Canadian Social Research Newsletter
October 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 1816 subscribers.

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

IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian Content

1. British Columbia: Province Expands Homeless Shelters, Housing Supports - October 12
2. Ontario Provincial Election and Referendum : New momentum in poverty battle (The Toronto Star) - October 12
3. Nova Scotia : Government to Hold Poverty Reduction Consultations- October 10
4. British Columbia: Outcomes of those Leaving Assistance (Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance) - February 2007, posted online October/07
5. Canada Revenue Agency launches consultations with small and rural charities - October 9
6. Women and the Canada Social Transfer: Securing the Social Union (Status of Women Canada) - March 2007
7. The Street Health Report 2007 (Street Health - Toronto) - September 2007
8. What's New - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto) - October 12

International Content

9. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs
10. October 11, 2007 - CRINMAIL 923 (Child Rights Information Network - CRIN)

Province Expands Homeless Shelters, Housing Supports
October 12, 2007
On the first anniversary of B.C.’s Housing Matters strategy, Premier Gordon Campbell and Housing Minister Rich Coleman today announced new and expanded measures to help break the cycle of homelessness with an added $41 million. (...) As part of the provincial housing strategy, Housing Matters BC, and building on the work of the Premier’s Task Force on Homelessness, Mental Illness and Addictions, the four new and expanded measures are:
· Increase funding for emergency shelters so they can be open 24 hours a day/seven days a week to provide better services and assistance for those who are homeless;
· Expanding homeless outreach services to 27 new and existing communities to connect homeless people to housing and support services, including a new Aboriginal component;
· Provide 750 rent supplement units to assist the homeless in the private market; and,
· The Province will fund pre-development costs to ensure city-owned sites will be ready for the start of construction of new supportive housing within a year. Pre-development costs include costs for third-party work, such as architectural, geotechnical and environmental plans and studies.
Source:
Government of British Columbia

Related links:

Housing Matters BC
Premier’s Task Force on Homelessness, Mental Illness and Addictions
BC Housing

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

Ontario Election

Ontario Election 2007
Source:
Toronto Star

New momentum in poverty battle
Oct 12, 2007
Carol Goar
They took a leap of faith and they still don't know where they're going to land. But two days after the election, the leaders of Ontario's anti-poverty movement are feeling unusually positive. They have a commitment from Premier Dalton McGuinty to introduce firm poverty reduction targets and a conviction that their voices are finally beginning to count. During the campaign, they resolved to set aside their differences, their shopping lists and their doubts to press for a legislated poverty reduction plan. Today, they have a pledge that one will come.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"Ontario provincial election 2007"
- Web search results page
- News search results page
- Blog Search Results page
Source:
Google.ca

- Go to the Political Parties and Elections Links in Canada (Provinces and Territories) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/politics_prov_terr.htm

Nova Scotia

Government to Hold Poverty Reduction Consultations
October 10, 2007
(starting November 1)
The provincial government will hold a series of consultations this fall designed to get the community's input on how to best tackle poverty in Nova Scotia. The consultations will be part of the government's development of a poverty strategy for Nova Scotia. The initiative will be co-led by the departments of Community Services and Environment and Labour.
Source:
Department of Community Services

- Go to the Nova Scotia Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nsbkmrk.htm

British Columbia:

Outcomes of those Leaving Assistance (PDF file - 64K, 6 pages)
February 2007 (posted on the Ministry website October/07)
"Since the introduction of British Columbia Employment and Assistance (BCEA) in April 2002, the employable income assistance (IA) caseload has declined by 53,850 cases or 70 percent. What makes this decline even more significant is that it followed a 47 percent decline in the employable caseload over the preceding six years, following the introduction of BC Benefits in January 1996."
Source:
Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance

Related link:

Libs employment push fails (BC)
October 10, 2007
"A just-released government report shows the B.C. Liberal’s overhaul of the welfare system in 2002 failed to increase the number of people finding jobs. The six-page report from the ministry of employment and income assistance, “Outcomes of those Leaving Assistance,” uses tax data to track what happened to people who left welfare. About 75 percent of the people who left welfare had filed tax returns. (...) The government needs to take a closer look at how it measures “success,” says Seth Klein, the director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative’s B.C. office. In the past it has taken the reduction in the welfare caseload as a sign more people are working and people are better off. Instead, he says, the government needs to look at whether or not it is reducing poverty."
Source:
Monday Magazine

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

Canada Revenue Agency launches consultations with small and rural charities
News release
October 9, 2007
"Minister of National Revenue Gordon O'Connor today announced a series of consultations with small and rural charities. As the federal charities regulator, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) wants to better understand the unique service needs and compliance challenges of small and rural charities.
(...)
A series of workshops will take place in October 2007 in Toronto, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Kelowna, Trois-Rivières and Moncton. A panel containing six to nine individuals from small and rural charities, chaired by the CRA, will then meet in November 2007 to develop recommendations for the Minister of National Revenue. The panel is expected to deliver its recommendations by the end of December 2007."
Source:
Canada Revenue Agency

- Go to the Voluntary Sector Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/voluntary.htm

Women and the Canada Social Transfer: Securing the Social Union
By Shelagh Day and Gwen Brodsky (from the Poverty and Human Rights Centre in Vancouver)
March 2007
Complete report:
HTML version
PDF version (689 KB, 150 pages)

Executive Summary
Social assistance and civil legal aid are in trouble in Canada. These social programs are vital to the realization of women's rights to equality and security of the person.

Table of contents:
1. Women, Social Programs, Human Rights and National Standards
2. Social Programs and Fiscal Federalism
3. The Fall-out
4. Can Human Rights Mechanisms Fill the Post CAP Vacuum?
5. Federal Government Jurisdiction to Establish and Maintain National Standards
6. Being Accountable for Rights and Money

Source:
Status of Women Canada

Also from Status of Women Canada:

Frequently-Asked Questions About the
Women's Program
- Information posted September 20, 2007

Funding Guidelines - 2007-2008
Information posted June 4, 2007

Information Guide - Women's Partnership Fund - 2007-2008
Information posted June 4, 2007

Earlier Related Policy Research Publications - recommended perusal!

- Go to the Canadian Government Sites about Women's Social Issues page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/women.htm
- Go to the Canada Assistance Plan / Canada Health and Social Transfer / Canada Social Transfer Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/cap.htm

The [Toronto] Street Health Report 2007 (PDF file - 2.4MB, 66 pages)
September 2007
"(...) The Street Health survey was conducted over a three-month period between November 2006 and February 2007. We surveyed a representative sample of 368 homeless adults at meal programs and shelters in downtown Toronto about their health and access to health care."
- includes "an action plan consisting of realistic solutions to immediately improve the health of homeless people and to ultimately end homelessness."
Source:
Street Health (Toronto)
... an innovative, community-based health care organization providing services to address a wide range of physical, mental and emotional needs in those who are homeless, poor and socially marginalized. Support, education and advocacy are key components of our services.

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

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

The Childcare Resource and Research Unit offers a free weekly "e-mail news notifier" service.
Here's the content of the latest issue of this bulletin.

For more information about this service, including subscription information,
see http://www.childcarecanada.org

12-Oct-07

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

CHILDCARE MARKET MANAGEMENT: HOW THE UNITED KINGDOM GOVERNMENT
HAS RESHAPED ITS ROLE IN DEVELOPING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
AND CARE
Article by Helen Penn from Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood examines how "Labour Government has, by intention and by default, supported the development of private sector, and especially corporate sector childcare."
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=110148

A CANADIAN PRIORITIES AGENDA:
POLICY CHOICES TO IMPROVE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING
New book from the Institute for Research on Public Policy sets out a potential policy agenda for Canada in advance of the upcoming Throne Speech.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=110147

CHILDCARE NATION?
PROGRESS ON THE CHILDCARE STRATEGY AND PRIORITIES FOR THE FUTURE
Report from Daycare Trust (UK) describes the government's progress on six key areas: Outcomes for children; Quality and the childcare workforce; The state of childcare provision; Parents’ work patterns; Changes in patterns of childcare use and Childcare costs.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=110150

INVESTING IN QUALITY PRE-K
Presentation by Steve Barnett of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) on the impacts of quality ECEC.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=110151

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

Mixed blessing [GB]
Guardian, 9 Oct 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=110134

CR woman running to point out need for better child care [CA-BC]
Harbour City Star, 6 Oct 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=110140

Full-day class makes sense [CA]
Margaret McCain & Martha Friendly, 6 Oct 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=110141

Child care subsidy drained [CA-ON]
London Free Press, 4 Oct 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=110139

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

Poverty Dispatch (U.S). ===> the content of this link changes twice a week
- links to news items from the American press about poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.

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

This week's issues of Poverty Dispatch:

October 11, 2007
* Working Families, Work Supports, and Safety Nets
* Child Care Subsidies - Rhode Island
* Rural Poverty and School Districts - South Carolina
* Drop in Medicaid Enrollment
* Enrolling Uninsured Children - Maryland
* States and Health Insurance Plans
* Cities and Homeless Policies - New York City, Los Angeles
* Payments to Foster Parents - Louisiana
* Subprime Loans and Low-income Households
* Payday Lending Alternatives - Wisconsin
* Food Stamp Benefits Increase - Oregon
* Minimum Wage Increase - Ohio
* Living Wage Jobs Study - Pacific Northwest
* Success of Poor Students in Public and Private Schools
* Teacher Merit Pay

October 8, 2007
* Child Care Subsidies - Indiana
* Child Poverty - Milwaukee, WI
* Welfare-to-Work Programs - California, Tennessee
* Medicaid Spending Levels
* Medicaid and Children's Dental Coverage
* Homeless Families and Students
* Homeless Initiative - Los Angeles, CA
* Affordable Housing and Federal Housing Assistance
* Poverty Rate of People Displaced by Katrina - New Orleans, LA
* Foster Care System - Oregon
* Minimum Wage Increase - Arizona
* Opinion: Poverty Measurement
* Editorial: Prison Recidivism and Debt
* No Child Left Behind and Achievement Gap

Search Poverty Dispatches

IRP compiles and distributes Poverty Dispatches, links to Web-based news items dealing with poverty, welfare reform, and related topics twice a week. Each Dispatch lists links to current news in popular print media. Persons wishing to receive Poverty Dispatches by e-mail should send a request to rsnell@ssc.wisc.edu.

Past Poverty Dispatches
- links to two dispatches a week back to June 2006

Poverty Dispatch Digest Archive - archive of weekly digests* 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.)

- 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

From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)

11 October 2007 - CRINMAIL 923
- CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: Establishing a complaints mechanism for children's rights [campaign]
- UNITED KINGDOM: Hoodie or Goodie? The link between violent victimisation and offending in young people [publication]
- INDIA: Children still at work, despite ban [news]
- HEALTH: Nutrition Education in Primary Schools [publication]
- SOUTH AFRICA: Attempt to change child rape law [news]
- EMPLOYMENT - DCI Palestine
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
**QUIZ**

Earlier issues of CRINMAIL
- links to 200+ earlier weekly issues, many of which are special editions focusing on special themes, such as the 45th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the launch of the EURONET Website.

Source:
CRINMAIL(incl. subscription info)
[ Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) ]

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

Disclaimer/Privacy Statement

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Privacy Policy:
The Canadian Social Research Newsletter mailing list is not used for any purpose except to distribute each weekly issue.
I promise not share any information on this list, nor to send you any junk mail.

Links presented in the Canadian Social Research Newsletter point to different views about social policy and social programs.
There are some that I don't agree with, so don't get on my case, eh...

To access earlier online HTML issues of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter, go to the Newsletter page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/news.htm

Please feel free to distribute this newsletter as widely as you wish, but please remember to mention Canadian Social Research Links when you do.

Cheers!
Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

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

And in closing:

Top Ten  Reasons Why Procrastination is Bad:
1. You never actually finish anyth

Don't worry...
(video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjnvSQuv-H4

A culturally, ethnically, religiously and politically correct cartoon:
http://www.iranian.com/Satire/Cartoon/2006/March/Images/pc.jpg