Selected
Canadian Social | Groupes
de |
|
On this page, you'll find information about: See also Selected Canadian Social Research Organizations II - there, you'll find info about and links to : C.D. Howe Institute - Canada West Foundation - Council for Canadian Unity (Centre for Research and Information on Canada) - Federation of Canadian Municipalities - Fraser Institute - Institute for Research on Public Policy - Institute on Governance - Intergovernmental Committee on Urban and Regional Research - International Development Research Centre - policity.ca - policy.ca - Policy Research Initiative - Social Research and Demonstration Corporation Related
pages on this site : Non-Governmental Organizations
- Ontario NGOs and Municipalities - Canadian
Children's NGO Links - Union Pages - Other
Countries' NGOs |
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From the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:
Why
Inequality Matters in 1,000 Words or Less (PDF - 398K, 32 pages)
April
28, 2008
Why Inequality Matters in 1,000 Words or Less is powerful essay series
by some of Canadas leading thinkers on income inequality. The contributors
to this essay series come from all kinds of academic backgrounds. Though all the
contributors are distinguished and well-respected for their academic work, they
are not of like mind. They have differing ideological starting points and differing
intellectual approaches. But they agree on this: Income inequality is a problem
that should be addressed, right here in Canada. They warn that income inequality
and persistent poverty could have serious and adverse effects on our nation. In
this series we present the opinions of four economistsLars Osberg, Charles
Beach, Jon Kesselman and David Green; a political scientist Michael Orsini;
a sociologistJohn Myles; a philosopherFrank Cunningham.
Wealth,
income inequality rising: Study
Press
Release
April 28, 2008
TORONTO Canadas inequality in wealth
and income is growing, and at a more rapid pace than before, says a new study
released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The study, by
economist Lars Osberg, looks at 25 years of income and wealth inequality in Canada
and finds disturbing new trends.
Complete report:
A
Quarter Century of Economic
Inequality in Canada: 1981-2006 (PDF
- 995K, 46 pages)
By Lars Osberg
April 2008
Source:
Inequality
Project
[ Canadian Centre for
Policy Alternatives ]
Related link:
Wealth
gap exposes fresh labour challenge
By Michael Valpy
April 26,
2008
The final 2006 census data will portray the richest 5 per cent of Canadians
as dramatically accumulating more wealth, the incomes of most residents showing
perhaps the greatest stagnancy in the developed world and the nation's poorest
falling further and further behind. Immigrants and Canada's native-born youngest
male adults will be identified as the prime victims of a 25-year trend in widening
income inequality an inequality some economists believe reflects systemic
long-term changes to the labour market rather than transitional bumps in demographics
and swings in the business cycle. The data to be released Thursday by Statistics
Canada will show median incomes falling for immigrants and native-born 18-to-34-year-old
males who compete directly for the same entry level jobs that are increasingly
characterized as low-pay, unstable and short term.
Source:
The
Globe and Mail
More links
to content from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
-
this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading
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...and more... [scroll down this page]
Research
Resources for the Social Sciences - Craig McKie (Carleton University,
Ottawa)
Vast selection of (mainly Canadian) social research
links covering a wide range of topics in the social sciences.
On
this page, you'll find links to : General Resource Searchers - Content to
Browse - Reference Materials - Aggressive Pattern Searchers - Virtual Library
at Coombs - Data Archives - Sociology and Anthropology - News and Journalism -
Psychology - Law and Law Enforcement - Demography - Political Science - Economics
- Geography - Women's Studies - Security Services - Miscellaneous - Site Information
Related links: Merrill
Lynch and Capgemini Release World
Wealth Report page Complete report: World Wealth Report 2007 (PDF file - 3.9MB, 36 pages) Source: |
Caledon
Institute of Social Policy
Canada's Voice
for Progressive, Practicable Social Policy
| Prudently
Progressive : Caledon's First Decade as a Social Policy Think Tank
(PDF file - 137K, 5 pages) January 2003 By Michael J. Prince (University of Victoria) Source: Views and News [ Studies in Policy and Practice ] [ University of Victoria ] |
Here are just a few samples of the online reports and commentaries you'll find here:
Canadians
Need a Medium-Term Sickness/Disability Income Benefit (PDF file -
112K, 36 pages)
By Michael J. Prince
January 2008
This paper focuses
upon a serious weakness in Canadas income security system. There is a major
gap in social insurance coverage for millions of Canadians whose work and earnings
are interrupted on a temporary or recurring basis because of illness or disability.
This paper examines the current relationship between Employment Insurance (EI)
sickness benefits and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefits, and explores
possibilities for stronger linkages between these programs. Various options for
a medium-term sickness/disability income benefit are considered along with their
respective strengths and weaknesses.
A
Tale of Two Pension Plans: The Differing Fortunes of the Canada and Quebec Pension
Plans (PDF file - 192K, 46 pages)
By Ed Tamagno
January 2008
The
Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) are headed towards
an historical crossroads. The most recent actuarial valuation of the CPP shows
that the federal scheme is sound in its financing and should remain financially
sound for the foreseeable future, without the need for any increase in its contribution
rate over the next 75 years. Not entirely so, however, for the QPP. Although the
Quebec plan is in no imminent financial difficulty, its most recent actuarial
valuation indicates that changes to the QPPs financing or benefits must
be made well before 2050 or the scheme will be unable to meet its commitments
fully after that year. This paper examines the reasons for the divergence in the
financial projections of the Canada and the Quebec Pension Plans and proposes
ways in which the parallelism of the two schemes, which has been a mainstay of
federal and provincial policy for over four decades, can be maintained.
Caledon
Response to Liberal
Poverty Strategy (PDF file - 264K, 9 pages)
by
Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman,
Michael Mendelson and Ed Tamagno
November 2007
"(...)The
renewed focus on poverty is long overdue. Strong and explicit federal leadership,
along with cooperation with the provinces and territories in several key areas,
are essential to attain significant reductions in poverty. But real progress will
not be possible unless sound policy measures are employed to achieve this crucial
goal.
Source:
Caledon Institute of
Social Policy
Related link:
Liberal Party commitment to reduce the number of those living in poverty
Repairing
Canada's Social Safety Net (PDF file - 276K, 14 pages)
Sherri Torjman,
May 2007
The Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada invited
departmental representatives and four outside panelists to a roundtable to consider
options for repairing Canadas social safety net. This paper summarizes the
highlights from Caledons contribution, which made the case for the need
to reform Employment Insurance and welfare in concert and in association with
labour market changes...
(Read the complete abstract)
Other
Caledon reports - links to all 500+ reports from May 1993 to date
Search Caledon
publications
Tax
Fairness According to Canada's New Government (PDF file - 70K, 13
pages)
Ed Tamagno and Ken Battle
November 2006
Federal Finance Minister
Jim Flahertys surprise announcement on October 31, 2006, shutting down income
trusts was front page news across Canada. Little media attention, however, was
given to other changes to the income tax system announced at the same time. These
include two of particular importance to seniors: a proposal to allow couples to
split pension income and an increase in the age credit. This commentary analyzes
these proposed changes to the tax system and who will benefit if they are implemented.
It shows that the splitting of pension income will provide windfall benefits to
some of the wealthiest seniors, only modest benefits to middle-income seniors,
and nothing at all to the poorest of Canadas elderly. The commentary goes
on to present an alternative approach - involving changes to the age credit and
pension income credit - that is fairer and that would cost no more, and probably
even a bit less, than the governments proposals.
Towards
a New Architecture for Canada's Adult Benefits
(PDF file - 143K, 37 pages)
Ken Battle, Michael Mendelson and Sherri Torjman
June 2006
Since its creation in 1992, the Caledon Institute of Social Policy
has worked to modernize Canadas social security system. We have made the
case for major changes not just to individual social programs but to the basic
structures and functions the architecture, to use the current
vogue term of social policy. This paper advances our work on the modernization
agenda in a large area of Canadian social policy that has for the most part defied
successful reform income security programs and supportive services for
working-age adults, which Caledon has dubbed adult benefits. The first
part of the paper explains why current programs especially welfare and
Employment Insurance, the two core adult benefits fail to meet the needs
of working-age Canadians. Fundamental and comprehensive reform is required, through
integrated changes to both federal and provincial/territorial programs and a realignment
of governments roles and responsibilities. The second part offers our thinking
on how to build a new architecture for adult benefits.
Finding
Common Ground on Child Care (PDF file - 15K, 3 pages)
Ken Battle,
Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson
February 2006
The proposed $1,200
Choice in Child Care Allowance is a stealth program that will in fact deliver
smaller benefits than advertised. Caledon proposes that the federal government
instead deliver the $1,200 through the tried and true Canada Child Tax Benefit.
Related Links:
Choice
in Child Care Allowance - from the website of the
Conservative Party of Canada
-
incl. information on the Child Care Allowance, along with links to 20 news videos
and articles about the Allowance.
Sample video:
December
12
News
Conference, Rona Ambrose
NOTE: This is streaming video that you may not
be able to access on a computer that's on a network either at the office or in
a university. If you're interested in the area of child care and early learning,
I highly recommend that you read the articles on the Conservative website...
Google
Web Search Results : "Choice in Child
Care Allowance"
Google News search Results : "Choice
in Child Care Allowance"
Source:
Google.ca
---------------------------------------
The
Choice in Child Care Allowance: What you See Is Not What You Get (PDF
file - 63K, 7 pages)
Ken Battle, January 2006
The
Conservatives plan for a Choice in Child Care Allowance is seriously
flawed. Because the new program will trigger reductions in federal and provincial/territorial
income-tested benefits and increases in income taxes, most families will end up
with less for modest-income families in the $30,000-$40,000 range, much
less - than the gross $1,200 annual payment for every child under 6. The Child
Care Allowance also will favour one-earner couples over single parents and two-earner
families. The proposed scheme is really a child benefit, not a child care program.
Caledon contends that it would be better to invest in further increases to the
existing Canada Child Tax Benefit, a modern and effective social program that
suffers from none of the failings of the proposed Choice in Child Care Allowance.
There's
Madness to this Method (PDF file - 18K, 4 pages)
Sherri Torjman,
January 2006
The November 2003 Report of the Auditor
General, released in February 2004, set in motion a chain of events that led to
an obsession with accountability. The November 2005 report of the Auditor General,
by contrast, barely created any interest despite several important recommendations
that could help the federal government and voluntary organizations do their jobs
more effectively. The latest audit looked at federal policies and practices around
the creation, coordination and oversight of horizontal initiatives.
The Auditor General instructed central agencies to provide more explicit guidance
for horizontal practice related to common application procedures, funding instruments,
data collection, reporting practices and evaluation frameworks.
Evaluation
Framework for Federal Investment in the Social Economy: A Discussion Paper
(PDF file - 97K, 33 pages)
Eric Leviten-Reid and Sherri Torjman, January 2006
This
paper was prepared on behalf of Social Development Canada to support the department
and its partners in developing an evaluation framework for potential federal investment
in the social economy. It also informed the efforts of government partners in
their formulation of a horizontal Results Based Accountability Framework for the
social economy initiatives announced in the 2004 federal Budget. The
report discusses the nature of the social economy, identifies issues and challenges
involved in evaluating its activities and proposes a learning-oriented approach
to its evaluation. The paper also presents a logic model for conceptualizing the
work of the social economy, including the broad societal objectives it seeks to
achieve, major types of investment and support to sustain this activity, and results
for households, organizations, communities and the social economy sector as a
whole.
Vibrant
Communities Calgary: Awareness, Engagement and Policy Change (PDF
file - 36K, 9 pages)
Anne Makhoul and Eric Leviten-Reid, January 2006
By
educating Calgarians about the complex realities of poverty and influencing the
development of responsive public policies, Vibrant Communities Calgary is trying
to create a profound shift in thinking. It seeks to move from a climate that sees
poverty as a personal problem to one in which systemic change makes it possible
for individuals and households to improve their circumstances. This is the second
in a series of stories which describe the poverty reduction work of the six Vibrant
Communities Trail Builders.
Strategies
for Achieving Equity and Prosperity in Saskatchewan (PDF file - 50K,
15 pages)
Rick August, January 2006
This paper focuses
on the coexistence of strong labour demand in Saskatchewan, and a chronically
underemployed segment of the population that is not achieving full economic citizenship.
It argues that these circumstances afford an opportunity to strengthen the provinces
labour force and economy, while at the same time increasing the economic inclusion
of its disadvantaged citizens. The paper proposes a strategy
to reduce economic disadvantage through employment and productivity growth. On
a practical level, it argues for a partnership between government and employers
that would help potential workers to prepare for entry-level employment, and from
this base of employment, to improve their employment security and income through
productivity growth. The analysis relies on enabling approaches to public policy
that are designed to influence market forces towards more equitable outcomes,
and harness human motivations and energies to improve personal and societal outcomes.
The paper argues that a fair distribution of wealth is achievable within the context
of a competitive market economy, and that an employment inclusion and productivity
growth strategy could lead to sustainable gains in both Saskatchewans aggregate
wealth and its distributional equity.
-------------------------------------------
NOTE: For links to 400+ Caledon reports, go to the home page of their website and click on "Publications By Date" in the left margin.
-------------------------------------------
A
Working Income Tax Benefit That Works (PDF file - 15K, 3 pages)
Ken
Battle and Michael Mendelson, November 2005
Like the National Child Benefit,
the Working Income Tax Benefit should be debated and developed as a national
not just federal, nor just provincial/territorial social policy reform.
Anyone
Got a Plan? (PDF file - 19K, 4 pages)
Michael Mendelson, November
2005
Caledon Senior Scholar Michael Mendelson challenges governments to start
thinking and talking about and planning for an inevitable looming
crisis: the next recession.
The
Disability Savings Plan: Contribution Estimates and Policy Issues
(PDF file - 133K, 47 pages)
Keith Horner, November 2005
The
Disability Savings Plan: Policy Milieu and Model Development (PDF
file - 86K, 35 pages)
Richard Shillington, November 2005
Intergenerational
Dimensions of Canada's Fiscal System (PDF file - 81K, 27 pages)
Joe
Ruggerri, Yang Zou and Shannon Garrett, November 2005
real
leaders volume 15 - Senator Landon Pearson (PDF file - 29K, 4 pages)
Anne
Makhoul, November 2005
Senator Landon Pearson the Senator for Children
and the Childrens Senator retires from her seat in the Senate in
November 2005. This issue of real leaders is dedicated to a woman
whose life has been devoted to the task of advocating for children and youth.
Measuring
child benefits: Measuring child poverty (PDF file - 270K, 73 pages)
February
2005
By Michael Mendelson
"This report addresses two critical questions
in social policy: what is child poverty and how much is an adequate child benefit?
To answer these questions, the report provides an analytic basis to distinguish
between poverty among families with children and that element of their poverty
that is properly understood as child poverty. It argues that child
benefits should cover the incremental cost of raising a child in a family living
just above poverty levels. But to estimate an adequate child benefit, we must
then define poverty. Building upon a critical review of Canadian and
international research, the report describes two alternative methodologies that
could be adopted to develop a well-grounded Canadian poverty line. The report
provides a number of preliminary quantitative estimates of the value of an adequate
child benefit according to these methodologies. This report will challenge your
understanding of child poverty, how it should be measured and the
role of child benefits in addressing it."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Presentation
to the Finance Committee Pre-Budget Consultation
November 2004
Sherri
Torjman, Ken Battle and Michael Mendelson
"This paper (...) discusses
several key principles to help guide the spending of the federal surplus: transparency,
balance and purpose. The paper proposes that the surplus not be directed towards
debt reduction but rather towards a combination of program and tax reduction measures.
With respect to program expenditure, the authors have identified three top priorities
from a wide range of proposals they have put forward over the years: child benefits,
early childhood care and learning, and community supports for persons with disabilities
and the aging population. Possible tax reductions related to employment and education
would be directed towards low- and modest-income households."
Presentation (PDF file - 56K, 13 pages)
Related links:
- go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transitions
Revisited: Implementing the Vision
By John Stapleton
September 2004
"Transitions, the landmark 1988 report of the Social Assistance
Review in Ontario, created a new vision for social assistance and related programs
that called for a radically redesigned set of child benefits, a new income program
for persons with disabilities and a new direction to bring welfare recipients
into the mainstream of community life. Although some early investments were made
to implement the vision, these reforms were largely dismantled in the mid- to
late-1990s. John Stapleton, a former public servant and senior policy advisor
to members of the Social Assistance Review Committee from 1986-1988, argues that
there has never been a better time to bring some of the key proposals of Transitions
up to date and to seriously consider implementing them."
[Abstract]
Complete report (PDF file - 135K, 38 pages)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aboriginal
People in Canada's Labour Market: Work and Unemployment, Today and Tomorrow
Abstract
in English and French + link to the complete report in both official languages
(46 pages in English)
[ version française : Les Autochtones sur le
marché du travail canadien : travail et chômage, aujourd'hui et demain
]
Michael Mendelson
April 2004
"Has the labour market situation
of Aboriginal people in Canada been improving over the last several years? This
paper uses data from the 1996 and 2001 censuses to present comprehensive, factual
answers to this question."
Related Links: go to the Canadian Social
Research Links First
Nations page
Learning
and Evaluation for Poverty Reduction
Abstract in English and French
+ link to the complete report in both official languages
L'Apprentissage et
l'évaluation dans le cadre d'initiatives de réduction de pauvreté
Sherri
Torjman and Eric Leviten-Reid
March 2004
"This is the sixth in a series
of papers written in support of the Vibrant Communities project, a four-year national
effort to explore promising local solutions to reduce poverty. The paper discusses
various aspects of community learning. It describes how the Pan-Canadian Learning
Partnership, which comprises the foundation of Vibrant Communities, engages in
a process of continual learning to inform and improve local efforts. The paper
also explores the challenges involved in evaluating comprehensive community initiatives.
It discusses the logic model of evaluation. This approach is based
on the assumption that there is a sequence of events which must take place, and
that build upon each other in a logical fashion, in order to effect any complex
change. The intermediary steps along the way can then be identified and assessed."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflections
on Vibrant Communities
Eric Leviten-Reid
March 2004
(version
française : Reflexion sur le projet collectivité dynamiques)
"This
is the seventh in series of papers written in support of the Vibrant Communities
project. This paper reflects on the first 18 months of the Vibrant Communities
experience and the Face-to-Face Forum in Guelph, Ontario, September 22-24, 2003.
This Forum provided an opportunity for participants in Vibrant Communities to
reflect on their experience in order to sharpen their focus and refine strategies
for the next phases of the work. The aim of this paper is to capture some of the
key lessons and observations from the early days of Vibrant Communities."
Complete
report (PDF file - 73K, 20 pages)
Document
complet en français (fichier PDF - 83Ko., 24 pages)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three
Choices for the Future of Medicare
Gregory P. Marchildon
April
2004
This paper argues that Canadians are at a crossroads in terms of the future
of medicare. Critical directional decisions will be made at the First Ministers
Meeting in a few months. Ottawa must decide its role before it negotiates with
the provinces the future of a policy that is an integral part of the countrys
identity.
Complete
report - (PDF file - 88K, 20 pages)
Related Links: go to the
Canadian Social Research Links Medicare
Debate Links page
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Repair of Taxation
December 2003
Tom Kent
"...argues
that federal taxation has become so unfair and so slack, so undermined by avoidance
and evasion, that its repair is now the urgent social reform on which others depend.
(...)The paper offers a combination of reforms to increase government revenues
in ways both better for the economy and more progressive for society."
Complete
report (PDF file - 88K, 26 pages)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New
Ingredients for the Fiscal Pie
Sherri Torjman, December 2003
"...argues
the need for exploring possible methods of expanding the fiscal pie.
It explores one possible model put forward by PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy
Network), a group of parents of children with severe disabilities. The group proposes
a combination of private savings and public spending to help develop caring communities.
(...) The proposal represents one idea in a range of possible savings and investment
mechanisms to expand the fiscal pie a direction which we should be debating
seriously as a nation."
Complete
report (PDF file - 19K, 3 pages)
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Community
Renewal
Sherri Torjman, December 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why
Canada Needs a Federal-Provincial Social Security Review Now
Ken
Battle and Michael Mendelson, December 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accountability
versus Conditionality: The Future of the Canada Social Transfer
Michael
Mendelson, December 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Student
Loans for Refugees: A Success Story in Policy Change
Louise Slobodian
and Harry J. Kits, December 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Values of the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement
Audrey Macklin,
December 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Innovation
and Poverty Reduction
Sherri Torjman and Eric Leviten-Reid, November
2003
[version française :
Innovation
et la réduction de la pauvreté
Sherri Torjman et Eric Leviten-Reid,
novembre 2003]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Community-based
Poverty Reduction: The Québec Experience
by William Ninacs
September
2003
Abstract
Full
report (PDF file - 47K, 17 pages)
Highly recommended!
This is an
excellent primer for people who want general information on how Quebec's social
protection system works. It contains a brief overview of the evolution of Quebec's
social, political cultural and economic fabric, with a special focus on community
economic development
- Table of contents : Population and territorial organization
- The Quiet Revolution (1960 -66) - Culture - Economic development
- Health and welfare - Community organizations and related social movements -
Evolution of Québec government policies toward poverty reduction - Local
and community economic development - Key theoretical constructs - Social development
- Social economy
Related
Links (five case studies in community economic development):
Incl.
links to the following case studies:
- Centraide of Greater Montréal:
A Case Study
- The Collective for a Poverty-Free Québec: A Case Study
- CDÉC de Trois-Rivières: A Case Study
- The Lanaudière
Table of Partners for Social Development: A Case Study
- Renaissance Montréal:
A Case Study
NOTA: ces
études sont également disponibles en français
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sustaining
Public Pensions in Canada: A Tale of Two Reforms
Ken Battle, July
2003
- analysis of two recent public pension reform projects in Canada - the
Seniors Benefit and the reform of Canada Pension Plan financing.
Complete
report (PDF file - 468K 53 pages)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child
Benefits Levels in 2003 and Beyond: Australia, Canada, the UK and the US
Michael
Mendelson
April 2003
Abstract
"Australia, Canada, the UK and the
US all have programs providing cash benefits to families with children. This study
is a detailed comparison of current child benefit rates in the four countries,
for a representative lone parent family with one child and a two-parent family
with two children. It also compares Canadas child benefits in 2007, when
all announced increases are implemented, to those in Australia, the UK and the
US. The paper calculates the changes that would be needed to replicate UK child
benefits in Canada, and analyzes the implications of these changes."
Full
Document (PDF file - 75K, 13 pages)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canada
needs social policy that works, says new Caledon report
Press
Release/Abstract
September 25, 2002
"We look to next weeks
Speech From the Throne to advance the ideas put forward in our social policy-that-works
agenda."
Proposals include:
- increasing the the maximum annual
Canada Child Tax Benefit
- boosting federal transfers to the provinces and
territories for early childhood development
- improving paid parental leave
-
replacing welfare with a Basic Income Support system (Basic Wage + Training Allowance
+ Basic Support for those who can't work)
- indexing minimum wages and examining
minimum wages
- launching a national Employment Skills and Learning Strategy
-
developing a policy framework to support community economic development
- offering
supplementary health benefits to all low- and modest-income Canadians
- improving
targeted tax relief
- creating a Disability Supports Fund; improving tax benefits
for Canadians with disabilities; developing a new National Disability Benefit.
-
helping to build a strong social foundation for cities
Complete report
online:
Social
Policy That Works: An Agenda (PDF file - 68K, 22 pages)
by
Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman
September 2002
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A
New Era in British Columbia: A Profile of Budget Cuts Across Social Programs
(PDF file - 36K, 10 pages)
Caledon Institute of Social
Policy
July 2002
"This paper is a summary of the wide range of reductions
and cuts the BC Liberals have introduced to social programs over the past year.
It documents changes in the areas of health care, education, income security,
justice, and services for children, women and persons with disabilities."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal
Imbalances and the Financing of National Programs (PDF file - 23K,
5 pages)
Joe Ruggeri, July 2002
"This
paper explores the state of government finances in Canada. It focusses upon the
growing fiscal imbalance, commonly known as vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI), between
the federal and provincial/territorial levels of government."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canada
2015: Globalization and the Future of Canadas Health and Health Care
(PDF file - 114K, 35 pages)
Michael Mendelson and Pamela Divinsky
July
2002
This report describes four scenarios for future global economic and political
structures called Global Club, Shared Governance, Cyberwave and Regional
Dominators and looks at the future of health and health care in Canada
within each of these scenarios. The report is part of the Future of Global
and Regional Integration project, sponsored by the Institute of Intergovernmental
Relations at Queens University, where the scenarios originally were developed.
The report is meant to speculate not so much on what will be, as what could be,
in an effort to stimulate consideration of our health systems relationship
to global futures.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefit
February 2002
"This
report presents a policy history of the Canada Pension Plan disability benefit.
It discusses the strengths and unique features of this national program, trends
in caseload and cost, key issues related to the disability benefit, appeals procedures
and options for reform."
Complete
Text (PDF file - 150K, 62 pages)
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Medicure
February 2002
"This op ed points out how the loss of the Canada
Assistance Plan in 1996 shook the foundation of community supports that help keep
people out of hospital and decimated the systems of community care that enable
patients to return or remain at home. The lack of community supports has created
serious pressures for Canadas health care system."
Complete
Text (PDF file - 15K, 2 pages)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Trade-Off to Trade-Up
February 2002
"This
paper, presented at the Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs, argues that
economic competitiveness and social cohesion are not a trade-off, but rather are
intrinsically linked. It discusses three key means of advancing an integrated
economic and social agenda: through practices, decision-making and trade standards
that integrate competitiveness and cohesion."
Complete
Text (PDF file - 50K, 17 pages)
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Equalization: Will The Attacks Ever End?
February
2002
"In this commentary, the author contends that a recent misinterpretation
regarding the equalization formula not only would undermine the constitutional
foundations of the equalization program but also would threaten the existence
of social programs, including health care, education and social assistance."
Complete
Text (PDF file - 17K, 3 pages)
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Enterprising Non-profits
February 2002
"This story describes the development of a program in British Columbia
which supports non-profit organizations in their bid to diversify revenue sources
by launching business enterprises. Started as a pilot project in 1997, the Enterprising
Non-profits Program (ENP) was initiated by a partnership between VanCity Community
Foundation, Vancouver Foundation, United Way of the Lower Mainland and VanCity
Credit Union."
Complete
Text (PDF file - 30K, 8 pages)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reaching Past the Barricades: Conflict Resolution at International Summit
Events
February 2002
"World summit events have recently
been marked by violence, injury and property destruction. A process for engaging
police, media, politicians, activists and the general public has been developed
by a team at Saint Paul University in Ottawa in the hope that an inclusive approach
to crowd management can direct the planning and implementation of such events."
Complete Text
(PDF file - 72K, 8 pages)
Source : Hot
Off The Press (Caledon institute of Social Policy)
TIP : Click
this link to see another dozen Caledon reports dating back to October 2001
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Relentless
Incrementalism: Deconstructing and Reconstructing Canadian Income Security Policy
(PDF file - 170K, 59 pages)
by Ken Battle
June 2001
This article was originally
published in Keith Banting, Andrew Sharpe and France St-Hilaire (eds.) The Review
of Economic Performance and Social Progress. The Longest Decade: Canada in the
1990s (Montreal and Ottawa: Institute for Research on Public Policy and Centre
for the Study of Living Standards, 2001)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Social
Programs: Reconstruction Not Restoration
Ken
Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson
October
2000
In a brief to the Finance Committee, the Caledon
Institute of Social Policy calls for the “reconstruction not restoration” of Canadian
social programs. In the emerging post-deficit era, ‘social reinvestment’ cannot
mean simply a return to the social programs of the past.
Abstract
Complete
report (PDF file, 81K, 22 pages)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Booming
for Whom? People in Ontario Talk About Incomes, Jobs and Social Programs
Kate Bezanson and Susan McMurray, October 2000
Despite the Ontario government's claim that "families are better
off," many people in Ontario are worse off and struggling to get by, says
a report released today by the Caledon Institute.
Abstract
Complete
report (PDF file, 316K, 44 pages)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First
Ministers' Last Priority (Abstract)
Sherri Torjman
September 2000
Complete
report (PDF file, 2 pages, 21K)
- Commentary
concerning government services for people with disabilities and the In Unison
report
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A
Proposed Model Framework for Early Childhood Development Services Within the National
Children's Agenda (Abstract)
Ken Battle and
Sherri Torjman
September 2000
Complete
report (PDF file, 7 pages, 31K)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Survival-of-the-Fittest
Employment Policy
Sherri Torjman
April 2000
The above link takes you to
an abstract , ordering information (if you want a paper copy) and a link to the
[free] online version of the full
report (PDF file - 164K, 65 pages)
"...explores
the barriers in the overall policy context: no coordinated approach, no coherent
progression, lack of national vision, the 'creaming' effect, lack of stable financing
and lack of transitional supports. (...) - describes the policy barriers in the
components of the employment system in Ontario: Employment Insurance,
federal-provincial labour market agreements, Ontario training, student loans,
disability programs and Ontario Works. The paper discusses how the philosophical
shifts that underlie major income security programs and their associated employment
supports have spawned a 'do-it-yourself' approach to training."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Payback Budget of 2000
March 2000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How
to Do a Children's Budget and a Tax Cut Budget in 2000
October
1999
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poverty
Eases Slightly
April 1999
-
includes an extensive analysis of poverty over time, the depth of poverty in Canada,
poverty numbers by province in 1997, high-risk groups, etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child
Benefit Reform: A Case Study in Tax/Transfer Integration
April
1999
- A comprehensive analysis of child benefits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
National Child Benefit: Another Hiccup or Fundamental Structural Reform?
Ken Battle, October, 1998 (Presentation at the Conference on the State of Living
Standards and the Quality of Life in Canada. Held October 30-31, 1998 at the Chateau
Laurier, Ottawa)
Child
Benefit Reform in Canada: an evaluative framework and future directions
-Ken Battle and Michael Mendelson, November 1997
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Social Policy 2000: An Agenda, by Tom Kent (January 1999) draws inspiration from the author’s influential 1960 tract Towards a Philosophy of Social Security, the blueprint for the phenomenal development of social programs in the 1960s
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care/Caring for Health (September 1998)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welfare Warfare, November 1997
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Workfare:
A Poor Law
February 1996
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Can Workfare Work? Reflections from History, February, 1996
Maytree Foundation
Principal funder of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy,
the Maytree Foundation is a Canadian charitable foundation established in 1982.
Maytree believes that there are three fundamental sets of issues which threaten
political and social stability: wealth disparities between and within nations;
mass migration of people because of war, oppression and environmental disasters;
and the degradation of the environment
Maytree Links - great collection, including links to a number of foundations with similar aims.
Brain
Drain, Brain Gain
Session Proceedings
May 25, 2000
Presented by The Maytree
Foundation and The St. Lawrence Centre Forum
There
is an intense media focus on the brain drain from Canada to the United States.
At the same time, Canada is experiencing a largely unrecognized brain gain of
skilled and qualified immigrants. This movement of human capital has significant
implications for Canada’s values, cultures and institutions. Yet much of the public
debate about the issue is based on misperceptions and incomplete information.
- In the interest of separating fact from fiction and encouraging
informed discussion, The Maytree Foundation sponsored a public forum on Brain
Drain, Brain Gain at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto on May 25,
2000. Four expert panelists were asked to address the following key questions:
· Is the brain drain to the US a significant problem?
· How are other countries coping with their brain drain?
· How can we make the best use of the talent that comes
to our country?
Complete
proceedings - PDF version (33 pages, 169K) - same content as the link
above but in Adobe Acrobat format.
Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives
"The Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned
with issues of social and economic justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of
Canadas leading progressive voices in public policy debates. By combining
solid research with extensive outreach, we work to enrich democratic dialogue
and ensure Canadians know there are workable solutions to the issues we face.
"
Site map - links to everything on one page
About
the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
- includes a brief description
of the CCPA and links (in the left margin of the page)
to separate pages for the National CCPA Office and each of its provincial offices.
-
each CCPA Office page has links to : Contact Us * Publications * Research Associates
* Board of Directors; immediately below, you'll find links to the 'home page'
for each provincial office and its publications page
British
Columbia Office
- Publications
Saskatchewan
Office
- Publications
Nova
Scotia Office
- Publications
Alternative
Federal Budget
"Our alternative budgets
show that governments budgets can be created in a way that is both fiscally and
socially responsible. The CCPA has been coordinating the Alternative Federal Budget
(AFB) since 1994, and our provincial offices produce alternative provincial budgets.
NOTE:
click on the provincial links above for their respective Alternative Budgets
| For
more Government budget info (incl. federal pre-budget consultations and provincial-territorial
budgets): Go to the Canadian Social Research Links Canadian Government Budgets page |
Research
and Publications
The CCPA publishes research and analysis on a wide
range of social and economic issues in many different formats.
- incl. links
to CCPA reports and studies (including backgrounders, policy briefs and major
research studies) - News releases - Editorials (opinion pieces that provide a
quick overview of current issues) - Selected articles from The Monitor (the CCPAs
monthly magazine) - Selected articles from Our Schools / Our Selves (a quarterly
journal on education) - Popular primers that provide they key facts on issues
in an accessible format - Information on specific research projects
Sample reports from CCPA:
Feeling the debt squeeze?
We highly recommend watching a new documentary, The Debt Trap,
on Global TV this Saturday, April 5 at 7 pm EST. The documentary features Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives Senior Economist Armine Yalnizyan, who makes the
link between rising household debt and the growing income gap between the rich
and the rest of us. The documentary will also be rebroadcast on May 24 at 7
pm EST.
The
Debt Trap (Global TV)
[ Synopsis
of the program ] (April 5 at 7 pm EST; rebroadcast on May 24 at
7 pm EST)
Related link:
CCPA reports by Armine Yalnizyan
Spooked
by the prospect of recession?
Toronto-based social policy analyst John
Stapleton teaches us a valuable history lesson with his new piece The Last
Recession Spook: A Very Curable Disease, released by the CCPA as
part of its Ontario Alternative Budget technical paper series. This paper looks
at the history of public investments during economic downturns and finds the ghost
of the last recession (in the 1990s) still haunts Canadians, limiting our thinking
of whats possible to modest terms. Exhorting Canadians to start real change
and improvement, he writes, The last recession was unlike all others and
rather than reducing government programs during recessions, we used to increase
them.
The
Last Recession Spook: A Very Curable Disease (PDF File,
157K, 5 pages)
Source:
CCPA
Ontario Alternative Budget series
Related link:
Open
Policy Ontario
(John Stapleton's personal website, incl. links to
more commentaries and presentations)
Want to
learn more about the growing gap between the rich and the rest of us?
Check
out our Growing Gap website, the
ultimate resource on income inequality.
Canada's
rich taxed less than in the U.S and should pay more: Study
Press
Release
December 12, 2007
OTTAWACanada should raise federal personal
income tax rates on the rich to close the growing income gap and to bring them
more in line with those in the U.S., says a study released today by the Alternative
Federal Budget project of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The study,
by economist Andrew Jackson, points out that Canada's top federal tax rate is
considerably lower than the U.S.: The top U.S. tax rate is 35% on incomes over
$326,000 and 33% on incomes over $150,000; Canada's top federal income tax rate
is 29% on incomes of over $116,000.
Complete study:
Why
Charity Isnt Enough:
The Case for Raising Taxes on Canadas Rich
(PDF file - 216K, 12 pages)
December 2007
By Andrew Jackson
This Alternative
Federal Budget Technical Paper makes a clear and simple case for raising taxes
among the richest of Canadians, to fund the kinds of things Canadians say they
want and need to continue to be productive citizens: public health care, affordable
housing, reasonable university tuition, better public infrastructure, public transit,
and affordable child care.
Source:
CCPA
Alternative Federal Budget Project
Canadas
rich not contributing fair share in taxes: study
Press
Release
November 8, 2007
TORONTO More than a decades worth
of tax cuts have disproportionately lined the pockets of Canadas most affluent
families, says a new tax study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
The study finds the top 1 percent of families in 2005 paid a lower total tax rate
than the bottom 10 percent of families.
Complete report:
Eroding
Tax Fairness:
Tax Incidence in Canada, 1990 to 2005 (PDF File
- 967K, 44 pages)
November 2007
The
Shock Doctrine
Naomi Klein speaks
about her new book at CCPA event
September 5, 2007
- includes a
brief excerpt from her speech
(Vancouver) Footage of Naomi Klein speaking about
her new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism,
is now available online at www.youtube.com/policyalternatives
or www.policyalternatives.ca/naomi_klein_videos.
The set of six videos is from a CCPA fundraiser in Vancouver in February 2007.
Panhandling
should not be criminalized, says study
Press Release
September
20, 2007
Restrictions on peaceful panhandlingsuch as City of Winnipeg
Bylaw No. 128/2005constitute an illegitimate use of state power, says a
study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The study,
by Arthur Schafer, director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics
at the University of Manitoba, says there is no moral or legal justification for
turning peaceful beggars into criminals.
Complete report:
The
Expressive Liberty of Beggars:
Why it matters to them, and to us
(PDF file - 282K, 28 pages)
Towards
a More Democratic and Credible BC Budget
Submission to the Select
Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, Legislative Assembly of
British Columbia
September 21, 2007
Report
on the Manitoba Economy: 2007
September 13, 2007
How
Sustainable is Medicare?
A
Closer Look at Aging, Technology and Other Cost Drivers in Canadas Health
Care System
September 13, 2007
Canadian
workers paycheques in 30-year holding pattern : Study
Press
Release
June 28, 2007
OTTAWA Canadians are working harder and smarter,
contributing to a growing economy, but their paycheques have been stagnant for
the past 30 years, says a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Complete study:
Rising Profit Shares, Falling Wage Shares - (PDF File, 301K, 16 pages)
Related link:
www.GrowingGap.ca
GrowingGap.ca
is a project of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
"(...)What
does the growing gap look like? In 2004, the richest 10% of families raising children
earned 82 times more than the poorest 10% -- almost triple the ratio of 1976,
when they earned 31 times more. In after-tax terms the gap is at a 30-year high"
Canadas
growing gap at new 30-year high
Majority of families working harder, less payoff
Press
Release
March 1, 2007
TORONTO Canadian families are putting in more
work time, yet most 80% of them are getting a smaller share of Canadas
growing economy, says a study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).The
study finds Canadas income gap between the rich and poor is growing, largely
because the lions share of Canadas economic growth is going to the
richest 10% of families. Its not going to the majority, the 80% of families
earning under a $100,000.
The
Rich and the Rest of Us:
The Changing Face of Canada's Growing Gap
- PDF File, 613K, 54 pages)
By Armine Yalnizyan
March 2007
Canadian
Drug Prices and Expenditures:
Some statistical observations and policy implications
by
Joel Lexchin
January 9, 2007
"Aggressive measures needed to control
drug spending"
Timing
is Everything:
Comparing the earnings of Canada's highest-paid CEOs and the
rest of us
by Hugh Mackenzie
January 2, 2007
"By 12:13
pm on New Year's Day, while many Canadians were still nursing a hangover, Canada"s
100 highest paid CEOs had already pocketed what will take minimum wage workers
the rest of 2007 to earn."
Why
Are Personal Income Tax Revenues Rising So Fast?
by Andrew Jackson
December 18, 2006
Taxes
are good for a nations health and well-beingstudy
Press
Release
December 6, 2006
OTTAWACanada is falling
behind a number of OECD nations in a wide range of social and economic areas,
and a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives points
to tax cuts as the culprit. The study, by Neil Brooks and
Thaddeus Hwong, compares high-tax Nordic countries and low-tax Anglo-American
countries on 50 social and economic measures and finds the high-tax Nordic countries
score better in 42 categories.
Complete report:
The
Social Benefits and Economic Costs of Taxation:
A Comparison of High- and
Low-Tax Countries (PDF File - 512K, 55 pages)
[ More research & Publications by Topic: Taxes & tax cuts ]
Growing
Gap, Growing Concerns: Poll
Press Release
November 20, 2006
[version
française du communiqué:
Sondage
: Écart croissant, préoccupations croissantes]
TORONTO
A record high number of Canadians think Canadas gap between rich
and poor is growing and its causing them concern, according to an
Environics Research poll conducted for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
(CCPA). The poll reveals three-quarters (76%) of Canadians believe Canadas
gap between rich and poor has grown compared to 10 years ago. That number is up
from 2003, when 70% thought the gap had grown. In 1990, 68% of Canadians thought
the gap had grown.
Complete report:
November
20, 2006
GROWING
GAP,
GROWING CONCERNS:
Canadian Attitudes Toward Income Inequality
(PDF file - 1MB, 14 pages)
"(...)while many Canadians think that the rags
to riches story is possible to achieve in Canada, half say that they themselves
are only one or two missed pay-cheques away from economic disaster."
Related Link:
The
GrowingGap
The growinggap.ca is an initiative of the Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives Inequality Project, a national project to increase
public awareness about the alarming spread of income and wealth inequality in
Canada.
The Art of the Impossible
Fiscal
Federalism and Fiscal Balance in Canada
July
11, 2006
By Hugh Mackenzie
Press Release:
Fiscal
imbalance caused by interprovincial tax competition--study
Communiqué :
Déséquilibre
fiscalla concurrence fiscale est la cause principale
Complete report:
The
Art of the Impossible: Fiscal Federalism and Fiscal Balance in Canada
- (PDF file - 1350K, 57 pages)
* Executive
Summary - PDF File, 164 Kb
* Résumé
- Fichier PDF, 170Ko.
Canadas
high-income earners are not overtaxedreport
Press
Release
October 13, 2005
"Despite recent reports to the contrary, Canadas
high-income earners do not pay a disproportionately large share of personal income
tax. A new analysis by Prof. Neil Brooks of Osgoode Hall Law School, released
today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, takes a closer look at the
numbers in Statistics Canadas Tax Incidence in Canada. The Stats
Can report sparked a series of news stories this spring claiming the top 10% of
income earners pay 52% of the total tax bill but Brooks finds these figures both
misleading and incomplete in assessing the fairness of the tax system.
The Statistics Canada study showed that the share of federal income taxes paid by the top 10% increased from 46% in 1990 to 52.6% in 2002. Brooks points out, however, that this increase is not a result of the tax system becoming more progressive. Instead, the main reason for the increase was because the share of earned income going to the most affluent among us increased by 12.6% over that same period, while the share going to the bottom 50% of tax-filers declined."
Complete analysis:
The
Share of Income Tax Paid by the Rich:
The Business Press Gives another Lesson
on How to Deceive with Statistics (PDF file - 115K, 7 pages)
CCPA
report to House of Commons Finance Committee predicts large surpluses ahead
News
Release
August 22, 2005
"OTTAWAThe Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives, one of the independent forecasters commissioned by the House of
Commons Standing Committee on Finance, announced today that is once again forecasting
surpluses much higher than the official government figures. In her report to the
Committee CCPA Senior Economist Ellen Russell is predicting a surplus of $6.8
billion in 2004/05 and $9.5 billion in 2005/06, while the government is projecting
surpluses of $3 billion and $4 billion, respectively. The CCPAs calculations
include the additional spending that was negotiated by the NDP and included in
Bill C-48."
Complete report:
Federal
Fiscal Forecasting Round 3:
Report to the House of Commons Standing Committee
on Finance (PDF file - 208K, 25 pages)
Dont
believe the hype: Whats really behind the Fraser Institutes Tax
Freedom Day
News Release
June 16, 2005
"OTTAWAEach
summer the Fraser Institute announces the arrival of 'tax freedom day': the day
when Canadians allegedly stop 'working for the government' and start 'working
for themselves.' A study by Neil Brooks, released today by the Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives, takes a closer look at Tax Freedom Day and finds that
to arrive at this politically loaded and heavily-reported date the Fraser Institutes
calculations understate the income of Canadians, overstate their taxes and misuse
the concept of averages."
Tax
Freedom Day: A Flawed, Incoherent, and Pernicious Concept (PDF file
- 216 K, 27 pages)
By Neil Brooks
"(...)In the guise of helping Canadians
to understand their tax system, the Institute presents information that is deeply
flawed and misleading information that in fact seriously limits the publics
ability to understand and participate
meaningfully in the shaping of tax policy."
(Excerpt, p.6)
Related Links from the Fraser Institute: Canadians
Celebrate Tax Freedom Day on June 26th Tax
Calculator -------------------------------------------------------------- "Tax
Freedom Day" Google.ca Web Search |
Canadian
Policy Research Networks - CPRN
Réseaux
canadiens de recherche en politiques publiques - RCRPP
Canadian Policy
Research Networks is a non-profit, charitable policy think tank based in Ottawa
with a voluntary board of directors. (...) CPRN's mission is to create knowledge
and lead public dialogue and debate on social and economic issues important to
the well-being of all Canadians. Our goal is to help make Canada a more just,
prosperous and caring society.
- incl. links to : About CPRN * People * Newsroom
* Publications * Contact Us
E-Network
: CPRNs New Web Site Welcomes You! (PDF file - 78K, 3 pages)
May
3, 2007
CPRN's research areas comprise:
*
Children, Youth and Families
* Cities and Communities
* Citizen Engagement
* Democracy, Governance
and Citizenship
* Diversity
* Education and Learning
* Health and Health Human
Resources
* Job
Quality
* Labour
Market/ Vulnerable Workers
* Social
Protection
Click on a research area link to see a description of CPRNs
research in that area along with links to related sub-areas and publications.
Publications
- links to 1500+ research reports, briefs, presentations and more, going right
back to 1993
News Releases
- links to 150+ releases back to 1996 --- includes links to related publications
and themes
What's New
- links to the latest 20 or so items posted to the CPRN site
Sample content from the CPRN website:
A
Safer Haven: Innovations for Improving Social Housing in Canada
December
6, 2007
In 2007, CPRN partnered with the Social Housing Services Corporation
of Ontario, the Knowledge Mobilization Unit of York University, and the City of
Ottawa (for Infrastructure Canada's Knowledge Building, Outreach and Awareness
Program) to support research on social housing by social policy interns.
Complete report:
A
Safer Haven: Innovations
for Improving Social Housing in Canada
(PDF file - 244K, 33 pages)
- this report is a synthesis of key findings from
six research papers produced by CPRN research interns
Social
Housing in Canada
- includes links to all six
research reports in the collection:
* A Safer
Haven: Innovations for Improving Social Housing in Canada
* City-Regions and
the Provision of Affordable Rental Housing
* Fostering Better Integration and
Partnerships for Housing in Canada: Lessons for Creating a Stronger Policy Model
of Governmental and Community Collaboration
* Inclusion and Social Housing
Practice in Canadian Cities: Following the Path from Good Intentions to Sustainable
Projects
* Moving Towards Sustainability: City-Regions and Their Infrastructure
*
Social Lives in Social Housing: Resident Connections to Social Services
* Sustaining
Ontario's Subsidized Housing by Supporting Non-Profit Organizations
The
Feds Are Widening, Not Closing, the Prosperity Gap (PDF file - 32K,
2 pages)
by David Hay
May 31, 2007
A recent Statistics Canada report
revealed a growing gap between the rich and poor in this country. The report on
income inequality and redistribution suggests that the labour market and specifically
high-earning couples are the reason behind this. "A key driver of this is
the rising earning power of the two-earner family, especially when both earners
are highly educated" says the report. David Hay, CPRN's Director, Social
Development, in his commentary on the Globe and Mail's Web site, has found an
additional explanation for this growing divide between rich and poor. He writes
that further examination of the report's tables reveals "
some other
potential contributors to rising after-tax inequality, and these have more to
do with governments than the labour market."
Related links from Statistics Canada: Income
Inequality and Redistribution in Canada: 1976 to 2004 Income Inequality
and Low Income in Canada: An International Perspective Other
StatCan reports on |
National
Council of Welfare
The mandate of the National
Council of Welfare is to advise the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development
in respect of any matters relating to social development that the Minister may
refer to the Council for its consideration or that the Council considers appropriate.
Research
& Publications
The Council publishes reports and communicates with
the Minister on a wide range of issues involving poverty and social policy.
Research
Projects: National Anti-Poverty Strategy * Welfare Incomes * Poverty Profile
Fact
Sheets: Poverty lines and measures * Poverty statistics * Welfare statistics
Complete
List of Publications - links to over three dozen reports available online;
these are the most recent reports in a list of over 125 publications going back
to 1971. Many of the older reports in the list are still available in paper form.
The
Council is a citizen's advisory body whose existence is enshrined in federal legislation
since 1969.
Department
of Social Development Act - (see the link under Part I to "National
Council of Welfare")
New members appointed
to
the National Council of Welfare
February
2008
This is the list of the new members of the National
Council of Welfare,
whose appointments were announced in two separate news
releases on February 1 and February 20:
- Rev. Larry
Gregan of Manitoba
- Mr. David S. Pankratz of Manitoba
- Colonel Glen
Shepherd of Quebec
- Mr. Calvin D. Helin of British Columbia
- Ms. Brenda
Hall of the Northwest Territories
- Mr. John Guyon Richards of British Columbia*
-
Mr. Mark Chamberlain of Ontario
- Ms. Mildred A. Dover of Prince Edward Island
- Reverend Richard Bragdon of New Brunswick
- Mr. Zulfikarali R. Kassamali
of Ontario
Sources:
Feb.
1/08 news release
Feb.
20/08 news release
*NOTE:
Yes, that is the same John Richards who wrote the commentary entitled
Reducing Poverty: What
has Worked, and What Should Come Next (PDF file , 592K, 32 pages) , released
by the right-of-centre C.D. Howe Institute
in October of 2007. In this commentary, Mr. Richards points to the tough
love welfare reforms of Ralph Klein in Alberta and Mike Harris in Ontario
during the early- to mid-1990s as the desirable path to follow in the rest of
Canada.
I disagree fundamentally with the tough-love
spur-of-poverty approach to welfare reform, and
so
does Andrew Jackson of the Canadian Labour Congress.
Sounds like somebody's putting the fox in charge of the henhouse -- then again, this should make for some lively discussion and debate in National Council of Welfare meetings!
Sample reports:
Solving
Poverty - It Can Be Done!
Press release
January 25, 2007
"In
a report to the federal government made public today, the National Council of
Welfare (NCW) advises Canadian governments that a workable solution to poverty
is within their reach and that Canada can have the kind of success that other
countries are achieving."
Complete report:
Solving
Poverty: Four cornerstones of a workable national strategy for Canada
(PDF file - 1MB, 29 pages)
Winter 2007
"(...) When the National Council
of Welfare started looking into anti-poverty strategies, it became quickly apparent
to us that if there is no long-term vision, no plan, no one accountable for carrying
out the plan, no resources assigned and no accepted measure of results, we will
continue to be mired in poverty for generations.
The
four cornerstones:
1) creating a national anti-poverty strategy with targets
and timelines;
2) developing a coordinated plan of action;
3) ensuring
accountability; and
4) establishing official poverty indicators.
Related Link:
Report
on responses to the
Poverty and Income Security Questionnaire
(PDF file - 1.1MB, 36 pages)
Prepared by MiroMetrica Inc.
January 2007
Google
Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following
search terms (without the quote marks):
"National Council of Welfare,
Solving poverty report"
Web
search results page
News search results
page
Blog Search Results page
Source:
Google.ca
RECHERCHISTES
FRANCOPHONES:
Vous pouvez accéder à la version française
de ces textes en vous rendant
sur le site
Web du Conseil national du bien-être social
Homeless
to Have a Say:
National Council of Welfare Partners with Shelters across Canada
December
4, 2006
Press Release
In a one-day event at homeless shelters from all regions
of Canada, homeless women and men will give their opinions about solutions to
poverty in this country by filling out the National Council of Welfares
questionnaire on poverty and income security. Nine homeless shelters in Vancouver,
Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Iqaluit will take part in the
event on Tuesday, December 5. James Hughes, a member of the Council and director
of a Montreal shelter, says, The purpose of our questionnaire is to find
out what Canadians think about solutions to poverty in this country. It is important
that people living in poverty participate, including homeless people who live
in extreme poverty.
Anti-Poverty
Strategy
Poverty advisory council launches Canada-wide forum
Press
Release
October 16, 2006
The National Council of
Welfare today, on the eve of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty,
is launching an on-line questionnaire at www.ncwcnbes.net
to find out what Canadians think about solutions to poverty and insecurity in
Canada. For over 25 years the NCW has published detailed statistics on poverty,
with its most recent reports released in July and August this year. During the
past quarter century, poverty rates among seniors have improved dramatically.
For all other age groups, including children, poverty is as widespread as ever
and for some people, poverty is deeper as well. (..) The questionnaire will run
until mid-December and the results will be made public. They will also guide the
advice the NCW provides to the federal government.
[NOTE: the final date
for completing this questionnaire was December 20, 2006.]
Poverty
Profile, 2002 and 2003
Summer 2006
"This
report shows that in spite of progress made in the fight against poverty among
seniors, poverty rates for children and working-age adults are about the same
as they were almost a quarter-century ago. The report calls for a national anti-poverty
plan for Canada to ensure a successful future for our country. This is the latest
report on poverty by the National Council of Welfare. The report examines the
incidence, depth and duration of poverty. It also looks at sources of income,
the relationship between poverty and paid work, and income inequality."
Complete report:
Poverty
Profile, 2002 and 2003 (PDF file - 3.5MB, 165 pages)
Press
Release:
Report
calls for a national effort to defeat poverty (PDF file - 534K,
2 pages)
July 20, 2006
"Canada needs a national anti-poverty plan to
ensure a successful future for our country, the National Council of Welfare (NCW)
said in a report published today. The report, Poverty Profile, 2002 and 2003,
shows that in spite of progress made in the fight against poverty among seniors,
poverty rates for children and working-age adults are about the same as they were
almost a quarter century ago. Income inequality is growing and many groups of
Canadians continue to have unacceptably high poverty rates. For those in need
today, however, Canadas social safety net offers less protection against
poverty than ever before."
Google Web Search Results:
"poverty profile, 2003, council of
welfare"
Google News search Results:
"poverty
profile, 2003, council of welfare "
Source:
Google.ca
---------------------------------
Related
Links:
- go to the Poverty Measures Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty.htm
---------------------------------
Welfare
Incomes 2005 (PDF file - 1.4MB, 116 pages)
August 2006
"Welfare
Incomes 2005 estimates total welfare incomes for four types of households
in each province and territory, for a total of 52 scenarios. The four household
types we use are a single employable person, a single person with a disability,
a lone-parent with a 2-year-old child, and a two-parent family with two children
aged 10 and 15. The National Council of Welfare has published similar estimates
since 1986."
Staggering
losses in welfare incomes (PDF file - 24K,
2 pages)
Press release
August 24, 2006
"In Alberta, the income in
real dollars of a single person on welfare has decreased by almost 50 percent
since 1986. Since 1992 in Ontario, the welfare income of a lone parent with one
child has decreased by almost $6,600 and a couple with two children has lost just
over $8,700. The National Council of Welfares report, Welfare Incomes 2005,
paints a dismal picture, and one that is getting worse. When adjusted for inflation,
many 2005 welfare incomes were lower than they were in 1986. Most welfare incomes
peaked in 1994 or earlier...."
FACT
SHEETS from Welfare Incomes 2005
# Welfare Incomes by Province and
Territory, Peak Year and 2005
# Welfare Incomes by Household Type: Losses,
Peak Year to 2005
# Welfare Incomes Over Time: 1986 to 2005 by Province and
Territory
# Welfare Incomes 2005 by Province and Territory and Type of Household
#
Welfare Incomes 2005 by Type of Household and Province/Territory (graph)
#
Adequacy of 2005 Welfare Incomes by Province
# The Clawback of the National
Child Benefit Supplement
# Changes in Welfare Incomes for Families with Children,
1997 to 2005 (graph)
# Methodology Used for Welfare
Incomes
# Number
of People on Welfare, March 1995 to March 2005 (PDF file - 133K, 1 page)
Google.ca
Web Search : "welfare incomes report,
canada"
Google.ca News Search : "welfare
incomes report, canada"
Source:
Google.ca
Related links:
NDP
launches campaign to end poverty in Canada
Thu 1 Jun 2006
"OTTAWA
- The NDP today launched a national "End Poverty in Canada" campaign
vowing to engage Canadians and their politicians in deciding what the fairest
way forward is for all Canadians. "Our social safety net has become an incoherent,
inefficient mess that must be repaired," said NDP Social Policy Critic Tony
Martin (Sault Ste. Marie).
Source:
New Democratic
Party of Canada
************************
Bouquets
to CBC Radio, who covered
the release of this welfare incomes report right across the country starting at
six a.m. in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
You
can find links to CBC radio coverage of this story, in the form of written articles
or an audio file as in the example below, adapted for each region's audience,
with local reaction for each jurisdiction in Canada, by doing a Google.ca
search using the search terms "welfare incomes, 2006, Ontario".
Remember to remove the quotation marks from your search terms and replace
Ontario with the name of your province or territory, and be sure to try both the
Web Search and the News Search buttons in Google.ca
Here's
a sampling of coverage concerning the release of this report from St. John's,
Newfoundland and Labrador:
CBC
Radio - St. John's Morning Show (7-minute Real Audio file - requires speakers
and RealPlayer)
Newfoundland
and Labrador
Thursday, August 24
NOTE - if you're behind a corporate firewall
in your government office or university, this audio stream probably won't work,
for security reasons.
Welfare payments called 'morally disgraceful' - August 24 article from the CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
-----
Brickbats
to the Citizen
in my home town of Ottawa, who didn't even mention the release of the welfare
incomes report. I'm not sure what people in the media call it (scoop? oversight?
stoopid editorial board decision to take a pass on the story?), but the Citizen
editorial board richly deserves the egg that's on their collective faces for having
missed the boat on a report that's as significant as this one. Judging by the
significant media coverage and public feedback in forums and letters to the editor
- elsewhere in Canada - since the release, "this story's got legs" ---
it'll be in the public consciousness for awhile longer.
No thanks to the Citizen,
though...
************************
More editorializing:
If you've read the Top Ten Reasons I Created This Site, you already know (#8) that I think there's too much of a slant from organizations like the Fraser Institute and Prime Minister Steve's earlier gig, the National Citizens' Coalition, in the mainstream media, and not enough from progressive non-governmental organizations like the Canadian Council on Social Development and Campaign 2000.
Another such organization that's actually part of government in an arm's-length kind of way is the National Council of Welfare. The Council came to life in the late sixties via an integral part of the statute that defined the activities of the Department of National Health and Welfare. After a few departmental restructuring initiatives and name changes over the years, the Council is currently the government advisory body to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development in matters pertaining to social development, i.e., well-being in Canada.
I have the highest regard for the Council as an advisory body, because it advocates on behalf of people, not corporations. The excellent reports produced by the Council's secretariat - especially the time series like Welfare Incomes and Poverty Profiles - offer up to twenty years' worth of cross-Canada information for use by both federal and provincial-territorial policy-makers to support their work. The reports are also for use by the social advocacy sector, to keep governments' feet to the fire --- fits right in with the concept of Accountability as one of the New Canadian Government's five priorities, doesn't it?
For about 25 of my 30 years as a welfare program information specialist with the federal government, I supported the work of the Council on the subject of welfare program information and welfare rates, and I think that their collection of historical, cross-Canada information on Canadian welfare programs is second to none. I spent a year on secondment with the Council secretariat starting in the summer of 1996, and I updated the numbers in Welfare Incomes 1995 as part of my work there. Now, ten years later, we find that after inflation, welfare incomes in '96 were more generous than they were in 2005 by several thousand dollars a year. And that includes thousands of families with kids...
For links to Canadian welfare program information, go to the Key Provincial/Territorial Welfare Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/welfare.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------
Full
Time Workers Still in Poverty
Press Release
May
3, 2004
"Many Canadians in full-time jobs did not make it to the poverty
line in 2000, said the National Council of Welfare in a report released today.
Full-time, full-year jobs at minimum wages left workers in poverty. The National
Council of Welfare found take-home incomes were consistently below the most commonly-used
poverty line, the Low Income Cut-offs or LICOs from Statistics Canada.
But the situation looked just as bad using the new Market Basket Measure (MBM)
of poverty even though this new poverty line sets the bar a little lower.
There were a few exceptions to the rule, mostly in Quebec where minimum-wage workers
made it over the MBM line."
Income for Living?
(complete report)
Spring 2004
HTML
version
PDF
version (417K, 96 pages)
Executive
Summary (HTML)
Profiles
of Welfare: Myths and Realities
Spring 1998
LARGE statistical
collection covering twenty years of data, examining variables like family types,
reasons for assistance, age, education, duration of spells on assistance, housing
and more.
| Another
Look at Welfare Reform (Autumn 1997) - an in-depth analysis by the National Council of Welfare of changes in Canadian welfare programs in the 1990s. The report focuses on the provincial and territorial reforms that preceded the repeal of the Canada Assistance Plan and those that followed the implementation of the Canada Health and Social Transfer. Complete report online - large file (300K+) but well worth the wait for detailed information on welfare reforms in the 1990s in each Canadian jurisdiction, as well as a national overview of the broad issues of welfare reform and the setting for welfare reform in Canada Source : National Council of Welfare |
Canadian
Council on Social Development
"The Canadian
Council on Social Development (CCSD) is one of Canada's most authoritative voices
promoting better social and economic security for all Canadians. A national, self-supporting,
non-profit organization, the CCSD's main product is information and its main activity
is research, focussing on concerns such as income security, employment, poverty,
child welfare, pensions and government social policies."
Put
an "X" on this one - it will be on the final exam. You must visit this
site if you're looking for anything to do with poverty, welfare, income, health,
family, social indicators, etc.
What's New on
the CCSD site --- all new material is on the home page link (above)...
About the CCSD
Research
CCSD Publications
Free
Statistics
Policy Initiatives
Key
Events
CCSD Links
CCSD
Subsites
- The Disability Research Information
Page
- Crime Prevention Through Social Development
- The Cultural Diversity
Page
- The Social Indicators Site
- The Social Inclusion Conference
-
Community Social Data Strategy
Sample site content:
2006
Low-Income Cut-offs
[March 27, 2008]
("... more commonly
known as Canada's unofficial poverty lines")
Stats
& Facts fact sheets: A Profile of the Labour Market in Canada
[March 12, 2008]
- links to three fact sheets containing an abundance of national
and provincial data about employment, earnings and labour force rates.
Attention,
fans of the
Canadian Social Welfare Policy Conference!
Canadian
Social Forum (PDF file - 58K, 1 page)
February 28, 2008
Mark Your
Calendars!
The Canadian Council on Social Development is in the process of
planning the first Canadian Social Forum which will take place in Calgary, Alberta,
May 19-22, 2009.
NOTE: the Canadian Social Forum will replace the Social Welfare Policy Conference, a biennial event going back to 1982, but "will integrate the best of that 25-year tradition", according to the CCSD.
Related link:
Canadian
Social Welfare Policy Conference
This is a link is to a page on the
CCSD website that contains links to the 11th and 12th CSWP conferences in this
mostly-biennial series that started way back in 1982. If you click each of the
two conference links and check out the "Papers" link for each event,
you'll find a list of presenters and the topics they covered; this will give you
a good sense of the broad scope of this conference series.
Based
on my own experience (I've attended all but one of the 12 events so far), CSWP
is a four-day multi-sectoral gathering of several hundred people from academia,
government and the NGO sector around social policy themes --- in brief, the perfect
place to learn, to exchange ideas and to expand your list of social policy contacts.
I highly recommend this conference/forum. (Tell 'em Gilles sent you - I might
get a discount on my registration fees...)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November
15, 2007
Stats
& Facts: Economic Security
Chock full of information about income,
spending habits and poverty among Canadian families, the Economic Security Fact
Sheets are the latest in our Stats & Facts series. Along with the earlier
fact sheets on demographics, health, education and families, these latest fact
sheets provide a wealth of useful statistical data and analysis about the realities
of life in Canada.
Jason
Mogus on the Web
Jason Mogus was the keynote speaker at the CCSD Annual
General Meeting last month. He spoke about the ways in which the web is changing,
and how non-profits can benefit from that change, providing theyre prepared
to change with it. His speaking notes and an audio recording of his presentation
are available on our website.
CCSDs annual report for 2006-2007 is now available.