Canadian Social Research Newsletter
March 26, 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 1580 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. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Participation in Adult Schooling and its Earnings Impact in Canada - study - March 24
--- Federal government finance: Assets and liabilities as of March 2005 - March 22
--- Study: Parents with adult children living at home, 2001 - March 21
2. Socio-economic Conference 2006 (Ottawa)- May 15-16, 2006 (Statistics Canada)
3. Provincial Budgets for 2006:
--- Québec: March 23
--- Ontario: March 23 + Ontario Budget Reaction 2006: The People Have Their Say
--- Alberta: March 22
4. Upcoming homelessness conferences, homelessness newsletter (National Homelessness Initiative - federal govt.)
5. Opposition to the Proposed Reforms to the Ontario Human Rights Code (Disabled Women's Network Ontario) - March 24 update
6. Accessibility News - Online disability e-zine (Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services) - March 2006 issue
7. What's New from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto) - March 24

International Content

8. Poverty Dispatch Digest : U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs --- March 23
9. World Urban Forum (Vancouver) - Theme: "Sustainable Cities: Turning Ideas into Action" (June 19-23)

Have a great  week!

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

March 24, 2006
Participation in Adult Schooling and its Earnings Impact in Canada
Based on a sample drawn from Statistics Canada's Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID: 1993 to 1998 and 1996 to 2001), the study finds that young (17 to 34 years old) and single workers were more likely than older (35 to 59 years old) and married and divorced workers to participate in adult schooling and to obtain a post-secondary certificate. Workers with less than a high school education who might have the greatest need to increase their human capital investment were less likely to participate in adult education than workers with high school or more education.

Complete study:

Participation in Adult Schooling
and its Earnings Impact in Canada (PDF file - 202K, 35 pages)
by Xuelin Zhang and Boris Palameta

March 22, 2006
Federal government finance: Assets and liabilities
As of March 31, 2005
"At March 31, 2005, the federal government's net financial debt (defined as the excess of liabilities over financial assets) fell to $523.3 billion, down $300 million from March 31, 2004. A decrease of $2.3 billion in financial assets and $2.6 billion in liabilities explain this drop. As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the federal government net financial debt decreased from 41.8% in 2004 to 39.4% in 2005, the lowest since 1984. Per capita, the net financial debt decreased from $16,427 to $16,266."

March 21, 2006
Study: Parents with adult children living at home, 2001
Suggested Subtitle: "My boomerang won't go 'way!"
"The majority of parents living with at least one adult child at home expressed no sign of frustration about their living arrangements, according to a new study published today in Canadian Social Trends. But that does not mean there was perfect harmony in all these households. The study "Parents with adult children living at home", available free online, based on data from the 2001 General Social Survey, compared the profile of parents who are living with at least one of their adult children with parents whose adult children had left the home. The study found that 32% of parents whose youngest child was between 20 and 34 years old had at least one child living at home with them. Of these parents, one-quarter were in fact living with a "boomerang kid", that is, a child who had returned to live in the parental home after already leaving once (or more)."

Complete study:

Parents with adult children living at home (PDF file - 231K, 9 pages)
NOTE: "Stop cooking with cheese" is not discussed as a parental strategy in this study...
(;-D
Source:
Free articles - links to 15 articles
[Canadian Social Trends]

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

Socio-economic Conference 2006
May 15 and 16, 2006
Ottawa Congress Centre
"On May 15 and 16, 2006, Statistics Canada will hold its annual two-day socio-economic conference. This event will provide a stimulating and challenging environment for presenters and participants alike, while serving as an annual forum for empirical research focusing on issues of concern in Canadian public policy. The Socio-Economic Conference 2006 will include several plenary sessions featuring invited guest speakers who are leading authorities in their fields. Approximately 50 contributed papers, contributed sessions or posters will be presented, and targets studies discussing:
* Emerging Economic Trends and their Underlying Causes;
* The social Implications of Economic Trends and the Ability of Various Groups to participate in the Economy."
more...

Source:
Statistics Canada

- Go to the Conferences and Events Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/confer.htm
- Go to the Social Statistics Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/stats.htm

2006-2007 Québec Budget
March 23, 2006
- incl. links to all budget papers (all PDF files):
Budget Speech (44 pages, 686K)
Budget in Brief (36 pages, 888K)
Highlights (2 pages, 76K)
2006-2007 Budget Plan (204 pages, 1.45M)
Additional Information on the Budgetary Measures (220 pages, 1.32 M)
Plus a financial profile Québec today, six budget press releases and more...

Google.ca News Search Results:
"Québec Budget 2006"
Google.ca Web Search Results:
"Québec Budget 2006"
Source:
Google.ca

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Budget 2006-2007 du Québec
Le 23 mars 2006
- vous trouverez ici tous les liens vers les documents pertinents au budget (tous en format PDF):
Discours sur le budget (44 pages, 811 Ko)
Budget en bref (36 pages, 896 Ko)
Points saillants (2 pages, 82 Ko)
Plan budgétaire 2006-2007 (204 pages, 1,48 Mo)
Renseignements additionnels sur les mesures du budget (236 pages, 1,18 Mo)
...ainsi qu'un Profil financier, six communiqués de presse et encore plus.

Page de résultats de recherche actualités de Google.ca :
« Québec, Budget 2006 »
Page de résultats de recherche Web de Google.ca :
« Québec, Budget 2006 »
Source:
Google.ca

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Ontario Budget 2006
March 23, 2006
"The 2006 Ontario Budget, tabled March 23, 2006, is part of the government's plan to invest in three key priorities — education, health and a strong economy — while making progress toward eliminating the deficit, which for 2005-06 has been reduced to $1.4 billion. Specifically, the 2006 Budget proposes a $1.2 billion investment in Move Ontario which will support public transit and provide funding for roads and bridges. The 2006 Budget also proposes new funding for healthcare, education and safe communities."

- includes links to all budget papers : Budget Speech - Budget Papers - News Release - Highlights - backgrounders (Infrastructure - Health - Education - Economy - Social Services [see next link below]- Toronto - Agriculture)

Social Services Backgrounder
"Strengthening Assistance for Ontario's Most Vulnerable:
Providing Opportunity For Those Who Need It Most"

Google.ca News Search Results:
"Ontario Budget 2006"
Google.ca Web Search Results:
"Ontario Budget 2006"
Source:
Google.ca

Related Links:

Ontario Budget Reaction 2006 - The People Have Their Say
Thanks to Barbara Anello of DisAbled Women's Network-Ontario for compiling (probably into the wee hours, if I know my friend Barbara...) and posting this selection of almost two dozen reactions to the 2006 Ontario budget by non-governmental organizations and individuals.
All on one page (with links at the top), you'll find:
The People have Spoken Loud and Clear - Dalton McGuinty's Budget is another Liberal Letdown:
* Health Care
* Education
* Energy
* New Deal for Cities
* Jobs
* Help for the Vulnerable
* Media Release: Dalton's leaky budget - missed opportunities for people
* Media Release: Dalton McGuinty's Pay More Get Less Budget - Tory says McGuinty should have focused on balanced budget, not reckless spending
* Social assistance payments rise again, but it's not enough, advocate says
Source:
DAWN Ontario (Disabled Women's Network - Ontario)

Budget short changes poor people (Word file - 74K, 1 page)
"TORONTO, March 23/06 – The 2% increase to social assistance rates in today’s budget will do little to alleviate the desperate poverty faced by the province’s poorest people. (...) In addition to failing to adequately raise social assistance rates, anti-poverty activists are deeply disappointed the McGuinty Liberals have again failed to keep their election promise to end the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement from families on social assistance."
Source:
Income Security Advocacy Centre (Toronto)

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Alberta Budget 2006:
Strengthening Today, Securing Tomorrow
March 22, 2006
In Budget 2006, the Alberta government produces its 13th consecutive balanced budget, which will continue to address infrastructure needs and improve services for Albertans while lowering taxes and increasing savings.
Highlights:
* $4.1 billion surplus forecast: allocated mainly to savings, the Sustainability Fund, and capital investment
* 16 per cent increase in operating funding for post-secondary education
* Additional $127 million in annual funding for continuing care initiatives by 2008-09
* Three-year Capital Plan allocates $13.3 billion for infrastructure, an increase of 45 per cent
* Funding increase for AISH, seniors assistance and services for children
* 80 new RCMP positions, more prosecutors, establishment of organized crime surveillance team
- incl. links to all budget papers

Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped, Seniors, Alberta Works
- budget 2006 increases spending on disabled, seniors and welfare

Google.ca News Search Results:
"Alberta Budget 2006"
Google.ca Web Search Results:
"Alberta Budget 2006"
Source:
Google.ca

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- Go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm
- Go to the Alberta Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/abkmrk.htm
- Go to the Ontario Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Québec Links (English) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qce.htm
- Rendez-vous à la page de liens de recherche sociale au Québec: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qcbkmrk.htm

The Salvation Army USA
National Social Services Conference 2006 (PDF file - 354K, 8 pages)
March 25-29 (Toronto, ON)
Salvation Army Service Providers from across Canada and the United States will come together for this five-day conference to share best practices, receive corporate messaging and explore future directions in order to ensure that their services continue to meet the needs of Canadians who are experiencing homelessness.

Street Level Homelessness Conference
March 29 to April 1 (Ottawa, ON)
A National Conference designed to facilitate networking and the sharing of resources, as well as to equip those who work with homeless and street-involved youth and adults.
This conference is presented by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Roundtable on poverty and homelessness.

2006 Safe Streets Safe Cities Conference
April 4 to April 6 (Calgary, AB)
"The Canada West Foundation and Calgary’s Community Life Improvement Council have joined together to host the first in what will become an annual conference designed to address major urban issues facing Western Canada’s central cities. (...) The International Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Association (CPTED) has joined as co-presenter for the third day of the conference to provide participants with practical tools to take the knowledge learned throughout the conference and help put it into practice. This annual conference will tackle chronic social problems affecting urban society and propose workable, compassionate solutions to make cities safe."
Sponsored By:
Canada West Foundation

Source:
Homeless Individuals and Families Information
System (HIFIS) Bulletin - February 2006 issue (PDF 110K, 4 pages)
- also includes: What does the new government mean for the HIFIS Initiative? - Protect your computer : the importance of antivirus software - hats off to Raising the Roof (toque campaign) - featured website (Shared Learnings on Homelessness website) - events - research highlights

Related links:

More HIFIS Bulletins - links to all 15 issues of the bulletin, going back to June 2004
The HIFIS Bulletin is a bilingual forum through which to disseminate research related to homelessness, details of HIFIS Initiative events, highlights and resources, as well as information of interest to the sheltering service provider community.

Source:
National Homelessness Initiative: Working Together - Federal Government
"The National Homelessness Initiative (NHI) is at work helping governments and community organizations come together to alleviate homelessness. By encouraging innovative and progressive cooperation, this approach is supporting local solutions for local problems."

More conferences: See the Calendar of Events - from Family Service Canada

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

From DAWN Ontario (Disabled Women's Network - Ontario):

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) Alliance Update
Major Tide of Opposition Rises in Opposition to McGuinty Government's Plans to Weaken the Ontario Human Rights Commission -- but McGuinty Government Has Not Answered Our Important Questions, and Signals it is Not Listening to Us
March 24, 2006

- Go to the Disability Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/disbkmrk.htm
- Go to the the Canadian Non-Governmental Sites about Women's Social Issues page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/womencanngo.htm

From the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services:

Accessibility News - Online Newsletter (monthly)
Content of the March 2006 issue:
* CulturAll
* Paychecks Not Pity
* Guidelines for Communicating with People who use AAC
* Arts Access Made Easy
* Usability for Older Web Users
* Accessites
* Making Life Easier: New Telecommunication Services

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

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

Each week, the Childcare Resource and Research Unit disseminates its "e-mail news notifier", an e-mail message with a dozen or so links to new reports, studies and child care in the news (media articles) by the CRRU or another organization in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). What you see below is content from the most recent issue of the notifier.

24-Mar-06

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WHAT'S NEW
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>> Building a community architecture for early childhood learning and care: Analysis and recommendations
by Mayer, Debra & Beg, Fahreen
Report from YWCA Canada "examines the potential of developing a national child care plan that could meet the varied and unique needs of modern Canadian families."

>> Ontario Budget 2006
Ontario Budget halts further expansion of Best Start; points to lack of "sustained federal support."

>> Childcare progress at risk in Manitoba: Provincial and federal action needed
by Prentice, Susan
Article from Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - Manitoba's Fast Facts series asks "what is the future of childcare in our province?"

>> ELCC Bulletin No. 2
Newsletter from the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (representing off-reserve Indians and Métis people) focuses on current events in ELCC in Canada.

>> The effect pre-primary education on primary school performance
by Berlinski, Samuel; Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul
Working paper from the Institute of Fiscal Studies investigates "the effect of a large expansion of universal pre-primary education in Argentina."

>> Fair Start: 10-point plan for early childhood education & care
Report from the Australian Council of Social Service provides ten recommendations to improve the availability and quality of ELCC in Australia.

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CHILD CARE IN THE NEWS
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>> Daycare expansion meets the axe [CA-ON]
by Kalinowski, Tess / Toronto Star, 24 Mar 06

>> In a quandary over child care [CA]
by Prokaska, Lee / Hamilton Spectator, 23 Mar 06

>> Layton warns PM not to scrap day care plan [CA]
Canadian Press, 23 Mar 06

>> Child care system not working in Prescott: Study [CA-ON]
by Abma, Derek / Brockville Recorder and Times [pg.A4], 22 Mar 06

>> Child care Harper's first serious challenge [CA]
by Riley, Susan / Ottawa Citizen, 22 Mar 06

>> Child care and extra cash, too [CA]
by Monsebraaten, Laurie / Toronto Star, 21 Mar 06

>> Groups fear Tory plan [CA-BC]
by Younds, Mike / Daily News (Kamloops), 21 Mar 06

>> Families want national daycare: Report [CA]
by La Rose, Lauren / Toronto Star / 20 Mar 06

>> Interview: Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social
Development [CA]
CBC News Sunday, 19 Mar 06

>> A lot to learn about child care [AU]
by Horin, Adele / Sydney Morning Herald, 18 Mar 06

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This message was forwarded through the Childcare Resource
and Research Unit e-mail news notifier. For information on the
CRRU e-mail notifier, including instructions for (un)subscribing,
see http://www.childcarecanada.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Related Links:

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

Also from CRRU:

Towards a national system of early learning and child care
Regularly updated
NOTE: this is a large (and growing) collection that includes government and non-governmental reports, press releases, news articles and other documents dealing with the new federal-provincial-territorial arrangements for early learning and child care in Canada.

Current developments in Early Childhood Education and Care: Provinces and territories
Regularly updated

- 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)

March 23, 2006

Today's subjects include: Early Childhood Education // Low-Income Health Care // Plight of Young Black Men – Commentary // Assessing Public High Schools – Commentary // Immigrant Worker Program // World Poverty – Opinion // Home Heating Assistance // Housing Costs // Housing Costs – Wisconsin, Massachusetts // Food Assistance – Massachusetts // Foster Care – Michigan, Maryland // Early Childhood Education – Oregon // Academic Achievement – Vermont // State Taxes – New Jersey // Poverty And State Lottery – South Carolina // Homelessness – Kalamazoo, Mi; Seattle, Wa; Utah

March 20, 2006

Today's subjects include: Plight of Young Black Men // Federal Marriage Initiative - Opinion // Poverty Measure - Editorial // Income Inequality // Welfare Reform Proposals - Massachusetts // Welfare and Work Requirements - West Virginia // Human Services Caseload - Oregon // Funding for Faith-Based Initiative - Massachusetts // Need for Doctors to Treat Poor Residents - Idaho // Early Childhood Education - Wisconsin // Rent-to-Own Debate - New Jersey // Affordable Housing - New Jersey // Affordable Housing Report - Colorado // Homelessness - North Dakota

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:

- March 16, 2006
- March 9
- March 2
- February 23
- February 16

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

World Urban Forum
Vancouver, Canada, June 19-23, 2006
Canada will host the next UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum in 2006 — a key international event that will bring the global community together to find real solutions to the challenges facing cities and communities across the world. The World Urban Forum (WUF) is an international meeting on urban-issues, produced by United Nations HABITAT and the government of Canada to be held in Vancouver this June.The WUF will be a unique opportunity for citizens, community groups, academics and governments from around the world to meet and work together to find new solutions to the complicated problems facing our quickly growing cities.

Program (PDF file - 2.3MB, 8 pages)
Latest revision March 15/06

Links to websites of
key partners in the Forum

The central theme of the 2006 Forum is Sustainable Cities: Turning Ideas into Action.

More Info on the World Urban Forum (PDF file - 206K, 1 page)
Info on the World YOUTH Forum (PDF file - 190 pages, 1 page)
Source:
Environmental Youth Alliance (Canadian)

- Go to the Conferences and Events Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/confer.htm
- Go to the Municipalities Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/municipal.htm

A Free Web Design Tip for Bilingual Sites from Gilles:

If you or your organization wish to create a website that has both English and French versions - like the Street Level Homelessness Conference website which appears above - be sure to include the link to the other-language version *somewhere* on the website other than the splash page. Unless a visitor enters your site via the splash [graphic] page (and people who use search engines never do...), that person won't even have a clue that there's a version of the site in the other official language. Here's a link to the English home page - the only hint of French on that page is a few words on the conference logo...

Ideally, in a bilingual site, there should be a link somewhere near the top of each page to the corresponding page in the other language.
All Government of Canada websites have that English-Français language button in the top left corner of each page.
However, you may not have the budget or the inclination to translate your entire site. If this is the case, you should at least provide a link on each English page of your site to the French home page and vice versa.
This is a tip *only*, and is not intended as a criticism of the organizers of the Street Level Conference nor its web designer...

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