Canadian Social Research Newsletter
May 15, 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 1351 subscribers.
[For anyone who's keeping track, this number goes down in the spring after university students sign off for the summer...]

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

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IN THIS ISSUE:

New Era of Accessibility Begins in Ontario
Legislature Approves New Accessibility Law
News Release
May 10, 2005
QUEEN'S PARK — The Ontario legislature today passed a historic law that will make Ontario a world leader in breaking down barriers for people with disabilities. 'This landmark legislation marks the start of a new era of accessibility in Ontario,' said Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Dr. Marie Bountrogianni. 'The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act will create an accessible, inclusive society where every Ontarian has the opportunity to work, play, learn and otherwise participate to their full potential.'"

Bill 118, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005
- incl. links to the First and Second Reading copies and dates for each stage of the legislative process
Direct link to the Second Reading copy (HTML) - this looks like the definitive version

Highlights of Bill 118

Related Sites
* Children and Students * Community Living * Disability Organizations and Information * Employment * Health * Independent Living * Legal Resources * Mental Health and Addiction * Seniors * Travel * Women

Source:
Accessibility Ontario
[Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration]

Google.ca News Search Results : "Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act"
Google.ca Web Search Results : "Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act"
Source:
Google.ca

Related Link:

Gateway News - Paths to Equal Opportunity (Govt. of Ontario)
Online Newsletter (monthly)
Content of the May 2005 issue:
* New Era of Accessibility Begins in Ontario. Legislature Approves New Accessibility Law
* Highlights of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005
* Paths to Equal Opportunity
Newsletter Archive - back to November 2001
Source:
Paths to Equal Opportunity
[Accessibility Ontario]
[Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration]

- Go to the Disability Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/disbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Ontario Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk.htm

New from Canadian Policy Research Networks:

Work/Life Balance: The Regional Perspective (PDF file - 82K, 3 pages)
April 29, 2005
"...conflicts between the demands of the workplace and those of the family loom large when it comes to job satisfaction. In fact, work/life conflict has increased in the past decade. Today, a significant proportion of our workforce, both professional and non-professional, has trouble balancing the roles of employee, spouse, parent and caregiver to ageing relatives. This matters, because the resultant stress undermines health, productivity and a number of other factors that affect our quality of life and economic competitiveness. Does work/life balance vary from one region of the country to another? The answer is yes, in a number of important respects.

Work- Life Balance by Region in Canada

Quality Employment Indicators - April 2005
"The first indicators deal with: Flexibility in the workplace · Management support · Organizational culture.
Future indicators will cover the following: · Work/life conflict,· Family outcomes, · Organizational outcomes, and · Employee well-being."
Source:
www.jobquality.ca (CPRN)

- Go to the Work-Life Balance Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/work_life_balance.htm

Decades of Stagnation: Low-paid Work in Canada (PDF file - 94K, 2 pages)
News Release
May 6, 2005
"Canada’s economy has persisted in paying poverty level wages to one in every six full-time workers for more than twenty years. This, despite an increase of some 43% in Canada’s standard of living over the same period. 'Low wages play a bigger role in our economy than they do in many other industrialized countries,' says Ron Saunders, author of a new study from CPRN. In Does a Rising Tide Lift All Boats? Low-paid Workers in Canada, Saunders, Director of CPRN’s Work Network, profiles those who work full-time for less than $10 an hour (full-time students excluded), and assesses their ability to improve their situation."

Complete report:

Does a Rising Tide Lift All Boats?
Low-paid Workers in Canada (PDF file - 1.6MB, 51 pages)

Source:
Work Network ===> see the Work Network Publications page!
[ Canadian Policy Research Networks ]

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

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

May 12, 2005
Family income, 2003
After five consecutive years of strong growth, average after-tax income reached a plateau for almost every type of family in Canada. After-tax family income remained virtually unchanged for the second year in a row in 2003. (...)
NOTE:
"Every few years, estimates produced by the combined program of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) and the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) undergo a revision. This year's revision is the result of three modifications. First, all estimates back to 1990 are adjusted to population projections based on the 2001 Census population counts. Next, starting with 1990 estimates, wages and salaries are benchmarked to the distribution of wages and salaries derived from the T4 statement of remuneration paid file. Finally, the 1992-base low-income cutoffs (LICOs) themselves have been revised, resulting from a revision of the 1992 Family Expenditure Survey. SLID and SCF estimates were revised from 1980. Along with the two changes described above, this has an impact on levels of low-income statistics.
For more information see the 2003 Historical revision page on our Web site."

Related Links:

Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID)
Related SLID Links - incl. information for SLID respondents, SLID products and services and technical information (methodology, data dictionary, questionnaires, technical and analytical papers, list of SLID research papers.

May 2005
Income in Canada 2003 (PDF file - 1MB, 183 pages)
May 5, 2005
Income of individuals, 2003
April 29, 2005
Study: Income inequality and working-age mortality

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

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May 11, 2005
Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, 2003
The challenge to improve literacy performance among Canadians is far from over, according to the first round of a major new survey. As in 1994, a significant number of Canadian adults have low-level literacy skills which may have an impact on their participation in the economy and in society.

Related Links:

Learning a Living: First Results of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (incl. link to the full report in PDF)
- Organization of the report - links to individual chapters of the report

Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL) - "a large-scale, comparative survey that seeks to profile the skills of adults in multiple countries through direct assessment in households"

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

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May 9, 2005
National Population Health Survey: Healthy aging, 1994/95 to 2002/03
Canadians maintaining healthy behaviours are more likely to stay in good health, according to a new study. The study suggests that unhealthy habits may not have an immediate impact on the middle-aged adults but they tend to catch up to seniors as life goes on.
Related Link:
Healthy Aging: Healthy today, healthy tomorrow?
Findings from the National Population Health Survey
May 2005
By Laurent Martel, Alain Bélanger, Jean-Marie Berthelot and Yves Carrière
HTML version
PDF version (143K, 10 pages)

- Go to the Health Links (Canada/International) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/health.htm
- Go to the Seniors (Social Research) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/seniors.htm

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May 6, 2005
Labour Force Survey, April 2005
Employment increased by an estimated 29,000 in April following modest job growth over the previous five months. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 6.8%, the lowest since December 2000.

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

2004 Poverty Lines
May 5, 2005
"The LICOs are published by Statistics Canada. Persons and families living below these income levels are considered to be living in "straitened circumstances." There are 35 different LICOs, varying according to family size and size of community. The LICOs are more popularly known as Canada's poverty lines."
Source:
Canadian Council on Social Development

Related Link:

"On poverty and low income" - by Ivan Fellegi (1997)
The Chief Statistician of Canada explains why his agency's low income cut-offs should not be used as the "official" poverty line.

- Go to the Poverty Measures Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty.htm
- Go to the Social Statistics Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/stats.htm

Losing Ground: The Effects of Government Cutbacks
on Women in British Columbia, 2001 – 2005 (PDF file - 257K, 35 pages)
March 8, 2005
By Gillian Creese & Veronica Strong-Boag
"The Liberal record in office in British Columbia over the last four years has been dismal for women, especially for those who are Aboriginal, women of colour, immigrants and refugees, with disabilities, lesbian, single mothers, poor and/or elderly. On every policy front examined in this report – caring work, health, welfare, education and training, employment, access to justice, and women’s advocacy – legislation and policies enacted by the Liberals have tossed equality and justice overboard."
Report prepared for :
BC Coalition of Women's Centres
Centre for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations
[ University of British Columbia ]
BC Federation of Labour

Related Links:

The Feminist Dozen:
Thirteen Essential Provincial Election Issues for Women Voters
Source:
BC Coalition of Women's Centres

British Columbia Moves Backwards on Women’s Equality (PDF file - 174K, 40 pages)
Submission of the B.C. CEDAW Group to the United Nations Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
on the occasion of the Committee’s review of Canada’s 5th Report
January 23, 2003

Factsheet : CEDAW
- by the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) [français]

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
- includes links to over a dozen official Canadian and U.N. CEDAW documents online
Source:
Canadian Heritage

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
- from Status of Women Canada

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

Ontario Budget 2005-2006
May 11, 2005

2005 Budget Invests in People — Strengthens Ontario's Economy
May 11, 2005
News Release

2005 Budget Highlights

Ontario budget moves forward on housing and education – but little else for low income families
News alert
May 12, 2005
"The 2005 Ontario budget contains few measures that will make a difference in the lives of the approximately 373,000 Ontario children living below the poverty line. Children’s advocates were pleased to see new provincial funding for post secondary education and housing, but disappointed with the lack of progress on ending the clawback and ensuring adequate social assistance benefits."
Source:
Ontario Campaign 2000

Google.ca News Search Results : "Ontario Budget 2005"
Google.ca Web Search Results : "Ontario Budget 2005"
Source:
Google.ca

- Go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm
- Go to the Ontario Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk.htm

Citizens With Disabilities - Ontario
"Citizens With Disabilities-Ontario (CWD-O) is dedicated to the full participation of all persons in the social, economic and political life of their communities. It actively supports and promotes the rights, freedoms and responsibilities of individuals to determine their own destinies. Key areas of activities are community development, social action, social development, referral, and member services. Its primary activity is to advocate on behalf of persons with disabilities and promote their personal participation in changing social and physical barriers that allow for full participation in the mainstream of society."
CWD-O will adopt the policies, activities and goals of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD).

Related Link:

Council of Canadians with Disabilities

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (A-C) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk2.htm

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

13-May-05

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WHAT’S
NEW ONLINE
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>> Moving forward on early learning and child care: Agreement-in-principle between the government of Canada and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Agreement between the federal government and Newfoundland and Labrador “supports the development of quality ELCC for young children and their families”.

>> Pre-school in transition: A national evaluation of the Swedish pre-school
Report from the Swedish National Agency for Education is the first evaluation of Swedish preschool since the 1998 reforms and introduction of a national preschool curriculum.

>> Who’s teaching our youngest students? Teacher education and training, experience, compensation and benefits, and assistant teachers
Report from the National Institute for Early Education’s National Prekindergarten Study (US) finds seven out of ten teachers in state-funded prekindergartens earn salaries in the low-income category.

>> Gender-based analysis: Building blocks for success
Report of the Standing Committee on Status of Women discusses GBA as a tool to ensure that "federal government programs and policies do not maintain or exacerbate any equality gap".

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CHILD CARE
IN THE NEWS
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>> Day-care deal done, but ...[CA-NS]
Halifax Daily News, 13 May 2005
Nova Scotia’s Cabinet has signed off on a multi-million dollar federal child-care deal that could double the number of affordable day-care spaces in the province. But with the Paul Martin government on the brink, the chances of ever seeing that money are growing increasingly dim.

>> Caring more for children in child care [AU]
The Age, 13 May 05
The Australian government's policy of paying child care subsidies to parents rather than direct subsidies to community child care centres has seen a huge rise in privately run facilities and concerns that the quality of care is being sacrificed in those centres that exist to make a profit.

>> Why Harper's child care plan won't work [CA]
Toronto Star, 13 May 2005
The Conservative party has never found it easy to come up with a policy on child care. They know what they don't like - regulated, institutional not-for-profit child-care services - more than what they like. That's why the rumoured new Conservative policy plank on child care is likely to be so confused, facing all directions at once.

>> Child care cash linked to nuclear reactor deal [CA-NB]
Toronto Star, 13 May 2005
New Brunswick's Conservative government is refusing to sign on to Ottawa's child care scheme until the federal Liberals meet their demand for $400 million to help refurbish the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant, federal officials said yesterday. The tactic - which smacks of a pre-election snub - has child care advocates outraged.

>> Province counting on federal money to improve child care [CA-ON]
National Post, 12 May 05
The Ontario government will rely on federal funding to extend child care to more families and younger children across the province, linking the sector to the political fortunes of Prime Minister Paul Martin's embattled government.

>> Rewards in child care [AU]
Sydney Morning Herald, 7 May 05
Sydney's investors are learning to diversify and seek out the best properties offering solid investment yields, often in emerging sectors such as child care.

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NEW PERIODICAL IN CRRU’S
PRINT COLLECTION
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CRRU recently began subscribing to Children in Europe, a joint publication by a network of magazines from eight countries in Europe. Its main aim is to enable the exchange of ideas, practice and information, focusing in particular on services for young children. The English editions are edited by Peter Moss and published by Children in Scotland (the national agency for those working with children, young people and their families in Scotland). This periodical is proving to be an engaging and informative resource. Issues produced to date have focused on such topics as:

- Making space: Architecture and design for young children
- Europe’s role in children’s services: Should we share common values in our search for quality?
- Individual and cultural diversity – a positive value
- Parents’ participation in services for young children
- Services at school and out of school
- Early years services - understanding and diversifying the workforce

Print copies of Children in Europe are available for reference from the CRRU’s resource room.
To subscribe to Children in Europe go to: http://www.childreninscotland.org.uk/html/pub_ciem.htm

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

More Important CRRU Links

What's New? - Links to 100+ Canadian, U.S. and international resources from Jan 2000 to the present.
Child Care in the News - 200+ media articles from January 2000 to the present
ISSUE files - links to 20+ theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info
Links to child care sites in Canada and elsewhere
CRRU Publications - links to ~60 briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications

Also from CRRU:

Current developments in Early Childhood Education and Care: Provinces and territories
Regularly updated
"This resource is a collection of useful online readings about current early childhood education and care policy and program delivery issues in each province and territory. Within each jurisdiction, information is organized into three sections: news articles, online documents and useful websites."

- 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 a one-day sample of the subjects covered in the Poverty Dispatch Digest:

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 ]

POVERTY DISPATCH description/archive - weekly issues back to July 2004 , avg. 100+ links per issue before December 2004!
NOTE: this archive is part of the Canadian Social Research Links American Non-Governmental Social Research page.

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

- May 5, 2005
- April 28
- April 21
- April 14
- April 7

- 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

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

Do you fly? 
Do you listen to the safety spiel? 
Or do you talk to your traveling companion, read the in-flight magazine or listen to your Walkman?
Occasionally, airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight safety lecture a bit more entertaining in an attempt to get your attention.
On a few recent flights I was entertained by patters much like these. So, when I received these examples reported as "real", I was inclined to believe them. And, if they aren't real, they should be.

**********
As we prepare for take off, please return your tray tables and seat backs into their full upright and most uncomfortable position.

There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only four ways out of this airplane.

Your seat cushions can be used for floatation, and in the event of an emergency water landing, please take them with our compliments.

We do feature a smoking section on this flight.  If you must smoke, contact a member of the flight crew and we will escort you to the wing of the airplane.

Smoking in the lavatories is prohibited.  Any person caught smoking in the lavatories will be asked to leave the plane immediately.

Well, folks, we have reached our cruising altitude now, so I am going to switch the seat belt sign off.  Feel free to move about as you wish, but please stay inside the plane till we land.  It's a bit cold outside, and if you walk on the wings it affects the flight pattern.

Thank you for flying with us.  We hope you have enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride.

If you enjoyed your flight, my name is Cameron and this is Delta Airlines. If you didn't, my name is Julie and this is American.

Source:
James S. Huggins' Refrigerator Door
http://www.jamesshuggins.com/