Canadian Social Research Newsletter
April 25, 2010

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 2,261 subscribers.

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Haiti Relief - from the CBC
- links to information resources, more organizations accepting donations

Canadian content

1.  2010 Spring Report of the Auditor General of Canada - April 20
2. Child poverty: The Canadian Teachers’ Federation urges federal government to take action - April 20
3. Robin Hood tax would raise $700 million a year from bank transactions: activists - April 20
4. G8 and G20 summits
5. [Ontario] Social Assistance, Pension and Tax Credit Rates, April to June 2010 (Ministry of Community & Social Services)
6. Five Tests for Success of Ontario’s Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy (stableandaffordable.com) - April 19
7. Controversial Toronto street needs assessment reports sharp drop in street homelessness (Wellesley Institute) - April 16
8.What's New in The Daily [Statistics Canada]:
--- The Consumer Price Index, March 2010 - April 23
--- Employment Insurance - February 2010 - April 22
--- Leading indicators, March 2010 - April 22
9. What's new from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit - April 25

International content

10. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs (Institute for Research on Poverty - U. of Wisconsin-Madison)
11. Correction : The new U.S. Supplemental Poverty Measure and the 2010 U.S. Census - April 19
12. [U.S.] Unemployment benefits expire as Congress debates extension (Los Angeles Times) - April 6
13. World Bank Frees Up Development Data (World Bank) - April 20
14. World Development Indicators (WDI) 2010 released (World Bank) - April 20
15. Minimum-Income (Welfare) Benefits in OECD Countries ( Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) - January 2010
16. Australian Policy Online - recent content
17. CRINMAIL (children's rights newsletter)

Gilles
[ gilseg@rogers.com ]

New from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada:

2010 Spring Report of the Auditor General of Canada
April 20, 2010
Click the link above to access the following chapters:
* Message from the Auditor General—Spring 2010
* Chapter 1—Aging Information Technology Systems
* Chapter 2—Modernizing Human Resource Management
* Chapter 3—Rehabilitating the Parliament Buildings
* Chapter 4—Sustaining Development in the Northwest Territories
* Chapter 5—Scientific Research—Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
* Chapter 6—Special Examinations of Crown Corporations—2009
* Electronic Health Records in Canada—An Overview of Federal and Provincial Audit Reports
Appendix—Report on the audit of the President of the Treasury Board’s report, Tabling of Crown Corporations’ Reports to Parliament

News Releases
Click the link above to access the following news releases, all dated April 20:
* More federal action needed to sustain balanced development in NWT
* Government not doing enough to address the aging of IT systems
* Governance arrangements limit progress on rehabilitating the Parliament buildings
* Key legislative changes to human resource management are in place but impacts are still unclear
* Federal and provincial auditors present report on electronic health records
* Auditor General’s Spring 2010 Report tabled in the House of Commons
* Agricultural research is not well managed by department
* Auditor General provides overview of special examinations of Crown corporations for 2009
* Advancing Sustainable Development—Discussion Paper by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
* Human Resource Capacity—Government of Nunavut—Departments face long-term challenges to fill their human resource needs

Source:
Auditor General of Canada

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

Child poverty: The Canadian Teachers’ Federation urges federal government to take action
April 20, 2010
(CTF News Service – Ottawa) Teacher leaders from across the country are adding their voices to the national call for action to end child poverty when they meet with Parliamentarians today as part of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation’s (CTF) annual Hill Day.

“Our task is to remind federal politicians that social issues are just as important as economic ones,” explains CTF President Mary-Lou Donnelly. “It is shameful that child poverty is a tragic fact of life in a nation as wealthy as ours. Among the most vulnerable groups affected by child poverty are Aboriginal children, children of new immigrants and children with disabilities.

The report card:

Child Poverty Progress Report Card for Canada (PDF - 269K, 2 pages)

Resources:

Assembly of First Nations
www.afn.ca

Campaign 2000
www.campaign2000.ca

Canada Without Poverty
www.cwp-csp.ca

Education International
www.ei-ie.org

Global Campaign for Education
www.campaignforeducation.org

Make Poverty History
www.makepovertyhistory.ca

National Alliance for Children and Youth
www.nationalchildrensalliance.com

Save the Children Canada / Aide à l’enfance Canada
www.savethechildren.ca

UNICEF / UNICEF
www.unicef.ca

Related link:

TAKING ACTION AGAINST POVERTY
Supporting Education and Building Canada
through the Elimination of Child Poverty (PDF - 291K, 8 pages)
Background Material for
Parliamentarians and Staff
Canadian Teachers' Federation Hill Day 2010 - April 20, 2010
The Canadian Teachers’ Federation urges all Parliamentarians to support a coordinated effort to reduce and eliminate child poverty in Canada.
This coordinated effort should be focussed along three main areas of action:
• Family Income
• Housing
• Educational Opportunity

Source:
Canadian Teachers' Federation
The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) speaks for approximately 200,000 teachers in Canada as their national voice on education and related social issues.

- Go to the Education Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/education.htm
- Go to the Non-Governmental Organizations Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ngobkmrk.htm

The Robin Hood Tax --- an idea whose time has come??

Walkom: Will Canada impose a Robin Hood tax on banks?
By Thomas Walkom
April 23, 2010
Canada was on the wrong side of climate change. We're on the wrong side of financial reform. If we don't watch out, this could become a habit.
Source:
Toronto Star

Flaherty ratchets up fight against bank tax
By Sheldon Alberts and Paul Vieira
April 23, 2010
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Thursday escalated a dispute with the International Monetary Fund over the organization's proposal for a global bank tax to guard against future financial meltdowns, calling the plan "odd" and saying it makes little sense for Canada. "We are a sovereign country. We can regulate our banks and our other financial institutions as we see fit," said Flaherty, who is in Washington for annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.
Source:
Ottawa Citizen

Statement Prepared for the International Monetary and Financial Committee
of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund:
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance for Canada,
on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Ireland, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis,
Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Washington, DC
April 24, 2010
"(...)Conclusion:
Through meaningful and thoughtful reform, the IMF will gain the legitimacy, credibility and effectiveness it needs. Legitimacy will arise when the Fund has voice and representation that reflects the economic realities of the 21st century, and when the Fund makes transparent decisions with clear accountability."
Source:
Department of Finance Canada

COMMENT:
So if I read the above excerpt from the statement's conclusion correctly, Mr. Flaherty and his friends from Ireland and some Caribbean countries feel:
(1) that the IMF is lacking in legitimacy, credibility and effectiveness,
(2) that the Fund's voice and representation don't reflect the economic realities of the 21st century, and
(3) that the Fund doesn't make transparent decisions with clear accountability.
Makes one wonder whether the kerfuffle is over the IMF's suggestion that the banking sector should be forced to pay for their own bailouts, or whether there's something deeper there. Something's definitely awry when the Harper government disses the fiscally-conservative International Monetary Fund...

International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 186 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

_________________________________________________

NOTE: The IMF is not without its detractors.
See the "Criticism" section of
this Wikipedia article on the International Monetary Fund.
_________________________________________________

IMF - World Bank 2010 Spring Meetings
Washington D.C.
April 24-25, 2010
Each Spring, the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee and the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee hold meetings to discuss progress on the work of the Fund and Bank. Plenary sessions of the IMF and the World Bank's Boards of Governors are only scheduled during the Annual Meetings in the autumn.

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From Canadian Business Online:

Robin Hood tax would raise $700 million a year from bank transactions: activists
By Heather Scoffield, The Canadian Press
April 20, 2010
OTTAWA - The International Monetary Fund is recommending all G20 countries slap a tax on financial institutions - advice that puts the organization at odds with Canada, which has a rigid anti-tax position. In a report leaked to the BBC and posted on the network's website, the IMF says G20 governments should tax banks and other financial institutions to make them pay for their own bailouts.

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From BBC News:

International Monetary Fund (IMF)
proposes two big new bank taxes to fund bail-outs
April 21, 2010
Banks and other financial institutions face paying two new taxes to fund future bail-outs, the BBC has learned.
(...) The IMF documents were made available to governments of the G20 group of nations on Tuesday afternoon and seen by the BBC soon afterwards. The plans will be discussed by finance ministers this weekend.

The "leaked" IMF document
on the BBC News website:

Meeting of G-20 Ministers
April 2010
A FAIR AND SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTION BY THE FINANCIAL SECTOR
INTERIM REPORT FOR THE G-20 (PDF - 1.5MB, 57 pages)
Prepared by the Staff of the International Monetary Fund
April 16, 2010
This is an interim response to the request of the G-20 leaders for the IMF to: “...prepare a report for our next meeting [June 2010] with regard to the range of options countries have adopted or are considering as to how the financial sector could make a fair and substantial contribution toward paying for any burden associated with government interventions to repair the banking system.”

Source:
BBC News

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robinhoodtax.ca - new site launched April 20, 2010
Every so often, a proposal comes along that would transform everything. Every so often, activists and people in power end up on the same side of an issue. Every so often, the solution isn’t complicated … just brilliant. Every so often, we get the chance to be part of something huge. We have that chance right now, and it’s called The Robin Hood Tax. A tiny fee on the trade in financial transactions – paid by banks, not by people – it would raise billions of dollars for fighting poverty and climate change at home and around the world.

* How the Robin Hood Tax works

* Act Now

Note : The Robin Hood Tax is part of the At the Table campaign.
See the next set of links below to the G8 and G20 summits for a link to and description of the At the Table campaign.

Related link:

Financial Transactions aka “Robin Hood” tax campaign
By Toby Sanger
April 20, 2010
This morning Oxfam launched their “Robin Hood” (financial transactions) tax campaign in Canada with a press conference in Ottawa and the launch of their website. (...) Estimates are that an international financial transactions tax at a rate of 0.05% could raise up to $600 billion a year and the Robin Hood tax campaign proposes that a quarter of this goes to fund Millennium Development Goals and another quarter goes to support for international climate change programs. This campaign is leading up to the G20 meetings in Toronto this June and is part of an international campaign for an international financial transactions tax.

Source:
Blog : Relentlessly Progressive Economics
[ Progressive Economics Forum ]

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From Oxfam Canada:

The Robin Hood Tax
- two-minute video explaining the Robin Hood Tax : "... tiny fee on financial transactions – paid by banks, not by people..."

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The Robin Hood Tax [ United Kingdom ]
The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax on bankers that would raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad. By taking an average of 0.05% from speculative banking transactions, hundreds of billions of pounds would be raised every year. That’s easily enough to stop cuts in crucial public services in the UK, and to help fight global poverty and climate change.

* Isn’t this the Tobin Tax?
February 11, 2010

- Go to the The Tobin Tax Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/tobin.htm

From the Government of Canada:

Canada to host G8 and G20 Summits
Canada is proud to host the G8 and G20 Summits this June under the overarching theme: “Recovery and New Beginnings.” The G20 has been designated as the premier forum for international economic cooperation. At the same time, the G8 continues to have a critical and influential role in the field of development and security. While the two summits are complementary and mutually reinforcing, they will be held separately and have distinct agendas developed by their own member countries. The G8 Summit will take place in Huntsville, Ontario, June 25 and 26. The G20 Summit will take place in Toronto, Ontario, June 26 and 27.

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G8
__

Muskoka 2010 G8 Summit - Official federal government Summit Home Page
June 25-26, 2010
Canada is proud to assume the 2010 G8 Presidency and will host this year’s G8 summit on June 25-26 in Canada’s Muskoka region. The Group of Eight (G8) brings together the world’s major advanced economies—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Canada’s G8 priorities
from the Prime Minister
(26 January 2010)
- focus is on maternal and child health

About the G8
- a few general paragraphs about the G8 plus links to (govt.) information for each of the member states and past summits
[NOTE: the "Past Summits" link contains summit documents, press releases and statements back to 2001...]

Ministers' Meetings
Foreign and finance ministers have always played a key role in the G8...

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From the Prime Minister's Office:

Prime Minister’s address at the World Economic Forum
28 January 2010
Davos, Switzerland
... where he lays out Canada’s priorities for the G8 Summit.

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G8 Information Centre
- at the University of Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies
The G8 Information Centre provides:
* G7/G8 background information
* all documentation arising from G7 summit meetings: delegations; communiqués; political declarations; other official releases; documents released by national delegations at summits; transcripts of summit news conferences.
* available documentation from G7 ministerial and other meetings
* Scholarly articles and bibliographies about the G7 process, produced by members of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto, and others.

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G20
___

G20 Toronto 2010 Summit - Official federal government Summit Home Page
June 26-27, 2010
Canada is proud to host the fourth G20 summit on June 26-27 in Toronto. The Republic of Korea, G20 Chair for 2010, will host the fifth summit in November in Seoul. Established in 1999, following the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the G20 convened annual meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

Summit Themes
Under the theme of “Recovery and New Beginnings,” the G20 Toronto Summit will focus on recovery from the global economic and financial crisis and the implementation of commitments from previous G20 summits, while laying the foundation for sustainable and balanced growth.

About the G20
- a few general paragraphs about the G20 and leaders' summits, plus links to (govt.) information for each of the member states and past summits
[NOTE: the "Past Summits" link contains summit documents
for the last three meetings in 2008 and 2009 and communiqués for earlier meetings back to 1999.]

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G20 Information Centre
- at the University of Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies

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G8/G20
Non-governmental links
___________________

The 2010 People's Summit
We are people working for solidarity, self-determination, human rights, justice, peace, a healthy planet, and transformative social change. We are groups that question the status quo and the supremacy of global capitalism. We are a movement of many movements, organizing for the other world we know is possible. The People’s Summit is being coordinated by a committee made up of members of non governmental and civil society organizations, as well as non-affiliated peoples. Currently, membership consists of representatives from a wide range of groups, from the Canadian Federation of Students to Oxfam Canada and the Canadian Labour Congress.
[ see the complete list of Steering Committee Members ]
- includes links to : * Calendar * Home * Upcoming Events * Call Out for Programming * Ways to Support the People's Summit * Allies in G20 Organizing * G8/G20 News/Info/Links * Coming to Toronto? * For the Media (Press Releases) * Who Are We? * Get Involved

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At The Table - Make your voice heard at the G8 and G20 summits
At the Table is made up of international NGOs, poverty groups, climate change groups, students, faith groups, organized labour organizations and more than 60 Canadian groups working on G8 and G20 issues. At The Table supporters will gather around hundreds of tables – in restaurants, living rooms, church halls, town squares, classrooms and online meeting spaces – to tell world leaders they need to live up to their promises to meet the Millennium Development Goals and cut world poverty in half by 2015. Politicians from all levels of government will be invited to join these table discussions. Supporters will create a huge photo petition in cyberspace which will be presented to world leaders at the start of the Summits. [ Excerpt from Who We Are ]

* The Issues
--- Poverty and inequality --- Climate change --- The global economy

* Press releases

* Partner Organizations (30) - with graphic links to their websites

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G8-G20 Summits 2010 --- from Oxfam Canada
With the G8 and G20 Summits taking place in Canada this summer, Oxfam is working to make sure that world leaders step up to the plate in tackling global poverty.

* The Robin Hood Tax
- two-minute video explaining the Robin Hood Tax : "... tiny fee on financial transactions – paid by banks, not by people – it would raise billions of dollars for fighting poverty and climate change at home and around the world."

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G8/G20 Toronto Community Mobilization Network
The Group of 8 Leaders and the Group of 20 Leaders are meeting in Ontario from June 25-27, 2010. Toronto-based organizations of women, people of colour, indigenous peoples, the poor, the working class, queer and trans people and disabled people are organizing a people's convergence. Join Us!
- incl. links to: * Get informed * Get involved * Schedule * Tools * News * Media

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G8 Live
G8 Live is an initiative of the student division of the G8 Research Group, the world’s leading independent research institute providing information and analysis on the G8. (...) The G8 Research Group is a network of scholars, professionals and students interested in the activities of the G8. Founded in 1987 and based at the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto.
- includes links to: * Home * Country Analysis * Issue Analysis * Civil Society Studies * Reports * About Us

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
* G8
* G20
NOTE: despite their short titles, I recommend both of these Wikipedia entries --- they contain scads of information, along with links to further information and links to external related websites.

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The globalization of solidarity: A draft communiqué for the G8/G20
By Duncan Cameron
April 22, 2010
What kind of message do we want to see following the upcoming June meetings of the G8/G20 in Ontario? More of the same is dangerous for humanity. (...) As usual, the G8/G20 meetings will work out a communiqué in advance setting out points of agreement. [Click the link above] to read "a draft communiqué offered in the spirit of bringing out a "frank exchange of views" prior to the Canadian G20 summit in Toronto and G8 in Muskoka.
Source:
rabble.ca

- Go to the Globalization Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/global.htm

Ontario

Social Assistance, Pension and Tax Credit Rates, April to June 2010 (PDF - 160K, 2 pages)
Source:
Community Advocacy and Legal Centre
Recommended reading/saving/printing!
All in two pages, (just about) everything you ever
wanted to know about federal and provincial social program benefit levels in Ontario.
[This is mostly amounts - for program information, try doing a Google search using the program name...]

This factsheet contains current rate information (benefit levels)
for the following federal and Ontario programs:

* Federal Income Security programs
----- Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, the Allowance (formerly Spouse's Allowance)
----- Canada Pension Plan
----- Goods and Services Tax Credit
----- Medical Expense Tax Credit
----- War Veterans Allowance
----- Employment Insurance
----- Canada Child Tax Benefit (inc. the National Child Benefit Supplement and Child Disability Benefit)
* Ontario Works - Social Assistance rates (eff. Nov. 2009) + earnings exemptions and incentives
* Ontario Disability Support Program - Social Assistance rates (eff. Nov. 2009)
* Ontario Guaranteed Annual Income System (provincial top-up for Ontario seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement under the federal Old Age Security program)
* Ontario Child Benefit
* Ontario Child Care Supplement for Working Families
* Ontario Sales and Property Tax Credits

Source:
Tip Sheet List - (check this link for more recent updates)
[ Community Advocacy & Legal Centre - a non-profit community legal clinic
serving low income residents of Hastings, Prince Edward and Lennox & Addington counties.]
Prepared by the
Statistics and Analysis Unit, Social Policy Development Division
[ Ministry of Community & Social Services ]

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Thanks to the nice folks at the Community Advocacy & Legal Centre who posted this file to the Internet!
It's a pity the Ministry of Community & Social Services doesn't have room for this valuable information on its own website.

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

The Housing Network of Ontario has released its
"Five Tests for a Long Term Affordable Housing Strategy"
April 19, 2010
Building the Foundation for Ontario’s Future: 5 Tests for Success of Ontario’s Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy, summarizes what thousands of low-income Ontarians and advocates expect of the government’s promised Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy, due to be released in June.

Download the report:

Building the Foundation for Ontario’s Future:
Five Tests for Success of Ontario’s Long-Term
Affordable Housing Strategy (PDF - 195K, 2 pages)
April 2010
The five tests:
* Bold targets and sustained funding
* A solid measuring stick
* Accountability
* Make housing truly affordable and accessible
* Reform housing legislation to build stronger communities

Source:
stableandaffordable.com – an initiative of the Wellesley Institute and many partners across Ontario. Here, you’ll find plenty of facts and figures about housing in Ontario, along with stories from people around the province, and tips for actions that you can take to ensure everyone in Ontario has a stable and affordable home.

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

Controversial Toronto street needs
assessment reports sharp drop in street homelessness
April 16, 2010
Toronto’s latest street needs assessment (released today) shows that the number of street homeless has dropped by half, while the number of sheltered homeless has risen. The methodology behind the count is controversial, as the Wellesley Institute has noted. There are plenty of more reliable studies of the real needs of people who are homeless or precariously housed. The latest assessment ignores the single biggest component of the homeless population – the hidden homeless (couch-surfers). Toronto’s affordable housing waiting list is at an all-time high, and the number of people housed in March of 2010 is way down from last year. The Street Health Report, supported by the Wellesley Institute, provides a detailed review of the health status of people who are homeless.

Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

--

Related links from The City of Toronto:

New research: street homelessness in Toronto cut in half
2009 Street Needs Assessment: homeless people want permanent housing;
more affordable housing is still needed
News Release
April 16, 2010
Street homelessness - people living outdoors - in Toronto is down by 51 per cent since the inaugural Street Needs Assessment in 2006, according to the newly released results of the 2009 Street Needs Assessment (SNA).

2009 Street Needs Assessment:
Results and Observations (PDF - 36K, 10 pages)
Staff Report
April 9, 2010
From the Shelter, Support and Housing Administration

2009 Street Needs
Assessment Results (PDF - 5.4MB, 42 pages)

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

Selected content from
The Daily [Statistics Canada]:

April 23, 2010
Consumer Price Index, March 2010
Consumer prices rose 1.4% in the 12 months to March, following a 1.6% increase in February. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.1% from February to March.
- includes links to three tables:
* Consumer Price Index and major components, Canada (2002=100)
* Consumer Price Index by province, and for Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit (2002=100)
* Consumer Price Index and major components (2002=100)

Related reports:

The Consumer Price Index, March 2010
PDF version (525K, 67 pages)
HTML version - Table of contents with links to each of the following sections of the report:
1. Highlights 2. Briefing notes 3. Analysis 4. Tables 5. Charts 6. Data quality, concepts and methodology 7. Appendices 8. User information 9. Related products

[ earlier editions of this report ]

Guide to the Consumer Price Index (1998)

Related subjects:
* Prices and price indexes
* Consumer price indexes

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Employment Insurance - February 2010
April 22, 2010
In February, 698,800 people received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, virtually unchanged from the previous month. The number of people receiving regular EI benefits has declined by 130,500 since the peak of 829,300 last June.
- incl. three tables:
* Employment Insurance: Statistics by province and territory
* Beneficiaries receiving regular benefits by age group, sex, province and territory
* Beneficiaries receiving regular benefits by census metropolitan areas

Related subjects
o Labour
o Employment insurance, social assistance and other transfers
o Non-wage benefits

Related link:

Employment Insurance Statistics Maps
- set of maps presenting the number of regular Employment Insurance beneficiaries. These maps complete the analysis published simultaneously in The Daily. The maps show the percentage change in number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in the last 12 months, by Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) and Census Agglomerations (CAs).

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Leading indicators, March 2010
April 22, 2010
The composite leading index rose 1.0% in March, matching its average monthly increase since July 2009. However, the sources of growth continued to shift away from housing to other sectors of consumer demand and manufacturing.
- includes a table (at the bottom of the page) of leading indicators for March 2010

Related subjects:
* Economic accounts
* Leading indicators

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

The Daily Archives
- select a month and click on a date for that day's Daily

Source:
The Daily
[Statistics Canada]

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

What's new from the
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU):

April 25, 2010

What's new online
This section archives documents that have been featured on the CRRU homepage.

Taking action against poverty: Supporting education and building Canada through the elimination of child poverty
21 Apr 10
- Canadian Teachers' Federation urges federal action on child poverty, including "a universal child care system providing dedicated funding for high quality care and early intervention".

Transition: Recession realities
21 Apr 10
- Latest issue of the Vanier Institute of the Family's quarterly magazine focuses on the recession's impact on families; includes articles by sociologist Kate Bezanson and the CLC Communities in Crisis Research Team.

Recession, stimulus and the child care sector: Understanding economic dynamics, calculating impact
21 Apr 10
- Brief by Mildred Warner from Cornell University calculates the stimulus effects of increased child care spending on output and employment in state economies.

Evidence-based programming in the context of practice and policy
21 Apr 10
- Recent edition of the Social Policy Report (US) discusses the "complexities, uncertainties, and limitations" of replicating "evidence-based programs". The main article is followed by three commentaries.

more WHAT'S NEW ONLINE »

child care in the news
This section features interesting and noteworthy news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.

· Canadian teachers give failing grade to child poverty efforts [CA]
20 Apr 10

· Beyond Boomercentrism [CA]
20 Apr 10

· Allegations of favouritism in awarding daycare permits resurface in Quebec [CA-QC]
20 Apr 10

· Pricing questions as ABC Learning Centres probe continues [AU]
19 Apr 10

· More data needed on full-day learning [CA-ON]
17 Apr 10

· Cambrian College closing day care [CA-ON]
15 Apr 10

· University of Toronto Mississauga closes Early Learning Centre [CA-ON]
15 Apr 10

more CC IN THE NEWS »

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Subscribe to the CRRU email announcements list
Sign up to receive email notices of updates and new postings on the CRRU website which will inform you of policy developments in early childhood care and education, new research and resources for policy, newly released CRRU publications, and upcoming events of interest to the child care and broader community.

Links to child care
sitesin 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

Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)
The Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) is a policy and research oriented facility that focuses on early childhood education and child care (ECEC) and family policy in Canada and internationally.

- 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 several times a week
- scan of U.S. web-based news items dealing with topics such as poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.

Latest issues of Poverty Dispatch:

April 22, 2010
Children’s Health Insurance Program - Arizona
General Assistance Medical Care - Minnesota
Poverty Measurement - Japan
School Districts and Education Funding

April 21, 2010
Preventing Homelessness
Health Care Reform and the Uninsured
Health Care Reform and State Medicaid Programs
Employment and Housing - North Dakota

April 20, 2010
Medicaid Reform - Florida
Child Poverty in New England
Teenage Homelessness - Minnesota

April 19, 2010
Poverty Measurement - India
Poverty and Income Inequality - Colombia

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Past Poverty Dispatches
- links to dispatches back to June 2006

Search Poverty Dispatches

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To subscribe to this email list, send an email to:
povdispatch-request@ssc.wisc.edu?subject=subscribe

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

- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm
- Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm

[United States]

OOPS!
April 19, 2010
The new U.S. Supplemental Poverty Measure was described in the April 18/10 issue of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter as an intrinsic part of the 2010 U.S. Census. This was incorrect --- the SPM is distinct from the 2010 Census.

Read the words of the kind anonymous contributor
who set the record straight in an email earlier today:

"The U.S. Census Bureau’s new Supplemental Poverty Measure is completely separate from the U.S. 2010 Decennial Census. The 2010 Decennial Census (unlike earlier Decennial Censuses) does not contain any questions about income, so it cannot be used to measure poverty. The income data used to measure poverty according to both the current official poverty measure and the new Supplemental Poverty Measure will be taken from the Current Population Survey (and presumably also the American Community Survey); these surveys are separate from the Decennial Census."

[Thank you for this correction,
kind anonymous contributor...]
Gilles

NOTE: For links to the links to the Supplemental Poverty Measure,
go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm

From the Los Angeles Times:

Unemployment benefits expire as Congress debates extension
Lawmakers are likely to take up the issue when they return from spring break next week. The sticking point is how to pay for an extension.
By Clement Tan
April 6, 2010
As unemployment benefits expired Monday for tens of thousands of jobless workers, Democrats and Republicans renewed their haggling over whether to vote for an extension when Congress returns from its spring break next week. At the heart of the dispute is whether the extension should be offset by spending cuts, as Republicans are demanding, or whether it constitutes an emergency, as Democrats say. The expiration means 212,000 unemployed people will lose benefits this week, according to figures provided by the National Employment Law Project.

A federal balancing act
Congress won't resolve the federal deficit problem by arguing over emergency spending programs aimed at spurring the economy. The real problems are far larger.
Editorial
April 18, 2010
Call it Congress' version of "lather, rinse, repeat."
Last week, lawmakers approved a short-term extension of unemployment benefits after overcoming yet another GOP filibuster, the third such extension since December. The extension lasts only until early June, so Congress may soon be going through the same routine again. Republicans object to borrowing money to finance the extra benefits, while Democrats refuse to offset the additional spending by cutting other parts of the budget

Source:
Los Angeles Times

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

Related links:

Unemployment Insurance - from the U.S. Department of Labor

Unemployment benefits - from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Links to Information about
Unemployment Insurance
programs in each state in the U.S.
- from America's Service Locator

---

National Employment Law Project
The National Employment Law Project (NELP) responds (to worker insecurity and inequality) by working to restore the promise of economic opportunity in the 21st century economy. (...) We partner with strong advocacy networks, grounded in the full range of stakeholders - grassroots groups and national organizations, worker centers and unions, policymakers and think tanks.

NELP Issues: Unemployment Insurance
In an increasingly volatile economy, working families need a strong unemployment insurance program - one that is there in hard times to help them pay the bills and find new jobs that meet their needs and aspirations. However, the unemployment insurance safety net has failed to keep pace with the changing labor force, especially the growth in women, part-time and low-wage workers. In response, policymakers in over half the states have adopted significant reforms in recent years to modernize their unemployment insurance (UI) programs.

Unemployed Workers Home
A special project of the National Employment Law Project

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Compared to Canada?

The first link below explains how the U.S. defines unemployment for statistical purposes.
The second link is to the Canadian Social Research Links collection of reports and studies on Employment Insurance in Canada.
The third link is to a recent report on EI beneficiaries in February 2010.

---

International unemployment rates:
how comparable are they? (PDF - 96K, 18 pages)
September 2001
Adjusted to U.S. concepts, the Canadian unemployment rate is reduced by 1 percentage point; effects of adjustments on European unemployment rates are smaller.
Source:
Department of Labor

---

Employment Insurance Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ei.htm

---

From The Daily
[Statistics Canada]:

Employment Insurance - February 2010
April 22, 2010
In February, 698,800 people received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, virtually unchanged from the previous month. The number of people receiving regular EI benefits has declined by 130,500 since the peak of 829,300 last June.

Related subjects
o Labour
o Employment insurance, social assistance and other transfers
o Non-wage benefits

_______________
Related link:

Stingy EI Benefits
By Erin Weir
April 22, 2010
This morning, Statistics Canada released Employment Insurance (EI) figures for February. These figures show slightly more recipients nationally, but somewhat fewer recipients among provinces. (...) The status quo is that more than 1.5 million Canadians are officially unemployed, but that fewer than 700,000 receive EI benefits. Continuing that state of affairs is a poor outcome.

Also by Erin Weir:

Employment Insurance Runs Out
February 19, 2010
The number of Canadians receiving Employment Insurance (EI) benefits plummeted in December. The drop of 40,100 was the largest monthly decrease in years. One would anticipate some decline in the number of EI recipients as the job market begins to recover. But the magnitude of December’s decline suggests that, in addition to those former recipients who found work, many more simply ran out of benefits. The Labour Force Survey indicates that employment decreased by 2,600 in December. Therefore, it seems unlikely that 40,100 EI recipients found jobs during that month. (...) Fewer than half (47.8 %) of unemployed Canadians received EI benefits in December.

Source:
Blog : Relentlessly Progressive Economics
[ Progressive Economics Forum ]
The Progressive Economics Forum aims to promote the development of a progressive economics community in Canada. The PEF brings together over 125 progressive economists, working in universities, the labour movement, and activist research organizations.

[ more postings on Employment Insurance from the Progressive Economics Forum ]

- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm

New from The World Bank:

World Bank Frees Up Development Data
April 20, 2010—The World Bank Group said today it will offer free access to more than 2,000 financial, business, health, economic and human development statistics that had mostly been available only to paying subscribers. An initial 330 indicators are available in French, Spanish and Arabic. The decision - part of a larger effort to increase access to information at the World Bank - means that researchers, journalists, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), entrepreneurs and school children alike will be able to tap into the World Bank's databases via a new website. Experts say open access policy will foster innovation, support evidence-based policymaking.

World Bank Data
The World at a Glance : Key development indicators from the World Bank

* Countries
- Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (yes, including Canada)

* Topics
- Agriculture & Rural Development - Infrastructure - Aid Effectiveness - Labor & Social Protection - Economic Policy and External Debt - Poverty - Education - Private Sector - Energy & Mining - Public Sector - Environment - Science & Technology Financial sector - Social Development - Health - Urban Development

* Indicators
- 331 indicators from the World Development Indicators (WDI) covering 209 countries from 1960 to 2008 translated into Spanish, French and Arabic.

* Data Catalog
The data catalog is a listing of available World Bank data sources, including databases, pre-formatted tables and reports. Each of the listings includes a description of the data source and a direct link to that source. Where possible, the databases are linked directly to a selection screen to allow users to select the countries, indicators, and years they would like to search. Those search results can be exported in different formats. Users can also choose to download the entire database directly from the catalog.

Related link:

World Bank Reform
The World Bank Group is advancing multiple reforms to promote inclusiveness, innovation, efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. It is expanding cooperation with the UN, the IMF, other multilateral development banks, donors, civil society, and foundations. But the effort must go further to realize a World Bank Group that represents the international economic realities of the 21st Century, recognizes the role and responsibility of growing stakeholders, and provides a larger voice for developing countries.

Source:
The World Bank
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Our mission is to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results and to help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors.

See also:

World Bank PovertyNet
(...) The Poverty Reduction Group offers strategic guidance and knowledge services to make the World Bank and its clients more effective in reducing poverty. Current areas of focus include Shocks and Risks, Markets and Opportunities, and Policies and Institutions for Poverty Reduction

NOTE: The World Bank is not without its detractors.
See the "Criticism" section of
this Wikipedia article on The World Bank.

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

New from The World Bank:

World Development Indicators (WDI) 2010 released
News Release
WASHINGTON, April 20, 2010 — The World Development Indicators (WDI) 2010, released today, gives a statistical progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The WDI database includes more than 900 indicators documenting the state of all the world’s economies. The WDI covers education, health, poverty, environment, economy, trade, and much more. (...) This year’s WDI focuses on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), now in their 10th year.

World Development Indicators (WDI) 2010 - main page
April 2010
The World Development Indicators (WDI) 2010 is a comprehensive overview of development. It is the statistical benchmark that helps measure the progress of development. The 2010 WDI includes more than 900 indicators and they are available through data.worldbank.org, in print, or on CD-ROM. The print edition has more than 90 tables organized in 6 sections: World View, People, Environment, Economy, States and Markets, and Global Links.

Download the complete report in a single file by clicking the link below, or click the main page link above for a table of contents
and links to individual files for each of the following sections:
* Preface, Acknowledgments, Table of Contents, Partners, Users Guide (1.27 mb pdf)
* World View (3.14 mb pdf)
* People (3.03 mb pdf)
* Environment (2.52 mb pdf)
* Economy (3.69mb pdf)
* States and Markets (2.35mb pdf)
* Global Links (2.84mb pdf)
* Primary Data Documentation, Statistical Methods, Credits, Bibliography, Index of Indicators (521k pdf)

Complete report (PDF - 18MB, 489 pages)

Source:
The World Bank

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

Comparison of welfare
programs in OECD countries

MINIMUM-INCOME BENEFITS IN OECD COUNTRIES:
POLICY DESIGN, EFFECTIVENESS AND CHALLENGES (PDF - 840K, 54 pages)
OECD SOCIAL, EMPLOYMENT AND MIGRATION WORKING PAPERS N°100
January 2010
By Herwig Immervoll
- includes Canada

Abstract:
Almost all OECD countries operate comprehensive minimum-income programmes for working-age individuals, either as last-resort safety nets alongside primary income replacement benefits, or as the principal instrument for delivering social protection. Such safety-net benefits aim primarily at providing an acceptable standard of living for families unable to earn sufficient incomes from other sources. This paper provides an overview of social assistance and other minimum-income programmes in OECD countries, summarises their main features, and highlights a number of current policy challenges.

Excerpt:
The current economic downturn is putting pressures on governments to strengthen income support measures. While buoyant labour markets in many OECD countries have helped to restrain recipiency numbers since the mid-late nineties, the current rapid decline in economic activity can be expected to be a powerful driver of the demand for minimum safety-nets. In addition to the expected lengthening of average unemployment spells, and the resulting rising number of people running out of unemployment benefit entitlements, those with temporary jobs or other forms of non-standard employment are often not entitled to unemployment benefits in the first place. For these individuals, employment durations are shorter, transitions into and out of work more frequent and coverage by social insurance benefits can be less universal as a result. [page 48]

Source:
Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers<=== click for links to 100+ studies!
[ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ]

-----------

NOTE:
Social program historians may wish to compare this report with a
1996 OECD study of social assistance in two dozen countries (also including Canada).
See:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/welfare.htm#1994
(See esp. Vol. I: The Synthesis Report, 1996)

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

Australian Policy Online (APO)
APO is a news service and library specialising in Australian public policy reports and articles from academic research centres, think tanks, government and non-government organisations. The site features opinion and commentary pieces, video, audio and web resources focussed on the policy issues facing Australia.
[ About APO ]
NOTE : includes links to the latest APO research; the five most popular downloads of the week
appear in a dark box in the top right-hand corner of each page, and the downloads vary depending on the topic you select.

Most viewed this week:
1. Perceptions of child care affordability and availability in Australia: what the HILDA survey tells us
2. National cultural policy: discussion framework
3. Garma Festival 2009 key forum address
4. Class, voting and broad left demography
5. Report on government services 2010: Indigenous compendium
[Click the APO home page link above to access these reports.]

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

New Research : Social Policy | Poverty
- topics include:
* Community * Cultural diversity * Families & households * Gender & sexuality * Immigration & refugees * Population * Poverty * Religion & faith * Social problems * Welfare * Youth

Most viewed this week:
1. Perceptions of child care affordability and availability in Australia: what the HILDA survey tells us
2. National cultural policy: discussion framework
3. Report on government services 2010: Indigenous compendium
4. Indigenous homelessness
5. New estimates of the relationship between female labour supply and the cost, availability, and quality of child care
[Click the New Research link above to access these reports.]

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

From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)

Latest issues of CRINMAIL (children's rights newsletter):

22 April 2010 - CRINMAIL 1168
* HUMAN RIGHTS COMMENT: Children coming alone as migrants should not be automatically returned [viewpoint]
* TRANSPARENCY: Publishing What We Learned [publication]
* HONDURAS: UN representative advises State to derogate "Anti-gang law" [news]
* PRIVACY: US school accused of using laptops to spy on pupils [news]
* UNITED KINGDOM: Cost of putting children in care blamed for assaults on under-10s [news]
* ZIMBABWE: Worrying rise in STIs among young people [news]
* EMPLOYMENT: Save the Children Sweden, UNICEF and NGO Group for the CRC
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

20 April 2010 - CRINMAIL 1167
* GLOBAL: UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice [declaration]
* CHILDREN AND DRUGS: 53rd session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs [news]
* INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION: Questionnaire on the situation of persons deprived of liberty in the Americas [questionnaire]
* UNITED STATES: House of Representatives holds hearing on corporal punishment in public schools [news]
* LEBANON: Children submit first child-led report to UN [news]
* CHILD LABOUR: China's Youth Meet Microsoft [publication]
* CRIN VACANCY: Child Rights Officer - English/French
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

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

Links to Issues of CRINMAIL
- links to 200+ 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.
NOTE: see http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnrights.htm for the table of contents for, and links to, several months' worth of issues of CRINMAIL.

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

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

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

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

The e-mail version of this newsletter is available only in plain text (no graphics, no hyperlinks, no fancy bolding or italics, etc.) to avoid security problems with government departments, universities and other networks with firewalls. The text-only version is also friendlier for people using older or lower-end technology.

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

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

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

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

Cheers!
Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

HOW BIG IS WAL-MART?

And, in closing...

Hey, remember when *your* old Aunt Grace used to forward every Internet hoax under the sun to you?
She still does??
Well, if Aunt Grace recently forwarded you a warning urging all Internet Explorer browser users to avoid touching the F1 key if prompted to do by a popup on a website, PAY ATTENTION!!

WARNING:
If you use Internet Explorer on a computer
with Windows XP or Windows 2000, DO NOT PRESS F1 if prompted!!

F1 Key Virus - certified TRUE (not a hoax) by Snopes.com
"On March 1, 2010, Microsoft issued a warning against a new virus that they do not yet have a patch for --- it is attached to Internet Explorer and the user will get a window prompt requesting them to press the F1 key. Doing this then causes malicious code to be run on your computer.
So ... DO NOT press F1 if you are prompted - no matter how many times. Evidently, it will pester you repeatedly.
Either close the window or Internet Explorer altogether.
Note that this vulnerability cannot be exploited on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2008."

______________________

THE BOTTOM LINE: