find the social assistance statistical report.
3. be sure to click the link above and peruse the list of reports that are available on this page - the words "Gold Mine" come to mind. The words "Best-Kept Secret" also spring to mind, because the reports on this page tend to just appear here as if by magic, without so much as a peep in the Departmental "What's New" page.
<Argh.>
[ Policy and Strategic Direction Branch ]
[ Human Resources and Social Development Canada ]

- Go to the Key Provincial/Territorial Welfare Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/welfare.htm

A state of constant dread - Poverty Today
By David Olive
January 13, 2007
In 2007, hidden in plain sight, one in six Canadians lives in poverty.
With this report on the working poor, the Star begins a long-term series aimed at shedding light on poverty and finding ways to ease the pain.+
Source:
The Toronto Star

Related Link:
(this is attached to the Star article above)

The Poverty Equation (PDF file - 525K, 1 page)
- incl. a graphic showing the percentage of people earning minimum wage in 12 countries --- highest (15.6%) is France, Canada is about halfway (4.5%) and the U.S. is tied at second-lowest (1.4%) with Britain; also shows the average annual welfare benefits in 2005 by province/territory for a couple with two kids, along with the change in welfare amounts (in %) since 1989

More on poverty from The Star:

Tackling poverty benefits all society
National Impact: Part of an ongoing series about the plight of our neediest and possible reforms.
Editorial
January 13, 2007
As Canadians, we like to think we live in a just society, one that gives fair treatment and opportunity to individuals and groups and a rightful share of our common wealth. But how just and inclusive is a society where children go hungry, some working people cannot earn a living wage, and the homeless crowd into shelters because they cannot afford a place to live? Is it just that single mothers must live on social assistance payments that are below subsistence levels with no access to affordable daycare? Or that a disabled person who cannot work receives even less? Or that working people lose their jobs and cannot collect Employment Insurance? A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. But in Canada, after more than a decade of economic prosperity, the gap between the richest and poorest grows ever wider. It has become a national shame. That is why the Star is running a series of editorials, news reports and feature articles on poverty and what can be done to address it.

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

Strengthening Canadian Communities:
A National Showcase on Community Safety, Health and Well-being (PDF file - 74K, 1 page)
Hosted by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police
March 4-6, 2007
Winnipeg
“Strengthening Canadian Communities will offer participants an opportunity to learn more about how crime prevention through sustainable social development promotes safe, healthy communities. The Showcase will not only demonstrate community projects, but also take a more strategic view of crime prevention through sustainable social development. (...) Police services, governments at all levels, national non-governmental organizations, community
representatives and the private sector will be represented at the Showcase, and the ample time allowed for discussion and information-sharing will help to forge new links among these sectors.

Register Online
NOTE: If you're with the RCMP, your network firewall will prevent you from accessing this online registration link.
If this is the case, just download the Fax Back Form, complete it and fax it to Erin Brennan at (613) 233-6960
The cost of registration is $325 plus taxes, and it includes breakfasts, lunches and conference dinner.

NOTE: Some of the best practices in community crime prevention in the country will be highlighted at this conference. Some of these best practices include early childhood education, community support for young parents and good community planning.

Source:
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP)

Related Links:

Coalition on Community Safety, Health and Well-being
In 2004, the CACP sought funding under the Crime Prevention Partnership Program of the National Crime Prevention Strategy to develop a coalition of national organizations not traditionally involved in community safety to promote the concept of crime prevention through social development. This objective was supported formally by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Canadian Association of Police Boards, and the Canadian Professional Police Association and informally by the Canadian Council on Social Development and Family Service Canada.

Current Members of the Coalition:
Canadian Teachers’ Federation
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
National Children’s Alliance
Family Service Canada
Canadian Public Health Association
Canadian Council on Social Development
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police
Canadian Association of Police Boards
Canadian Professional Police Association

Crime Prevention Partnership Program
(part of the National Crime Prevention Strategy)

Crime Prevention website (a subsite of the Canadian Council on Social Development)
- incl. links to : About Crime Prevention * Social Challenges * Social Interventions * Front Lines * Policies * Crime Prevention Bulletins * Contact Us * Get Involved * Links

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

Wellesley Institute backgrounder:
New year, new homeless funding, new minister (PDF file - 52K, 4 pages)
Time for a comprehensive, fully-funded strategy
January 8, 2007
It’s a new year and a new housing and homelessness minister for Canada! The Hon. Monte Solberg, MP for Medicine Hat, Alberta, is usually described as “affable” (he was a broadcaster before entering politics), which is a pleasant quality in any cabinet minister. But Canada, alone among the major countries in the world, has no national housing program. And, even with an emerging patchwork of funding in recent years, housing funding is lower in 2006 than in 1993.
Source:
The Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]

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

Latest Reports & Studies from the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:

Canadian Drug Prices and Expenditures:
Some statistical observations and policy implications
by Joel Lexchin
January 9, 2007
"Aggressive measures needed to control drug spending"

Timing is Everything:
Comparing the earnings of Canada's highest-paid CEOs and the rest of us
by Hugh Mackenzie
January 2, 2007
"By 12:13 pm on New Year's Day, while many Canadians were still nursing a hangover, Canada"s 100 highest paid CEOs had already pocketed what will take minimum wage workers the rest of 2007 to earn."

Why Are Personal Income Tax Revenues Rising So Fast?
by Andrew Jackson
December 18, 2006

More CCPA Reports and Studies

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

Seven Solutions to Homelessness
Each is working somewhere else, and will save money and lives here
January, 9 2007
Idea One: Trade Fairs for the Homeless
Idea Two: Raise the Welfare Rates
Idea Three: Train Young Workers
Idea Four: Spread the Love Around
Idea Five: Buy a Few Hotels
Idea Six: Give Addicts Time to Heal
Idea Seven: Bring Governments Together
- includes links to six more related articles that appeared in the Tyee during 2006 (scroll down to the bottom of the "Seven Solutions" article)

Source:
The Tyee (independent alternative daily newspaper in BC)

Also in The Tyee:

BC Blogs
- links to 289 BC-based blogs (yeah, as a matter of fact, I did count them.) organized under the following categories
* Activism * Arts & Culture * Beyond B.C. * Commerce & Law * Environment & Ecology * Health & Lifestyle * Politics: Commentary * Regional * Tech & Media * Travel & Global Culture * Video Blogs & Podcasts
TIP: set some time aside to explore these blogs at a more leisurely pace --- this list is broader in scope than social programs so you'll find some surprise "pundit nuggets", like Norman's Spectator: Norm Spector's own blog, and you'll also find links to some totally irrelevant but quite interesting blogs like Purl this!: Life, knitting, and other ramblings from the Okanagan, and many more...

Is Child Poverty Up or Down?
January 2007
"The Tyee has an interesting article, Child Poverty is Down. No, it's Up, about two reports issued in the last couple months about child poverty. One report issued by the Fraser Institute claims that less than six per cent of Canadian children live in poverty; the other report issued by Campaign 2000 said the poverty rate for Canadian children was more than three times that, over 17 per cent. The Fraser Institute and Campaign 2000 define poverty very differently. The Fraser Institute includes the cost of only subsistence levels of food, clothing, housing and a few other necessities, while Campaign 2000 uses Stats Canada low income cutoffs below which families would find themselves living in 'straitened circumstances.'"
Source of this commentary
and these links:
PovNet

- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (A-C) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk2.htm
- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (C-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk3.htm

PovNet Winter 2007 update!
Here's just *some* of the new content that you'll find on the PovNet website home page:
* Is Child Poverty Up or Down? [see above]
* Poverty is a Medical Condition (Ontario)
* (Un)Civil City
* Poverty and Environmental Racism in Nova Scotia
* Hunger Count 2006
* Raising the Rates in BC
* The Annual New Year's Poor Peoples' Levee Tour
* Toronto Marks 500th Homeless Death
* Women's Occupation Results in Emergency Shelter
* Women Protesting Cuts on the Web
* Ottawa not Supporting the Rights of First Nations
* Six Nations Reclamation posted November 2006
* UN Adopts Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
* Call for BC Government to Respect Court Ruling on Youth with Disabilities
* The Pluses and Minuses of Refugee and Immigration Policy in 2006
* much more...

Source:
PovNet
"PovNet is for advocates, people on welfare, and community groups and individuals involved in anti-poverty work. It provides up-to-date information about welfare and housing laws and resources in British Columbia, Canada. PovNet links to current anti-poverty issues and also provides links to other anti-poverty organizations and resources in Canada and internationally."
- incl. links to : News - Issues - Advocacy - Find an Advocate - Regional - About us - Links

Links : large collection, organized under the following categories : Advocacy - Anti-poverty - Community Organizing/Activism - Disability - First Nations/Aboriginal - Government - Homelessness/Housing - Human Rights - Immigrants & Refugees - International - Seniors - Women - Workers' Rights - Youth

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

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

12-Jan-07

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

MAKING SPACE FOR CHILD CARE: GETTING GOOD CHILD CARE POLICY BACK ON THE AGENDA
Report from Code Blue for Child Care examines problems with the federal government's Child Care Spaces Initiative.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94826
* Note: See Code Blue for Child Care’s updated website
www.buildchildcare.ca for more information.

CANADA: COMPETING TO WIN
Report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance recommends that the federal government "should fund a national, accessible, affordable, high-quality, publicly regulated childcare system."
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94825

LETTER TO THE CHILD CARE COMMUNITY
Letter from BC's Minister of State for Child Care "regarding the Province's plan to address the cancellation of the Federal Early Learning and Child Care Agreement."
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94824

B.C. GOVERNMENT BACKTRACKS ON COMMITMENT TO CHILD CARE
Press release from the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union responds to provincial government's child care announcement.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94823

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

Child care cuts hurt B.C.'s future [CA-BC]
Victoria Times-Colonist, 12 Jan 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94820

Women held back from working [AU]
The Australian, 12 Jan 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94816

NT families 'struggling over childcare' [AU]
Sydney Morning Herald, 12 Jan 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94815

B.C. parents to pay more for daycare [CA-BC]
Peace Arch News, 10 Jan 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94817

The National's report on the federal Child Care Spaces Initiative [CA]
CBC-TV, 10 Jan 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94822

Conservatives slammed over lack of daycare spaces [CA]
CBC News, 9 Jan 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94821

Child care advocates decry cuts [CA-BC]
Vancouver Sun, 6 Jan 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=94819

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

New 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 N°118
January 8, 2007
This semi-monthly research bulletin recapitulates CERC's documentary researches on Internet during the past two weeks. The selected articles deal with the issues the CERC is currently researching. Below, you'll find a selection of links to content from the most recent issue of the bulletin; to see the whole list along with the links to the studies themselves, click on the CERC Bulletin link above. At the bottom of this section, I've included a link to the subscription page in case you wish to get on the mailing list yourself...

. The best and worst state economies for women (PDF file - 1.05MB, 28 pages) H. Hartmann and alii, Institute for Women's Policy Research, Washington, Briefing paper, n° R334, December (2006).
Geographical area : United States

. Who are America's poor children ? The official story (PDF file - 231K, 4 pages) S. Fass and N. K. Cauthe, National Center for Children in Poverty, New York, December (2006).
Geographical area : United States

. Transition from work to retirement in EU25 (PDF file - 243K, 20 pages) A. Zaidi and M. Fuchs, European Centre, Vienna, Policy brief, December (2006).
Geographical area : Europe

. Tax credits, the minimum wage and inflation (PDF file - 220K, 10 pages) E. Maag, The Urban Institute, Washington, Policy brief, tax policy, issues and options, n° 17, January (2007).
Geographical area : United States

. The minimum wage and labour market flexibility (PDF file - 250K, 4 pages) N. Elgrably, Institut Economique de Montréal, IEDM, Montréal, Les notes économiques, décembre (2006).
Geographical area : Canada

Subscribe - To be informed of CERC activities and to receive the bulletin
Links to all CERC Bulletins

Related Links:

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

Online Information Service
Information and online resources organized under five themes: poverty, social minima, in-work benefits, minimum wage and return-to-work programmes. The last theme was just recently added to the list, so you should explore that one first. However, as you click through the myriad reports and studies on that topic as well as links to online resources for France and for the rest of the world, I'm sure you'll want to check out the remaining themes. Includes links and resources for Canada...

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

What is poverty? Concepts and measures (PDF file - 351K, 24 pages)
December 2006
In this issue of IPC’s journal Poverty in Focus we present ten articles intended to throw light on the question of how best to define and measure poverty.

Poverty in Focus - links to nine earlier editions of this journal, going back to January 2004

Source:
International Poverty Centre
The International Poverty Centre (IPC) is a joint project between the United Nations Development Programme and the Brazilian Government to promote South-South Cooperation on applied poverty research.
[ United Nations Development Programme ]

- Go to the Poverty Measures - Canadian Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty.htm
- Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm

Disclaimer/Privacy Statement

Both Canadian Social Research Links (the site) and this Canadian Social Research Newsletter belong solely to me, Gilles Séguin.

I am solely accountable for the choice of links presented therein and for the occasional editorial comment - it's my time, my home computer, my experience, my biases, my Rogers Internet account and my web hosting service.

I administer the mailing list and distribute the weekly newsletter using software on the web server of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Thanks, CUPE!

If you wish to subscribe to the e-mail version of newsletter, go to the Canadian Social Research Newsletter Online Subscription page:
http://lists.cupe.ca/mailman/listinfo/csrl-news

You can unsubscribe by going to the same page or by sending me an e-mail message [ gilseg@rogers.com ]

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

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