Canadian Social Research Newsletter
May 21, 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 1608 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. Final Report of the Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working-Age Adults (Toronto City Summit Alliance / St. Christopher House) - May 15
2. Ontario Human Rights Reform - A Call to Action (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance) - May 18
3. 2005 Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report (Human Resources and Social Development Canada) - May 2006
4. Incidence and Persistence of Early Literacy Problems: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, 1994-2000 (Human Resources and Social Development Canada) - May 2006
5. Call for Applications: New Horizons for Seniors Project Funding (Human Resources and Social Development Canada) - May 16 to July 14
6. Conference of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers of Health - May 13
7. Consumer Price Index, April 2006 (Statistics Canada) - May 18
8. 2006 Report of the Auditor General of Canada - May 16
9. Submission to the [United Nations] Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Regarding the 5th Periodic Report of Canada (Assembly of First Nations) - March 15
10. 2006-2007 Main Estimates tabled in the House of Commons (Treasury Board Secretariat) - April 25
11. Canada's Universal Child Care Plan (Government of Canada)
12. Clarion call to Canadians from Roy Romanow: A House Half Built (The Walrus Magazine) - May 16
13. What's New from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto) - May 19

International Content

14. Poverty Dispatch Digest : U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs --- May 18
15. United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Concludes 36th Session (U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) - May 19
16. Committee on rights of child holds Spring session in Geneva - May 15 to June 2 (United Nations Office at Geneva)

Time For A Fair Deal
Task Force Addresses Urgent Need to Reform Income Security Policies with Unveiling of Report (PDF file - 134K, 8 pages)
Press Release
May 15, 2006
[version française du communiqué:
Un traitement équitable s'impose
Un rapport du groupe de travail indique un besoin urgent de réforme en matière sécurité du revenu] (fichier PDF - 135Ko, 10 pages)

TORONTO, ON – (May 15, 2006) - Today in Toronto an unprecedented coalition of business, labour, academic, non-profit, and think tank leaders released their report “Time for a Fair Deal” calling for fundamental reform of Canada’s income security programs for working-age adults.

Declaring the current system in need of a thorough overhaul, The Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working-Age Adults (MISWAA) identified three key issues plaguing low-income Canadians:

- Many working people cannot earn enough to make ends meet even when working full-time for a full year – at least 30% of low-wage workers fall into this group,
- Employment Insurance (EI) no longer covers the majority of the temporarily unemployed – in Ontario only 27% receive EI benefits, and only 22% receive EI benefits in Toronto, and
- Existing social assistance programs are punitive, make it difficult to escape poverty, and create a “welfare trap” for many.
(...)

Key recommendations to the federal government include:

- Reforming Employment Insurance to address the significant decline in coverage,
- Introducing through the tax system a new national refundable tax credit and working income supplement to support low-income Canadians,
- Providing a national disability income support program for persons whose disabilities are so substantial they cannot enter the paid labour force.

Key recommendations to the Ontario Government include:

- Establishing an independent body, with representation from employers and labour, to recommend periodic increases to the minimum wage,
- Implementing a seamless and integrated child benefit platform for low-income parents with children that pays child benefits to all low-income parents, including those receiving social assistance,
- Reducing the impediments to leaving social assistance by providing prescription drug and dental benefits to low-income workers,
- Strengthening the enforcement of employment standards to protect the rights of workers under the law,
- Restoring the asset limits for those receiving social assistance to levels that allow savings for contingencies and help support the transition to work,
- Improving training and employment supports for social assistance recipients and low-income workers,
- Introducing reforms to the Ontario Disability Support Program, including returning benefit levels to those received by senior citizens who have no other source of income, and
- Uploading social assistance benefit costs from municipalities to the province.

Complete report:

Time for a Fair Deal (PDF file - 271K, 67 pages)

Context

MISWAA was formed in the fall of 2004 by the Toronto City Summit Alliance, a broad-based coalition of civic leaders in the Toronto region, and by St. Christopher House, a multi-service neighbourhood centre that works with low-income people in Toronto. The Task Force is a diverse group made-up of over fifty experts and leaders from major employers, policy institutes, labour unions, academia, community organizations, advocacy groups, foundations and governments, as well as individuals with first-hand knowledge of income security programs.

MISWAA Frequently-Asked Questions (PDF file - 106K, 7 pages)

Related Links:

Google Web Search Results:
"modernizing income security, report, Toronto"
Google News search Results:
"modernizing income security, report, Toronto"
Source:
Google.ca

Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working Age Adults ("MISWAA")
- incl. links to : In the News · Press Releases · Task Force and Working Group Members · Contact Us · Reports · Frequently Asked Questions
In the News - links to a dozen news articles about the MISWAA initiative since the day the final report was released, along with 15+ articles about MISWAA going back to October 2004

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

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

Boston Consulting Group - Toronto Office
"BCG Toronto was created through the merger of The Canada Consulting Group and The Boston Consulting Group, and in the years since then, it has more than tripled in size."

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

Ontario Human Rights Reform - A Call to Action
FIX THE FLAWED BILL 107 ACTION KIT
May 18, 2006
On April 26, 2006, the McGuinty Government introduced the seriously-flawed Bill 107, its proposed Human Rights Code Amendment Act, into the Legislature for First Reading. Bill 107 sets back human rights protection. It seriously weakens the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the public agency responsible to enforce your right not to suffer illegal discrimination. We appreciate both the opposition Conservative and New Democratic Parties voicing our concerns with Bill 107 in the Legislature.
This Kit:
* Suggests three easy ways you can help our campaign.
* summarizes what Bill 107 does
* Explains what’s wrong with Bill 107, and
* Explains the three changes to Bill 107 we seek.

Source:
Ontario Human Rights Reform - A Call to Action ===> incl. 18 related links
[ Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance ]

Related link:

Strengthening Ontario's Human Rights System - from the Ontario Human Rights Commission
- includes links to the August 2005 System Review Discussion Paper, the October 2005 Consultation Report and news release, the Ministry of the Attorney General's February 2006 news release, the Commission's preliminary comments on proposed reforms to Ontario’s human rights system and more...

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

2005 Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report
The 2005 Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report focuses on the period April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005. The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, tabled the report in Parliament on April 28th, 2006. The report, prepared by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, monitors and assesses the impacts of the Employment Insurance system on the economy, communities and individuals.

Executive Summary (HTML)
- includes links to the complete report and to each of the six annexes (see the contents of those annexes below), as well as links to reports for earlier years back to 1997.
NOTE to the young web designers out there:
Kids, if you want to make your site/page more user-friendly, you should try to give visitors a clue to what's behind each link (i.e., to the content of each annex), NOT simply "Annex 1 - Annex 2 - Annex 3..." etc. as on this exec summary page. If you click the "Executive Summary" link above, you'll have to click on each annex link and open a separate PDF file to see what it contains -- or else just download the entire report, which includes all annexes and which is 879K - not 679K, as noted next to the PDF link - but still a reasonably small filesize to download...

Complete report:

Employment Insurance 2005 Monitoring and Assessment Report
Submitted to: The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada (PDF file - 879K, 109 pages)
By the Canada Employment Insurance Commission
March 31, 2006
Contents of the report for 2005:
Chapter 1 - overview of the Canadian labour market during the reporting period.
Chapter 2 - use of income benefits
Chapter 3 - national and provincial/territorial information on Employment Benefits and Support Measures (participation in active re-employment measures)
Chapter 4 - overview of program administration, including initiatives to improve service delivery, is presented in Chapter 4. Finally,
Chapter 5 - analyzes the impact and effectiveness of the EI program from various perspectives.
Annexes
1 - Key Labour Market Statistics
2 - Income Benefits Data Tables
3 - Employment Benefits and Support Measures Data Tables
4 - Community Profiles
5 - Key Studies Referenced in Chapter 5
6 - Recent Changes to EI

Related Links:

Employment Insurance - on the website of Human Resources and Social Development Canada
- more EI research and statistics - links to seven reports Employment Insurance (including a history of UNemployment Insurance up to 1994!)

Canada Employment Insurance Commission
The Canada Employment Insurance Commission is an entity under the umbrella of Human Resources and Social Development Canada whose main role is to assist the Department in managing the Employment Insurance Program.

NOTE:
About halfway down the Executive Summary page of this report, I read: "EI and Individuals - Access to benefits : Among unemployed individuals who had a recent job separation that qualified under the EI program, 80.4% were eligible to receive EI benefits in 2004, down from 84.0% in 2003."
Eh?
I thought that the number of unemployed people who qualify for Employment Insurance benefits had plummeted from the 80% range in the late 1980s to somewhere around 40% or less these days. Well, it turns out that access to EI benefits is, like poverty measurement, open to interpretation.
Do you mean relative poverty or absolute poverty?
Do you mean ALL unemployed individuals or only those who have paid EI premiums *and* put in the minimum number of hours to qualify for EI in their region of the country?
As it turns out, 40% is the ratio of beneficiaries to the unemployed. There are actually six paragraphs in the exec summary that talk about the ratio of EI beneficiaries to the number of unemployed people (the "B/U ratio" for those who speak Economese), and about the different levels of access to benefits for different types of unemployed people, including youth, older workers and immigrants.

Related Resources:

Measuring Employment Insurance Effectiveness (PDF file - 72K, 7 pages)
Data Note Prepared by Richard Shillington, Ph.D. - February 2005

The Redistributive Impact of
Employment Insurance (PDF file - 29K, 7 pages)
November 2005
By Richard Shillington

Employment Insurance: Research Summary (PDF file - 613K, 11 pages)
October 2005
By Jill Black and Richard Shillington
[ Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working Age Adults ]

Falling Unemployment Insurance Protection for Canada’s Unemployed (PDF file - 657K, 112 pages)
March 2003, by the Canadian Labour Congress

Employment Insurance Coverage Survey, 2004
June 2005
- from Statistics Canada

- Go to the Employment Insurance Links section: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/hrsdc.htm#ei

Incidence and Persistence of Early Literacy Problems: Evidence from the NLSCY, 1994-2000
"The analysis of this paper employs data from the first three cycles of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth to analyze: 1)* the factors associated with early literacy problems and 2) the persistence of early literacy problems. "

* <begin grammar rant>
NOTE to the young writers out there:
Use numbers ("1)", "2)", etc. ONLY for a list of *more* than two, except if you're writing for an audience with severe short-term memory problems. (===>"to analyze the factors ...and the persistence..." works just fine here).
<end grammar rant>

Source:
Human Resources and Social Development Canada

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

Call for Applications:
New Horizons for Seniors Project Funding - May 16 to July 14
The New Horizons for Seniors Program is accepting applications from May 16 to July 14, 2006. The program funds community-based projects across Canada that encourage seniors to contribute to their communities through social participation and active living.

New Horizons for Seniors accepts applications for project funding from:

* Voluntary, social economy and non-profit sector organizations, community based coalitions, networks and ad hoc committees;
* Municipal governments, band/tribal councils and other aboriginal organizations.

Source:
Human Resources and Social Development Canada

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

Conference of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers of Health
News Release
Toronto - May 13, 2006
"Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Health have agreed to step up their efforts to strengthen public health capacity in preparing for an influenza pandemic and other public health threats."
- includes two backgrounders : Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan and Antivirals
Source:
Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat

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

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

May 18, 2006
Consumer Price Index, April 2006
The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index edged up to 2.4% in April, largely the result of higher gasoline prices drivers paid at the pump. However, the CPI excluding energy moved inversely, falling from 1.7% in March to 1.6% in April.

Complete CPI report (free!):

The Consumer Price Index, April 2006 (PDF file - 367K, 52 pages)

REMINDER:
Since April 24/06, all electronic publications on Statistics Canada's Web site are accessible free of charge.
Here's the list of free Internet publications from Statistics Canada:
- Complete list
- List by subject (click on the plus sign ("+") beside a subject to expand that part of the list)

Related Link:

StatCan, Inflation and the Bank of Canada
"Since May 2001, Statistics Canada is calculating, on behalf of the Bank of Canada, an index series for All-items excluding the eight most volatile components. Those eight components, as defined by the Bank, are: fruit, fruit preparations and nuts; vegetables and vegetable preparations; mortgage interest cost; natural gas; fuel oil and other fuel; gasoline; inter-city transportation; and tobacco products and smokers’ supplies. The Bank of Canada further adjusts this series to obtain their measure of core inflation, which also excludes the effect of changes in indirect taxes. For data and information on core inflation, please consult the Bank of Canada Web site: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/inflation/index.htm

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

Auditor General reports mixed progress by government
News Release
"Ottawa, 16 May 2006—The Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, says that in four of eight areas audited, government departments and agencies have made satisfactory progress in addressing recommendations from previous reports, according to her 2006 Status Report tabled today in the House of Commons. Progress was unsatisfactory in the other four areas. (...) The Auditor General found satisfactory progress on the single recommendation about the Canadian Firearms Program, and in two different areas previously audited at National Defence: military recruiting and retention, and the NATO Flying Training in Canada program. She is also satisfied with the government's progress on previous recommendations for selected grant and contribution programs. However, she found unsatisfactory progress in the management of programs for First Nations, the acquisition of leased office space for federal public servants, the management of financial information in departments, and the collection of tax debts. (...)"
Source:
News Releases - links to 10 releases related to the May 2006 report
[ Auditor General of Canada ]

2006 Report of the Auditor General of Canada - May 2006
- go to the link above to download small PDF files for each of the following chapters
NOTE: because of the social program focus of Canadian Social Research Links, the only chapter that's hyperlinked below is Chapter 5, because it deals with First Nations, which is one of the thematic pages of this site
A Message from the Auditor General of Canada
Chapter 1 — Managing Government: Financial Information
Chapter 2 — National Defence—Military Recruiting and Retentione
Chapter 3 — National Defence—NATO Flying Training in Canada
Chapter 4 — Canadian Firearms Program

Chapter 5 — Management of Programs for First Nations:
- HTML
- PDF (241K, 36 pages)
- News Release

Chapter 6 — Management of Voted Grants and Contributions PDF (181 KB) News Release
Chapter 7 — Acquisition of Leased Office Space PDF (183 KB) News Release
Chapter 8 — Canada Revenue Agency—Collection of Tax Debts PDF (276 KB) News Release
Government Decisions Limited Parliament's Control of Public Spending PDF (304 KB) News Release

Unsatisfactory progress on First Nations issues raised previously
[Chapter 5, May 2006 Report of the Auditor General]
News Release
"Ottawa, 16 May 2006—Overall, the federal government has made unsatisfactory progress in implementing recommendations from previous reports on First Nations issues, according to the Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, in her Status Report tabled today in the House of Commons. "Some of these recommendations address serious issues that are important to health and well-being, including mould in houses on reserves and the food mail program for northern communities," said Ms. Fraser. The audit focused on 37 recommendations made between 2000 and 2003 in reports that covered economic development, housing on reserves, third-party intervention, health care, the food mail program, comprehensive land claims, and reporting requirements for First Nations."

- Go to the First Nations Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/1stbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Agriculture to Finance) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk.htm

Submission to the [United Nations] Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Regarding the 5th Periodic Report of Canada (PDF file - 255K, 43 pages)
Submitted by:
The Assembly of First Nations, an NGO in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC
March 15, 2006
Source:
United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [CESCR], 36th Session (1 - 19 May 2006)
- links to the complete collection of reports submitted by the governments appearing before the Committee during the 36th Session - including Canada, as well as all relevant submissions by non-governmental organizations and reports by the U.N.
[ United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UNESCR) Website ]
[ United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ]

- Go to the First Nations Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/1stbkmrk.htm
- Go to the United Nations Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/un.htm

President of the Treasury Board tables 2006-2007 Main Estimates
News Release
April 25, 2006[2006-04-25]
Treasury Board President John Baird today tabled the 2006-2007 Main Estimates in the House of Commons. The Main Estimates support the government's request for parliamentary authority to spend money to ensure the continued operation of government.

2006-2007 Main Estimates - Government of Canada

Source:
Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS)

Speaking of accountability (also from TBS):

Turning a New Leaf - Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan
- incl. links to : Highlights - Fact Sheets - Public Brochure - Commitments and Proposed Actions - News Releases and Speeches - Federal Accountability Act (Text of Bill C-2) - Federal Accountability Action Plan - Related Links -
E-mail Updates

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

Canada's Universal Child Care Plan - "Choice. Support. Spaces."
"...a national plan that provides Choice, Support and Spaces for today's parents."
- new Government of Canada website
- incl. links to : Home - Why Universal Child Care? - Choice - Support - Spaces

- Go to the Government Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd.htm

Canada at pivotal moment in history,
Romanow writes in Walrus magazine
May 16
The quickening erosion of our nation's legacy and values places us at a pivotal moment in Canada's history. If Canada is to remain progressive, united, and strong enough to meet tomorrow's challenges, we must join together and stand up for our legacy as a nation based on fairness, opportunity, respect and balance between the individual and community, between nation and enterprise.Such is Roy Romanow's clarion call to Canadians, in "A House Half Built," featured in this month's edition of The Walrus magazine.

Read it online (HTML)
Download (PDF file - 1.4MB, 9 pages)

The Hon. Roy J. Romanow was Premier of Saskatchewan from November 1991 to February 2001 and the commissioner on the Future of Health Care in Canada. He is a senior fellow at the University of Saskatchewan and a fellow at the Atkinson Charitable Foundation.

Source:
The Walrus Magazine
The Walrus launched in September of 2003 with a straightforward mandate: to be a Canadian general-interest magazine with an international outlook.

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 selected content from the most recent issue of the notifier.

19-May-06

NOTE: CRRU now provides links to recent ELCC-related excerpts from the House of Commons Hansard.
Here's where you can find the links to this week's Hansard excerpts:
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=88787

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

>> Early Learning and Child Care Act
NDP introduces "landmark legislation designed to protect and build quality child care for future generations."

>> Working for working parents: The evolution of maternity and parental benefits in Canada
by Phipps, Shelley
IRPP study examines maternity and parental benefits in Quebec and Canada; study finds that accessibility, flexibility and replacement rates need to be improved.

>> Trends in the affordability of child care services 1991-2004
Report from the Government of Australia finds that improvements in affordability brought about by the Child Care Benefit have not been sustained; gains eroded by fee increases.

>> City of London Resolution
London City Council passes resolution requesting the federal/provincial governments to preserve national child care.

>> Investing in quality: A survey of state Child Care and Development Fund initiatives
by Pittard, Melanie; Zaslow, Martha & Porter, Toni
Report from Child Trends (US) finds that states are not only investing in child care quality, but are also launching initiatives that research indicates can contribute to quality.

--------------------------------------------------
Child Care in the News
---------------------------------------------------

>> Protesters rally at legislature over child care concerns [CA-BC]
by Rud, Jeff/Times Colonist (Victoria), 19 May 06

>> The case for state-supported early childhood education and care: Opinion [CA-PE]
by Novaczek, Irene (co-ordinator of the Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network for Prince Edward Island)/The Guardian (Charlottetown), 18 May 06

>> Why we need daycare: Letter [CA]
by Duxbury, Linda/The Globe & Mail, 18 May 06

>> Network partners sign on for the children of Toronto [CA-ON]
by Best Start Network/Canada News-Wire, 18 May 06

>> Private operators seek day-care funds [CA]
Toronto Star, 17 May 06

>> The mother of all divisions [CA]
by Muzychka, Martha/The Telegram (St. John's), 17 May 06

>> Child care plan facing problems: Letter [CA-ON]
by Munro, Tim (Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada)/Toronto Star, 19 May 06

>> Gov't spending could spark battle [CA-SK]
by Wood, James/The Leader Post, 15 May 06

>> Working moms healthier than full-time homemakers
Scientific American, 15 May 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
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
New Issue File:
ELCC and the federal budget 2006 - May 2006
On May 2, 2006 the Conservative government presented its first budget since the election of January 23rd. This ISSUE file provides links to budget documents pertaining to child care, as well as responses from opposition parties, child care and other civil society organizations, and a selection of media coverage.

- 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)

May 18, 2006

Today's subjects include: Early Childhood Education // Higher Education for Low-Income Students // No Child Left Behind Act // Health Care Policy – Opinion // Parent Benefits – Opinion // Immigration Reform – Opinion and Editorials // Wal-Mart and Poverty // Welfare Reform – Wisconsin // Public Assistance Privatization – Indiana // Medicaid – Indiana // Food Stamps – Michigan // Education and Economic Achievement – Philadelphia, PA // Living Wage – Ventura, CA // Homelessness – Hawaii

May 15, 2006

Today's subjects include: Drop in Numbers of Homeless Persons // Causes of Academic Achievement Gap - Opinion // Privatizing Welfare - Indiana // Welfare Reform - Michigan // Help from State's Welfare Surplus - Ohio // Proof of Eligibility for Assistance Programs - Wisconsin // Measuring Poverty - California // Plight of Low-Income Working Mothers - New York City // High School Dropouts - Indiana // Infant Mortality and Poverty - Mississippi // Loss of Hospitals in Poor Neighborhoods - Milwaukee // Predatory Lending - Tennessee // Affordable Housing - Downtown Los Angeles

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:

- May 11, 2006
- May 4
- April 27
- April 20
- April 13

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

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Concludes 36th Session
Issues Concluding Observations on Reports of Monaco, Liechtenstein, Canada, Mexico, and Morocco
19 May 2006
"The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concluded today its three-week spring session by adopting its concluding observations on the reports of Monaco, Liechtenstein, Canada, Mexico, and Morocco, which were considered during the session.
(...)
With regard to the fourth and fifth periodic reports of Canada, the Committee welcomed the relatively low level of unemployment in the State party, and the decrease in the proportion of persons living below the Low Income Cut Off. The Committee noted with particular concern that poverty rates remained very high among disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups such as Aboriginal peoples, African-Canadians, immigrants, persons with disabilities, youth, low-income women and single mothers. It urged the State party to re-examine its policies and practices towards the inherent rights and titles of Aboriginal peoples, to ensure that policies and practices do not result in extinguishment of those rights and titles."

NOTE: As of May 21, the Concluding observations about Canada had not yet been posted online. The final report from UNCESCR was to have come out on the 19th, but it's apparently delayed until Monday May 22nd. When it is posted, you'll find a link to it it in the far right-hand column of the 36th session reports page, at the link below:
United Nations Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights [CESCR], 36th Session (1 - 19 May 2006)

Related Link:

8 May 2006
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
REVIEWS FOURTH AND FIFTH PERIODIC REPORTS OF CANADA

Google News search Results:
"Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Canada, report"
Google Web Search Results:
"Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Canada, report"
Source:
Google.ca

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

Committee on rights of child holds Spring session in Geneva - May 15 to June 2
News Release
11 May 2006
Situation of Child Rights in El Salvador, Belgium, Latvia, Italy, Canada [bolding added], Turkey, Czech Republic, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Tanzania, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Lebanon, Turkmenistan, Iceland, and Colombia to be Reviewed
"(...) Belgium, Canada, and the Czech Republic will be reviewed in closed meetings, during which technical reviews of their reports on the implementation of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict will take place. "
Source:
United Nations Office at Geneva

- 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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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