Non-Governmental and
Municipal Government Sites in Ontario
A-C

- incl. links to Toronto (and Ontario-wide) resources in the following areas :
Abuse, including sexual assault - Child and family services - Consumer protection and complaints - Emergency and crisis services - Employment, education and training - Financial assistance - Food - General community services - Government officials - Health - Homelessness - Housing - Legal - Seniors - Settlement and newcomer services - Youth
[ ]

"211 is your first call for information about community, social, health and government services in Toronto.
Just dial 211 in the 416 and 647 area codes.
A trained Information and Referral Specialist will:
* assess your situation
* help you find answers to your questions
* provide you with options and appropriate referrals.
This 24-hour-a-day service is free, confidential and available in many languages.
Source:

- connects internationally trained people with services that can help put their skills and knowledge to work.

- a public website developed by and for people who work in correctional services.

- connects the youth justice system with supports in the community for young persons in conflict with the law.

- a comprehensive database of employment programs and services in your local area that can lead to employment. In addition to local programs, you will find information on provincial available throughout the province of Ontario and federal available throughout Canadaprograms and services.

- guide to social, recreational, educational, counselling and other resources and support services for Aboriginals in Ontario.

Source:

211 connects people with reliable information, and provides access to a broad range of community resources, social, health and related government services and programs. 211 is a free public information service, accessible anytime via an easy to recall three-digit phone number (2-1-1) or via the internet.

This is a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty. We have organized ourselves around the call for a Poverty Reduction Plan with a goal to reduce poverty in Ontario by 25% in 5 years and 50% in 10 years.
- incl. links to : About Us - Events - News/Media - Resources - Contact Us - FAQ

- incl. 60+ links to info about poverty reduction strategies in Canada (NL, QC) and internationally (U.K., Italy), community proposals for poverty reduction, housing and homelessness resources, links to non-governmental organizations working with disadvantaged populations and much more

Selected site content:

By Mike Creek (25 in 5 Network for Poverty reduction),
Adrianna Tetley (Association of Ontario Health Centres),
ODSP Action Coalition
March 20, 2010
Ontario is about to face one of the biggest tests of its commitment to poverty reduction. Will it comply with an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal ruling that says it must end discrimination in its special diet allowance program, or will it target the program for cuts as part of its deficit reduction plan? At stake is not only Ontario's "25-in-5" poverty reduction target but also the very lives of the many Ontarians who have nowhere else to turn for support. The special diet program is a long-standing part of Ontario's social assistance system. It provides additional allowances for people with higher food costs due to prescribed medical dietary treatment.(...) In 2008, Ontario committed to a five-year poverty reduction strategy. All parties in the Legislature agreed to take public action to reduce poverty by 25 per cent by the year 2013 – the 25 in 5 target. We celebrated the turning of the corner on the poverty debate in Ontario. We would be the first to applaud the government's decision to maintain the special diet program and, in keeping with the tribunal's ruling, enhance allowances accordingly. Eliminating the program, however, could erase all the goodwill the government has built on poverty reduction.
Source:

*
*
*

Related link:

March 18, 2010
"...the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario and Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario strongly urge you to withdraw the directive and respect the professional opinion of authorized health professionals, including nurse practitioners, in those cases where, in their clinical judgment, a social assistance recipient’s condition entitles them to the Special Diet Allowance.
Source:

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November 11, 2009
Whether he meant to or not, the auditor general’s December 7th analysis of OW/ODSP let a dysfunctional social assistance system off the hook, instead laying blame with the people who have nowhere else to turn for basic support. The ensuing debate risks losing sight of the simple fact that when it comes to social assistance, it’s not the people who are the problem. Instead it’s the 800+ rules that trap people in poverty and powerlessness, fail to provide social and community supports and education and training tools to enable opportunity, and leave people so short of income that living a healthy, dignified life is impossible. As Premier McGuinty recently stated, social assistance “stomps people into the ground” and something must be done to make the system work the way it should. That something cannot come soon enough, as evidenced by the confusing picture painted by the auditor general’s report.

NOTE: the above link includes a detailed backgrounder covering the following points:
* Overpayments and Program Costs: Comparing Apples to Oranges
* What Is An Overpayment?
* The System Routinely Generates Overpayments
* Overpayments are Generated Monthly – Increasing Misperceptions
* Overpayments and Breaking the Rules
* Program Complexity and 800 Rules
* “Temporary” Assistance?
* Special Diet
* Conclusion
* What Can You Do? TAKE ACTION

Source:

[ ]

Related link:

December 7, 2009

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Making Good on the Promise:
Evaluating Year One of Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy
December 2, 2009

(221K, 27 pages)
A year ago, as Canada plunged into one of the sharpest recessions since the Great Depression, the Ontario government assumed long-awaited leadership to tackle poverty. On December 4, 2008 it promised to enact a plan to reduce child and family poverty by 25 per cent by 2013. Making good on that promise would lift more than 90,000 Ontario children and their families out of poverty within five years. This report evaluates what has been done so far and how much further they'll have to go to meet the goal.

Related links:

Ontario's fiscal woes come as bad news for the
growing number of Ontarians dealing with the fallout from the recent economic storm.
By Pat Capponi (Voices From the Street) and
Jennefer Laidley (Income Security Advocacy Centre)
October 27, 2009
As provincial coffers dry up, thousands of individuals and families also face increasing financial hardship. With unemployment expected to hit 10 per cent by 2010, there could soon be 400,000 of us out of work. And while federal changes to employment insurance will offer some short-term relief, they may be too little, too late. (...) The commitment to review Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program – made in the province's poverty reduction strategy last December – has been agonizingly slow to get off the ground. (...) [T]he newly appointed minister responsible for poverty reduction, Laurel Broten, and the government's poverty reduction results team must make the social assistance review their first order of business to support Ontario's strategy for climbing out of the recession. As Ontario considers its plan for moving forward, the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction offers the following five benchmarks for a social assistance review that will meet the test:
* The review must be grounded in a bold vision: economic security and opportunity for all Ontarians.
* The review must be proactive.
* A timely process to launch deep reforms must be part of the review package.
* Providing decent, adequate income supports must be a stated outcome of the review.
* People who have had to rely on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program must have a leading role in shaping the review's recommendations.
Source:

Authors Pat Capponi and Jennefer Laidley are members of the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction, a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty.

Related links:

Voices from the streets was launched in 2005 with funding from the City of Toronto’s Supporting Community Partnership Initiative to develop a speakers bureau comprised of individuals with mental health and addictions history. (...) Voices From the Street is comprised of individuals who have had direct experience with homelessness, poverty, and/or mental health issues. The organization works to put a human face to homelessness and involves people with direct experience as leaders in a public education process.

The Income Security Advocacy Centre works with and on behalf of low income communities in Ontario to address issues of income security and poverty.

- A sub-site of the Income Security Advocacy Centre
Comprehensive source for issues, stories, resources, analysis, and news about the review
- incl. links to : About - Take Action - Tell Your Story - Resources - News

25 in 5 is a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty.

- Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm

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eBulletin for October 14, 2009
Table of contents:
1. Quote of the Week: This is Our Chance to Get it Right
2. How is the Government Doing on Poverty Reduction?
3. Action Alert: No Cherry Picking on Early Learning
4. An Update from the Housing Network of Ontario
5. Dental Treatment for Low-Income Ontarians
6. Star Editorial Suggests We "Do the Math"
7. Ontario's Food Banks Hard Hit

March 3, 2009
By Brian Eng
Fighting poverty is the best medicine money can buy according to the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa). They partnering with the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction in an Ontario-wide campaign to urge the Ontario government to add a Healthy Food Supplement to the Basic Needs Allowance for all adult recipients of social assistance, as part of its Spring 2009 budget. (...) alPHa’s 36 member public health units have endorsed two separate resolutions since 2001 urging the Ontario Government to set social assistance rates according to the true costs of basic needs. The Put Food in the Budget campaign calls for the addition of a $100.00 Healthy Food Supplement to the Basic Needs Allowance as a down-payment on closing the gap between social assistance incomes and the cost of healthy eating. The campaign was launched on February 19 in Toronto by Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. David McKeown, with representatives from the Stop Community Food Centre and the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction.
Comment found in:

[ ]

Source:

We are a non-profit organization that provides leadership to boards of health and public health units in Ontario. Our members include board of health members of health units, medical and associate medical officers of health, and senior public health managers.

Related links:

*
*
*

News Release
February 12, 2009
TORONTO – A report by the 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Network shows how the Ontario government could get three-quarters of the way towards its goal to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent. A Blueprint for Economic Stimulus and Poverty Reduction in Ontario – the result of consultations in 30 Ontario communities – lays out a plan that could reduce the number of poor Ontarians by 197,420 (15 per cent) and reduce the number of poor children in Ontario by 62,000 (19 per cent) within the next three years.

Complete report:

(PDF - 157K, 28 pages)
February 2009

*
* (Sheila Block of the OFL wrote the report)

Related link:

February 12, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten
If Premier Dalton McGuinty wants to protect Ontario's faltering economy, he should give more money to people like René Adams so she can buy her daughters healthy food and pay for swimming lessons, poverty activists say. The Toronto single mother, who volunteers at a local food bank while she looks for full-time work, says every extra penny she receives goes back into the local economy. (...) In addition to cutting poverty, putting money into the hands of those who need it most is the best way to stimulate the economy at a time of global economic uncertainty, says a report by the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. (...) The proposed economic stimulus and poverty reduction package calls on Ontario to spend $5 billion over the next two years to beef up welfare and other social supports and build new child-care spaces and social housing units.
Source:

(formerly the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee)

November 27, 2006 -
November 27, 2006 -
November 26, 2006 -
"(...) We agree the underfunded, backlogged human rights system needs to be fixed. We've offered alternatives. The Liberals just slough them off and shut down legislative hearings, where we'd present and debate them. Instead, they heed the call of Bill 107 supporters -- a small vocal group of self-designated "human rights lawyers."*
* November 23, 2006 -
* November 22, 2006 -
* November 21, 2006 -
NOTE: the contains links to dozens of resources providing extensive background and contextual information.

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

*And now, a different perspective from the so-called "small vocal group of self-designated human rights lawyers" mentioned above:

This is a clearinghouse for submissions, presentations, letters and papers supporting reform of Ontario's human rights enforcement process. Please click on our Open Letter for a list of supporters; click on Letters or Briefs to Justice Committee to read what many community organizations, disability rights activists, members of racialized communities, gay and lesbian advocacy groups, community legal clinics and social justice lawyers have said about why now is the time to move forward with reform of our outdated human rights system.
- incl. links to: * * * * *

(ACTO)
"The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) works to better the housing situation of Ontario residents who have low incomes including tenants, co-op members and people who are homeless. ACTO achieves this through: test case litigation; lobbying and law reform; housing policy work; community organizing; and public legal education.
ACTO works with legal clinics, tenant associations and other groups and individuals concerned about housing issues. ACTO is funded by Legal Aid Ontario and has been in existence since September, 2001."
- incl. links to : About ACTO - Cases - Community/Campaigns - Law Reform and Advocacy - Publications - Tenant Info - Rent Control/Affordability - Eviction and Homelessness - Maintenance and Supply - Tenant Duty Counsel Program

NOTE: some of the links below are from the website and the website of the

The provincial government has launched a consultation on the Tenant Protection Act.
There are ten town halls across the province (the first one has already happened in Waterloo) and comments are also being invited in writing and via e-mail. The government has produced a questionnaire that shapes the
consultation process (somewhat narrowly as you will see), and the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario has written a brief "guideline" on how those questions might be answered in the way that best protects tenants.
Comments can also be sent via e-mail or in writing by June 15.

Related Links:

Released by the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) and theLegal Clinics' Housing Issues Committee (LCHIC)
June 5, 2003
"Issues Committee (composed of representatives from legal clinics in each region of Ontario) have jointly released this paper. Topics include: fair eviction application process, security of tenure against forfeiture, what a new tribunal would look like ... This platform will be distributed to the government and both opposition parties, and LCHIC/ACTO will request a meeting with all three parties."

ACTO media release
- concerning the Failure of the Tenant Protection Act and the Rules and Procedures of the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal to meet Ombudsman Fairness Standards

Media Conference
June 20, 2002

Submission to the Ombudsman Ontario Concerning the Failure of the Tenant Protection Act
and the Rules and Procedures of the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal to meet Ombudsman Fairness Standards
June 20, 2002
of the Submission to the Ombudsman Ontario (HTML)
(PDF file - 141K, 54 pages)
(Word file - 180K, 54 pages)

(ACTEW)
Founded in 1987, A Commitment to Training and Employment for Women (ACTEW) is a network of agencies providing community-based employment and training services for women. ACTEW envisions employment and training services and programs as the bridge to women's economic self-sufficiency. ACTEW advances women’s economic security through the promotion of labour force development for women.
- incl. links to:
* About ACTEW * Projects * News * Events * Jobs * Resource Library * Looking for Training? * Contact Us * Search * Site Map * Funders

The Alliance to End Homelessness is a non-partisan coalition of community stakeholders committed to working collaboratively to end homelessness by gaining and promoting a better understanding of homelessness and advocating for strategies to end it.
- incl. links to : What's New * About the Alliance * About Homelessness * Action Centre * Events * Report Card on Homelessness in Ottawa * Ottawa Service Inventory for Agencies

Click the link above for five ways to learn from people who have been homeless in Ottawa and became housed again.
The project brings to life the findings from the Panel Study on Homelessness in Ottawa (see links below)

1. Interviews:
Eleven people share their experience of homelessness in brief 4-5 minute audio-visual interviews.

2. Booklet with Research Highlights
Easy to read highlights help get the word out on how community organizations, governments and people in the community can work together to end homelessness.

3. A Documentary Film:
(video)
By filmmaker Jason GondziolaFrom Homeless to Home is one of five ways developed in a project to help the community learn from people who have been homeless in Ottawa and to bring to life for a broad audience the findings from the Panel Study on Homelessness in Ottawa.Through a partnership between the University of Ottawa, Carleton University and the Alliance to End Homelessness, the project was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through its Homelessness and Diversity Issues initiative. The project shares with the broader community answers to these questions – Who is homeless in Ottawa ? How do people move into and out of homelessness? What challenges do they face? How do people become homeless? How can community organizations, governments and people in the community work together to end homelessness?

4. Radio Show
A two-part radio documentary about homelessness in Ottawa on CHUO by Heather Gilberds, Communication Studies at Carleton University.

5. Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa, Jan-Dec 2007
Eight of the people interviewed below are also in the Housing WORKS section in the 2007 Report Card, talking about how they found a place to live after being homeless

Related links:

Panel Study on Persons Who Are Homeless in Ottawa:

(PDF - 473K, 67 pages)
By Tim Aubry, Ph.D., Fran Klodawsky, Ph.D., Rebecca Nemiroff, B.A., Sarah Birnie, B.A. & Cristina Bonetta, M.A.
March 2007

(PDF - 378K, 51 pages)
By Tim Aubry, Ph.D., Fran Klodawsky, Ph.D., Rebecca Nemiroff, B.A., Sarah Birnie, B.A. & Cristina Bonetta, M.A.
December 2003 - Revised to November 2006

[ ]

---------

Sample reports:

May 22, 2009
Ottawa – This morning, the Leadership Table on Homelessness (LTH) announced that, through the support of the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Community Housing and the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, 100 chronically homeless people in our community will be placed in supportive housing within the next few weeks. The LTH also released Destination: Home, a plan for our community to address and eliminate chronic homelessness
[ The Leadership Table on Homelessness (LTH) consists of business leaders, government officials, community agencies and members of the faith community, who have come together to implement a plan to end chronic homelessness in Ottawa. The LTH is a community-wide initiative, supported by United Way/Centraide Ottawa and the City of Ottawa. ]
Source:

Complete report (10-year plan):

(PDF - 1.2MB, 13 pages)
May 2009
Core Strategies:
1. HOUSING FIRST
Provide a permanent, stable home for every chronically homeless person.
2. SUPPORT SERVICES
Provide each chronically homeless person with the support services he or she needs in order to remain housed and off the streets.
3. ENGAGEMENT
Build understanding about chronic homelessness and engage the community in helping us provide housing and support services to the chronically homeless

Related links:

May 22, 2009
The City of Ottawa announced Friday that it's taking a million-dollar step toward ending chronic homelessness in the city. With the help of Leadership Table on Homelessness, the group of business leaders and government officials that made the announcement Friday, the city said it hopes to help 100 chronically homeless people a year. The city said it has committed $1 million a year to provide support for the 100 homeless who will soon be given homes.
Source:

Saving on services will bring benefits to us all in the long run, group says
May 22, 2009
OTTAWA - The squalid, shadowy side of Fat City came sharply into focus Friday with the release of a compelling report on how to end chronic homelessness in Ottawa within 10 years. The report, titled "Destination: Home," noted that more than 1,400 people in Ottawa are categorized as "chronically homeless," defined as those who spend more than 60 cumulative nights a year on the streets or in shelters.
Source:

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(PDF - 40K, 2 pages)
March 30, 2009
Media Release
- evaluates the city’s progress in combating the crisis of homelessness by comparing 2008 with 2007 to provide grades in four areas: housing, income, homelessness and length of shelter stay.
"The 2008 Report Card will report that the total number of men, women, youth and children using shelters shot up over the year. Families alone increased by 15.2%. There were 747 homeless families with 1,179 children under 16 years old in 2008. Perry Rowe, Chair of the Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa, is particularly concerned that not only were more people homeless but they stayed in shelters an average of 51 days in 2008, five days longer than in 2007. The average length of stay in an Ottawa shelter has been increasing since 2006.Since mid-2008, the demand for shelter beds has been surging and Ottawa emergency shelters have been running out of beds every night."

Complete report:

(PDF - 2.6MB, 16 pages)
March 2009
Annual report card of the Alliance to End Homelessness to track the Ottawa community’s progress in ending homelessness.
[ (PDF - 2,6Mo., 16 pages)]

(PDF - 23K, 1 page)

[ ]

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2007 - A Step Backwards!
HOUSING: C-
INCOME: C
HOMELESSNESS : D
LENGTH OF SHELTER STAY : D-
- incl. links to report cards for earlier years

(PDF - 2.5MB, 16 pages)
[ ]

Highlights (small PDF file, 1 page)
[ ]
[ ]

(PDF file - 3.2MB, 16 pages)
"(...)On February 27, 2007, the Alliance to End Homelessness released the third annual Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa and for the first time, provided grades in four areas: housing, income, homelessness and length of shelter stay. This year’s Report Card also includes a Special Report on Homelessness & Health, another risk factor for homelessness."

NOTE: the offers highlights from the third report on homelessness in Ottawa

Related link:
- University of Ottawa

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"homelessness report card, 2006, Ottawa"



Source:

In Honour of National Housing Day
November 22, 2006
On National Housing Day, the Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa held its third Community Forum on Homelessness - Linking Ottawa Research with Action and Policy.
- incl. links to over a dozen Powerpoint presentations from the community forum on a variety of topics related to homelessness, including an overview of the panel study of homelessness in Ottawa, homelessness and youth, cycles of homelessness, the Government of Canada's National Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) Initiative, and more...

Second Report Card on Homelessness in Ottawa, Jan-Dec 2005
Released February 28, 2006
Grade C+
Only slight progress made.
8,853 people were homeless and stayed in a shelter at some point in 2005.

Complete report:

The Alcohol Policy Network (APN) is a network of over 1000 individuals and organizations across Ontario concerned about the impact of alcohol on our friends, families and communities. APOLNET is the web-based tool used to collect and disseminate a broad and comprehensive list of resources to those working or interested in the field of alcohol policy.

APN is a project of the , an independent charitable organization founded in 1949 to strengthen the impact of people active in public and community health throughout Ontario.

An Oldie Goldie:

On November 14, 2000, Ontario's Minister of Community and Social Services, John Baird (Yup, the same one), launched province-wide consultations on mandatory drug treatment for welfare recipients. Under the proposed plan, those who refused treatment would be cut off social assistance. Click the above link to access a large collection of links to relevant statistics, research papers, and background information, as well as information on prevention programs.

"Founded in 1980, ARCH: A Legal Resource Centre for Persons with Disabilities is community-based not-for-profit legal clinic and legal resource centre for the Province of Ontario, dedicated to defending and advancing the equality and rights of persons with disabilities."
- incl. links to : about ARCH - direct service - litigation - law reform - PLE library - contact us - home - database - links - publications - FAQ - events - site map

- Established in 1947, this private Canadian foundation provides grants for innovative, Ontario-based projects that focus on either early childhood education and development or economic justice.

Sample Atkinson Foundation reports:

(PDF - 3.8MB, 20 pages)
Our Mission:
...promoting social and economic justice in the tradition of our founder Joseph E. Atkinson, former publisher of the Toronto Star.

Related links:

(YouTube video)

Annual Report coverage in The Toronto Star:

July 11
- Laurie Monsebraaten features two ACF partners: the campaigning of the Workers' Action Centre with temp workers, and the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development’s groundbreaking research on the First Duty pilot project at Bruce Junior Public School.
Source:

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Featuring news, views and updates from the Atkinson Charitable Foundation and its partners.
April 10, 2008
In this issue:
On the right track with the Canadian Index of Wellbeing... [See the link to the "Measuring the Progress of Societies" Newsletter after the red bar below]
Atkinson Charitable Foundation Partnerships for poverty reduction...
Deadline for Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award fast approaching ...
Trade guns and war for housing and peace...
Reality check on multiculturalism needed ...
New book: The Future of Medicare...
News from our partners...
[Click the link above to access all content from this issue.]

Selected content from this issue:

April 5, 2008
By Peter Clutterbuck, Social Planning Network of Ontario
Sustaining employment. Livable Incomes. Strong and supportive communities. When it comes to tackling poverty, these are the core messages that are emerging from communities across Ontario. The Social Planning Network of Ontario is currently traversing the province to build support for a bold poverty reduction vision. Local social planning members and community partners in 12 cities are bringing together Ontarians from all walks of life to discuss the best way to move forward on an anti-poverty plan.
Source:

The Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) is a coalition of social planning councils (SPC), community development councils (CDC), resource centres, and planning committees located in various communities throughout Ontario. Each of the individual organizations has their own mandates but are connected in the cause of effecting change on social policies, conditions, and issues.
- incl. links to : * Home * News * Reports * Links * FAQs * About Us * Contact Us

Related link:

- "To monitor and inform on cross-Ontario activity on the poverty reduction agenda"

May 16, 2007
The quickening erosion of our nation's legacy and values places us at a pivotal moment in Canada's history. If Canada is to remain progressive, united, and strong enough to meet tomorrow's challenges, we must join together and stand up for our legacy as a nation based on fairness, opportunity, respect and balance between the individual and community, between nation and enterprise.Such is Roy Romanow's clarion call to Canadians, in "A House Half Built," featured in this month's edition of The Walrus magazine.

(HTML)
(PDF file - 1.4MB, 9 pages)

The Hon. Roy J. Romanow was Premier of Saskatchewan from November 1991 to February 2001 and the commissioner on the . He is a senior fellow at the University of Saskatchewan and a fellow at the .

Source:

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

June 10, 2005
By CAROL GOAR
"In an ideal world, the poor would be blameless, resilient and sympathetic to others who have fallen on hard times. In real life, they're just like any other segment of society. Some are victims of circumstance; others are snared in troubles of their own making. Some are good neighbours; others denigrate immigrants, racial minorities and unconventional families. Some can see past their own misfortune; others have a permanent chip on their shoulder. Tempting as it may be for social activists to portray the poor in romanticized terms, it is not the basis for sound public policy. That is one of the lessons that emerges from a three-year study of 40 lower-income families struggling to survive in Ontario in the late '90s. The final report, entitled Telling Tales: Living the Effects of Public Policy [$], was released yesterday."
Source:

June 2005
- from the

The Caledon Institute of Social Policy is a private, non-profit organization with charitable status.Caledon’s work deals with poverty and other social and economic inequalities, and overs a broad range of social policy areas including income security (e.g., pensions, welfare, child benefits, Employment Insurance, benefits for Canadians with disabilities), taxation, social spending, employment development services, social services and health.

Although national in scope, Caledon is Ontario-based, and it does offer a large number of reports and commentaries about the Ontario social landscape. Search Caledon's publications using the term "Ontario" and you'll see links to about almost 70 online documents - most of which are critical of the Harris government's cuts to social programs - Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program in particular.

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 , 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]

(PDF file - 135K, 38 pages)

(PDF file - 20K, 3 pages)
February 2003
"Ontario has seen a steady decline in the value of its minimum wage because the rate has been frozen at $6.85 for eight long years."
Source:

CALMEADOW is a registered Canadian not-for-profit charity with over fifteen years of experience in microfinance. Based in Toronto, CALMEADOW focuses its efforts on mobilizing and managing capital for direct investment in developing microfinance institutions.

Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Campaign 2000 began in 1991 out of concern about the lack of government progress in addressing child poverty. Campaign 2000 is non-partisan in urging all Canadian elected officials to keep their promise to Canada's children. There are over 85 national, community and provincial partners actively involved in the work of Campaign 2000. Hundreds of other groups across the country work on the issue of child poverty every day, such as children's aid societies, faith organizations, community agencies, health organizations, school boards, and low-income people's groups.
Follow these links from Campaign 2000's Home Page : What's New - Take Action - Report Cards - Resources - About Campaign 2000

- Complete list of all Campaign 2000 national, provincial and community partners - including links to 60+ websites of these NGOs and other groups from across Canada.

NOTE: some of Campaign 2000's website content can be found on the
Canadian Social Research Links Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm

Sample content from the Campaign 2000 website:

(PDF - 234K, 8 pages)
November 2009
* Breaking the Cycle: Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy - Key commitments and progress as of November 2009
* Indicators of Child & Family Poverty: A 20 Year Retrospective
* Rate and Depth of Poverty
* Working Poor Families
* Children at Greater Risk of Poverty
* Children in Families on Social Assistance
* Food Bank Use by Children
* Access to Affordable Housing
* Access to Quality, Regulated Child Care
* Looking Ahead - The Need for Strong Leadership in Tough Times
* Next Steps in Poverty Reduction – What Ontario Needs to Do Now

Version française:
(PDF - 231Ko., 8 pages)
Novembre 2009

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(PDF - 121K, 12pages)
November 2008
"(...)It is estimated that the public cost of poverty in Ontario is $10-$13 billion/year in healthcare costs, criminal justice, and lost productivity. Investing in preventing and reducing poverty is a more effective and less costly approach. The economic downturn in 2008 is hurting low and modest income families hard."
Source:

Related links From :

(PDF - 167K, 6 pages)
[ version française:
(PDF - 565K, 8pages) ]

Press Release
21 November 2008
OTTAWA – The federal government would make a timely strategic move if it invested now to reduce stubborn poverty rates in Canada, says a new report by Campaign 2000. The 2008 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada, available at www.campaign2000.ca, shows the nation’s child poverty rate is almost what it was in 1989 when Parliament unanimously resolved to end child poverty by the year 2000.

- includes links to the latest report and earlier years for : * British Columbia * Alberta * Saskatchewan * Manitoba * Ontario * New Brunswick * Nova Scotia

Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.

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Poverty Reduction requires a Jobs Strategy, says Campaign 2000
News alert
May 12, 2008
Toronto – In the face of mounting evidence on the role of the labour market in family poverty, today Campaign 2000, the coalition working to end child and family poverty, joined with the Toronto & York Region Labour Council and the Canadian Labour Congress (Ontario Region) to call for the inclusion of a good jobs strategy in the provincial Poverty Reduction Strategy. Their joint report, Work Isn’t Working for Ontario Families: The Role of Good Jobs in Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy establishes that many Ontario parents cannot achieve financial security for their families not because they can’t find work, but because they can’t find a good job.

Complete report:

(PDF - 180K, 28 pages)

NOTE: for more on anti-poverty strategies in Ontario and Canada, go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page of this website:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm

Also from Campaign 2000:

Media release
April 2, 2008
Toronto - A new report from the anti-poverty coalition Ontario Campaign 2000 finds that 1 in every 8 children in Ontario is living in poverty, according to Statistics Canada data. In a time of low unemployment, the 2007 Report Card on Child & Family Poverty in Ontario confirms that the solution to family poverty is not as simple as getting a job. Seventy per cent of all low-income children in Ontario live in families where at least one parent is working part-time or full-time, yet they are not able to earn enough to lift family income above the poverty line.

Full report:

(PDF - 542K, 8 pages)

Source:

Related link:

April 2, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten
When Andrea Duffield's youngest child started Grade 1 last fall, the single mother of three got a part-time job in the hope of pulling her family out of poverty. But the extra income caused her subsidized rent to double. And after taxes and work-related expenses, her Toronto family wasn't any further ahead.
Source:

January 10, 2008
Reducing poverty should lead the agenda of today’s First Ministers’ Meeting in Ottawa, says Campaign 2000, the national non-partisan coalition working to end child and family poverty. In an open letter, the coalition urged the First Ministers to use the meeting to take initial steps toward creating a national Poverty Reduction Strategy with targets and timetables.

(PDF file - 32K, 3 pages)
January 11, 2008

Related link:

January 11, 2008
By Ann Decter*
When Canada's First Ministers meet over dinner tonight in Ottawa, they'll sit down to the unusual opportunity to chew on an issue that has support from premiers of all political stripes. Along with dinner, they can take a big bite out of poverty. Any meeting focused on the economy and labour force requirements should take a hard look at the statistic that almost 12 per cent of Canadians under 18 are living in poverty. Meeting labour force requirements will mean ensuring all Canadian youth are prepared for the working world, and none are left behind with inadequate skills.
Source:

[ * Ann Decter is national co-ordinator of , a coalition working to end poverty in Canada, and interim director of social reform at the . ]

January 10, 2008
Reducing poverty should lead the agenda of today’s First Ministers’ Meeting in Ottawa, says Campaign 2000, the national non-partisan coalition working to end child and family poverty. In an open letter, the coalition urged the First Ministers to use the meeting to take initial steps toward creating a national Poverty Reduction Strategy with targets and timetables.

(PDF file - 32K, 3 pages)
January 11, 2008

July 16, 2007
Excerpt re. anti-poverty strategies and targets:
"(...) In the United Kingdom, the government set a target to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent by 2004, missing it only by a small margin. The target is twice as ambitious for 2010, with a total elimination of child poverty by 2020. With similar goals, Ireland reduced its child poverty rate from 15 per cent in 1994 to less than 5 per cent and aims to hit zero. Here at home, Newfoundland has set a goal to be the province with the least poverty within a decade. And Quebec hopes to have one of the lowest poverty levels among the industrialized nations by 2013.
Source:

Also from The Star:

July 13, 2007
By Kerry Gillespie
"(...) More than 330,000 Ontarians rely on food banks to survive – and 40 per cent of them are children. Today, a group dedicated to ending child poverty in Canada is releasing a blueprint for reducing child poverty in Ontario in the hopes of setting the agenda for the Oct. 10 provincial election. The Campaign 2000 report, obtained early by the Star, calls for all three political parties to commit to developing a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy. The goal should be to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent within five years and by 50 per cent within 10 years, the report states."

The Discussion Paper:

(PDF file - 425K, 14 pages)
July 2007.
By Jacquie Maund (Campaign 2000), Sarah Blackstock (Income Security Advocacy Centre), Greg deGroot -Maggetti (Citizens for Public Justice), Sara Farrell (Toronto Public Health), Elizabeth Ablett (Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care).
This report calls on all Ontario political parties to commit to a “Poverty Reduction Strategy for Ontario” as they finalize their party platforms for the October election.
Source:

[ ]

Ontario's political parties respond:

July 14, 2007
By Kerry Gillespie
"Ontario's political parties yesterday would not commit to the firm targets for reducing poverty that have been proposed in a new report by the non-profit coalition Campaign 2000. Liberal officials said they appreciate the suggestions and the dedication of the group, which yesterday called on Ontario politicians to commit during the upcoming election campaign to cut child poverty in half within 10 years. The Liberals also talked about improvements they've made, including raising the minimum wage and welfare rates and introducing a child benefit for low-income families."

Related link:

War on Poverty - from
- series of articles and editorials about the plight of Canada's needy and possible reforms to the social programs that assist them.
(...and a number of related Star articles)

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

Child Poverty in Ontario on the Increase: Campaign 2000 Calls for Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy
[ ]
Media release
March 6, 2007
"A new report by Ontario Campaign 2000 finds that Ontario’s child poverty rate has been inching up since 2001 and is now at 17.4%. Based on the latest Statistics Canada data, the 2006 Report Card on Child Poverty in Ontario states that 478,480 children – one in every six children – in Ontario are living in poverty. The average low income family is living in deeper poverty now than they were twelve years ago."

Complete report card:

(PDF file - 297K, 6 pages)
March 2007

Version française:

(fichier PDF - 297Ko., 6 pages)
Le 6 mars 2007

News Alert
May 12, 2005
"The 2005 Ontario budget contains few measures that will make a difference in the lives of the approximately 373,000 Ontario children living below the poverty line. Children’s advocates were pleased to see new provincial funding for post secondary education and housing, but disappointed with the lack of progress on ending the clawback and ensuring adequate social assistance benefits."
Source:

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

(8pp, 1,541KB)
November 2004
Source:

Related Links:

November 24, 2004
CAROL GOAR
"Giving up is not an option. But clinging to a faded dream is not a solution.
So today, on the 15th anniversary of his parliamentary resolution to end child poverty by 2000, Ed Broadbent will set a new goal. He will challenge Canadians to reduce the child poverty rate to 5 per cent within 10 years. His new target lacks the tidy finality of the one he persuaded all MPs to endorse on Nov. 24, 1989, shortly before his retirement as leader of the New Democratic Party. It is less ambitious, less appealing.But Broadbent, who returned to active politics this year, believes it is realistic and achievable. He calls it 'a new agenda for a new time.'
The child poverty rate currently stands at 15 per cent. It was 15.2 per cent when Broadbent issued his clarion call 15 years ago."
Source:

Complete report:

[pdf, 12pp, 186KB]
November 24, 2004

Source:

NOTE: click the link above to access current and historical poverty reports for all six provinces.

(PDF file - 328K, 15 pages)
February 10, 2004
Presented by Pedro Barata & Colin Hughes
- incl. highlights of the brief and a link to the full text
Campaign 2000 - Toronto, 10 Feb 2004

May 1, 2003
Campaign 2000
"Growing public concern with high levels of child poverty has forced the Ontario government to acknowledge the needs of vulnerable families, said children's advocates following the 2003 Throne Speech. But proposed actions appear too little to undo the harm done to Ontario's social safety net since 1995, much less make substantial progress on fighting child poverty."
Related Link : (this Campaign 2000 press release is on the DAWN Ontario site)

News Alert
Campaign 2000
March 27, 2003
"Today's provincial budget announcement spells a bleak future for Ontario's vulnerable children and families, said child poverty advocates. For the almost 400,000 children who remain in
poverty in Ontario, the government's continued lack of attention to income security issues is a huge disappointment."

"The persistence of child poverty in Ontario is a clear indication that economic growth alone is not sufficient to ensure the well-being of children and families. At a time of economic prosperity, 390,000 children remain in poverty in Ontario - an increase of 41% since 1989..."

- Links to the most recent report cards on child poverty at the national level as well as for the provinces of . You'll even find a link to the child poverty report card for the City of Toronto on the report card page.
- (April 2001, PDF file - 20pp, 312KB)
(PDF file, 1.4MB)
(PDF file, 1.5MB) (Click on the links down the left side of the page)

Campaign 2000
May 9 2002
"Campaign 2000 expressed disappointment with the scant attention given to poverty in the Eves' government first Throne Speech."

:
Campaign 2000 Brief to the Ontario Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
Presented by: Pedro Barata & Colin Hughes, on behalf of Ontario Campaign 2000
March 5, 2002
"The Ontario Government should commit to work with the federal government to implement policies that promote a more inclusive society. Campaign 2000 calls on the Provincial government to make a real difference for children and families by implementing a strategy to substantially reduce child and family poverty in Ontario."

This November, Campaign 2000 and its 85+ partner organizations from across the country will launch a series of activities to mark the 12th anniversary of the still unmet promise to eliminate child poverty (made on November 24th, 1989 by an all-party resolution of the House of Commons). On November 26th Campaign 2000 opens a photo exhibit at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and in nine other locations. A new update on child/family poverty in Canada will be released on that day as well at a News Conference in Ottawa. A postcard campaign urging the Prime Minister to take action will also be launched that day.

News Alert
12-Nov-01
Children's advocates responded with skepticism to today's announcement of a one-time payout to children of working poor families in Ontario. With a recession on the horizon, Campaign 2000 accused the government of failing to introduce lasting measures that will address the vulnerability of low income families during an economic slowdown. (...)
The bonus announced today will be mailed out in December to approximately 200,000 working poor families and will be worth $165 per child. Families on social assistance will not be eligible for the payment.

Get on with the job of a National Children's Agenda, groups urge Premiers

July 27, 2001
Toronto - Today a national coalition exhorted Canada's Premiers to make children a top priority by taking action to eradicate Canada's persistent levels of child poverty. Campaign 2000, a national coalition of over 85 groups, released a detailed open letter in anticipation of next week's annual Premiers' Conference
(HTML).
(PDF file - 77K, 7 pages)
Source :

Campaign 2000 public forum on child care
June 2001

June 5, 2001

Ontario Campaign 2000 Consultation Paper
PDF file - 10pages, 229KB
April 9, 2001
Developed in consultation with representatives from: Campaign 2000, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, Ontario Association of Family Resource Programs, Toronto Public Health, Metro Association of Family Resource Programs and Toronto Coalition for Better Child Care.

"The Campaign Against Child Poverty is a national, non-partisan coalition of citizens from faith-groups, social justice groups, charities, child welfare organizations and others concerned about the unacceptably high levels of child and family poverty in Canada. We are also concerned about the hazards to the future educational, social, physical, developmental and employment success of those children presently living in poor families"

April 23, 2005
The Campaign Against Child Poverty ran this full-page ad in the Toronto Star on April 23. It talks about the 15% of our children - more than 1,000,000 kids – who live below the poverty line, about how, more than 15 years ago, Canadian Parliament voted unanimously to end child poverty, and how Europe and Scandinavia have proven conclusively that child poverty rates can be dramatically reduced with no risk to national economies. It talks about the need for a national early childhood education and care plan, affordable housing, a livable minimum wage, and support for the National Child Tax Benefit.

(CCPA) - National Office
"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 Canada’s 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. "

- CCPA
-

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Sample reports:

Press Release
October 13, 2009
TORONTO – One year after the Crash of October 2008, Ontario’s recession is looking eerily like the Great Depression and governments need to do something about that, says a report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Close Encounters of the Thirties Kind, by social policy expert John Stapleton, is a blow-by-blow account of the similarities between Ontario circa 1930s and today.

(PDF - 219K, 8 pages)
October 2009
By John Stapleton
"... governments have chosen to remove many of the layers of protection that were put in place after the Great Depression --- cost sharing agreements, protections for municipalities, a more robust safety net, eligibility protections, benefit levels that support basic needs, civil protections, and sound leadership. We should relearn the lessons of history and ensure these protections are restored."

[ ]

Related links:

October 13, 2009
By Kelly McParland
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives presents a blow-by-blow account of the similarities between ancient Sumer and Ontario today.
Preview: Sumerians wore clothes. People in Ontario today wear clothes. Coincidence???
Source:

- John Stapleton's website

---

Press Release
February 12, 2009
TORONTO – Without government action, the lack of adequate income security programs could plunge Ontarians suffering the worst of the current recession into dire straits, says a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).Silence of the Lines: Poverty Reduction Strategies and the Crash of 2008 shows how the economic downturn is already worse than the Great Depression but predicts different results for Ontarians who end up down on their luck.

Complete report:

(PDF - 135K, 5 pages)
By John Stapleton
"(...) people who once could successfully apply for welfare during a rough patch (along with all the people turned away from EI) are going to be turned away at the welfare office. The reason for this is that since the last major recession, governments have brought in four significant sets of changes:
• Lower social assistance rates;
• Much lower assets limits;
• Earning exemptions policies that do not apply to new applicants; and
• ‘Workfare’ — now called ‘community participation’.
The confluence of these four sets of changes has not been tested in a recession but when the ‘new poor’ make a welfare application, they will be turned down to live off lower paid jobs or their dwindling savings. When they re-apply later on, they will be told that ‘any job is a good job’ and will be pointed in the direction of the relatively plentiful low paid jobs that will be available.

Related link:

- John Stapleton's personal website
John is a Policy Fellow with the Metcalf Foundation and St. Christopher House in Toronto.

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Press Release
November 18, 2008
TORONTO – In Canada’s most expensive urban area, Ontario’s minimum wage falls far short of what families need for a decent standard of living, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The study, A Living Wage for Toronto, estimates two working parents raising two young children would need to earn $16.60 an hour each, with both parents working full-time and year-round, to be able to live adequately within the Greater Toronto Area.

A Living Wage for Toronto
By Hugh Mackenzie and Jim Stanford
November 2008
* - PDF - 54K
* - PDF - 346K, 28 pages)

[ ]

Source:

[ ]
The CCPA is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social and economic justice.

Related link:

Higher pay represents threshold family must cross to take part in society, avoid being marginalized
November 18, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Forget dreams of a $10 minimum wage lifting thousands of workers out of poverty. A couple raising two young children in the GTA would each need to earn at least $16.60 an hour to have a decent quality of life, says a new study to be released today. A single parent with one child would need to earn $16.15 an hour.
Source:

Also from CCPA-Ontario:

(PDF - 307K, 13 pages)
November 2008
By Trish Hennessy
"(...) Between September 24 and October 21, 2008 Environics Research conducted a national poll of 2,023 Canadians for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. This report represents the responses provided by Ontarians, and it tells a story of economic worry and of resolve: Ontarians say now is the time for governments to make us proud and take clear steps to reduce poverty in our provinces."

Related links : see the Canadian Social Research Links Antipoverty Strategies and Campaigns page.

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Press Release
May 7, 2007
TORONTO – Ontario’s after-tax income gap between the richest and poorest 10% of families raising children under 18 has reached an all-time high, according to a new study released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).The richest 10% of families now earn 75 times more than the poorest 10%. In 1976, they earned only 27 times more.

Complete report:

- (PDF file - 453K, 40 pages)

Related media coverage:

By April Lindgren
May 8, 2007
TORONTO - The income gap between Ontario's richest and poorest families is greater than ever before and the most pronounced in the country, according to a study released yesterday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The research shows the most affluent 10 per cent of families with children under 18 had before-tax income in 2004 that was 75 times more than the poorest 10 per cent. In 1976, they earned 27 times more.
Source:

May 7, 2007
Rita Daly
Half of Ontario families raising children have seen their fortunes stagnate or fall behind compared with a decade ago, while the incomes of the richest have soared, says a new study on the growing income gap. And since 1998, the gap between Ontario's richest and poorest families raising children has widened at a faster pace than the rest of the nation as a whole, says the study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives being released tomorrow.

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Ontario Alternative Budget 2007

Press Release
March 5, 2007
TORONTO—Four years after the McGuinty Liberals have been in office, Ontario is still living under the shadow of the Mike Harris/Ernie Eves government, says the 2007 Ontario Alternative Budget (OAB).

(PDF File, 2.1MB, 64 pages)
The McGuinty Liberals were elected in 2003 on the strength of Ontarians’ hopes that their new government would lift the dark cloud over public services left behind by the Harris-Eves Conservative era. There was great promise this new government would restore Ontario to a position of leadership on the key issues of the day. Measured against those expectations, the McGuinty government has, quite simply, been a disappointment.

(PDF file - 166K, 10 pages)

(PDF file - 150K, 6 pages)
Ontario Alternative Budget Technical Paper #2
February 2007
The Ontario government spends about 14 cents per person per day on affordable housing — less than half the amount spent in 2000 — even though the province’s population and its housing needs continue to grow significantly.

(PDF file - 111K, 8 pages)
Ontario Alternative Budget Technical Paper #1
November 15, 2006
In evaluating Ontario’s budget balance forecasts for 2006–07 and beyond, it is important to take note of two key facts. First, the government has adopted a practice of underestimating revenue and overestimating expenditures in its budget forecasts. (...) This has enabled the government to claim extraordinary progress towards its goal of eliminating the deficit that it inherited in 2003-04. Second, Finance Minister Gregory Sorbara is also the chair of the Liberals’ re-election campaign.
Press Release:

November 15, 2006

Related link:

March 5
The Ontario government should hike corporate taxes and add two cents at the gas pump to pay for a $10-billion injection into affordable housing, welfare and the environment when it tables its budget March 22, recommends a report to be released today. The annual alternative budget, compiled by the left-wing think-tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, argues little progress has been made under almost four years of Liberal government.
Source:

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(PDF file - 167K, 3 pages)
February 2007
By Hugh Mackenzie
"(...) Ontario’s minimum wage used to be more in line with the province’s industrial wage. In fact, the minimum wage in Ontario was as high as $9.97 in 1976 (adjusted to 2007 dollars, based on the Toronto area consumer price index)."

(PDF file - 958K, 8 pages)

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Press Release
March 16, 2006
"TORONTO— According to an Ontario Alternative Budget technical paper released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the McGuinty government’s current fiscal plan would result in program spending dropping to levels lower than it was when they took power. Despite funding increases in key areas, the McGuinty government has done little to reverse the cuts to government services imposed under the Harris/Eves regime."

Complete report:

(PDF file - 230K, 7 pages)
March 16 2006
By Hugh Mackenzie

Source:

Related link:

March 16, 2006
"Ontario's poorest people need more from the upcoming provincial budget than a $1.5-billion Spadina subway extension, a left-leaning think tank says. The influential Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says Premier Dalton McGuinty has done little for the province's most vulnerable people in more than two years in power. In a report today in advance of Finance Minister Dwight Duncan's budget next Thursday, the organization warns that things are worse than they were under Progressive Conservative premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves."
Source:

- "Canada's National E-Weekly"

Reuel Amdur
in The Canadian Charger:

October 22, 2009

By Reuel S. Amdur
The voice is the voice of Dalton McGuinty, but the hands are the hands of Mike Harris.

June 29, 2009

By Reuel S. Amdur
Overview and critique of Ontario's two social assistance programs, Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).

Source:
- "Canada's National E-Weekly"

---

Also from Reuel Amdur, in :

December 14, 2009
by Reuel Amdur
Social worker and freelance writer Reuel Amdur asks some pointed questions about the 2009 Ontario Auditor General's report.
Source:

PeacockPoverty is a Canadian collective of individuals with an experience of poverty who join together to share knowledge, strength, talent and wisdom with each other and friends. The collective is autonomous, independent of agency affiliation, by and for poor people and friends.

Related link:

December 7, 2009

(PDF - 411K, 34 pages)
May 2009
By Glynis Maxwell, Community Development Halton (Social Planning Network of Ontario)
Table of contents:
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
PROFILE OF POVERTY IN ONTARIO
DEVELOPMENT OF POLICY AND PROGRAMS
* The Post-War Era
* 1975 to 1985: A Growing Need to Tackle Poverty
* 1985 to 1995: SARC and the Failure of Reform
* 1995 to 2003: The ‘Common Sense Revolution’
CURRENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS
* Social Assistance Incomes
* Minimum Wage
* Quality of Employment
* Barriers to Employment for Social Assistance Recipients
* Barriers to Employment for Newcomers
* Affordable Housing
* Child Care
* Developing a Poverty Reduction Strategy
CONCLUSION

Source:

Social Development Report Series, 2009
[ ]

Also from CCSD :

(PDF - 341K, 29 pages)
May 2009
By David I. Hay, Information Partnership

THE CANADIAN INDEX OF WELLBEING
"Imagine that amidst the daily news report, the sports scores, the latest stock info, and GDP figures, we hear the latest Canadian Index of Wellbeing report, a measure about how we are really doing as a nation. That day is getting closer. Experts from across the country are hard at work, under the leadership of the Hon. Roy J. Romanow, Dr. Ron Colman, and others to create a new measuring tool that will link the economic reality and longer-term economic prosperity of our country with the social, health and environmental conditions that shape our communities.
The latest issue of Reality Check Magazine has the scoop on the CIW, how it can help foster a common vision for the future of Canada and be used as a basis for improving health and wellbeing outcomes that matter to Canadians.
Reality Check May 2005 issue
(1.3MB, 4 pages)

ROY ROMANOW CHAMPIONS THE CANADIAN INDEX OF WELLBEING
Mr. Romanow was in Toronto recently discussing an innovative new idea for achieving a healthier Canada. In a speech to the United Way of Canada's National Conference on May 6th, he gives his take on today's political hot waters and talks about his latest effort to re-focus Canadians on the things that really matter in building a stronger nation.

Mr. Romanow's Speech:
(PDF file - 120K, 13 pages)

- graphic showing the complete list of government agencies, NGOs and universities across Canada that are working together to develop the Canadian Index of Well-Being
(the working group consists representatives from Statistics Canada and Environment Canada, and researchers from eight universities and six non-government research organizations across Canada; the work "is also part of a broader international effort to measure the things that count: the CIW researchers have been working closely with their counterparts in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, and elsewhere."

Source:

[ ]
The Atkinson Foundation "provides grants to Ontario registered charities for innovative, Ontario-based projects that focus on Early Chilhood Education and Development (innovative projects that demonstrate how to improve the futures of children and youth at risk through more effective early years programming and policies) and Economic Justice (innovative projects that demonstrate how to improve the employability of the unemployed, test out new economic models, and support other research and educational activities which are intended to reduce poverty.)
In the categories of health, social welfare, economic justice and education the Foundation has given more than $55 million since its inception.
The Atkinson Charitable Foundation also publishes or sponsors the publication of a number of educational materials on contemporary public policy issues."

Related links - see the Poverty Measures Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty.htm

(CCCBT)
The CCCBT is a national, non-profit organization whose  membership is comprised of appointees from provincially chartered  community-based training associations.  Its goal is to help community-based trainers become known world-wide for excellence in client-centered  training and employment services.

(CIAR)
The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research spans a country and connects with the world to initiate and conduct basic research in the natural and social sciences. CIAR links some of the best Canadian and international research minds in dynamic networks that often include unanticipated and innovative combinations of  disciplines to collaborate on large questions from fresh perspectives. It constitutes Canada's research university without walls, creating communities of scholars from different places and divergent fields who are working at the frontier of knowledge and generating new insights.

- Reversing the Real Brain Drain
PDF file - 1330K, 207 pages
April 1999

The preparation of this report was funded by the Ontario Children’s Secretariat

Risk of death among homeless women: a cohort study and review of the literature
April 13, 2004
Angela M. Cheung and Stephen W. Hwang

Complete article:

(146K, 5 pages)

Related Link:

Dying in the shadows: the challenge of providing health care for homeless people
Commentary on the article by Cheung and Hwang
By James O'Connell (Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School)
April 13, 2004

(172K, 2 pages)

Elaine Carey
"Homeless women in Toronto are dying at 10 times the rate of other women between 18 and 44, according to a new study released today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal."
Source:

(PDF - 224K, 49 pages)
February 2009
By Nick Falvo
The emergent Housing First model, focused on new means of rapid rehousing of the homeless, is popular in North America among policy-makers and the mass media. Yet little has been written on the Housing First model’s transferability to Canadian municipalities. This report begins by discussing the Housing First model as it has evolved in the United States context. Turning to the main focus of this research, the paper then documents, analyzes and interprets Canada’s version of Housing First, Toronto’s Streets to Homes (S2H) program, based on primary and secondary research including semi-structured key informant interviews. The report concludes with recommendations about how to both improve S2H and ensure that Housing First programs in other Canadian cities are effective in housing homeless persons.
Source:

(PDF - 121K, 4 pages)
Nick Falvo
[ - PDF ]
- summary of main findings from the above study; this summary appeared in a special edition of Canadian Housing magazine.

November 5, 2004
by Paul Bernard, Sébastien Saint-Arnaud
"In More of the Same? The Position of the Four Largest Canadian Provinces in the World of Welfare Regimes, Paul Bernard and Sébastien Saint-Arnaud locate the welfare regimes of Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia among those of a group of advanced countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD]. They compare them in terms of a wide set of indicators representing public policy, social situations and level of public participation."

NOTE: This article is based partly on Gøsta Esping-Andersen's 1990 typology of welfare regimes in advanced capitalist societies and more recent related work. It's not a detailed comparison of welfare programs in certain Canadian jurisdictions, but rather an academic analysis of how the welfare systems in four Canadian provinces fit within the international typology. It should be emphasized that the analysis of welfare regimes in the four Canadian jurisdictions focuses on the mid-1990s, which was a tumultuous period in the evolution of the Canadian welfare system. Programs (and governments, except for Emperor Klein...) have changed since then, but ten years later, it's still true that "Alberta somewhat resembles the 'ultra-liberal' United States, while Quebec leans in the direction of Europe, and to some extent, of social-democracy." [Excerpt from the Abstract].

Complete report:

(PDF file - 1.5MB, 32 pages)
November 2004
[translation of an article initially published in French in the
Canadian Journal of Sociology, Spring 2004]

Source:
- CPRN

(CUPE)

June 24, 2003
"Accenture has more than 75,000 employees based in more than 110 offices in 47 countries delivering a wide range of consulting, technology and outsourcing services. (...) Accenture is the new name for Andersen Consulting, (...) major provider of management and technology consulting. Outsourcing for government includes computer systems design and network creation and management. Accenture's history of public services outsourcing, and privatization of major parts of service delivery under a certain time period, has often been very problematic. There have been problems in many state governments in the USA and the Province of Ontario."

Related Link:

NOTE: for more on Accenture, see the Accenture section of the Canadian Social Research Links Ontario Government Links page

News Release
February 20, 2004
"TORONTO — Ontario’s community-based, nonprofit social services agencies need an immediate financial investment from the provincial government, says a group of agencies and unions who launched a province-wide lobbying campaign today. The province’s social service infrastructure is suffering under the weight of flatlined funding, increased demand for service and growing expectations from government, said the group in its report, Building Strong Communities: A call to reinvest in Ontario’s nonprofit social services."

(PDF file - 46K, 7 pages)
January 2004

Cathy Crowe has been a street nurse in Toronto for 19 years. She received the Atkinson Economic Justice Award which permits her to pursue her passions for nursing and working on homelessness and housing issues. In this newsletter she reports on her activities, she creates a link to a broader group of individuals who care about these social issues, and she encourages critical debate.

Cathy Crowe's Monthly Newsletter - sample issues

Table of contents:
1. Home is more than four walls.
2. Stephen Harper and Stéphane Dion - Put down the Guns and pick up the Hammers and Nails!
3. Who’s Hot, Who’s Not!
(393K, 8 pages)

In this issue of her newsletter, Toronto street nurse Cathy Crowe reports on "a radical technology that will make great strides in solving the problem of global homelessness"; you can also read her January 2008 presentation on poverty hunger and homelessness to the provincial budget consultation; and finally, she appears somewhat skeptical with respect the prognostications of by Philip Mangano, America’s so-called ‘Homeless Czar’, who allegedly told the Edmonton Sun recently that Alberta's capital city can wipe out homelessness within a decade. Cathy wonders whether Canadians should be looking South for inspiration for solutions when there is plenty of evidence that there is an ongoing hunger and affordable housing crisis in most large American cities. She draws specific evidence from the latest report on hunger and homelessness from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which decries growing food insecurity and homelessness across the United States. (The link to the mayors' report appears further below in this newsletter.)

- links to newsletter issues back to the summer of 2007, PLUS a link (at the bottom of the page) to all issues back to #1 in 2004

To subscribe to Cathy's Monthly Newsletter,
send an email message to

Source:

CAMH is the largest mental health and addictions facility in Canada, only one of four such facilities in that field to receive designation from the World Health Organization as a Centre of Excellence. Underlying all of the Centre's efforts are two principal tasks: advancing our understanding of mental health and addiction, and translating this knowledge into practical resources and tools that can be used in our own programs and in the broader community.
- - incl. links to : Counselling - Resource Materials - Reference/Periodicals - Ontario Reference Materials - Clinical Tools - Policy Development and Planning - Programs and Program Evaluation - Public Education Materials - Mental Health Public Education Materials - Addictions Ontario Public Education Materials
-

March/April 2001
Journal of Addiction and Mental Health

CAMH Position Statement on Mandatory Drug Testing and Treatment of Welfare Recipients (November 2000)
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) does not support mandatory drug testing and treatment for people on welfare.
(HTML version)
(HTML version) - recommended reading!! 

(London Family Court Clinic)
The is a non-profit agency in London, Ontario, which advocates for the special needs of children involved in the justice system as young offenders, victims of crime or abuse, or as the subjects of custody disputes. Our advocacy includes assessment, counselling, prevention services, research, dissemination of information, and training for the community.
The Centre has seven core areas: Child Witness Project - Clinical Supports Program - Counselling Services - Custody and Access Project (including mediation) - Research Services - Young Offender Services - Violence Prevention Services
-excellent resources!
- incl. Child Abuse - Relationship Abuse - Restorative Justice - School Violence & Bullying - Victims of Crime - Women Offenders - Young Offenders

(Toronto)
The Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) provides advice and representation to individuals and groups facing discrimination in housing. CERA co-ordinates the work of the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues (CCPI) in advancing test case litigation dealing with poverty issues in Canada.

CERA's 5 core programs:
- Casework and Test Case Litigation
- Women
- Eviction Prevention
- H.O.M.E. - Housing Opportunities Made Equal
- Public Education and Research

Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) and
Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO)
February 11, 2003
"Several women from across Ontario filed claims at the Ontario Human Rights Commission, charging that the current maximum 'shelter allowance' discriminates against women and children. The inadequacy of the shelter allowance makes it impossible for social assistance recipients to find and maintain housing in the private rental market."
Related Links:

Report of follow-up interviews conducted by two Masters of Social Work Students from Carleton University with tenants who had been contacted by the CERA Ottawa Project
Source :

- links to Voices: Experiences of Eviction in Ottawa - CERA's submissions to the provincial Standing Committee on General Government with respect to Bill
119, the "Red Tape Reduction Act" - Manufacturing Homelessness: An Op-Ed article on evictions and the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal (June 30, 2000) - Final Report of the Early Intervention Pilot Project (April 2000) - Interim Report of the Early Intervention Pilot Project (November 1999)
The Early Intervention Project is an eviction and homelessness prevention strategy whereby tenants in receipt of eviction applications are contacted by mail and telephone and informed of their rights and obligations under the Tenant Protection Act. They are also referred to appropriate services such as their local legal clinic or Social Services to access the Shelter Fund.

"C.I.L.T. is a non-profit resource organization, consumer-controlled and community based. C.I.L.T. is funded through the United Way, City of Toronto grants, Federal and Provincial government grants, donations, earned income and membership support. C.I.L.T. is a consumer-controlled, community-based resource organization. We help people with disabilities to learn Independent Living skills and integrate into the community. (Please note: C.I.L.T. is a resource agency and does not do any political, systemic or group advocacy!)"

(CILT)
"The Parenting with a Disability Network (PDN) is a peer support and information-sharing network for parents and prospective parents with a disability. The aim of PDN is to develop consumer friendly approaches to parenting with a disability by providing opportunities for networking, peer support, information-sharing and education."
- incl. links to : Nurturing Assistance - Parenting Bulletin - Parenting Peer Support - Parenting Resources - Workshops and Seminars
- "Self-manage your attendant services"
"Direct Funding enables adults with a physical disability to become employers of their own attendants. Attendants assist with routine activities of living, such as dressing, grooming and bathing."

(part of the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Social Sciences)
"The mission of the Centre for Research on Community Services (CRCS) is to conduct research and provide training that will contribute to the development of effective health and social services for vulnerable populations living in the community."
- incl. links to : About the Centre - What's New? - Personnel - Research Projects - Conferences and workshops - Online Publications - Newsletters - Internet Links

[ ]

- links to over two dozen online summaries and presentations of CRCS projects organized under the following themes : At-Risk Children and Adolescents, including Child Welfare - Homelessness - Community Mental Health

- links to 30+ websites organized under the following headings: Child Welfare & High Risk Youth - Homelessness - Community Mental Health - Developmental Disabilities - Program Evaluation - Other Links

2004 A Community Forum on Homelessness Linking Ottawa Research with Action and Policy - Ottawa
November 22, 2004 (9:00a.m. – 4:00 p.m)
In Honour of National Housing Day
University of Ottawa
Presentations and themes include : • Homeless: The Perspectives and Experiences of Adolescents in Family Shelters in Ottawa • Promoting Social Inclusion through a Harm Reduction Approach • Investigating Diversity Among the Homelessness Population: Implications for Developing Effective Housing Policies and Programs • The Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy with People at Risk of Homelessness • Youth at Risk • Vulnerable Women • Supportive Housing - models and best practices • Rent Control - its impact on affordable housing • Harm Reduction
Keynote Speaker at lunch is Dr. Stephen Hwang (internationally recognized researcher in homelessness and health with the Inner City Health Research Unit at St Michaels Hospital in Toronto).
(PDF file - 36K, 1 page)

(CSJ) - "Narrowing the gap in income. wealth and power
The Centre for Social Justice is an advocacy organization that seeks to strengthen the struggle for social justice. We are committed to working for change in partnership with various social movements and recognize that effective change requires the active participation of all sectors of our community. (...) CSJ works to strengthen movements for social justice in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and globally.
- incl. links to:
* Home * Key Issues * * Movement Building * Media * Contribute * About * Contact

include:
* Democracy & Corporate Power * Economic Inequality * Racial Inequality * Gender Inequality * Health Inequality * Aboriginal Issues * Peace & Justice

[ ]
"The Centre for Urban and Community Studies (CUCS) promotes and disseminates multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on urban issues. The Centre was established in 1964 as a research unit of the School of Graduate Studies. The Centre’s activities contribute to scholarship on questions relating to the social, economic and physical well-being of people who live and work in urban areas large and small, in Canada and around the world."

(PDF file - 96K, 3 pages)
Media Release
December 20, 2007
TORONTO – The City of Toronto is becoming increasingly divided by income and socio-economic status, says a new report issued today by the Centre for Urban and Community Studies (CUCS) at the University of Toronto. No longer a “city of neighbourhoods,” the study calls modern-day Toronto a “city of disparities.” In fact, Toronto is now so polarized it could be described as three geographically distinct cities made up of 20 percent affluent neighbourhoods, 36 percent poor neighbourhoods, and 43 percent middle-income earner neighbourhoods and that 43 percent is in decline.

Report:

(PDF file - 880K, 12 pages)
December 2007
by J. David Hulchanski

* Characteristics of the Three Cities, grouped on the basis of 30-year average income trends, 1970 to 2000
* Change in Average Individual Income, City of Toronto, 1970 to 2000
* Average Individual Income, City of Toronto, 1970
* Average Individual Income, City of Toronto, 2000
* Toronto Neighbourhoods with a Persistent Change in Income, 1980 to 2000
* Change in Neighbourhood Income Distribution in the City of Toronto 1970 to 2000
* Change in Neighbourhood Income Distribution in Toronto’s Outer Suburbs (the “905 region”) 1970 to 2000

Policy Options Forum
November 13, 2003
"A policy options forum on rent regulation, tenant protection and related issues was held on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003. This event was sponsored by the Centre for Urban and Community Studies at the University of Toronto and the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario. Julia McNally, Kenn Hale and David Hulchanski are among the policy experts who presented an overview of the issues and potential solutions."
- includes links to over two dozen documents: papers from the Forum, the Ontario Liberal Party's 2003 election promises, recommendations for tenant law reform, context: rental housing problems

An international conference held under the auspices of
Housing and the Built Environment, Research Committee 43, of the International Sociological Association
June 24-27, 2004
"The Centre for Urban and Community Studies is pleased to host the 2004 international housing research conference under the auspices of Housing and the Built Environment, Research Committee 43 of the International Sociological Association."
- follow the links in the right-hand column of the conference home page (the link above) to find the following info: Conference Theme - Auspices: ISA RC43 - Organizing Committee - Call for Papers - Conference Program - Housing Practice Field Workshops - Deadlines (Key Dates) - Registration & Fees - Delegates, Abstracts, Papers - Tours and Social Program - Accommodation - About Toronto - About Canada - Housing Issues in Toronto - ousing Information Gateway - ENHR Housing Conference July 2004
Related Link:

- Ontario
Joint project of Justice for Children and Youth, Pro Bono Law Ontario and the Advocates' Society
"The Child Advocacy Project (CAP) is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the legal rights of children and youth across Ontario. CAP lawyers provide free legal services to:
* Students who are involved in the Special Education process
* Children and youth who are at risk of being suspended or expelled
* Young people who are living independently.

Related Links:

"Justice for Children and Youth provides legal representation to low-income children and youth in Toronto and vicinity. We are a non-profit legal aid clinic that specializes in protecting the rights of those facing conflicts with the legal system, education, social service or mental health systems."

"ProBonoNet Ontario was built by Pro Bono Law Ontario (PBLO) to provide information for individuals, communities and lawyers about pro bono activities and opportunities in Ontario. Its goal is to support pro bono programs and increase access to justice for underserved groups and individuals across the province."

"Our Mission: Promoting Excellence in Advocacy
The Society's mission statement reflects five principal objectives that define our role and drive our activities: 1. Be the Voice of Advocates in Ontario 2. Promote Ethical and Professional Practice Standards for Advocates 3. Expand Our Leadership Role in Teaching the Skills of Advocacy 4. Protect the Independence of the Bar and the Judiciary 5. Foster Collegiality Among Members

"The Ontario Project for Inter-Clinic Community Organizing (OPICCO) grew out of the Toronto community legal clinic training session in April 2002, the theme of which was Community Development for Changing Times. (...) The purpose of OPICCO is to provide community organizations & community legal clinics in Ontario with tools for organizing."
- OPICCO members include community legal workers, staff lawyers, clinic directors and LAO staff.
- the Child Advocacy Project link was posted to the OPICCO website on September 24.

  - Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto (funded by Bell Canada)
The Bell Canada Child Welfare Research Unit (BCCWRU) was funded and established in 1998 to conduct and disseminate research on child and family services with a particular emphasis on child maltreatment. The BCCWRU helps focus and expand the University of Toronto, Faculty of Social Work's Centre for Applied Social Research's capacity to disseminate, support and conduct research on effective child welfare services.

(University of Toronto)
Highly recommended, frequently-updated, large site!

To avoid duplication whenever I can, I've moved all CRRU links to the Early Learning and Child Care section of the Canadian Children, Families and Youth Links page of this site

Large site, includes links to : Annual Report - Programs and Services* - Employment - Our Foundation - How You Can Help - Foster Parenting - Adoption - Discover Your Roots - Child Abuse - Online Publications - Related Links - Communicate Online
*[Integrated Family and Children's Services] [Protective Services] [Family Support] [High Risk Infant Program] [Pregnancy and After Care] [Day Treatment] [Community Work] [Research] [Community Education] [Branch Children's Services] [Long- term Care] [PARC] [Foster Care] [Health Services] [Internal Resources] [External Resources] [Adoption] [Adoption and Crown Ward Disclosure] [Volunteer Involvement]

Related Links:

(CL4D)

CPJ is a national NGO.
For CPJ links, see the Canadian Social Research Links National NGO Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ngobkmrk.htm

- Toronto
- incl. links to : Events List - Animal Rights - Job Links - Tenant Help - Web Liberty - Links Page - Sports Links - Election Pages [ Toronto, Federal, Provincial ] - Mail Politicians - Poverty Links - Green Links - Education - Protest Archive - Globalization - Site News Blog

Sample site content:

- links to several hundred alternative media sites and activist groups working locally (in Toronto), provincially (in Ontario), nationally (across Canada) and internationally (in other countries around the world).

- links to election resources and 400+ links to daily news articles about the 2006 federal election, from April 2005 right up to January of this year.

"Citizens With Disabilities-Ontario (CWD-O) is dedicated to the full participation of all persons in the social, economic and political life of their communities. It actively supports and promotes the rights, freedoms and responsibilities of individuals to determine their own destinies. Key areas of activities are community development, social action, social development, referral, and member services. Its primary activity is to advocate on behalf of persons with disabilities and promote their personal participation in changing social and physical barriers that allow for full participation in the mainstream of society."
CWD-O will adopt the policies, activities and goals of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD).

Related Link:

City of Ottawa

The City of Ottawa's
Poverty Reduction Strategy:

(PDF - 1.9MB, 83 pages)
Undated (PDF file date: December 11, 2009)
Ottawa's initiative builds on the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy and expands the target group to include individuals, families and children living on low income. The focus of Ottawa's Strategy is to implement local initiatives that reduce poverty, promote awareness and complement existing activities in the community.The report presents 3 Strategic Priorities and 16 Recommendations, including concrete, local actions that can be achieved and measured within a two-year timeframe. Beginning in 2010, Phase II of the Strategy will implement the recommendations and monitor progress by developing measures and tracking outcomes.
Source:


Note : Report to be presented to Community and Protective Services Committee and Council
21 January 2010
By Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager (City Operations)
[ version française :
]

Related links:
…….. (PDF - 167K, 48 pages)
Report from the Community Poverty Reduction Strategy Forum
held on June 25, 2008
at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa.
Prepared by the Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network
for the Ontario Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction
chaired by the Hon. Deb Matthews.

September 28, 2009
Source:

The Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network is a group of community organizations and anti-poverty advocates that
came together in early 2008 to support the participation of low income individuals in the development of
Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy.

NOTE: For related links,
see Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa - this link takes you to the top of the page you're now reading

"On behalf of the City of Toronto, we manage and deliver employment, financial and social supports. As a leader, we work directly with and through our community and government partners to ensure the services we deliver to those in need are appropriate, effective and accessible."
- incl. links to : Department - Social Services - Policy index - Children's Services - Homes for the Aged - Shelter, Support & Housing - Social Development - Toronto Housing

- incl. links to : Children's Services - About us - Looking for child care - Applying for subsidy - Information for child care providers - Child Care Advisory Committee - Reports - Facts & figures - Calendar - Contact us

(City of Toronto)
The Food and Hunger Action Committee was formed in December 1999 to study food security in Toronto and recommend ways to reduce hunger, improve the nutritional health of Torontonians, and support food-based initiatives that benefit Toronto's economy, environment and quality of life. The Committee took a collaborative approach to its work, bringing together City councillors, City staff, the staff of non-profit agencies, food program participants, volunteers, clergy and interested members of the public to discuss the wide range of issues related to food and hunger in Toronto.

Selected reports:

(PDF file - 1.2MB, 98 pages)
April 2006
"[The Action Plan] aims to ensure that benefits people receive, and the employment services and supports that help Toronto's vulnerable residents find and keep jobs, are available, adequate and effective.
The Action Plan sets out recommendations and actions for the different orders of government to reinvest in and restore Toronto's social safety net. It is a response to Toronto City Council's request for recommendations on how the Ontario Works program can respond better to the needs of low-income people."

Related Links:

April 11, 2006
Memorandum to Community Services Committee
From Heather MacVicar,
General Manager, Social Services Division
(PDF file - 7.25MB, 15 pages)

(PDF file - 1.5MB, 36 pages)
May 8, 2006

(PDF file - 325K, 37 pages)
By Dean Herd, PhD
April 2006
"Recent years have seen a new consensus emerge around welfare reforms. As a result a number of promising programs and practices have been adopted in various jurisdictions which have shifted policy design and delivery beyond work-first. Instead of a simplistic focus upon the “shortest route to employment”, the new emphasis has recognized that large numbers have been left behind by such strategies and is focusing instead on identifying and meeting needs and supporting sustainable transitions into work. This report highlights a number of these “next steps” in welfare reform which reflect the types of services and supports necessary to move clients away from unemployment and poverty.

A Selection of Earlier Reports and Research on Ontario Works (welfare) and social services in Toronto:

Memorandum to Community Services Committee
From Heather MacVicar, General Manager, Social Services Division
The Continuing Erosion of Ontario Works Benefit Rates (PDF file - 136K, 11 pages)
October 14, 2005
This report provides an update on the status of social assistance benefit rates and makes recommendations for adjustments to the Ontario Works rate structure that recognizes the cost of living in a large city such as Toronto.
"(...) OW benefit rates are far too low, threatening the health and safety of the City’s most vulnerable residents and their children. Since 1995, the purchasing power of OW benefits has fallen by nearly 40 percent to a level not seen since 1985."

(PDF file - 681K, 31 pages)
September 2002
- offers an overview of how the City of Toronto delivers social assistance programs and services to the city's residents.

(PDF file - 281K, 47 pages)
May 2002 (File revised June 2004)
- survey of people who left Ontario Works in Toronto in 2001 --- former social assistance recipients, discussing why they left the program, how they fared, and whether they were better off after leaving.

Social Assistance & Social Exclusion:
June 2004
Findings from Toronto Social Services' 2003 survey of single parents on Ontario Works describes the characteristics and experiences of single parents in the Ontario Works program in Toronto within the context of the labour market, their communities and their homes.

(PDF file - 906K, 68 pages)

(PDF file - 252K, 22 pages)

Despite Toronto's strong economy, many people in need of affordable housing are being left behind, according to the Toronto Report Card on Housing and Homelessness 2003.
- also includes links to homelessness report cards for 2001 and 2000

(PDF file - 5.2MB, 46 pages)
Community agencies play a key role in the delivery of human services in Toronto. This report examines the current issues facing community-based human services in the City.

kids@computers
Scholarship Project
Building bridges, giving hope,investing in the future
(PDF file - 813K, 8 pages)
January 2004
“The City of Toronto’s kids@computers Scholarship Project provides computers and Internet access to children of disadvantaged families in Toronto to help them keep pace in the classroom and acquire skills that will serve them well in the job market of tomorrow. Aimed at bridging the digital divide, this initiative is built upon an innovative partnership combining resources from across the City of Toronto with
those of sponsors such as Microsoft. By the end of 2003, over 6,000 children in 3,000 families will have received a home computer and basic computer training through kids@computers."

June 14, 2005
Memorandum to Community Services Committee
From Heather MacVicar, General Manager, Social Services Division
Subject:
Kids @ Computers Scholarship Project – Impacts, Outreach and Recognition (PDF file 129K, 14 pages)
"Purpose:
To describe the accomplishments of the Kids @ Computers Scholarship Project since 2001, including its recent selection as the 2005 recipient of the Willis Award for Innovation by the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators and its contribution to Toronto’s selection as one of 2005’s top seven intelligent communities in the world."

March 6, 2003
Memorandum to Community Services Committee
From Heather MacVicar, General Manager, Social Services Division
To: Community Services Committee
From: Commissioner, Community and Neighbourhood Services
Subject:
Ontario Works Benefit Rates: Loss of Purchasing Power Since 1995 (PDF file - 208K, 20 pages)
"Purpose:
This report discusses the progressive loss of purchasing power for persons participating in the Ontario Works (OW) program in Toronto as a result of steadily rising costs of living and social assistance rates which have remained unchanged since 1995. The report first examines the sufficiency of benefits, compared with standard of living indicators for Toronto residents as a whole. It then considers the adequacy of both the shelter and basic needs components of the monthly OW benefit. Finally, the report describes a proposal put forward by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) intended to help address these and other key issues concerning OW."
["Together with the 1995 reductions, social assistance rates have fallen by almost 35 percent in real and relative terms over the past eight years." --- Excerpt from page 2]

(PDF file - 44K, 9 pages)
Released January 30, 2003
"Toronto's child care system is at risk. Funding cuts by the provincial government have resulted in the erosion of the system on which over 16,000 subsidized families rely. Federal funding is available in Ontario to reverse the erosion and to return stability to the child care system but the Province has declined to use it. This report will outline the risks facing the child care system in Toronto and the opportunities that exist to revitalize it."
Source:

[]
"Child care in the City of Toronto is available in over 800 licensed child care centres and through 23 licensed private home care agencies working with over 2,000 approved home care providers."

(PDF file - 683K, 31 pages)
September 2002
- overview of how Toronto Social Services delivers social assistance programs and services to the city's residents.
Source: []

(PDF file - 35K, 11 pages)
April 5, 2004
Report to the Community Services Committee by the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services for the City of Toronto
"The report will describe Toronto Social Services' (TSS') successful delivery of quality employment programs and services to Ontario Works (OW) [welfare] clients, as well as new approaches to providing
Employment Assistance (EA) services based on lessons learned and experiences gained over the past several years. The report will discuss key directions required to further improve EA services for clients, and briefly describe the process for consulting with stakeholders (including clients)."
Source:

[ ]
Related Links:

-

[ ]

- Toronto welfare policy manual, organized in alphabetical order
- includes detailed information on welfare rates, eligibility criteria for different client types, treatment of financial resources, etc.

- Ontario
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
"Over 650,000 Ontario voters selected NDP candidates, up by over 100,000 from 1999. Nearly 15 per cent of voters chose the NDP to represent them at Queen’s Park, up from 12 per cent in 1999, yet the NDP lost two seats. And now Dalton McGuinty has said he may not recognize the NDP as a legitimate political party. (...) The Liberals have won the right to govern and the Conservatives will come through loud and clear as the Official Opposition, but the over 650,000 citizens who voted NDP deserve a say in these decisions."
- incl. contact info for all Liberal members of the Ontario Government
-
Source :

(Ontario)
September 4, 2007
Poverty in Ontario is growing at an alarming rate. On September 5, 2007 the Colour of Justice Network announced the launching of the Colour of Poverty Campaign - a province-wide community-based effort to help raise public awareness about the serious problem of poverty within the racialized communities of Ontario.

With the Department of Canadian Heritage as a key sponsor, the Colour of Poverty Campaign partners have developed a series of ten ( 10 ) Fact Sheets addressing different aspects of racialized poverty and its negative impacts on education & learning, health & well-being, employment, income levels, justice and policing, immigration and settlement, housing and homelessness and food security in Ontario.

Related link:

[ From ]

- a non-profit community legal clinic
serving low income residents of Hastings, Prince Edward and Lennox & Addington counties

(PDF - 160K, 2 pages)
Prepared by the
Recommended reading/saving/printing!
All in two pages, (just about) everything you ever
wanted to know about federal and provincial social program benefit levels in Ontario.
[This factsheet is mostly benefit levels and rates - to find corresponding program information, do a Google search using any program name from the list below...]

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

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

Found in:
- (check this link for more recent updates)
[ - a non-profit community legal clinic
serving low income residents of Hastings, Prince Edward and Lennox & Addington counties.]

Kudos to the Community Advocacy & Legal Centre for posting this valuable resource on their website.
A Bronx Cheer to the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services for NOT posting this valuable resource on its own website.

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

Some gratuitous advice from the
Canadian Social Research Links Guy:

1. To students and researchers:
Print this two-page pamphlet and keep it with your social research reference documents.
You'll thank me the next time you need to know the current OAS rate or the shelter allowance under ODSP or OW.

2. To other welfare departments in other provinces:
Please consider producing and making available online a short factsheet like this one for the programs in your jurisdiction.
It's an invaluable social research aid.

3. To the nice folks at the Ontario
Ministry of Community and Social Services:
This is such an excellent social research reference that it deserves to be on the MCSS home page, or at least the OW & ODSP home pages.
I can't find it anywhere on the MCSS website.
(Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
Please consider uploading this factsheet to your own website.

4. To the nice folks at the
Community Advocacy & Legal Centre:
Thanks for posting this to your site!
[BTW - If the MCSS Police come breaking down your door because you posted an
Ontario govt file that says "INTERNAL: FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY"to the Web, you don't know me and I don't know you, OK?]

Community economic development (CED)

"Community economic development (CED) involves initiatives that attempt to strengthen the community by building equitable and inclusive economies. (...) The Toronto CED Learning Network is a group of over 350 organizations and individuals who are interested in CED in the Toronto area. Its membership reflects an exciting range of perspectives and approaches. Its main goal is to provide a space where members can learn from each other, share their resources and work together to develop healthy, equitable and sustainable business activity in Toronto."

- over 1,000 links to free international resources and information on the web

"CEDTAP is a five-year, Canada-wide initiative that aims to assist 500 communities by 2006. CEDTAP helps community-based organizations engaged in CED by supporting technical assistance, study tours, target group initiatives and requests for computer hardware and software. CEDTAP is also committed to strengthening the CED sector as a whole by disseminating innovative models, funding the development of tools and resources, and organizing learning events.
- incl. links to : About CEDTAP - News - Approved Initiatives - Application Guidelines - Application Form - Directory of Technical Assistance Providers - CEDTAP Forum - Gender and CED - Resources and Links - Contact Information

The Community Foundation of Ottawa is a public, non-profit organization created by and for the people of Ottawa. As an independent centre for community philanthropy, it connects donors who care with causes that matter and serves as a trusted resource for addressing issues and leveraging opportunities in the community.

October 4, 2006
Vital Signs is an annual community checkup conducted by community foundations across Canada that measures the vitality of our cities. Vital Signs is based on a project of the Toronto Community Foundation and is coordinated nationally by Community Foundations of Canada.

Complete report:

(1.9MB, 24 pages)
- includes additional indicators and footnote links
"(...)Trends show that the gap between rich and poor is widening in Ottawa, and is greater in our city than the national average. In 2000, the highest income earners in Ottawa (those in the 90th percentile) earned 12 times more in after-tax income than the lowest income earners (10th percentile). Having a job is not necessarily a ticket out of poverty. In 2001, 13% of Ottawa's unattached individuals and 11% of families were the working poor. 38,691 people used Ottawa's food banks in 2005, continuing the steady increase seen in recent years. 39% of those using food banks are children." [Excerpt]

Related Links:

* We help people invest in Toronto, making it the best place to live, work, learn and grow. We monitor the quality of life in our city, identifying its strengths and weaknesses through our Toronto’s Vital Signs® report

*

* Vital Signs is an annual check-up conducted by community foundations across Canada that measures the vitality of our communities, identifies trends, and shares opportunities for action in at least ten areas critical to quality of life.
Since Toronto's first Vital Signs publication, the Report has been adopted by 16 communities across Canada and is now conducted nationally by Community Foundations of Canada.

__________

Related links:

October 6, 2009
By Royson James
Sooner, rather than later, Toronto needs a strike force to confront the dangerous patterns', `This is a picture of sickness linked to poverty – a snapshot of a city moving in opposite directions, its populace increasingly polarized. (...) Since 1998, the Toronto Community Foundation has been alerting us to the changing forces in our city and region. Toronto's Vital Signs, the annual checkup of the city's social, economic, environmental and physical health continues this year to track the alerts.

- Go to the Municipal Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/municipal.htm

is a Toronto-based electronic magazine of employment, education and training information, containing monthly Feature Articles, weekly News & Events, detailed Community Resources, Advice, and tips for using the HRDC Interactive Training Inventory. Possibilities Project is a project of Community Information Toronto funded by Human Resources Development Canada.

CLEO is a community legal clinic dedicated to providing low-income and disadvantaged people in Ontario with the legal information they need to understand and exercise their legal rights. Our materials cover many areas of law, including social assistance, tenants' rights, immigration and refugee law, workers' rights, family law, elder abuse and youth justice.

- incl. links to dozens of short pamphlets, all recent and all in PDF format, on a variety of issues organized under the following subjects:
* Criminal * Family * Health & Disability * Immigration & Refugee * Landlord & Tenant * Legal Services * Seniors * Social Assistance * Work & Employment Insurance * Workers' Compensation * Youth Justice
* Other

to public legal education sites across Canada and many Ontario links to websites of legal clinics, community information centres and social justice groups.

- links to over a dozen PDF files to help clients make sense of the system - information on Ontario Works, ODSP, appeals, the Canada Child Tax Benefit, and more

Booklets for youth: Getting a job with a youth record - Travelling with a youth record - Your record doesn't end when you turn 18 - What's the big deal about court orders? - Talking to police: Why you need a lawyer - Hiring a lawyer - Working with your lawyer - What's new in youth justice?
Booklets for Parents, Victims and Others: Restorative justice: A different approach to youth justice - Restorative justice: A different option for victims of youth crime - My child is in trouble with the law: What can I do to help?

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CLEONet is for community workers and advocates who work with low-income and disadvantaged communities. CLEONet has resources, news, and events produced and submitted by community organizations and legal clinics across Ontario.

Selected recent CLEONET site content:

(PDF - 41K, 2 pages)
August 2009
People with addictions to drugs or alcohol or both may now be eligible for benefits from the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). This fact sheet explains what people who have disabling conditions caused only by drug or alcohol addictions should expect when applying for ODSP benefits.

(PDF file - 183K)
July 2007
This booklet is for 16- and 17-year-olds who need financial assistance and are not living at home. It explains how to apply to Ontario Works for assistance, the special rules for 16- and 17-year-olds, and how to appeal a decision to refuse or cut off benefits.
Source:
[ ]
[ ]

CLEO is a community legal clinic that produces clear language material for people with low incomes. Main topics include social assistance, landlord and tenant law, refugee and immigration law, workers' compensation, women's issues, family law, employment insurance and human rights.

to public legal education sites across Canada and many Ontario links to websites of legal clinics, community information centres and social justice groups.

(CSPC-T)
The Community Social Planning Council of Toronto is committed to independent social planning at the local and city-wide levels in order to improve the quality of life for all people in Toronto. It is committed to diversity, social and economic justice, and active citizen participation in all aspects of community life.

- great collection - click on "partners & links"!

Sample recent reports from CSPC-T:

(PDF - 32K, 1 page)
Press Release
TORONTO
June 11, 2008
- Fear, struggle, and misinformation confront non-status immigrant families trying to enroll their children in Toronto schools, despite laws that say all children have a right to education regardless of status, according to a new report. The Right to Learn, a new report by the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, is the first Canadian study to document the barriers that non-status immigrant families face in accessing public education for their children.

Complete report:

(PDf - 608K, 38 pages)
June 2008

Source:

Related Toronto Star article:

June 11, 2008
Source:

[ ]

(208K, 1 page)
News Release
October 1, 2007
TORONTO – A groundbreaking new report shows at least 2,000 homeless children in Toronto are needlessly at risk of slipping through the cracks of the education system every year. Lost in the Shuffle, by the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto and Aisling Discoveries Child and Family Centre, is the first study in Canada to document the impact of homelessness on children's education in Toronto.

Complete report:

(PDF file - 5.9MB, 131 pages)
Phase 3 Report of the Kid Builders Research Project

Source:

s

Related link:

October 01, 2007
Every year about 3,000 school children in Toronto live in homeless shelters, says a new study to be released today. Yet despite this long-standing problem – the number of affected children has remained steady for the last five years –there are no government or school board policies to ensure the educational and emotional needs of these vulnerable children are being met, says Lost in the Shuffle, the first Canadian study on the issue.
Source:

- incl. * News from the Council * Upcoming Events * News from our Partners * Conferences and Calls * New Reports and Publications * Websites of Interest
[ - 200K, 8 pages]
Sample content from this issue:
Campaign 2000 National Forum on Living Wages, Toronto - September 18-19
Stepping up for Toronto’s Communities - September 25 (A Provincial Election Forum on issues of concern to Toronto’s non-profit community sector.)
Toronto Street Health Report 2007 Due for Release on September 19
Ontario provincial election candidates' debate on poverty and health – September 25
Investing in Neighbourhoods – Employment for OW clients
2007 Forum on Social Housing and Homelessness, Toronto – September 18-20
Increasing Diversity in Canadian Cities – October 11-12
Communities and Labour Conference – October 18-20
Urban Poverty Project 2007 update - August 9, 2007
Jordan’s Principle - August 14, 2007
Websites of Interest: Canadian Housing Equality Resources
More...

October 1, Massey Hall, Toronto
Featuring Stephen Lewis as a keynote speaker and Mary Walsh as MC

(PDF file - 129K, 31 pages)
Forum Convened by
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto
Held at the
Toronto
October 11, 2006
"On September 25, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Treasury Board President John Baird announced $1 billion in federal program cuts to be implemented over two years. At the same time that cuts to youth employment, literacy organizations, women’s groups, Aboriginal health initiatives, and other equity-relevant programs were announced, the federal government also reported a staggering $13.2 billion surplus.(...) The Community Social Planning Council of Toronto convened a forum to bring together local communities and organizations across sectors and issues to share information, and discuss and strategize around the proposed cuts and related federal actions. (...) Focusing on selected areas, the report paints only part of the picture of the cuts and its impact on Toronto communities."

--- Updates

September 2006
"At the beginning of each month, this e-bulletin provides news on the activities of the CSPC-T and our partners, as well as access to new research and policy products and networks, in print and web-based forms. (...) To subscribe to this bulletin, send an email with your name, organization, address, and telephone number to with the message SUBSCRIBE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER."

Content of this bulletin is organized under the following headings: News from the Council - Upcoming Events - News from our Partners - Conferences and Calls for Papers - Information Resources - New Reports and Publications - Websites of Interest - Contact Us

- links to HTML and PDF versions of each monthly issue

Media Release
TORONTO, July 17, 2006 – Toronto's community service sector is facing a crisis of growing demand, inadequate funding and persistently low wages. As community organizations struggle to provide such critical services as employment and training, in-home elderly care, shelters for abused women, immigrant settlement, and early learning and child care, the consequences of these pressures extend beyond their workforces to the health and well-being of Toronto residents, particularly vulnerable and at-risk populations.

Complete report:

(720K, 39 pages)
July 2006
[ - from - which is part of ]
A joint initiative of:
*
*

Related report:

(PDF file - 923K, 23 pages)
July 2006
".. highlights the effect of sector instability on newcomer communities. Toronto's community service sector is often the only line of support for newcomers, who face disproportionately high rates of poverty, unemployment/underemployment, and barriers to housing in the country's largest immigrant reception centre.
[ - from ]

Related link:

Jul. 21, :00 AM
By Carol Goar
Very few people go into community service work for the money. Two-thirds of Toronto's front-line workers — the folks who provide home care to the sick and elderly, immigrant services, crisis counselling, child care and employment training — earn less than $40,000 a year.
Source:

Prospects for Young Families in Toronto Project
"The Prospects project is a collaborative research project of the Family Service Association of Toronto and the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto. The goal of this project is to investigate how social and economic circumstances are having an impact on young families and to build support for public policies that can assist them. Our project focuses on young families whose head(s) are under the age of 35.
Two new reports released on July 22:
(PDF file - 225K, 21 pages)
(PDF file - 238K, 24 pages)

10th edition of the monthly newsletter from the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto
January 2004
"This is the tenth edition of the electronic newsletter from the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto. This e-bulletin arrives monthly providing news on the activities of the CSPC-T and our partners, as well as access to new research and policy products and networks both print and web-based.."
Newsletter contents: News from the Council - Upcoming Events - News from Our Partners - Conferences and Calls for Papers - Information Resources - New Reports and Publications - Websites of Interest - Contact Us
Complete newsletter:

(160K, 13 pages)
[Subscribe to receive the e-mail version of this monthly e-bulletin providing news on the activities of the CSPC-T and its partners, as well as access to new research and policy products and networks both print- and web-based.]

( back to September 2003)

What’s Available and Where to Find It : New Data Access Pamphlets
January 2004
- incl. links to more online resources
The 2001 Census
/
Poverty Statistics
/
Housing, Hunger and Health Statistics
/
Source:

If Low Income Women of Colour Counted in Toronto
September 2003
(PDF file - 211K, 16 pages)
(PDF file -798K, 110 pages)
"Based on discussions with more than a hundred and twenty women in nine of Toronto's low income neighbourhoods, the report finds that the [low-income women of colour] are isolated, overworked, subject to racism and discrimination, and chronically poor. Most have trouble finding jobs and most say the have nowhere to go to meet women or neighbours. Contrary to popular stereotypes of low-income people as abusers of public resources, few of them know about critical City services and supports."

Looking for a Hand Up: A Profile of Food Bank Recipients in Four Ontario Communities
September 2003
(PDF file - 68K, 3 pages)
(PDF file - 325K, 47 pages)

(PDF file - 1.9MB, 43 pages)
Posted March 2003
Dean Herd and Andrew Mitchell
Workfare Watch Project
A project of the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto and the Ontario Social Safety Network
"The new Service Delivery Model for social assistance, the key element of the Business Transformation Project (BTP) [involving Andersen Consulting/Accenture], has been fully operational across the Province since January 2002. (...) The report has two main aims: to describe the key features of this new service delivery model and to highlight some of its early impacts. It does so in a qualitative manner, evaluating the new SDM through the experiences and perspectives of Ontario Works recipients, those encountering the new system on a daily basis. The report is based on 7 focus groups that took place in Brampton, London, Peterborough, Sault St Marie, Scarborough, St. Catharines and Toronto in mid 2001."
Key Research Findings:
- Excessive and inappropriate requests for information;
- Cumbersome and complication application and appeals processes;
- Deliberately confusing procedures and language; and
- Greatly restricted appeal times.
To order a free paper copy, contact Beth Wilson -

(CASSA)
"CASSA is a community focused and community driven organization whose mandate is to advocate for and support existing as well as emerging agencies; to ensure that the social service needs of the community are met; and to play an active role in eliminating all forms of discrimination in society."
- community guide for South Asians in the Toronto area; good collection of resources and contacts

- also includes What's New - Events - Jobs - Volunteer Database - more...

CASSA Projects/Sponsors:

- Ministry of Citizenship


- National Crime Prevention Center & Trillium Foundation


- Laidlaw Foundation


- Canadian Heritage


- Canadian Heritage

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(PDF - 1.1MB, 30 pages)
York Region Equity Campaign Report
December 2009
The Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) initiated Putting Equity on the Agenda – Are We Being Heard? in York Region in 2009; it emerged out of the Welcoming Communities Initiative (WCI). The local partners for this campaign were Social Services Network and the Social Planning Council of York Region. Working within a framework of access, equity and inclusion, the campaign invited community members to share their views on education systems, police and justice, service provision, municipal and regional service delivery, representation and more as they relate to newcomers and immigrants. Using a participatory community engagement model that views residents as partners in decision-making processes, the campaign used a number of methods to interact with community members through the spring of 2009.
Source:
(CASSA)
CASSA is a social justice umbrella organization working with Ontario’s diverse South Asian communities.

Related link:

WCI is a 3-year project funded by Citizenship & Immigration Canada that aims to bring multi-stakeholders from government, education, employment, settlement services, community groups and residents together to address the needs of access, equity and inclusion. The long-term goal of this project is to engage immigrants as partners in the community building process through a more equitable, accessible and inclusive approach.

"social policy and activism"
School of Social Work, Laurentian University
Check out this great online resource with hundreds of reviewed links, mainly Canadian, to sites in the following areas: education - environment - food security - globalization - poverty - shelter - social activism - work and welfare; click Issues in the left frame to see the selection. Also, don't miss Government and Organizations, separate sections of this site.

See also:
- Canadian Social Research Links Ontario Non-Governmental and Municipal Govt. Sites (D-W) page
- Canadian Social Research Links Antipoverty Strategies and Campaigns page
- Canadian Social Research Links Guide to Welfare in Ontario
- Canadian Social Research Links Ontario - Government Links page
- Canadian Social Research Links Ontario - Spouse-in-the-House page ("The Falkiner Case")
- Canadian Social Research Links Provincial-Territorial Political Parties and Elections in Canada - incl. Ontario 2003 election links
- Rendez-vous à la page de Liens aux sites de recherche sociale en Ontario

See also :
- Ontario Municipal and NGO Sites (D-W)
- Ontario Government Sites
- Guide to Welfare in Ontario