Canadian Social Research Newsletter
April 17, 2006

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 1590 subscribers.
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see some notes and a disclaimer.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian Content

1. Federal Budget 2006 Online Pre-Budget Consultation (Department of Finance Canada) - April 6-19
2. Horizons - April 2006 issue : Work and Life Balance (Policy Research Initiative)
3. Accessibility News - Online Disability Newsletter (Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services) - April 2006 issue
4. Disability Research Digest (Society for Manitobans with Disabilities) - April 2006 issue
5. Education Indicators in Canada, 2005 (Statistics Canada) - April 12
6. The Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) and economic, social and cultural rights education
7. Federal Accountability Act introduced (Prime Minister of Canada) - April 11
8. What's New from the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA):
--- Strengthening the Canada Social Transfer: A Call to Account - April 11
--- FAFIA's Position on Child Care - March 2006
9. Registered Education Savings Plans for Food Bank Clients? (Daily Bread Food Bank) April 10
10. Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) Bulletin - March 2006 Issue (National Homelessness Initiative)
11. Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) payment amounts 1998 to 2006 (Canada Revenue Agency)
12. Newfoundland and Labrador Budget 2006 initiatives of the Dept. of Human Resources, Labour and Employment (increased welfare rates) 
and the Dept. of Health and Community Services (better supports for people with disabilities)
13. What's New from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto) - April 13

International  Content

14. Poverty Dispatch Digest : U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs --- April 13
15. Human Rights Watch World Report 2006 - January 2006

Have a great  week!

From the Department of Finance Canada:

Online Pre-Budget Consultations for Budget 2006 and Beyond
Launched April 6
Until April 19, 2006, all Canadians are invited to share their views with the Department of Finance on the upcoming federal Budget.
Read the news release and the invitation below from the Minister of Finance, and then let them know how you feel by e-mail, regular mail or fax.

Harper Government Launches National Web-Based
Pre-Budget Consultations: A First for Canada
News Release
April 6, 2006
"For the first time ever, a federal government is encouraging Canadians from coast to coast to coast to participate in the budget process online. Minister of Finance James M. Flaherty today launched an online consultation process on the Department’s website to give Canadians an opportunity to provide their views to the Government during the pre-budget consultation period.

Invitation by the Honourable James M. Flaherty, P.C., MP, Minister of Finance, to Pre-Budget Web Consultations

Key Consultations Issues
1. What would you like to see in Budget 2006 and future budgets?
2. If you propose further tax cuts - or spending increases - where should the government spend less?
3. How can the government deliver programs more efficiently and effectively?

Why not speak directly to the Department of Finance if you have some answers to these questions?

...In case you're wondering what happened to the 2005 fed-prov agreements concerning child care, see:
The state of the national child care program and provincial/territorial contexts, March 2006 [PDF file - 4pp, 186KB]
Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit

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

Horizons - April 2006 issue : Work and Life Balance (PDF file - 553K, 60 pages)
Volume 8 - Number 3
This issue of Horizons explores the topic of work-life balance and its related consequences. While a few of the articles address work-life balance directly, many also speak to some of the fundamental causes and outcomes of the time-stress numerous Canadians feel.
Table of contents:
*Work-Life Balance in an Aging Population * Time-Related Stress: Incidence and Risk Factors * Self-Employed Women’s Work-Life Imbalance: An Urgent Need for Policy Response * Gender Models for Family and Work * Informal Caregivers: Balancing Work and Life Responsibilities * Policy Implications of Delayed Reproduction and Low Fertility Rates * Equality of Opportunity and Inequality Across the Generations: Challenges Ahead * Changing Nature of the Family * Lifetime Labour Force Transitions

Source:
Policy Research Initiative

- Go to the Work-Life Balance Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/work_life_balance.htm
- Go to the Social Research Organizations (II) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research2.htm

From the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services:

Accessibility News - Online Disability Newsletter (monthly)
Content of the April 2006 issue:
* Guidelines for Disability Equality Training
* Disability Travel: Most Popular American Cities
* Removing Barriers: A Can-Do Attitude
* Durham College and UOIT
* Creating Mental Health Friendly Work Environments
* Living with HIV
* Inclusion in School Playgrounds

Newsletter Archive - back to November 2001
Source:
Paths to Equal Opportunity
[ Accessibility Ontario ]
[ Ministry of Community and Social Services ]

- 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

Disability Research Digest (Manitoba)
- includes links to all monthly issues, with archives back to the beginning of 2004, available in both HTML and PDF format.
- each issue of the digest varies from 12 to 25+ printed pages --- 125-150 links!
- content of each issue is organized under the following headings:
Accessibility- Advocacy - Employment - Ethics - General Interest - Government - Health - Legal - Medical - Media arts - Policy/Research - Rehabilitation - Technology -Wellness - Conferences

April 2006 Issue
HTML
PDF (252K, 22 pages)

Source:
Society for Manitobans with Disabilities

- Go to the Disability Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/disbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Manitoba Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/mbkmrk.htm

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

April 12, 2006
Education Indicators in Canada, 2005
Featured product
The fourth edition of Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program, available today, provides a wealth of statistical information on education.

Highlights

Complete report:

Education indicators in Canada:
Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program 2005
April 2006
HTML version (includes links to highlights, figures and tables and earlier issues of the report, also free)
PDF version (this is an HTML page with links to separate PDF files for (1) the complete report, (2) the report appendices, (3) the report tables and (4) committees and organizations.

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

The Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA)
and economic, social and cultural rights education
"In addition to using provincial human rights legislation to forward housing equality, CERA works on a national and international level promoting social and economic rights, such as the right to housing and an adequate standard of living. Specifically, we work to promote interpretations of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms that protect the rights of poor people and are consistent with Canada's international human rights obligations."

- includes over a dozen links to relevant documents (by govt, NGO, and UN), either prepared for the upcoming (May 2006) meeting of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Review of Canada or presented as contextual/historical information. Recommended reading!

Source:
Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation - CERA

- Go to the Human Rights Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/rights.htm

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Treasury Board President
John Baird Announce the Federal Accountability Act
11 April 2006
"(..) Treasury Board President John Baird went on to say: "People who work hard, pay their taxes and play by the rules want accountability from their government and we owe them no less. Accountability is about trust. But trust must be earned. Our government will work hard – every day – to earn that trust."
Source:
Prime Minister of Canada

Related Link - speaking of earning trust:

The Accountability Act:
PM fires another salvo at the press
April 12, 2006
OTTAWA -- Stephen Harper's dispute with the Parliamentary Press Gallery escalated yesterday when he reluctantly ceded control over which journalists could ask about his proposed federal accountability act -- and then took questions from just two of them.
Source:
The Globe and Mail

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

What's New from the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA):
Qui de neuf à l'Alliance canadienne féministe pour l'action internationale (AFAI):

To Improve Federal/Provincial Fiscal Arrangements, Federal Social Transfer Must be Strengthened, Say Women’s Groups
News Release
April 11, 2006
"Ottawa: While Premiers meet in Montreal today to discuss the “fiscal imbalance”, FAFIA, a broad alliance of women’s and human rights groups, is calling on governments to strengthen social programs and services for Canadians in all jurisdictions."

Strengthening the Canada Social Transfer: A Call to Account (PDF file - 130K, 23 pages)
April 2006
- incl. Introduction - The Canada Social Transfer and Women’s Human’s Rights - The National Context for the Canada Social Transfer - Funding Formulas, Designations and Standards - Implementation, Monitoring and Accountability
"FAFIA (the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action) looks forward to a revitalization of the Canadian social union and to reengagement by governments in the work of developing and sustaining social programs and services that meet Canada’s human rights commitments."

Backgrounder (Word file - 39K, 2 pages)

More recent links from FAFIA:

FAFIA's Position on Child care
March 2006
FAFIA encourages the federal government to keep the agreed upon deals between the federal government and provinces to develop Canada's provision of early learning and childcare.

JOIN FAFIA in supporting a national child care program in Canada
March 8, 2006
FAFIA is focusing on the status of Canada’s national child care program for International Women’s Day. To this end, we are inviting all of our members to sign onto an open letter from a FAFIA partner organization, the Childcare Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC). It asks the Prime Minister, other federal party leaders and the provincial premiers to honor the existing childcare agreements between federal and provincial/territorial governments.

- Go to the Non-Governmental Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd2.htm
- Go to the the Canadian Non-Governmental Sites about Women's Social Issues page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/womencanngo.htm

The Daily Bread Food Bank announces education savings program to help break poverty cycle
Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation facilitates starting an RESP for Daily Bread clients
TORONTO, April 10, 2006/CNW/ - The Daily Bread Food Bank announced today a newpartnership designed to help break the poverty cycle through an accessible education savings program. Recognizing the importance of saving for post-secondary education in reducing the barriers to higher education and encouraging self-sustainability, Daily Bread and Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation (C.S.T.) have partnered to help low-income families take advantage of the Canada Learning Bond (CLB) program by setting up a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP).
Source:
Newswire.ca

Related Links:

Daily Bread Food Bank
Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation
Canada Education Savings Grant
Registered Education Savings Plan
Canada Learning Bond

- Go to the Asset-Based Social Policies Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/assets.htm
- Go to the Education Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/education.htm

Homeless Individuals and Families
Information System (HIFIS) Bulletin - March 2006 Issue (PDF file - 159K, 4 pages)
The latest edition of the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) Bulletin features a name change for the Homelessness Secretariat (now called Housing and Homelessness Branch, Human Resources and Social Development Canada), an article on the [Ottawa] Alliance to End Homelessness' Second Report Card on Homelessness in Ottawa as well as a letter announcing the official donation of computers to shelters through the Digital Inclusion Partnership (DIP) for Homelessness.

Previous editions of the HIFIS Bulletin
- links to 12 issues going back to June 2004

Source:
National Homelessness Initiative

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

Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) payment amounts 2002 to 2006
Includes the following info for 2002 to 2006:
- the basic benefit
- the supplement for the 3rd and following child(ren)
- the supplement for children under age seven
- the base threshold
- benefit reduction rates, one child and two or more children
- the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS) amount for the first child, the second child and each additional child
- the NCBS threshold
- the NCBS phase-out rate, one child, two children and three or more children
- the Child Disability Amount (CDB)
- the CDB threshold
- the CDB phase-out rate, one child, two children and three or more children

CCTB Payment Amounts: July 1998 to July 2001
- same info as above but no CDB (because it started in 2004)

Source:
Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB)
[Part of the Child and Family Benefits Page]
[Part of the Canada Revenue Agency]

Related Link:

National Child Benefit - "A unique partnership of the Government of Canada, Provinces and Territories and First Nations"

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

Increased income support rates will add up to reduced poverty: Minister*
March 29, 2006
News Release
Budget 2006 will make major investments in a broad range of programs and services that will help the working poor, youth-at-risk, and families with low incomes, says Paul Shelley, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, and the lead minister for government’s poverty reduction strategy.
Source:
Human Resources, Labour and Employment

*NOTE: as part of its increased supports to people in need, the provincial govt. will start indexing welfare benefit levels as of 2007-08; rates will be tied to the Newfoundland and Labrador Consumer Price Index. Québec is the only other Canadian jurisdiction that indexes its rates every year based on the prevailing rate of inflation. This is a sound policy that prevents households receiving welfare from falling further behind because of ongoing increases in the cost of living. Congratulations, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, on this progressive social policy!

Government strengthens resources for persons with disabilities
News Release
April 12, 2006
In keeping with its commitment to supporting persons with disabilities, the Williams’ government is investing over $4 million in Budget 2006 to enhance services and support for individuals and families living with disabilities said Health and Community Services Minister Tom Osborne. The investment includes addressing the wait list for home support for new clients; increasing social work positions to assist persons with disabilities; and, changing the Special Child Welfare Allowance (SCWA) program to eliminate RESP/RRSPs from the financial assessment process.
Source:
Health and Community Services

- Go to the Newfoundland and Labrador Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nfbkmrk.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.

13-Apr-06

Hansards
Because of the prominence of the child care issue in the new Canadian Parliament, CRRU has expanded its weekly e-mail news notifier to include links to content in the House of Commons Hansard pertaining to child care.
Links to this week's Hansards:
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=86581

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What's New
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>> Early childhood development and child care: What do we know?
Presentations from March 27, 2006 Round Table
Proceedings from the IRPP/HELP Round Table held on March 27, 2006 feature presentations by Martha Friendly, Paul Kershaw, Christa Japel, Lynell Anderson, and Kevin Milligan.

>> Early childhood centres and family resilience
by Duncan, Judith; Bowden, Chris & Smith, Anne B.
Report for the Government of New Zealand "examined whether early childhood centres were perceived by participants to have helped them cope with challenging and stressful times, and if so, how."

>> Strengthening the Canada Social Transfer: A call to account
by Brodsky, Gwen & Day, Shelagh
Report from the Feminist Alliance for International Action discusses the recent creation of the Canada Social Transfer and how it "provides a new opening to revisit what CAP offered and how it can be improved upon."

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Child Care in the News
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>> Families need day care spaces [CA]
by DuBois, JoAnne (Community Legal Clinic, Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk)/
Simcoe Reformer, 13 Apr 06

>> Opposition takes aim at child allowance plan [CA]
by McCharles, Tonda / Toronto Star, 13 Apr 06

>> Tories missing point of day-care support [CA]
by Stephenson, Marilla / Halifax Chronicle Herald, 12 Apr 06

>> Tories amend child-care blueprint [CA]
by McCharles, Tonda / Toronto Star, 11 Apr 06

>> Tax incentives won't likely lure employers into child-care quagmire: Swift [CA]
by Bailey, Sue / Canadian Press, 11 Apr 06

>> Message to Harper: Honour day-care deal [CA]
CBC News Online, 11 Apr 06

>> Tom misdirects outrage over child care waits: Letter [CA-MB]
by Prentice, Susan / Winnipeg Sun, 11 Apr 06

>> Honour previous child-care deal [CA]
by Grinspun, Doris (Executive Director of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario) / Toronto Star, 10 Apr 06

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

Related Links:

What's New? - Canadian, U.S. and international resources
Child Care in the News - media articles
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

- 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)

April 13, 2006
Today's subjects include: Marriage Promotion – Opinion // Study of Long-Term Welfare Caseload – Minnesota // Welfare Reform – Massachusetts // Health Care Plan – Massachusetts // Massachusetts Health Care Plan – Editorials and Opinion // Health Care for Illegal Immigrants – Minnesota // Legal Aid for Poor Children – Indiana // Parent Coaching Programs – Ohio // Child Well-Being – Colorado // Academic Achievement Gap – South Carolina // Teacher Shortage – California // Minimum Wage – California // Homelessness – Dane County, WI

April 10, 2006
Today's subjects include: Measuring Poverty - Opinion // Helping the Poor, for $10,000 per Person - Opinion // Massachusetts Health Plan as Model for Other States // Massachusetts Health Plan - Editorials and Opinion // Black/White Wealth Disparity - Editorial // Plight of Young Black Men - Philadelphia // Working Poor - Duluth, MN // Welfare Reform and Jobs - West Virginia // Welfare and Work - Michigan // Welfare Rolls - New York City, Moore County, NC // Reaction to TV Report on Poverty - Lynch, KY // Student Poverty - Illinois // Childhood Poverty and Literacy - Allen County, IN // Living Wage - Connecticut

Each of the weekly digests 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:

- April 6 , 2006
- March 30
- March 23
- March 16
- March 9

POVERTY DISPATCH description/archive - weekly issues back to August 2005, 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 Rights Watch World Report 2006
U.S. Policy of Abuse Undermines Rights Worldwide
News Release
January 18, 2006
Washington, D.C. – New evidence demonstrated in 2005 that torture and mistreatment have been a deliberate part of the Bush administration’s counterterrorism strategy, undermining the global defense of human rights, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2006.

Human Rights Watch World Report 2006
The Human Rights Watch World Report 2006 contains information on human rights developments in more than 60 countries in 2005. Mouse over the map or view the regional listings below for country information.
- includes links to audio commentaries, the press conference Video, the complete report, and introduction by Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch and two other articles.
Discusses: U.S. Counterterrorism and torture, British complicity and Canada's position, the role of Russia and China, Darfur and the African Union and more...

Complete report (PDF file - 2.4MB, 544 pages)

Source:
Human Rights Watch

- Go to the Human Rights Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/rights.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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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