Selected Canadian Social Research Organizations (I)

Groupes de recherche sociale au Canada (I)

Updated June 1, 2010
Page révisée le 1er juin 2010

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[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]

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- Craig McKie (Carleton University, Ottawa)
Vast selection of (mainly Canadian) social research links covering a wide range of topics in the social sciences.
On this page, you'll find links to : General Resource Searchers  - Content to Browse - Reference Materials - Aggressive Pattern Searchers - Virtual Library at Coombs - Data Archives - Sociology and Anthropology - News and Journalism - Psychology - Law and Law Enforcement - Demography - Political Science - Economics - Geography - Women's Studies - Security Services - Miscellaneous - Site Information

(SEDI)
" ... a national charitable organization dedicated to enabling poor, unemployed and under-employed people to become self-sufficient"

(Powerpoint presentation - 498K, 18 pages)
How SEDI plans to offer low-income Canadians new ways of finding economic independence by helping them save and build assets.

"SEDI has partnered with the , a leading expert in the field of social research and evaluation, to design and implement learn$ave. This multi-year (planned to 2009) demonstration of Individual Development Accounts for learning is funded by Human Resources Development Canada. The largest demonstration of its kind in the world, learn$ave will reach 4,875 low-income Canadians who volunteer to take part in one of 10 designated locations (cities/counties)across Canada."

"(...) Existing government home buyer and tax credit programs are out of reach for low-income earners, and in major cities like Toronto where home prices are so high, there isn’t nearly enough affordable housing to meet the demand. SEDI is piloting a project called that will give low-income Canadians a place to turn. By putting money aside in an Individual Development Account (IDA), participants can build their personal savings and earn a credit for a matching amount. The savings don’t have to be big, as long as they are consistent. Bit by bit, enough money is collected to put a downpayment on a home. SEDI is currently working in partnership with community groups, financial partners and government agencies to get this project started."
- April 2002 (small PDF file)

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(PDF - 604K, 8 pages)
April 2008
"(...)Assets do matter as an important, but so far largely undervalued, factor in well-being. Assets are more than stored-up income, they are stored-up hope, agency and aspiration. To the degree that welfare policy is ultimately concerned with well-being - and we believe it is - far greater attention should be paid to assets." (Excerpt, p.7)
- includes detailed info on what constitutes assets in the Canadian welfare system as well as asset exemption levels in all Canadian jurisdictions and a number of options for provincial/territorial governments wishing to promote greater asset development within their welfare program.
Source:

To fulfill SEDI's mission statement and to pursue its organizational objectives, SEDI has been working in four broad issue areas: self- employment, youth, asset-building and financial capability. Click the link above and then, on the next page, select one of the programs areas in the left-hand margin for more detailed information and further links.

Source:
:
SEDI is a national charitable organization dedicated to enabling poor and unemployed Canadians become self-sufficient. We take a variety of leading-edge social and economic approaches to this goal in areas such as policy development, program management, capacity building, public education, and research.

- Go to the Asset-Based Social Policies Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/assets.htm
More links to website content from SEDI (this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading)

Canada's Voice for Progressive, Practicable Social Policy
The Caledon Institute of Social Policy does rigorous, high-quality research and analysis; seeks to inform and influence public opinion and to foster public discussion on poverty and social policy; and develops and promotes concrete, practicable proposals for the reform of social programs at all levels of government and of social benefits provided by employers and the voluntary sector.

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NOTE: For links to 400+ Caledon reports, go to and click on "Publications By Date" in the left margin.

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Here are just a few samples of the online reports and commentaries you'll find here:

One in an occasional series in which Canadian thinkers challenge the faltering federal Liberal party to do some fresh thinking in advance of a policy conference slated for March.
By Sherri Torjman, Ken Battle and Michael Mendelson
[ ]
January 6, 2010
"(...) Poverty is the symptom of an unsettling malaise – a poverty of passion. Canada can be so much greater than just a society. The Liberals should use their upcoming conference as a significant moment to reclaim their vision and their voice. It's time for the Liberals to rekindle the flame for a nation that cares about its citizens."
Source:

Related articles
in The Toronto Star:

*
January 3/10
Increasing jail time may have political appeal but it accomplishes little. To limit crime, Liberals need to consider what works, not what sounds good

*
December 30/09
We have moved to the sidelines under the Harper government. To restore our crumbling image abroad, Michael Ignatieff must shape a convincing Liberal response to global upheavals

*
December 30/09
Restoring the GST to 7% will go a long way toward fighting Ottawa's ballooning deficit. That's just good economics. Ignatieff's challenge is to make it good politics, too, and persuade consumers (read: voters) to buy into it.

*
December 27/09
Priorities of equality and community should guide its future progressive agenda

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December 02, 2009
(PDF - 548K, 27 pages)
Richard Matern, Michael Mendelson and Michael Oliphant
December 2009
This paper tells the story of the development of the Ontario Deprivation Index by the Daily Bread Food Bank and the Caledon Institute of Social Policy. A ‘deprivation index’ is a list of items which are widely seen as necessary for a household to have a standard of living above the poverty level so that most households not in poverty are likely to have these items, but households in poverty are likely to find some of them unaffordable and so not have all those items. The index should therefore contain those items that distinguish the poor from the non-poor in the prevailing social and economic conditions.

A three-stage community-based research process was used to develop the measure, engaging those with lived experience of poverty. Statistics Canada has now refined this list and incorporated it as a supplement to their Labour Force Survey, under the sponsorship of the Government of Ontario. The result of the process was the creation of the Ontario Deprivation Index, which constitutes one part of the multi-indicator “Child and Youth Opportunity Wheel” in the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy. This is the first poverty measure to be developed through a unique partnership of a community organization, a policy think tank, government and Statistics Canada. It is also the first time a deprivation index has been developed in North America . The deprivation index is an innovative way of measuring poverty, different than all the other measures now used in Canada .

December 02, 2009
(PDF - 122K, 13 pages)
Richard Matern, Michael Mendelson and Michael Oliphant
December 2009
Using an empirical methodology based on a series of surveys and focus groups, Daily Bread Food Bank and the Caledon Institute of Social Policy have developed a deprivation index for Ontario . A ‘deprivation index’ is a list of items which are widely seen as necessary for a household to have a standard of living above the poverty level so that most households not in poverty are likely to have these items, but households in poverty are likely to find some of them unaffordable and so not have all those items. The index should therefore contain those items that distinguish the poor from the non-poor in the prevailing social and economic conditions.

This paper is a preliminary test of the validity of the Ontario Deprivation Index using the results of a Statistics Canada survey of 10,000 Ontario households. We look at the performance of the index against 6 variables: income, education, employment status, immigration, family type and housing tenure. A similar method for testing the validity of the new Irish deprivation index was also used, although in this paper we are presenting only the most basic tests. Based on this early analysis, the Ontario Deprivation Index fully meets the tests of validity in relation to these variables.

Source:

and

[NOTE: You'll also find links to both reports on the Daily Bread website.]

Related links:

December 3, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten and Tanya Talaga
One in eight Ontario children live in families that can't afford fresh fruits and vegetables every day, or can't afford to replace a broken appliance or share the occasional meal with friends or family. These are a few of the 10 indicators listed in a new provincial poverty measure called the Ontario Deprivation Index, introduced Wednesday by Children's Minister Laurel Broten as part of the government's first annual report on the province's poverty reduction plan. The 10 "deprivation indicators" are not intended to be a comprehensive list. Instead, they are a sample of items and activities common to most Ontarians but out of reach for poor households, the report says.
Source:

[ ]

By Laurie Monsebraaten
December 2, 2009
One in eight Ontario children is living in poverty, according to a new provincial measure released Wednesday that looks at whether families can afford items on a list of basic necessities. Families not able to afford two or more items from a list of 10 indicators on the Ontario Deprivation Index are considered as "having a poverty level standard of living," the McGuinty government says in its first annual report on Ontario's poverty reduction strategy.
Source:

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December 4, 2009
(...) The McGuinty government has chosen to use a measure of relative poverty known as a “deprivation index,” popular in England, Scotland, New Zealand and elsewhere. Any Ontarian unable to eat fresh fruit and vegetables daily, or meat, fish or “a vegetarian equivalent” every second day is considered poor. (...) We have long argued that Statistics Canada’s Low-Income Cut Off (LICO) — a commonly cited measurement of poverty in Canada — was a useless, relativist index. But we think Ontario’s deprivation index is even worse. No doubt, however, the bureaucrats like it just fine — for it justifies the case for more government intervention in the economy.
Source:

(PDF - 47K, 9 pages)
By Sherri Torjman
November 2009
In December 2007, the Government of Nova Scotia passed Bill 94, An Act to Establish a Poverty Reduction Working Group in Nova Scotia. The mandate of the Working Group was to prepare a report recommending strategies and priorities to reduce poverty. Based on the recommendations of the Working Group, the Government of Nova Scotia released on April 3, 2009 its Poverty Reduction Strategy entitled Preventing Poverty, Promoting Prosperity. The Strategy puts forward a framework for tackling the needs of persons living in and at risk of falling into poverty, while promoting prosperity for the province. Preventing Poverty, Promoting Prosperity is a multi-year plan with four main goals: enable and reward work, invest in households in need, focus on children, and coordinate and collaborate. The paper describes the various measures that have been undertaken or are being planned in order to achieve each of these goals.

(PDF - 36K, 3 pages)
Sherri Torjman
October 2009
Three ghosts stalk far too many households involved in providing personal care and support to relatives with severe disabilities, or sick and aging parents. First, many persons with disabilities and seniors live on low incomes and caregivers spend much of their own money for basic food, heat and shelter. Second, caregivers’ own employment status and income can be jeopardized by the pressures of caregiving responsibilities. Third, caregivers often pay the additional costs of disability-related goods and services not covered by medicare or private insurance. The commentary considers various policy solutions: reforming the disability income system, expanding the Compassionate Care Leave under Employment Insurance, providing a modest caregiver allowance, turning caregiver tax measures into refundable tax credits and investing in the supply of disability supports.

(PDF - 120K, 36 pages)
By Michael Mendelson
October 2009
This paper discusses the need for a First Nations Education Act. The first step in achieving ‘Indian Control of Indian Education’ was for the federal government to cede control over First Nations education, and this has largely been done. But the second and more crucial step is for First Nations to step into the vacuum and create the necessary organizational and financial infrastructure for a high-quality First Nations education system, and this has not been done. Despite many First Nations attempts to establish needed educational infrastructure, only bits and pieces of an education system have so far been set up on various reserves across Canada . For the most part, the major elements of an education system for First Nations are missing. The paper describes those missing pieces and sets out a plan for how they may be put into place across Canada . It is a proposal for a new Act of Parliament which would allow First Nations that wished to do so to establish properly funded First Nations school boards with clear legal empowerment and the necessary regional educational agencies to support them.

(PDF - 32K, 2 pages)
By Sherri Torjman
October 2009
This commentary gives thanks to the three million Canadians who provide informal care to infirm or aging parents, or to relatives with severe disabilities. While most caregivers would not want to give up their caregiving role, many admit that it can create onerous financial strains, which threaten to push them into poverty. These pressures arise from paying for basics for family members unable to work; reducing work hours or leaving employment altogether; and covering additional age- or disability-related expenses. In recognition of these three ghosts of poverty, Ottawa provides modest income tax relief through the caregiver credit and infirm dependant credit. The paper discusses the limitations of these measures and proposes preferred options for caregiver support.

(PDF - 278K, 77 pages)
By Sherri Torjman
September 2009
This study explores the interaction between student aid and social assistance - the two main systems in Canada that provide financial support to post-secondary students. Both systems are complex in themselves because they are governed by a wide range of rules and regulations. Their complexity is exacerbated by the constitutional nature of Canada . This paper focuses on the interface issues because of an overriding concern: Students from low-income households are under-represented in the post-secondary educational system - particularly at the university level. They face multiple barriers, including information and motivational factors, to participation. Another major problem, not surprisingly, is their limited income and assets relative to the cost of post-secondary education.

(PDF - 47K, 10 pages)
By Sherri Torjman, Ken Battle and Michael Mendelson
September 2009
This report summarizes the core elements of the newly-introduced poverty reduction strategy in Manitoba . Announced on May 21, 2009, represents an annual investment of $744 million, including $212 million in new funding. To tackle the numerous factors that create and sustain poverty, the province is investing in four clusters of intervention: safe affordable housing; education, jobs and income support; strong and healthy families; and coordinated programs and services. The strategy has several elements of success: It is a whole-of-government approach rather than the effort of a single department. It invests in recognized pathways out of poverty and engages partners outside government in the diverse interventions. The strategy provides direct (albeit modest) payments to households with children to boost their incomes immediately. All Aboard includes a process to coordinate its many components and monitor its impact.

(PDF - 35K, 3 pages)
By Sherri Torjman
September 2009
As the aging population puts more pressure on scarce resources, the debates as to who gets selected for essential health care services will become increasingly contentious. The typical response is to look for ways to reform health care in order to ration services more efficiently. Another answer is to shore up the supply of nurses. This paper argues for additional supports for the estimated three million informal caregivers in Canada . Options include greater provision of home supports and workplace policies that allow flexibility for elder care. Another possibility involves the development of secondary suites, an affordable housing option that enables the provision of care at home. The paper argues that urban design makes an important policy contribution to our social challenges.

(PDF - 105K, 33 pages)
By Michael J. Prince
September 2009
This paper explores the Employment Insurance (EI) policy objective of encouraging long-term labour market attachment by providing temporary income support during absences from work due to life events such as illness, childbirth and caring for a terminally ill family member. The study was undertaken as part of an ongoing assessment of the policies and programs of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, which is examining how EI may need to adjust to better align with current shifts in the labour market and society. The report examines five EI special benefits: the Family Supplement, Sickness, Parental, Maternity and Compassionate Care. The paper also includes a chronology of major developments in family-related benefits in EI policy from 1941 to 2006. Because EI special benefits operate at the intersection of labour market policy, income security policy and family policy, these benefits enable a better balance between work and family life, and have important implications for each of these policy domains.

(PDF - 41K, 5 pages)
Michael Mendelson, Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman
April 2009
Belt-tightening changes made to Employment Insurance in the 1990s have decimated the program’s coverage over the years and substantially reduced the value of payments. Today only three in ten unemployed Canadians receive regular EI benefits in contrast to eight in ten in the last recession, in 1990. There is a gender gap in coverage, and it has widened. Both eligibility for benefits and the maximum duration of benefits vary widely from community to community and province to province, leading to unfair treatment of the unemployed. Caledon proposes several immediate changes to strengthen EI, including: a uniform set of rules governing entrance requirements and length of benefits, increasing the earnings-replacement rate from the current 55 to 70 percent of insurable earnings, and setting premium rates higher in good economic times and lower in bad times.

(PDF - 3MB, 8 pages)
June 10-12, 2009
The release of Ontario’s first comprehensive anti-poverty strategy makes now the ideal time for community leaders from across Ontario to come together and be inspired by the stories and experiences from and other successful poverty reduction initiatives throughout Canada that are producing real results. The purpose of Reducing Poverty in Ontario: A Place-Based Approach – a three-day learning event in Kitchener, Ontario from June 10 to 12 – is to offer community leaders a rich learning experience that will explore the distinction between reducing and alleviating poverty, and introduce concepts and tools that demonstrate how to build and sustain the multi-sector teams needed to engage citizens in comprehensive poverty reduction efforts.
Speakers include:
· Deb Matthews, Minister of Children & Youth Services and Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues
· Sherri Torjman, Vice-President of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy
· Robin Cardozo, CEO of The Ontario Trillium Foundation
· Tim Brodhead, CEO of The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation
· Frances Lankin, CEO of United Way Toronto
· Liz Weaver, Director of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction
· Mark Chamberlain, Chair of the Hamilton Roundtable and CEO of Trivaris; and,
· Paul Born, CEO of the Tamarack Institute for Community Engagemen

(PDF - 47K, 5 pages)
By Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson
December 2008
Strong social programs can play a vital part in an economic stimulus package. Ottawa has at its disposal several effective social programs that can play an important part in an economic stimulus package to combat the recession. Boosting three geared-to-income programs – the Canada Child Tax Benefit, refundable GST credit and Working Income Tax Benefit – would put additional money into the hands of lower-income households who are most likely to spend it immediately. Employment Insurance, which now serves only four in ten unemployed Canadians, must be restored and strengthened. Ottawa should also bolster its transfers to the hardest hit provinces and territories so that they do not bear the full burden of social assistance and other recession-linked cost increases.
Source:

The Caledon Institute of Social Policy does rigorous, high-quality research and analysis; seeks to inform and influence public opinion and to foster public discussion on poverty and social policy; and develops and promotes concrete, practicable proposals for the reform of social programs at all levels of government and of social benefits provided by employers and the voluntary sector.

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(PDF - 119K, 36 pages)
By Sherri Torjman
October 2008
This paper discusses ten major policy areas that comprise the core of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy:
* affordable housing * early childhood development * high school completion and improved literacy proficiency * demand-driven customized training * improved minimum wages and enhanced supplementation of low earnings and of income * a restored and improved unemployment insurance system * adequate income and appropriate supports for persons with disabilities * assistance with the creation of assets for low- and modest-income households, support for the social economy * strong social infrastructure * place-based initiatives that fashion integrated approaches to intervention and that create effective responses to tackling poverty through creative combinations of resources and approaches.

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(PDF - 35K, 3 pages)
By Michael Mendelson
October 2008
This article, which first appeared in the Toronto Star, argues that Canada will be caught in a prolonged recession in the US. If so, most governments in Canada will end up with deficits in the next few years, and it is better to plan for this eventuality than to just hope it does not happen. The real challenge is to maintain fiscal discipline even when deficits are permitted. If governments plan sensibly, they can establish ‘fiscal rules’ setting out what deficit financing can be used to pay for and how large deficits can be.

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(PDF - 34K, 2 pages)
Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman
September 2008
This Labour Day commentary explores various actions that governments and employers can take to improve the earnings of the working poor. One in four Canadian workers makes just $10 an hour or less and close to half (44 percent) of low-income households have at least one working adult. Key policy reforms include increasing and indexing minimum wages, investing in education and training, ensuring an adequate supply of decent affordable housing and enhancing the Canada Child Tax Benefit. This commentary focuses upon essential changes to the amount and design of the Working Income Tax Benefit - the federal policy measure whose intended purpose is to help make work pay.

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(PDF - 49K, 7 pages)
Sherri Torjman
September 2008
This essay discusses the various dimensions of the social economy - a unique and burgeoning sector of the economy in which business enterprises and economic activity seek not only to generate revenue but also to advance social goals. There are hundreds of thousands of hybrid businesses, also known as social enterprises, which are taking their place on the world stage - and increasingly in stock market portfolios. They try both to generate profit and create social value. They are sometimes referred to as ‘blended value’ organizations because that is precisely what they do. This paper explores their many different forms and puts forward policy proposals to bolster social enterprises within the Canadian economy.

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(PDF file - 112K, 36 pages)
By Michael J. Prince
January 2008
This paper focuses upon a serious weakness in Canada’s income security system. There is a major gap in social insurance coverage for millions of Canadians whose work and earnings are interrupted on a temporary or recurring basis because of illness or disability. This paper examines the current relationship between Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefits, and explores possibilities for stronger linkages between these programs. Various options for a medium-term sickness/disability income benefit are considered along with their respective strengths and weaknesses.

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(PDF file - 192K, 46 pages)
By Ed Tamagno
January 2008
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) are headed towards an historical crossroads. The most recent actuarial valuation of the CPP shows that the federal scheme is sound in its financing and should remain financially sound for the foreseeable future, without the need for any increase in its contribution rate over the next 75 years. Not entirely so, however, for the QPP. Although the Quebec plan is in no imminent financial difficulty, its most recent actuarial valuation indicates that changes to the QPP’s financing or benefits must be made well before 2050 or the scheme will be unable to meet its commitments fully after that year. This paper examines the reasons for the divergence in the financial projections of the Canada and the Quebec Pension Plans and proposes ways in which the parallelism of the two schemes, which has been a mainstay of federal and provincial policy for over four decades, can be maintained.

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(PDF file - 264K, 9 pages)
by Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman,
Michael Mendelson and Ed Tamagno
November 2007
"(...)The renewed focus on poverty is long overdue. Strong and explicit federal leadership, along with cooperation with the provinces and territories in several key areas, are essential to attain significant reductions in poverty. But real progress will not be possible unless sound policy measures are employed to achieve this crucial goal.

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(PDF file - 276K, 14 pages)
Sherri Torjman, May 2007
The Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada invited departmental representatives and four outside panelists to a roundtable to consider options for repairing Canada’s social safety net. This paper summarizes the highlights from Caledon’s contribution, which made the case for the need to reform Employment Insurance and welfare in concert and in association with labour market changes

- links to all 500+ reports from May 1993 to date

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(PDF file - 70K, 13 pages)
Ed Tamagno and Ken Battle
November 2006
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s surprise announcement on October 31, 2006, shutting down income trusts was front page news across Canada. Little media attention, however, was given to other changes to the income tax system announced at the same time. These include two of particular importance to seniors: a proposal to allow couples to split pension income and an increase in the age credit. This commentary analyzes these proposed changes to the tax system and who will benefit if they are implemented. It shows that the splitting of pension income will provide windfall benefits to some of the wealthiest seniors, only modest benefits to middle-income seniors, and nothing at all to the poorest of Canada’s elderly. The commentary goes on to present an alternative approach - involving changes to the age credit and pension income credit - that is fairer and that would cost no more, and probably even a bit less, than the government’s proposals.

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(PDF file - 143K, 37 pages)
Ken Battle, Michael Mendelson and Sherri Torjman
June 2006
Since its creation in 1992, the Caledon Institute of Social Policy has worked to modernize Canada’s social security system. We have made the case for major changes not just to individual social programs but to the basic structures and functions – the ‘architecture’, to use the current vogue term – of social policy. This paper advances our work on the modernization agenda in a large area of Canadian social policy that has for the most part defied successful reform – income security programs and supportive services for working-age adults, which Caledon has dubbed ‘adult benefits.’ The first part of the paper explains why current programs – especially welfare and Employment Insurance, the two core adult benefits – fail to meet the needs of working-age Canadians. Fundamental and comprehensive reform is required, through integrated changes to both federal and provincial/territorial programs and a realignment of governments’ roles and responsibilities. The second part offers our thinking on how to build a new architecture for adult benefits.

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(PDF file - 15K, 3 pages)
Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson
February 2006
The proposed $1,200 Choice in Child Care Allowance is a stealth program that will in fact deliver smaller benefits than advertised. Caledon proposes that the federal government instead deliver the $1,200 through the tried and true Canada Child Tax Benefit.

Related Links:

- from the website of the
- incl. information on the Child Care Allowance, along with links to 20 news videos and articles about the Allowance.
Sample video:

NOTE: This is streaming video that you may not be able to access on a computer that's on a network either at the office or in a university. If you're interested in the area of child care and early learning, I highly recommend that you read the articles on the Conservative website...

Google Web Search Results : ""
Google News search Results : ""
Source:

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(PDF file - 63K, 7 pages)
Ken Battle, January 2006
The Conservatives’ plan for a “Choice in Child Care Allowance” is seriously flawed. Because the new program will trigger reductions in federal and provincial/territorial income-tested benefits and increases in income taxes, most families will end up with less – for modest-income families in the $30,000-$40,000 range, much less - than the gross $1,200 annual payment for every child under 6. The Child Care Allowance also will favour one-earner couples over single parents and two-earner families. The proposed scheme is really a child benefit, not a child care program. Caledon contends that it would be better to invest in further increases to the existing Canada Child Tax Benefit, a modern and effective social program that suffers from none of the failings of the proposed Choice in Child Care Allowance.

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(PDF file - 18K, 4 pages)
Sherri Torjman, January 2006
The November 2003 Report of the Auditor General, released in February 2004, set in motion a chain of events that led to an obsession with accountability. The November 2005 report of the Auditor General, by contrast, barely created any interest – despite several important recommendations that could help the federal government and voluntary organizations do their jobs more effectively. The latest audit looked at federal policies and practices around the creation, coordination and oversight of ‘horizontal initiatives.’ The Auditor General instructed central agencies to provide more explicit guidance for horizontal practice related to common application procedures, funding instruments, data collection, reporting practices and evaluation frameworks.

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(PDF file - 97K, 33 pages)
Eric Leviten-Reid and Sherri Torjman, January 2006
This paper was prepared on behalf of Social Development Canada to support the department and its partners in developing an evaluation framework for potential federal investment in the social economy. It also informed the efforts of government partners in their formulation of a horizontal Results Based Accountability Framework for the social economy initiatives announced in the 2004 federal Budget. The report discusses the nature of the social economy, identifies issues and challenges involved in evaluating its activities and proposes a learning-oriented approach to its evaluation. The paper also presents a logic model for conceptualizing the work of the social economy, including the broad societal objectives it seeks to achieve, major types of investment and support to sustain this activity, and results for households, organizations, communities and the social economy sector as a whole.

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(PDF file - 36K, 9 pages)
Anne Makhoul and Eric Leviten-Reid, January 2006
By educating Calgarians about the complex realities of poverty and influencing the development of responsive public policies, Vibrant Communities Calgary is trying to create a profound shift in thinking. It seeks to move from a climate that sees poverty as a personal problem to one in which systemic change makes it possible for individuals and households to improve their circumstances. This is the second in a series of stories which describe the poverty reduction work of the six Vibrant Communities Trail Builders.

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(PDF file - 50K, 15 pages)
Rick August, January 2006
This paper focuses on the coexistence of strong labour demand in Saskatchewan, and a chronically underemployed segment of the population that is not achieving full economic citizenship. It argues that these circumstances afford an opportunity to strengthen the province’s labour force and economy, while at the same time increasing the economic inclusion of its disadvantaged citizens. The paper proposes a strategy to reduce economic disadvantage through employment and productivity growth. On a practical level, it argues for a partnership between government and employers that would help potential workers to prepare for entry-level employment, and from this base of employment, to improve their employment security and income through productivity growth. The analysis relies on enabling approaches to public policy that are designed to influence market forces towards more equitable outcomes, and harness human motivations and energies to improve personal and societal outcomes. The paper argues that a fair distribution of wealth is achievable within the context of a competitive market economy, and that an employment inclusion and productivity growth strategy could lead to sustainable gains in both Saskatchewan’s aggregate wealth and its distributional equity.

(PDF file - 15K, 3 pages)
Ken Battle and Michael Mendelson, November 2005
Like the National Child Benefit, the Working Income Tax Benefit should be debated and developed as a national – not just federal, nor just provincial/territorial – social policy reform.

(PDF file - 19K, 4 pages)
Michael Mendelson, November 2005
Caledon Senior Scholar Michael Mendelson challenges governments to start thinking and talking about – and planning for – an inevitable looming crisis: the next recession.

(PDF file - 133K, 47 pages)
Keith Horner, November 2005

(PDF file - 86K, 35 pages)
Richard Shillington, November 2005

(PDF file - 81K, 27 pages)
Joe Ruggerri, Yang Zou and Shannon Garrett, November 2005

(PDF file - 29K, 4 pages)
Anne Makhoul, November 2005
Senator Landon Pearson – the Senator for Children and the Children’s Senator – retires from her seat in the Senate in November 2005. This issue of ‘real leaders’ is dedicated to a woman whose life has been devoted to the task of advocating for children and youth.

(PDF file - 270K, 73 pages)
February 2005
By Michael Mendelson
"This report addresses two critical questions in social policy: what is child poverty and how much is an adequate child benefit? To answer these questions, the report provides an analytic basis to distinguish between poverty among families with children and that element of their poverty that is properly understood as ‘child poverty.’ It argues that child benefits should cover the incremental cost of raising a child in a family living just above poverty levels. But to estimate an adequate child benefit, we must then define ‘poverty.’ Building upon a critical review of Canadian and international research, the report describes two alternative methodologies that could be adopted to develop a well-grounded Canadian poverty line. The report provides a number of preliminary quantitative estimates of the value of an adequate child benefit according to these methodologies. This report will challenge your understanding of ‘child poverty,’ how it should be measured and the role of child benefits in addressing it."

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November 2004
Sherri Torjman, Ken Battle and Michael Mendelson
"This paper (...) discusses several key principles to help guide the spending of the federal surplus: transparency, balance and purpose. The paper proposes that the surplus not be directed towards debt reduction but rather towards a combination of program and tax reduction measures. With respect to program expenditure, the authors have identified three top priorities from a wide range of proposals they have put forward over the years: child benefits, early childhood care and learning, and community supports for persons with disabilities and the aging population. Possible tax reductions related to employment and education would be directed towards low- and modest-income households."

(PDF file - 56K, 13 pages)

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

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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)

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Abstract in English and French + link to the complete report in both official languages (46 pages in English)
[ version française : Les Autochtones sur le marché du travail canadien : travail et chômage, aujourd'hui et demain ]
Michael Mendelson
April 2004
"Has the labour market situation of Aboriginal people in Canada been improving over the last several years? This paper uses data from the 1996 and 2001 censuses to present comprehensive, factual answers to this question."
Related Links: go to the Canadian Social Research Links First Nations page

Abstract in English and French + link to the complete report in both official languages
L'Apprentissage et l'évaluation dans le cadre d'initiatives de réduction de pauvreté
Sherri Torjman and Eric Leviten-Reid
March 2004
"This is the sixth in a series of papers written in support of the Vibrant Communities project, a four-year national effort to explore promising local solutions to reduce poverty. The paper discusses various aspects of community learning. It describes how the Pan-Canadian Learning Partnership, which comprises the foundation of Vibrant Communities, engages in a process of continual learning to inform and improve local efforts. The paper also explores the challenges involved in evaluating comprehensive community initiatives. It discusses the ‘logic model’ of evaluation. This approach is based on the assumption that there is a sequence of events which must take place, and that build upon each other in a logical fashion, in order to effect any complex change. The intermediary steps along the way can then be identified and assessed."

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Eric Leviten-Reid
March 2004
(version française : Reflexion sur le projet collectivité dynamiques)
"This is the seventh in series of papers written in support of the Vibrant Communities project. This paper reflects on the first 18 months of the Vibrant Communities experience and the Face-to-Face Forum in Guelph, Ontario, September 22-24, 2003. This Forum provided an opportunity for participants in Vibrant Communities to reflect on their experience in order to sharpen their focus and refine strategies for the next phases of the work. The aim of this paper is to capture some of the key lessons and observations from the early days of Vibrant Communities."
(PDF file - 73K, 20 pages)
(fichier PDF - 83Ko., 24 pages)

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Gregory P. Marchildon
April 2004
This paper argues that Canadians are at a crossroads in terms of the future of medicare. Critical directional decisions will be made at the First Ministers Meeting in a few months. Ottawa must decide its role before it negotiates with the provinces the future of a policy that is an integral part of the country’s identity.
- (PDF file - 88K, 20 pages)
Related Links: go to the Canadian Social Research Links Medicare Debate Links page

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The Repair of Taxation
December 2003
Tom Kent
"...argues that federal taxation has become so unfair and so slack, so undermined by avoidance and evasion, that its repair is now the urgent social reform on which others depend. (...)The paper offers a combination of reforms to increase government revenues in ways both better for the economy and more progressive for society."
(PDF file - 88K, 26 pages)

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Sherri Torjman, December 2003
"...argues the need for exploring possible methods of expanding the ‘fiscal pie.’ It explores one possible model put forward by PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network), a group of parents of children with severe disabilities. The group proposes a combination of private savings and public spending to help develop caring communities. (...) The proposal represents one idea in a range of possible savings and investment mechanisms to expand the fiscal pie – a direction which we should be debating seriously as a nation."
(PDF file - 19K, 3 pages)

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Community-based Poverty Reduction: The Québec Experience
by William Ninacs
September 2003
(PDF file - 47K, 17 pages)
Highly recommended!
This is an excellent primer for people who want general information on how Quebec's social protection system works. It contains a brief overview of the evolution of Quebec's social, political cultural and economic fabric, with a special focus on community economic development
- Table of contents : Population and territorial organization - The ‘Quiet Revolution’ () - Culture - Economic development - Health and welfare - Community organizations and related social movements - Evolution of Québec government policies toward poverty reduction - Local and community economic development - Key theoretical constructs - Social development - Social economy

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Child Benefits Levels in 2003 and Beyond: Australia, Canada, the UK and the US
Michael Mendelson
April 2003
Abstract
"Australia, Canada, the UK and the US all have programs providing cash benefits to families with children. This study is a detailed comparison of current child benefit rates in the four countries, for a representative lone parent family with one child and a two-parent family with two children. It also compares Canada’s child benefits in 2007, when all announced increases are implemented, to those in Australia, the UK and the US. The paper calculates the changes that would be needed to replicate UK child benefits in Canada, and analyzes the implications of these changes."
(PDF file - 75K, 13 pages)

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Canada needs social policy that works, says new Caledon report
Press Release/Abstract
September 25, 2002
"We look to next week’s Speech From the Throne to advance the ideas put forward in our social policy-that-works agenda."
Proposals include:
- increasing the the maximum annual Canada Child Tax Benefit
- boosting federal transfers to the provinces and territories for early childhood development
- improving paid parental leave
- replacing welfare with a Basic Income Support system (Basic Wage + Training Allowance + Basic Support for those who can't work)
- indexing minimum wages and examining minimum wages
- launching a national Employment Skills and Learning Strategy
- developing a policy framework to support community economic development
- offering supplementary health benefits to all low- and modest-income Canadians
- improving targeted tax relief
- creating a Disability Supports Fund; improving tax benefits for Canadians with disabilities; developing a new National Disability Benefit.
- helping to build a strong social foundation for cities
Complete report online:
(PDF file - 68K, 22 pages)
by Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman
September 2002

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(PDF file - 36K, 10 pages)
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
July 2002
"This paper is a summary of the wide range of reductions and cuts the BC Liberals have introduced to social programs over the past year. It documents changes in the areas of health care, education, income security, justice, and services for children, women and persons with disabilities."

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(PDF file - 23K, 5 pages)
Joe Ruggeri, July 2002
"This paper explores the state of government finances in Canada. It focusses upon the growing fiscal imbalance, commonly known as vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI), between the federal and provincial/territorial levels of government."

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(PDF file - 114K, 35 pages)
Michael Mendelson and Pamela Divinsky
July 2002
This report describes four scenarios for future global economic and political structures – called Global Club, Shared Governance, Cyberwave and Regional Dominators – and looks at the future of health and health care in Canada within each of these scenarios. The report is part of the ‘Future of Global and Regional Integration’ project, sponsored by the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s University, where the scenarios originally were developed. The report is meant to speculate not so much on what will be, as what could be, in an effort to stimulate consideration of our health system’s relationship to global futures.

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The Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefit
February 2002
"This report presents a policy history of the Canada Pension Plan disability benefit. It discusses the strengths and unique features of this national program, trends in caseload and cost, key issues related to the disability benefit, appeals procedures and options for reform."
(PDF file - 150K, 62 pages)

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Medicure
February 2002
"This op ed points out how the loss of the Canada Assistance Plan in 1996 shook the foundation of community supports that help keep people out of hospital and decimated the systems of community care that enable patients to return or remain at home. The lack of community supports has created serious pressures for Canada’s health care system."
(PDF file - 15K, 2 pages)

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From Trade-Off to Trade-Up
February 2002
"This paper, presented at the Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs, argues that economic competitiveness and social cohesion are not a trade-off, but rather are intrinsically linked. It discusses three key means of advancing an integrated economic and social agenda: through practices, decision-making and trade standards that integrate competitiveness and cohesion."
(PDF file - 50K, 17 pages)

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Equalization: Will The Attacks Ever End?
February 2002
"In this commentary, the author contends that a recent misinterpretation regarding the equalization formula not only would undermine the constitutional foundations of the equalization program but also would threaten the existence of social programs, including health care, education and social assistance."
(PDF file - 17K, 3 pages)

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Enterprising Non-profits
February 2002
"This story describes the development of a program in British Columbia which supports non-profit organizations in their bid to diversify revenue sources by launching business enterprises. Started as a pilot project in 1997, the Enterprising Non-profits Program (ENP) was initiated by a partnership between VanCity Community Foundation, Vancouver Foundation, United Way of the Lower Mainland and VanCity Credit Union."
(PDF file - 30K, 8 pages)

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Reaching Past the Barricades: Conflict Resolution at International Summit Events
February 2002
"World summit events have recently been marked by violence, injury and property destruction. A process for engaging police, media, politicians, activists and the general public has been developed by a team at Saint Paul University in Ottawa in the hope that an inclusive approach to crowd management can direct the planning and implementation of such events."
(PDF file - 72K, 8 pages)

Source : (Caledon institute of Social Policy)
TIP : Click this link to see another dozen Caledon reports dating back to October 2001

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(PDF file - 170K, 59 pages)
by Ken Battle
June 2001
This article was originally published in Keith Banting, Andrew Sharpe and France St-Hilaire (eds.) The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress. The Longest Decade: Canada in the 1990s (Montreal and Ottawa: Institute for Research on Public Policy and Centre for the Study of Living Standards, 2001)

Principal funder of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, the Maytree Foundation is a Canadian charitable foundation established in 1982. Maytree believes that there are three fundamental sets of issues which threaten political and social stability: wealth disparities between and within nations; mass migration of people because of war, oppression and environmental disasters; and the degradation of the environment

"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. "

- links to everything on one page

- includes a brief description of the CCPA and links (in the left margin of the page) to separate pages for the National CCPA Office and each of its provincial offices.
- each CCPA Office page has links to : Contact Us * Publications * Research Associates * Board of Directors; immediately below, you'll find links to the 'home page' for each provincial office and its publications page

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"Our alternative budgets show that governments budgets can be created in a way that is both fiscally and socially responsible. The CCPA has been coordinating the Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) since 1994, and our provincial offices produce alternative provincial budgets.
NOTE: click on the provincial links above for their respective Alternative Budgets

The growinggap.ca is an initiative of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Inequality Project, a national project to increase public awareness about the alarming spread of income and wealth inequality in Canada.

Whether you're looking for a research study with detailed findings, short commentary on current affairs, articles from The Monitor (our national magazine), books by some of Canada's leading thinkers, or Our Schools/Our Selves (a quaterly journal about education), you'll find it here. The CCPA publishes on a wide range of social, economic and environmental issues, including:
* Aboriginal issues * Health, Health care system, Pharmacare * Agriculture * Housing and homelessness * Alternative budgets * Human rights * Biotechnology * Inequality and poverty * Children and youth * International relations, Peace & conflict

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Sample reports from the CCPA:

By Paula Mallea
March 16, 2010
The Harper government is reintroducing its proposed “tough-on-crime” laws that were killed when Harper prorogued Parliament in January. These crime bills, if passed, will result in the lengthy incarceration of hundreds of additional offenders under harsh conditions. Many Canadians approve. Fine, they say—whatever it takes to get the crime wave under control. But there is no crime wave.

By Mel Watkins
March 11, 2010
The Harper government's economic policy, as enunciated in the Throne Speech and the Budget, is properly described by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty as "stay the course" or business-as-usual (that is, what business wants business gets). That is, we are offered more of the same old neo-liberalism and globalization with wealth for the few and austerity for the many — with only a brief panic-stricken Keynesian moment — that got us into the messes we're in.

By Bruce Campbell
March 10, 2010
The Harper government portrays itself as standing up for Canada, but it is preparing a major selloff of Canadian interests that will compromise our cultural sovereignty, national identity and national security. In the Speech from the Throne, the Harper government signaled its intent to throw open the doors of foreign ownership in three strategic, previously protected, sectors: telecommunications, satellites and uranium.

By Hugh Mackenzie
March 2, 2010
As Canada's recession winds down, there is growing talk of housing and debt bubbles but there is an even bigger bubble that's set to burst. It's the Harper government bubble – that carefully crafted, out-of-touch universe our Prime Minister has been living in since recession threw hundreds of thousands of Canadians out of work.

Source:

(The Agenda, TV Ontario)
January 28, 2010
On January 25th, 2010, the CCPA's Armine Yalnizyan appeared on Television Ontario's 'The Agenda' to discuss 'Job creation in a recession', part one of the show's look at the state of employment today. Armine warns that the 'triple threat' of household debt, growing inequality, and poor job/social security is still a big challenge for Canadians.

Panelists:

Karl Moore, associate professor with the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University
Carmi Levy, independent technology analyst and journalist based in London, Ontario
Don Drummond, senior VP and chief economist with TD Bank Financial Group
Armine Yalnizyan, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Steve Maich, editor of Canadian Business magazine

Source:

Related links:

[ ]

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News Release
January 4, 2010
TORONTO—Canadians may have been hit hard by a worldwide economic recession, but it appears Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs are enjoying a soft landing. A report on executive compensation by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), a progressive think tank, reveals Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs pocketed an average $7.3 million in 2008, the year recession broadsided the nation.

(PDF - 432K, 17 pages)
By Hugh Mackenzie
January 4, 2010
"...the total average compensation for Canada's 100 highest paid CEOs was $7,352,895 in 2008—a stark contrast from the total average Canadian income of $42,305. They pocketed what takes Canadians earning an average income an entire year to make by 1:01 pm January 4—the first working day of the year."

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Beyond the crisis:
Ten propositions for a resurgence of the progressive movement
by Ed Broadbent
December 3, 2009
[The Hon. Ed Broadbent was the lunchtime speaker at a CCPA
Alternative Federal Budget Roundtable held in Ottawa in November 2009.]

Video version:


Our task is to restore the dream for social justice. We know it’s desirable and possible to create a Canada with more involvement by our citizens, a Canada where we see our neighbours, not as competitors but as friends, a Canada that is healthier and happier in every respect. Our task is to demonstrate in every conceivable way, that with more equality this Canada is possible.
Source:
(Canadian Parliamentary Affairs Channel)

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Press Release
October 29, 2009
OTTAWA - Canada's economy is still mired in recession and a long way from recovery, despite months of "green shoot" speculation, says a report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

Complete study:

(PDF - 350K, 18 pages)
October 2009

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October 26, 2009
By Hugh Mackenzie
Research Associate,

At the risk of insulting a generation of 4-year-olds, it's time we had an adult conversation in Canada about taxes and public services. Most 4-year-olds have figured out that when you go to the store to get something you want, you have to be prepared to pay for it. Yet Canada's political leaders and business interest lobbyists would rather spit nickels than admit this basic fact. It's a problem with all political leaders and parties – not just those I disagree with.
Source:

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(PDF - 123K, 3 pages)
By Michael Goldberg and Steve Kerstetter*
October 6, 2009
(...) Increases in wages are eroded or erased by a combination of increases in taxes and other payroll deductions, along with reductions in benefits from government programs that were set up mainly to help low-income people in the first place.

* Michael Goldberg is the former research director for the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C., and
Steve Kerstetter is the former director of the National Council of Welfare.

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Press Release
September 1, 2009
OTTAWA—Canada still has shockingly high rates of women’s poverty but the recession seems to have sidelined anti-poverty policies, says a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Women’s Poverty and the Recession reveals even after taking into account government transfers and tax credits, almost one-quarter(24%) of Canadian women raising children on their own and 14% of single older women are poor, compared to 9 % of children. “Child poverty seems to win political points but Canadian governments are ignoring the very real and private struggle of women on their own who are living in poverty at shockingly high levels,” says CCPA Research Associate Monica Townson.

Complete report:

(PDF - 662K, 54 pages)
September 2009
By Monica Townson
"(...) In Canada, the groups most vulnerable to poverty are Canadians from racialized communities, recent immigrants (many of whom are also from racialized communities), Aboriginal people, and persons with disabilities. Most of these groups have much higher rates of poverty than the general population. But in all the vulnerable groups, poverty rates for women are higher than those for men.

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Editorial
By Laurel Rothman & Trish Hennessy
August 5, 2009
Canada has been plunged into a worldwide recession that is harsher than any economic downturn since the Great Depression. Now, more than ever, citizens are counting on their governments for vision, compassion, and leadership. This week’s upcoming Premiers’ talks create a vital opening to start now on an economic recovery plan that reduces poverty, prevents more Canadians from falling into poverty, and puts all of Canada’s provincial economies back on steady footing. The recession hit Canada last October, and since then, about 370,000 Canadians have been thrown out of work. But the federal Employment Insurance (EI) program isn’t there for half (52%) of the nation’s unemployed. As Premiers, the fallout from this recession is landing squarely on their shoulders. Without an adequate EI program, Canada’s unemployed will be turning to social assistance, food banks, homeless shelters, and other provincially funded programs. Provincial poverty rates are bound to soar – with dizzying speed in some regions.
Authors:
Laurel Rothman works at Family Service Toronto and is National Coordinator, Campaign 2000.
Trish Hennessy is director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Inequality Project

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A video about how the income gap between the rich and the rest keeps growing
by Trish Hennessy & Armine Yalnizyan
July 31, 2009 | National Office

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Men bearing the brunt of rising unemployment
by Trish Hennessy & Armine Yalnizyan
July 24, 2009 | National Office
Prime working age men are bearing the brunt of Canada's recession, says a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). According to the report, 71% of those who have lost their jobs in the recession so far are men. Canada's unemployment gender gap is wider now than at any time since Statistics Canada began collecting monthly gender unemployment statistics in 1976.
[ Report: - PDF file, 152K, 3 pages]

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(PDF - 401K, 34 pages)
April 2009
By Michael Goldberg and David A. Green
This report examines who uses food banks in Canada and how food bank use relates to changes in government welfare policy. Data collected by show that food bank use increased dramatically from just over 700,000 Canadians using food banks during March 1998 to over 840,000 in March 2004. This increase occurred in spite of increases in employment rates and average wages and decreases in the number of welfare recipients over this period. Since then, the numbers using food banks have declined to levels near those in the late 1990s but this indicates that the prolonged economic boom simply by-passed a substantial number of the least well-off in our society. Now that the boom appears to be over, the number of persons using the food banks will almost certainly swell. The report makes several recommendations to help ensure that all residents have a right to adequate and appropriate food.

Related link:

April 30, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Canada's booming economy helped reduce food bank use before the recession, but it didn't erase the surge that followed provincial welfare cuts of the 1990s, says a study to be released today. And unless federal and provincial governments repair the country's tattered social safety net, more Canadians will be forced to rely on food banks as the economic crisis deepens, the study warns.The study, by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, is the first national analysis of how welfare policy affects food bank use.
Source:

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April 28, 2009
Press Release
OTTAWA – This recession is hitting Canada harder and faster than any previous downturn and Canadians are more exposed to economic ruin than they’ve been since the 1930s, says a report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Exposed: Revealing Truths About Canada’s Recession examines the previous 13 economic downturns and discovers two troubling signs: no other recession since the Great Depression has come on this strong and Canadians face greater vulnerability than at any time since the 1940s because of low savings, high household debt and a weakened social safety net.

Complete report:

(PDF - 1.3MB, 43 pages)
By Armine Yalnizyan
This report looks at the signs of the current recession and compares it to Canada’s 13 other recessions, going all the way back to 1926. It discovers that, including the Great Depression, Canada’s economy has only had six experiences of economic decline lasting two quarters or more. It reveals how this recession has several things in common with the two biggest downturns in post-war history, but there are also important, and troubling, differences.

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By Thomas Walkom
April 29, 2009
"(...) In the Great Depression, it took more than 12 years for the unemployment rate to return to 1929 levels. By a similar measure, the recession of the '80s lasted seven years. [Armine] Yalnizyan's remedy for this slump is to have government do more, more and more again – for the simple reason that there is nowhere else to turn. She makes a convincing case that Canada, in spite of entering this downturn from a relatively strong position, is more exposed than it has been at any time since the 1930s.
Source:

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Press Release
April 15, 2009
TORONTO – The majority of Canadian households enjoy a higher quality of life because the public services their taxes fund come at a solid bargain, according to a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Canada’s Quiet Bargain: The Benefits of Public Spending responds to incessant calls for tax cuts and concludes public services make a significant contribution to the majority of Canadians’ standard of living – worth at least 50% of their income.

Complete report:

(PDF - 1.3MB, 40 pages)
April 2009
By Hugh Mackenzie and Richard Shillington
[ Version française : ]
"(...) This path-breaking study raises serious questions about continuing Canada’s tax cut agenda and provides robust evidence that the taxes Canadians pay contribute substantially to their standard of living by providing them with some of the best public services in the world. "

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(PDF - 198K, 2 pages)
(...)
The tax cuts implemented by federal and provincial governments over the past 15 years have reduced the living standards of the majority of Canadians.
The majority of Canadians would be better off if their governments had invested in improving and expanding local public services instead of cutting taxes.
75% of Canadians would be better off if their provincial governments invested in public services instead of broad-based income tax cuts.

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(PDF - 330K, 28 pages)
January 2009
OTTAWA—Today the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) released the Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) fiscal stimulus plan, a one-year package that would create 407,000 jobs, boost the economy by 3%, and help protect Canadians from the worst of a recession.

(PDF - 390K, 17 pages)
January 2009
By Hugh Mackenzie

(PDF - 516K, 25 pages)
October 2008
By Trish Hennessy & Armine Yalnizyan
The majority of Canadians believe Canada should try to distinguish itself in the world as a country where no one lives in poverty, according to an Environics Research poll conducted for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The national poll reveals 90% of Canadians say they would be proud if their Premier took the lead in reducing poverty in their province; 88% want Canada to be a leader in poverty reduction; and 77% say a recession is all the more reason to act now.

(PDF - 106K, 6 pages)
May 27, 2008
By Armine Yalnizyan
"(...) Unions are [also] looking at poverty through new lenses — not just the importance of improving inadequate incomes, but the necessity of affordability for basics like housing, child care, education, to make sure we are all set on the right path in life.

(PDF - 398K, 32 pages)
April 28, 2008
Why Inequality Matters in 1,000 Words or Less is powerful essay series by some of Canada’s leading thinkers on income inequality. The contributors to this essay series come from all kinds of academic backgrounds. Though all the contributors are distinguished and well-respected for their academic work, they are not of like mind. They have differing ideological starting points and differing intellectual approaches. But they agree on this: Income inequality is a problem that should be addressed, right here in Canada. They warn that income inequality and persistent poverty could have serious and adverse effects on our nation. In this series we present the opinions of four economists—Lars Osberg, Charles Beach, Jon Kesselman and David Green; a political scientist— Michael Orsini; a sociologist—John Myles; a philosopher—Frank Cunningham.

(PDF - 995K, 46 pages)
By Lars Osberg
April 2008
TORONTO – Canada’s inequality in wealth and income is growing, and at a more rapid pace than before, says a new study released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The study, by economist Lars Osberg, looks at 25 years of income and wealth inequality in Canada and finds disturbing new trends.

Spooked by the prospect of recession?
Toronto-based social policy analyst John Stapleton teaches us a valuable history lesson with his new piece The ‘Last Recession Spook’: A Very Curable Disease, released by the CCPA as part of its Ontario Alternative Budget technical paper series. This paper looks at the history of public investments during economic downturns and finds the ghost of the last recession (in the 1990s) still haunts Canadians, limiting our thinking of what’s possible to modest terms. Exhorting Canadians to start real change and improvement, he writes, “The last recession was unlike all others and rather than reducing government programs during recessions, we used to increase them.”

(PDF File, 157K, 5 pages)
Source:

Related link:

(John Stapleton's personal website, incl. links to more commentaries and presentations)

Want to learn more about the growing gap between the rich and the rest of us?
Check out our , the ultimate resource on income inequality.

(PDF file - 216K, 12 pages)
December 2007
By Andrew Jackson
This Alternative Federal Budget Technical Paper makes a clear and simple case for raising taxes among the richest of Canadians, to fund the kinds of things Canadians say they want and need to continue to be productive citizens: public health care, affordable housing, reasonable university tuition, better public infrastructure, public transit, and affordable child care.
Source:

Press Release
November 8, 2007
TORONTO – More than a decade’s worth of tax cuts have disproportionately lined the pockets of Canada’s most affluent families, says a new tax study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The study finds the top 1 percent of families in 2005 paid a lower total tax rate than the bottom 10 percent of families.

Complete report:

(PDF File - 967K, 44 pages)
November 2007

Naomi Klein speaks about her new book at CCPA event
September 5, 2007
- includes a brief excerpt from her speech
(Vancouver) Footage of Naomi Klein speaking about her new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, is now available online at or . The set of six videos is from a CCPA fundraiser in Vancouver in February 2007.

(PDF file - 282K, 28 pages)
September 2007
Restrictions on peaceful panhandling—such as City of Winnipeg Bylaw No. 128/2005—constitute an illegitimate use of state power, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The study, by Arthur Schafer, director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba, says there is no moral or legal justification for turning peaceful beggars into criminals.

- (PDF File, 301K, 16 pages)
June 2007
OTTAWA – Canadians are working harder and smarter, contributing to a growing economy, but their paycheques have been stagnant for the past 30 years, says a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Related link:

GrowingGap.ca is a project of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
"(...)What does the growing gap look like? In 2004, the richest 10% of families raising children earned 82 times more than the poorest 10% -- almost triple the ratio of 1976, when they earned 31 times more. In after-tax terms the gap is at a 30-year high"

Press Release
March 1, 2007
TORONTO – Canadian families are putting in more work time, yet most – 80% of them – are getting a smaller share of Canada’s growing economy, says a study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).The study finds Canada’s income gap between the rich and poor is growing, largely because the lion’s share of Canada’s economic growth is going to the richest 10% of families. It’s not going to the majority, the 80% of families earning under a $100,000.

- PDF File, 613K, 54 pages)
By Armine Yalnizyan
March 2007

November 20, 2006
(PDF file - 1MB, 14 pages)
"(...)while many Canadians think that the “rags to riches” story is possible to achieve in Canada, half say that they themselves are only one or two missed pay-cheques away from economic disaster."

- (PDF file - 1350K, 57 pages)
By Hugh Mackenzie
July 2006
* - PDF File, 164 Kb
* - Fichier PDF, 170Ko.

Press Release
October 13, 2005
"Despite recent reports to the contrary, Canada’s high-income earners do not pay a disproportionately large share of personal income tax. A new analysis by Prof. Neil Brooks of Osgoode Hall Law School, released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, takes a closer look at the numbers in Statistics Canada’s “Tax Incidence in Canada.” The Stats Can report sparked a series of news stories this spring claiming the top 10% of income earners pay 52% of the total tax bill but Brooks finds these figures both misleading and incomplete in assessing the fairness of the tax system.

The Statistics Canada study showed that the share of federal income taxes paid by the top 10% increased from 46% in 1990 to 52.6% in 2002. Brooks points out, however, that this increase is not a result of the tax system becoming more progressive. Instead, the main reason for the increase was because the share of earned income going to the most affluent among us increased by 12.6% over that same period, while the share going to the bottom 50% of tax-filers declined."

Complete analysis:

(PDF file - 115K, 7 pages)

News Release
August 22, 2005
"OTTAWA—The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, one of the independent forecasters commissioned by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, announced today that is once again forecasting surpluses much higher than the official government figures. In her report to the Committee CCPA Senior Economist Ellen Russell is predicting a surplus of $6.8 billion in 2004/05 and $9.5 billion in 2005/06, while the government is projecting surpluses of $3 billion and $4 billion, respectively. The CCPA’s calculations include the additional spending that was negotiated by the NDP and included in Bill C-48."

Complete report:

(PDF file - 208K, 25 pages)

News Release
June 16, 2005
"OTTAWA—Each summer the Fraser Institute announces the arrival of 'tax freedom day': the day when Canadians allegedly stop 'working for the government' and start 'working for themselves.' A study by Neil Brooks, released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, takes a closer look at Tax Freedom Day and finds that to arrive at this politically loaded and heavily-reported date the Fraser Institute’s calculations understate the income of Canadians, overstate their taxes and misuse the concept of averages."

(PDF file - 216 K, 27 pages)
2005
By Neil Brooks
"(...)In the guise of helping Canadians to understand their tax system, the Institute presents information that is deeply flawed and misleading — information that in fact seriously limits the public’s ability to understand and participate
meaningfully in the shaping of tax policy." (Excerpt, p.6)

RIP, CPRN.

Here's the CPRN website, frozen in time.

[ version française: ]
Canadian Policy Research Networks is a non-profit, charitable policy think tank based in Ottawa with a voluntary board of directors. (...) CPRN's mission is to create knowledge and lead public dialogue and debate on social and economic issues important to the well-being of all Canadians. Our goal is to help make Canada a more just, prosperous and caring society.
- incl. links to : About CPRN * People * Newsroom * Publications * Contact Us

CPRN's research areas comprise:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Click on a research area link to see a description of CPRNs research in that area along with links to related sub-areas and publications.

- links to 1500+ research reports, briefs, presentations and more, going right back to 1993
- links to 150+ releases back to 1996 --- includes links to related publications and themes
- links to the latest 20 or so items posted to the CPRN site

The National Council of Welfare advises the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development in respect of any matters relating to social development that the Minister may refer to the Council for its consideration or that the Council considers appropriate.

The Council publishes reports and communicates with the Minister on a wide range of issues involving poverty and social policy.
Research Projects: National Anti-Poverty Strategy * Welfare Incomes * Poverty Profile
Fact Sheets: Poverty lines and measures * Poverty statistics * Welfare statistics
- links to over three dozen reports available online; these are the most recent reports in a list of over 125 publications going back to 1971. Many of the older reports in the list are still available in paper form.

Selected Council reports:

Poverty Profile Bulletin No. 7: Poverty and Paid Work
Page dated April 2010
Posted to the Council's website in May 2010

(2.2MB, 4 pages)
Paid work keeps many Canadians out of poverty.
For others, having a job isn’t a ticket out of poverty.
It’s simply admission into the ranks of the working poor.

Source:
(Jan/Feb. 2010)
Poverty Profile is a regular publication of the Council that is based on survey data from Statistics Canada. It includes detailed information about poverty rates and numbers, depth of poverty, duration of poverty, common sources of income for poor people, income inequality in Canada and poverty and the paid labour market.
- incl. links to earlier Poverty Profiles, from 1998 to 2004 .

NOTE:
Poverty Profile Bulletin No. 7 is the last of a series that began in September 2009 based on the latest information from Statistics Canada.
According to the (Sept. 30/09) that introduces the series, "...for the first time, the National Council of Welfare will release the latest findings of its signature publication, Poverty Profile, in a series of short, easy-to-read bulletins."
Below, you'll find a link to each bulletin in the series and its release date.

---

Complete list of
earlier Poverty Profile Bulletins:

* No. 1: Introduction to Poverty Trends in Canada,
September 2009

(1.9MB, 6 pages)

* No. 2: Poverty Trends by Family Type
November 2009

(1MB, 8 pages)

* No. 3: Poverty Trends by Province
January 2010

(626K, 4 pages)
--- (PDF - 99K, 6 pages)
--- (PDF - 117K, 11 pages)

* No. 4: A Snapshot of Children Living in Poverty
November 2009

(656K, 4 pages)

* No. 5: Depth of Poverty
March 2010

(2.4MB, 4 pages)

* No. 6: Duration of Poverty
March 2010

(2.7MB, 6 pages)

---

* Methodology, Definitions and Data Sources
HTML - none
(2.1MB, 8 pages)

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

Can we afford to solve poverty?
Can we afford not to?
Canadians want an end to poverty, but even those most committed to the solutions can still wonder if we can afford to. We know there is a correlation between poverty and other areas of spending like health, education and justice, but just how much is poverty costing us? (...) The National Council of Welfare is seeing a growing number of reports and articles addressing the costs associated with poverty and we’ve set out to find what has been done and what it tells us.
- includes more info about the Council's new (February 2010) initiative and links to the complete report or individual sections in PDF format.
Click the link immediately below for the complete report in one file.

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

(Jan/Feb. 2010)
Poverty Profile is a regular publication of the Council that is based on survey data from Statistics Canada. It includes detailed information about poverty rates and numbers, depth of poverty, duration of poverty, common sources of income for poor people, income inequality in Canada and poverty and the paid labour market.
- also includes links to earlier Poverty Profiles, from 1998 to 2004

Poverty Profile Bulletins:

* No. 1: Introduction to Poverty Trends in Canada,

(1.9MB, 6 pages)

* No. 2: Poverty Trends by Family Type

(1MB, 8 pages)

* No. 3: Poverty Trends by Province
*
* (626K, 4 pages)
--- (PDF - 99K, 6 pages)
--- (PDF - 117K, 11 pages)

* No. 4: A Snapshot of Children Living in Poverty

(656K, 4 pages)

* Methodology, Definitions and Data Sources
HTML - none
(2.1MB, 8 pages)

Source:

The National Council of Welfare advises the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development in respect of any matters relating to social development that the Minister may refer to the Council for its consideration or that the Council considers appropriate.

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

Press release
January 25, 2007
"In a report to the federal government made public today, the National Council of Welfare (NCW) advises Canadian governments that a workable solution to poverty is within their reach and that Canada can have the kind of success that other countries are achieving."

Complete report:

(PDF file - 1MB, 29 pages)
Winter 2007
"(...) When the National Council of Welfare started looking into anti-poverty strategies, it became quickly apparent to us that if there is no long-term vision, no plan, no one accountable for carrying out the plan, no resources assigned and no accepted measure of results, we will continue to be mired in poverty for generations.

The four cornerstones:
1) creating a national anti-poverty strategy with targets and timelines;
2) developing a coordinated plan of action;
3) ensuring accountability; and
4) establishing official poverty indicators.

Related Link:

(PDF file - 1.1MB, 36 pages)
Prepared by MiroMetrica Inc.
January 2007

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"National Council of Welfare, Solving poverty report"



Source:

RECHERCHISTES FRANCOPHONES:
Vous pouvez accéder à la version française de ces textes en vous rendant
sur le

December 4, 2006
Press Release
In a one-day event at homeless shelters from all regions of Canada, homeless women and men will give their opinions about solutions to poverty in this country by filling out the National Council of Welfare’s questionnaire on poverty and income security. Nine homeless shelters in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Iqaluit will take part in the event on Tuesday, December 5. James Hughes, a member of the Council and director of a Montreal shelter, says, “The purpose of our questionnaire is to find out what Canadians think about solutions to poverty in this country. It is important that people living in poverty participate, including homeless people who live in extreme poverty.”

Press Release
October 16, 2006
The National Council of Welfare today, on the eve of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, is launching an on-line questionnaire at to find out what Canadians think about solutions to poverty and insecurity in Canada. For over 25 years the NCW has published detailed statistics on poverty, with its most recent reports released in July and August this year. During the past quarter century, poverty rates among seniors have improved dramatically. For all other age groups, including children, poverty is as widespread as ever and for some people, poverty is deeper as well. (..) The questionnaire will run until mid-December and the results will be made public. They will also guide the advice the NCW provides to the federal government.
[NOTE: the final date for completing this questionnaire was December 20, 2006.]

Poverty Profile, 2002 and 2003
Summer 2006
"This report shows that in spite of progress made in the fight against poverty among seniors, poverty rates for children and working-age adults are about the same as they were almost a quarter-century ago. The report calls for a national anti-poverty plan for Canada to ensure a successful future for our country. This is the latest report on poverty by the National Council of Welfare. The report examines the incidence, depth and duration of poverty. It also looks at sources of income, the relationship between poverty and paid work, and income inequality."

Complete report:
(PDF file - 3.5MB, 165 pages)

Press Release:
(PDF file - 534K, 2 pages)
July 20, 2006
"Canada needs a national anti-poverty plan to ensure a successful future for our country, the National Council of Welfare (NCW) said in a report published today. The report, Poverty Profile, 2002 and 2003, shows that in spite of progress made in the fight against poverty among seniors, poverty rates for children and working-age adults are about the same as they were almost a quarter century ago. Income inequality is growing and many groups of Canadians continue to have unacceptably high poverty rates. For those in need today, however, Canada’s social safety net offers less protection against poverty than ever before."

Google Web Search Results:
""
Google News search Results:
" "
Source:

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

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

Press Release
May 3, 2004
"Many Canadians in full-time jobs did not make it to the poverty line in 2000, said the National Council of Welfare in a report released today. Full-time, full-year jobs at minimum wages left workers in poverty. The National Council of Welfare found take-home incomes were consistently below the most commonly-used poverty line, the Low Income Cut-offs or LICOs from Statistics Canada. But the situation looked just as bad using the new Market Basket Measure (MBM) of poverty – even though this new poverty line sets the bar a little lower. There were a few exceptions to the rule, mostly in Quebec where minimum-wage workers made it over the MBM line."

Income for Living?
(complete report)
Spring 2004

(417K, 96 pages)
(HTML)

Spring 1998
LARGE statistical collection covering twenty years of data, examining variables like family types, reasons for assistance, age, education, duration of spells on assistance, housing and more.

Another Look at Welfare Reform (Autumn 1997) - an in-depth analysis by the National Council of Welfare of changes in Canadian welfare programs in the 1990s. The report focuses on the provincial and territorial reforms that preceded the repeal of the Canada Assistance Plan and those that followed the implementation of the Canada Health and Social Transfer.  - large file (300K+) but well worth the wait for detailed information on welfare reforms in the 1990s in each Canadian jurisdiction, as well as a national overview of the broad issues of welfare reform and the setting for welfare reform in Canada Source :

"The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) is one of Canada's most authoritative voices promoting better social and economic security for all Canadians. A national, self-supporting, non-profit organization, the CCSD's main product is information and its main activity is research, focussing on concerns such as income security, employment, poverty, child welfare, pensions and government social policies."
Put an "X" on this one - it will be on the final exam. You must visit this site if you're looking for anything to do with poverty, welfare, income, health, family, social indicators, etc.
What's New on the CCSD site --- all new material is on the home page link (above)...






- The Disability Research Information Page
- Crime Prevention Through Social Development
- The Cultural Diversity Page
- The Social Indicators Site
- The Social Inclusion Conference
- Community Social Data Strategy

Sample site content:

(PDF - 2,4MB, 24 pages)
Fall 2008
Table of Contents:
* Editorial (by Peggy Taillon)
* Mapping Poverty-reduction Initiatives (by Pat Steenberg)
* Rising Tides: Anti-poverty Work Growing in Atlantic Canada (by David Jackson)
* An Interview with James Hughes, New Brunswick's Deputy Minister of Social Development (by Patrick Flanagan)
* Atlantic Summer Institute: Making the links
* Building Momentum for Real Change: the Canadian Social Forum
* Making Connections: Interview with Uzma Shakir
* Police Chiefs Speak Out Against Poverty (by Chief Edgar MacLeod)
* Update: Tracking Social Development (by Katherine Scott)
* The Weiler Award: 2009 Call for Nominations and 2008 Winner
Source:
<=== incl. links to 35+ back issues of Perception
[ ]

May 2008
The complete Poverty issue of Perception Magazine is now online, with pieces about national and provincial anti-poverty strategies, an article by Rob Rainer about a poverty-free Canada by the year 2020, a report by John Stapleton about why it's so tough to get ahead, an article on social data by Alanna Petroff, and much more. Plus we asked our readers and they told us what else they're reading these days.

(PDF - 2.5MB, 28 pages)
Focus on Poverty :
* Defining the Problem * Working Strategies * Measuring Success
[ (PDF - 2,4Mo., 28 pages) ]
Table of Contents:
* Editorial (by Marcel Lauzière)
* Defining and re-defining poverty in Canada
* Towards a National Ideal: Canada Without Poverty by 2020 (by Rob Rainer)
* Four Cornerstones of a Workable National Strategy for Canada (by Sheila Regehr)
* Newfoundland and Labrador's Action Plan to Reduce Poverty (by Minister Shawn Skinner and Aisling Gogan)
* Quebec's Law Against Poverty and Social Exclusion: An Interview with Alain Noel
* "Why is it so tough to get ahead?" (A report by John Stapleton)
* Using social data for success (by Alanna Petroff)
* What's on your bookshelf?
* Resource: New report on economic well-being of children in North America
* Update: Canadian Social Forum
Source:

[ ]

[March 27, 2008]
("... more commonly known as Canada's unofficial poverty lines")

[March 12, 2008]
- links to three fact sheets containing an abundance of national and provincial data about employment, earnings and labour force rates.

Attention, fans of the
Canadian Social Welfare Policy Conference!

(PDF file - 58K, 1 page)
February 28, 2008
Mark Your Calendars!
The Canadian Council on Social Development is in the process of planning the first Canadian Social Forum which will take place in Calgary, Alberta, May 19-22, 2009.

NOTE: the Canadian Social Forum will replace the Social Welfare Policy Conference, a biennial event going back to 1982, but "will integrate the best of that 25-year tradition", according to the CCSD.

Related link:

This is a link is to a page on the CCSD website that contains links to the 11th and 12th CSWP conferences in this mostly-biennial series that started way back in 1982. If you click each of the two conference links and check out the "Papers" link for each event, you'll find a list of presenters and the topics they covered; this will give you a good sense of the broad scope of this conference series.

Based on my own experience (I've attended all but one of the 12 events so far), CSWP is a four-day multi-sectoral gathering of several hundred people from academia, government and the NGO sector around social policy themes --- in brief, the perfect place to learn, to exchange ideas and to expand your list of social policy contacts.
I highly recommend this conference/forum. (Tell 'em Gilles sent you - I might get a discount on my registration fees...)

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

November 15, 2007
Chock full of information about income, spending habits and poverty among Canadian families, the Economic Security Fact Sheets are the latest in our Stats & Facts series. Along with the earlier fact sheets on demographics, health, education and families, these latest fact sheets provide a wealth of useful statistical data and analysis about the realities of life in Canada.

Jason Mogus was the keynote speaker at the CCSD Annual General Meeting last month. He spoke about the ways in which the web is changing, and how non-profits can benefit from that change, providing they’re prepared to change with it. His speaking notes and an audio recording of his presentation are available on our website.

is now available.

CCSD supports Jordan’s Principle, which urges a child-first approach to the resolution of jurisdictional disputes involving the care of First Nations children.

- updated October 18/07
A fresh batch of Urban Poverty reports has been posted to the CCSD's Urban Poverty 2007 page. They include a report on populations vulnerable to poverty, one on education and employment, another on age, gender and family, and a final one on neighbourhood poverty. There's also a new urban poverty bibliography.

"Poverty is not only about the numbers. It's about the stark realities of daily life for millions of Canadians. We hope that the numbers provided here will help communities share information, leverage resources and create solutions to the blight of urban poverty in Canada. Products in the Urban Poverty Project include community profiles, a time-series analysis of urban poverty trends over the 1990s, and a detailed snapshot of urban poverty using the 2001 Census data."

Click the link above to access the project files listed below:

* Measuring Poverty: a backgrounder
* Media Release
* A Lost Decade - Urban Poverty in Canada,
o Factsheet # 1: Looking Back
o Factsheet # 2: Place Matters
o Factsheet # 3: Neighbourhood Poverty
* Detailed analyses of different dimensions of urban poverty in 2000, presented in the following reports:
o Poverty by Geography
o Dimensions of Income Among Poor Households
o Employment and Education
o Populations Vulnerable to Poverty
o Age, Gender and Family
o Neighbourhood Poverty
* Community Profiles - an online database containing demographic profiles of 111 communities across Canada;
* Poverty Data Tables: Another online database, organized by levels of geography
* A summary report on the Urban Poverty Project 2007 (forthcoming)
* UPP 2007 Bibliography
* Shelter - Homelessness in a growth economy: Canada's 21st century paradox (by Gordon Laird, for the Sheldon Chumir Foundation)
* Talking about urban poverty: CCSD's Katherine Scott speaks to Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (May 10, 2007)
* From the CCSD Archives: Urban Poverty Project 2000

Related links:

*
*
*
* From the CCSD Archives:

(PDF file - 164K, 40 pages)
November 9, 2006
"A meeting of Canadian social planning organizations was convened by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) in Toronto, Ontario in early May 2006 with the support of Human Resources and Social Development Canada. The planning group for the meeting group included representatives from CCSD and social planning organizations from across Canada. The [report] is a summary of discussion and next steps from this meeting."
- includes links to websites of 30+ social planning organizations and regional networks across Canada that participated in sessions to provide input on the development of a pan-Canadian network
- also includes some interesting contextual and historical information about the series of 12 (so far) biennial Social Welfare Policy conferences going back to 1989 (although people of *my* vintage recall that this series of conferences actually started in Calgary in 1982, and the role of social planning councils became more prominent starting in 1989). I attended every one of the conferences in this series except the 1997 event in Regina, even that took place after I "retired". I always found - along with many of my Ivory Tower colleagues at the time - that this venue was invaluable in forging and nurturing good working relations with social researchers in academia, the non-governmental sector and other federal and provincial government officials. During my 30 years with the feds, I found that there were few other self-development opportunities that offered me such a rich diversity of views on government policy, and I was pleased and privileged to be a part of that. I think all governments should make attendance at these cross-sectoral events mandatory for their staff, as appropriate.

December 5, 2006
The Health of Canadians is the newest addition to Stats & Facts, a series of popular CCSD fact sheets that also includes:
* Demographics * Family * Education * Health * Economic Security * Labour Market
- the health fact sheet includes graphics and tables on the following topics:
Health Care System
* Spending on Health Care * Spending on Prescription Drugs * Access to Doctors * Patient Satisfaction
Health Behaviours
* Physical Activity * Obesity * Smoking *
Health Status
* Self-rated Health
Chronic Health Conditions
* Asthma * Diabetes * Depression
Leading Causes of Death
* Circulatory Disease * Cancer
[ Source: ]

(PDF file - 788K, 78 pages)
June 29, 2006
"This report kicks off a series of regional reports on the vital 'third pillar' of Canadian society. Written by Katherine Scott from the Canadian Council on Social Development, the research is based on the National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations, which was conducted by a consortium of organizations in partnership with Statistics Canada."

Media Release
April 26, 2006
OTTAWA – One-third of Canadian children living in poverty have a parent who works at a full-time job, according to a new report by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD). The Progress of Canada's Children and Youth 2006 also shows that this situation is deteriorating. In 1993, one-quarter of poor children had a parent who worked full time. "Family income is recognized as one of the keys to healthy child development," says Dr. Peter Bleyer, CCSD President. "Yet job security eludes many Canadian parents, and that has an enormous impact on what their kids eat, how they learn, and where they play." Temporary, part-time, contract, and seasonal employment now make up 37% of Canadian jobs, compared to 25% in the mid-1970s. The CCSD report also shows that investing in children through government transfers brought the child poverty rate down from 27% to 18% in 2003.

Complete report:

The Progress of Canada's Children & Youth 2006

- incl. links to : Portrait - Family Life - Economic Security - Physical Safety - Community Resources - Civic Vitality - Health Status - Social Engagement - Learning - Labour Force Profile of Youth - Data Sources - Web-Only Supplementary Data - Tools - Contact Us - Français
(2.5MB, 84 pages)
- links to individual PDF files for each chapter of the report, plus fact sheets, press release, etc.

April 2006
By Katherine Scott, Kevin Selbee and Paul Reed


Release
April 24, 2006
OTTAWA – Immigrants give larger donations, on average, than the Canadian-born population but they are slightly less likely to volunteer their time than people born in Canada, according to research by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD). Making Connections: Social and Civic Engagement among New Canadians also shows that the rate of volunteering is increasing, particularly among recent immigrants.

* (PDF format, 1.5MB, 50 pages)
* (PDF file - 240K, 4 pages)

Related Links:

for links to the following content:
* Powerpoint Slideshow
* Fact Sheet #1: Patterns in Participation, Engagement, and Informal Caring
* Fact Sheet #2: Profile of Volunteering
* Canadian Story #1: Building a Life in Canada
* Canadian Story #2: Organizing Ourselves
* Canadian Story #3: Finding a New Direction
* Canadian Story #4: Keeping Faith
* Appendix 1: The Changing Face of Canadian Immigrants, using 2001 Census data
* Appendix 2: Portrait of Canadian Immigrants, using 2000 NSGVP data
* Appendix 3: Data Sources
* Letter to the editor, March 3 2006
* Selected Charts
o Chart 1: Volunteer rate and average hours volunteered, by length of time in Canada, 2000
o Chart 2: Volunteer rate and average hours volunteered, by age group, 2000
o Chart 3: Volunteer rate and average hours volunteered, by level of education, 2000
o Chart 4: Donor rate and average donation, by length of time in Canada, 2000
o Chart 5: Donor rate by age group, 2000
o Chart 6: Membership rate by level of education, 2000
o Chart 7: Voting rate by age group, 2000

- New!
[Added to the CCSD site April 13, 2006]
Stats & Facts, a new on-line service of the Canadian Council on Social Development, provides accessible and accurate statistical information. This site is intended for anyone with an interest in timely data on social and economic indicators. We anticipate that Stats & Facts will be frequently used by policy analysts, community planners, activists, journalists, and students. Users will find informative facts sheets organized by topic areas covering demographics, families, and education. Plans are underway to add more fact sheets on the labour market, health, and economic security in the coming months. All of these fact sheets will be regularly updated to reflect the most current data available.

Stats & Facts replaces the . All historical poverty and income data, as well as welfare rates, will be archived and available in the economic security section of Stats & Facts.
[If you haven't checked out the Free Stats section of the CCSD site, you'll be impressed with the wealth of social program stats that you'll find there!]

(PDF file - 1.2MB, 28 pages)
Table of Contents:
* Editorial (by Peter Bleyer)
* Lessons from Katrina: Preserving a civil society in the face of disaster (by Paul Kovacs)
* Beyond wishful thinking: Emergency planning for persons with disabilities (by Gail Fawcett)
* Why must chronic illness mean poverty and isolation? (by Michel Martin)
* A cautionary tale from Australia (by Lynne Wannan, Australian child care expert)
* The Progress of Canada's Children and Youth 2006
* Battling stereotypes
* Changing from within
* Creating safe and supportive environments for young Canadians (by Pam Joliffe)
* CCSD Member Profile: St. Christopher House - A dynamo of social change
* A helping hand up for the working poor (by Don Drummond and Gillian Manning)
* The World We Have: Towards a new social architecture (by Katherine Scott)
* Rebuilding Social Programs (by Ben Carniol)

.
[October 6, 2005]

[October 5, 2005]

----------

(PDF file - 174K, 8 pages)

----------

(PDF file - 242K , 22 pages)
[September 8, 2005]
This report summarizes the findings of workshops and presentations undertaken through this project, including common themes and innovative community practice. It also includes an analysis of the different proposals for funding reform raised over the course of the project.

Fredericton - June 16-18, 2005
[Proceedings posted September 2005]
- incl. links to complete proceedings and highlights for each of the three days of the conference; the link below is to the complete proceedings.

----------

with photographs (PDF file - 566K, 78 pages)
Related Links:

Highlights from the Canadian Social Welfare Policy Conference in Fredericton:
*
*
* *

On Day 2 of the Canadian Social Welfare Policy Conference, the Weiler Award was presented to Vancouver-based children's advocate Michael Goldberg on Friday at the Social Welfare Policy Conference in Fredericton. This award honours Canadians who make outstanding contributions to social justice and community development. For more information about the Award, and about Mr. Goldberg and previous winners, see the .
[Congratulations, Michael --- well done!]

----------

On June 16, the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) released two papers in the New Social Architecture series.
This project is designed to highlight and examine key social challenges facing Canada, and set out some strategic options for change.

(PDF file - 316K, 49 pages)
June 2005
by Katherine Scott, CCSD

(PDF file - 189K, 11 pages)
by John Myles, University of Toronto

Related Link:

----------

Disability Information Sheet #20
June 2005
"In this Information Sheet, we examine the medication and health care patterns of children with disabilities."
- 221K, 8 pages

Source:
NOTE: Click the link above for links to the complete collection of information sheets, covering a wide range of disability-related issues.

----------

(PDF file - 879K, 32 pages)
Table of Contents:
* The state of Canada's social programs (by Peter Bleyer)
* View from Down Under: Lessons from the New Zealand Experience (by Janet Creery)
* A New Social Partnership for Canada (by Ken Dryden)
* Addressing Child Poverty (by Ed Broadbent)
* A Strong Economy (by Monte Solberg)
* Poverty in Canada: A matter of government priorities and societal choices (by Christiane Gagnon)
* Universality of Social Programs versus Targeting: Either neither, or both (by Richard Shillington)
* New challenges in social development: Montreal, a case study (by Genviève Giasson, with assistance from Marcel Cajelait and Jacques Savard)
* When Taxes are Good (by Jim Stanford)
* The Canada We Want? (by Al Hatton)
* 2005 Weiler Award Winner: Michael Goldberg
* In Their Own Words (Terrace Anti-Poverty Group Society; Pluri-elles; E.Fry Ottawa; St. Joseph's Community Health Centre)
* George Davidson: Social Policy and Public Policy Exemplar (book review by Michael Clague)

----------

April 8, 2004
"The CCSD is aware that the Canada Social Transfer, in and of itself, will not resolve all Canada's social challenges. But it can, and should, be a key instrument in our collective hands to help us address at least some of these challenges. It is a useful starting point to get a healthy debate going. A four-point agenda to renew the Canada Social Transfer is proposed:
1. The Canada Social Transfer should be split into two parts: one for social programs and the other for post-secondary education.
2. Funding for the Canada Social Transfer should be restored to 1994-95 levels, and predictability and stability of funding should be guaranteed.
3. Common principles and objectives for the social transfer should be agreed to by all parties through a broad engagement with Canadians.
4. A pan-Canadian body should be established to measure outcomes, share innovation and foster citizen involvement."
Related Links:
Go to the Canadian Social Research Links Canada Assistance Plan/Canada Health and Social Transfer /Canada Social Transfer Resources page

(PDF file - 150K, 24 pages)
November 28, 2003
by Sally Lerner (University of Waterloo)

(part of the CCSD's )
November 27, 2003
- incl. data on urban poverty for municipalities and community-based organizations as a stand-alone product.
- provides detailed information about low income down to the level of Census Tracts, which have a population of 2,500 to 8,000 persons. For smaller cities, available data will include Census dissemination areas, which allow analysis of 400- to 700-person neighbourhood tracts.
- demographic characterisitics : Income - Age - Education - Occupation - Labour force status - Gender - Family status - Visible minority status - Aboriginal status - Ethnic ancestry - Immigration - Language - People with disabilities - Mobility
"This information package will allow cities and non-profit organizations to develop a more-thorough understanding of who in their area is living in low income, and what are the characteristics of this population, such as where and how they live, what their employment status is, and the like."

Related Report:

Urban Poverty in Canada: A Statistical Profile (April 17, 2000)
-
-
- (April 17, 2000)
-
-

New CCSD Sub-site (November 7, 2003)
"The Community Social Data Strategy is a new and exciting project through which municipalities and community-based organizations can access and analyze detailed research findings from Statistics Canada cost effectively. It is an initiative of the Canadian Council on Social Development in partnership with Statistics Canada."
- incl. community-level data covering a broad range of social and economic factors, including: * Census * Urban Poverty * Small Area and Administrative Data * Business Register * Survey of Household Spending * Labour Force Survey and Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics * Uniform Crime Reporting Survey * Canadian Community Health Survey * Population Projections * Geography Products
(PDF file - 329K, 12 pages)
(PDF file - 1MB, 6 pages) - "how you can get involved with the Community Social Data Strategy"

Press Release
November 3, 2003

- incl. links to : Press Release - Full Report - Highlights (Economic Security, Health Security, Physical Safety and Regional Differences) - Backgrounders
[PDF file - 380K, 87 pages]

(PDF file, 130kb).
September 24, 2003

Katherine Scott
- incl. Summary Report, Communiqué, Fact Sheets and the [free!] complete report broken down into individual chapters. The full report is approx. 175 pages.
(June 15, 2003)
"Society’s Third Pillar – the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector – Shows Signs of Cracking Under Strain of New Funding Regime"
Sources:

When Worlds Collide: Implications of International Trade and Investment Agreements for Non-Profit Social Services
by Andrew Jackson and Matthew Sanger
(PDF file - 205K, 15 pages)

(June 16, 2003)
"When Worlds Collide: Canada's non-profit social services need to be protected in the new round of trade agreements
OTTAWA--A new study jointly released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) has concluded that government support for non-profit social services could be at risk despite Canadian government assurances that social policies will not be adversely affected by international trade obligations..."
Sources:

- It's Time to Act!
Ottawa
June 15, 16 and 17, 2003

CCSD research staff were responsible for the development of Chapter 5 () of the Government of Canada's report

Press Release
May 20, 2003
"Too many Canadians with disabilities are failing to get the medication or medical attention they need according to Gail Fawcett, Senior Research Associate at the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD). This situation is particularly worrisome at a time when the demographic bulge of the baby boomers is heading into age groups which are at higher risk for disabilities."

[]
The Disability Research Information Page provides centralized access to all disability research of the Canadian Council on Social Development.
The collection of Disability Information Sheets (12 in all) provides information on the following topics : disability research sources, possible disability research themes, issues around longitudinal research, education and employment, children with disabilities and computers and technology.
- also includes links to the following articles and reports : Special Education in Canada (Fall 2001) - Children and Youth with Special Needs (November 2001) - Bringing Down the Barriers: The Labour Market and Women with Disabilities in Ontario (May 2000) - Living with Disability in Canada: An Economic Portrait (1996) - Urban Poverty in Canada: A Statistical Profile (April 2000 )
NOTE : I usually try to include direct links to online reports in these pages, but many of these information sheets include additional tables and charts that you can only find by going to the Disability Information page on the CCSD website (the link above). The contents of each of the eight information sheets appear below, but the links to each of them are on the .

also provides information on the following topics : disability research sources, possible disability research themes, issues around longitudinal research, education and employment, children with disabilities and computers and technology.

December 2, 2002
Presentation by Katherine Scott, Senior Policy and Research Associate, at the Social Determinants of Health conference in Toronto

November 4, 2002
- incl. links to : Communiqué - Highlights - Backgrounder - Ontario Backgrounder - Speaking Notes

November 4, 2002
Communiqué
"The number of Canadian children going hungry is on the rise and shows no sign of letting up, according to a report by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD). The Progress of Canada’s Children 2002 says that approximately 75,000 families with children under the age of 12 reported being hungry in 1996 (the last year for which data are available) – an increase of one-third from 1994."

Related Link:

CCSD Submission to the Three-Year Review of the Social Union Framework Agreement
November 1, 2002

(33K, 9 pages)

September 27, 2002
Includes proposals in the following areas:
Poverty:
- raise the annual child tax benefit from the current maximum of $2,440 to $4,200 per child, available to all low, modest and middle-income families.
- improve the plight of the poorest children in Canada by prohibiting the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement from families on social assistance.
- broaden the Early Childhood Development agreement to include meeting the needs of school-aged children in such areas as special education; recreation; health and safety.
- Increase the basic tax exemption for low-income working families.
- Invest in quality early childhood education and child care services that are universal, inclusive and accessible.
Housing:
- get back into the affordable housing business. Immediately increase the number of new affordable units produced to 20,000 annually and the number of refurbished units to 10,000 per year.
Disabilities:
- introduce a refundable disability credit.
Community Non-Profits:
- ensure support for Canada's non-profit community.
Background info:
"There is some evidence that the National Child Benefit, in combination with an improving job market, has slightly reduced the extent and depth of child poverty. But children in the very poorest families have actually become poorer."


Op-ed by Marcel Lauzière and John Anderson
September 27, 2002

Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance
by the Canadian Council on Social Development
Presented on May 21, 2002
Andrew Jackson, Director of Research,
Canadian Council on Social Development
"From the Red Book of 1993 to the most recent Speech from the Throne, the Liberals have correctly recognized that economic progress alone does not guarantee social development, and that investment in social development plays an important role in economic growth. In a knowledge-based economy and in the face of looming skill shortages, it is foolish as well as moral not to address social exclusion."

Related Link :

October 2001
This report was prepared by the Canadian Council on Social Development for the United Way of Greater Toronto.

March 8, 2002
"... a look at 25 key indicators of social development, nicely summarized in a table, with a bit of accompanying text and a medal ceremony to boot! Available in HTML format and also in PDF (acrobat reader) format."

February 2002
From the section of the CCSD website

(PDF file - 213K, 83 pages)
December 2001
"This is a new paper written by Sherri Torjman of the Caledon Institute on behalf of the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations, the Canadian Council on Social Development and United Way Canada. It looks at the current context of social development in Canada and identifies future policy direction. The paper sets out a vision of vibrant communities that provide support, promote inclusion and encourage learning. [January 11, 2002]"
In partnership with :
Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations
Canadian Council on Social Development
United Way of Canada-Centraide Canada

(December 11, 2001)

November 29, 2001
Overall, the period from 1989 to 1999 stands as a lost decade in terms of the social progress of Canadians. Income inequality increased, particularly in terms of the distribution of market income – that is, income before the impact of income taxes and government transfers is taken into account. Poverty rose, then fell over this period, but overall, little or no progress was made. Child poverty has increased, even though the 1990s were supposed to be the decade in which poverty among children was to be eliminated...

Co-sponsored by the and the
Conference
Ottawa, ON
November 8-9, 2001
Conference theme : the social inclusion/exclusion of children, families and communities as a potential framework for policy and program development in Canada.
Presenters included several international and national commentators on social inclusion, researchers and authors of social inclusion papers for the Laidlaw Foundation, and other public policy experts/practitioners from within and outside of government.
: Some of these are brief statements of presenters' views on the topic of their conference presentation, but others contain pages and pages of information. I've copied the whole list below to give you a sense of the content of the conference and the names of the presenters, but you'll have to go to the page to click on the individual links.
The Social Exclusion of Children in North America, by Shelley Phipps and Lori Curtis (Acrobat PDF file)
Speaking Notes, by David Miller
The Causes of Persistent Low Income: A Key Barrier to Social Inclusion, by Michael Hatfield
Housing and Social Inclusion: Asking the Right Questions, by Sharon Chisholm
Social inclusion through early childhood education and care, by Martha Friendly
Social Inclusion in Action - Transforming Public Policies and Institutional Practices as It Relates to Community Services, by Lois Yelland
The Role of Recreation in Promoting Social Inclusion, by Peter Donnelly and Jay Coakley
Social Inclusion as Solidarity: Re-Thinking the Child Rights Agenda, by Michael Bach
Focus Paper, by Josephine Grey
Focus Paper for A New Way of Thinking, by Wayne Helgason
Social Inclusion and Diversity: Fries or Stir-Fry?, by Jean Lock Kunz (Ph.D)
Social Inclusion, Citizenship and Diversity,by Anver Saloojee
Why social inclusion matters to me, by Marvyn Novick
Social Inclusion: The Role of School Boards, by Marie Pierce
Jeter les bases de sociétés sans pauvreté, c'est possible, à la condition de «rêver logique», par Vivian Labrie
Does Work Include Children?, by Andrew Jackson and Katherine Scott
Social inclusion in context: From experiences of exclusion to a vision of inclusion, by Catherine Frazee
Social Inclusion: The Foundation of Civic and Community Life, by Caroline Andrew
Social Inclusion and Community Participation, by Peter Clutterbuck
Social Inclusion: Foundation of a National Policy Agenda, by Stephan Klasen
The Dynamics of Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Public Education in Canada, by Terry Wotherspoon
Focus Paper, by John Godfrey

Related Link :

by the Canadian Council on Social Development
October 22, 2001
CCSD’s Budget Brief, October 2001
– the CCSD’s budget brief calls for an annual federal commitment of at least $1 Billion to a flexible, capital grants program for the construction of affordable, rental housing.

July 9, 2001
This report - the third in a series - provides a regional comparison of a variety of indicators and perceptions of economic security and physical safety among Canadians.

The Progress of Canada's Children 2001
March 27, 2001



(Acrobat Reader required)
We need to build on the National Children's Agenda and take it beyond early childhood development, to create a national, coherent approach to providing supports for children of all age groups.

January 2001
Includes : Defining Low Income - The Causes of Low Income - An Overview of Low Income Incidence and Trends in the 1990s - Depth of Low Income - Duration of Low Income - Future Prospects

Perception (CCSD newsletter) - Volume 24, No. 3 - December 2000
"...the level of funding is clearly insufficient, and there is a lack of clarity about exactly how the funds will be spent and how governments will report back to Canadians"
NOTE : Go to the page of the CCSD site to see selected content from issues going right back to 1994.
Here's sampling of the topics covered : racism; reducing child and family poverty; school food programs; maternity leave & self-employment; disability and labour force; international conference on social development; welfare reform in BC; Aboriginal poverty; national children's agenda

Fall 2000
Complete report online - includes :
- Introduction
- The Equity/Efificiency Trade-off in Practice: Empirical evidence for North American and European OECD countries in the 1990s
- Which Model Works Best? A comparison of economic and social performance in the 1990s
- Causes of Success and Failure
- What About Globalization?
- Conclusion

October 31, 2000
It is our hope that this will be an occasion for a major public debate on social issues, and on the relative priority to be given to new social investments. It's in this context that the CCSD has drafted a short commentary entitled .

Opinion articles submitted by Andrew Jackson, Director of Research, CCSD
September 20, 2000
- to the Globe & Mail:
- to the Toronto Star:

The Canadian Fact Book on Poverty 2000
July 19, 2000





** (PDF file, 250K) - posted to the web August 3, 2000
Here are the main measures of poverty in Canada in 2000 discussed in this 32-page chapter:
- Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut-offs (LICO), calculated using both pre- and post-tax income;
- Statistics Canada's Low Income Measure (LIM);
- Canadian Council on Social Development Lines of Income Inequality;
- Market Basket Measure (MBM) under development by the federal, provincial and territorial governments;
- Fraser Institute poverty lines;
- Montreal Diet Dispensary guidelines;
- Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto budget guides;
- The Cost of Living Guidelines developed by the Social Planning Council of B.C.
In Chapter 2, you'll find recent and detailed information about each one of the measures in the list above, plus an analysis of social assistance rates and public opinion as benchmark comparisons, the depth of poverty and other issues. Includes tables showing poverty levels in Canada according to each measure for 2000.

June 9, 2000
Backgrounder

Personal Security Index 2000 (April 26, 2000)
-
-
- (PDF file, 2643K - 35 pages)

Urban Poverty in Canada: A Statistical Profile (April 17, 2000)
-
-
-
-
-

March 13, 2000
"On balance, Budget 2000 represents a step in the right direction, but much work remains to be done to address the needs of poor Canadians."

January 25, 2000
Progress 2000 tracks social and economic indicators in a number of areas affecting the lives of Canadian children at home, at school and in their neighbourhoods.
- includes links to Highlights - Backgrounder - Communiqué - List of Resource People - Français

A submission by David Ross to the Op-ed Page of the Saint John Telegraph-Journal
November 2, 1999
- October 26, 1999
- "To lay the conditions for future social cohesion and sustainable economic prosperity shared by all, the CCSD is calling for a Children's Budget focused on the critical needs of Canadian children, youth and families"
- incl. "Reinvesting in the Social Infrastructure" - improvements to the NCA and NCB, for example...
"The CCSD also recommends that the government index the child benefit system to inflation (at an estimated cost of $200 million per year) and ensure that benefits flow to all poor children, including those living in families that rely on social assistance."
(May 1999)
David P. Ross and Paul Roberts

Check out these complete IDRC reports online:

Jane Pulkingham & Gordon Ternowetsky (1998) 
International Development Research Centre*
(Click on the title of the report above to go directly to the table of contents.
The entire report is online)

- Includes an extensive, detailed overview of income security reforms in Canada in the 1990s, specifically around the Canada Health and Social Transfer, a review and typology of current research in virtually every area of federal and provincial/territorial social programs and a section on the impact of changes since the CHST and related social reforms. 
- Recommended reading for anyone looking for information about the critical forces that have shaped income security programs in Canada and that continue to do so as we approach the new millennium. 
- Topics covered include welfare reforms, the National Child Benefit and child poverty, unemployment/employment insurance reforms, pension reform and the retirement income system, labour market policies, the Social Union, income security reforms in the broader context of social security reform, etc. 
*The website also includes many links to information on similar reforms in developing countries 
"The International Development Research Centre is a public corporation created by the Canadian government to help communities in the developing world find solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems through research." 
Complete reports online include the following:

by Keith Banting (1995) 
- An extensive and excellent treatise on globalization, trade agreements, social need and reforms. 

by Peter Hicks (1995) 
- An excellent article written by a senior HRDC official at the time. It presents some interesting historical information about the evolution of Canadian social programs from the sixties to the early nineties. 
- Social historians will be particularly interested in the author's analysis of the 1994 SSR discussion paper... 

by Albert Berry
- This article covers issues such as the harmonization and convergence of social programs, rationalization, privatization, cost-saving, competitiveness and social policy reform

- Canada
"The Centre for the Study of Living Standards is a non-profit, national, independent organization that seeks to contribute to a better understanding of trends in and determinants of productivity, living standards and economic and
social well-being through research."

Has economic well-being increased or decreased in recent years, and is it higher or lower in one country compared to others? Traditionally these questions have been answered by looking at trends in and comparisons of GDP per capita, but this is a poor measure of economic well-being. It measures consumption incompletely, ignoring the value of leisure and longer life spans, and it also ignores the value of accumulation for future generations. Furthermore, since it is an average, GDP per capita gives no indication of the likelihood that an individual will share in prosperity nor of the degree of anxiety with which individuals contemplate their futures."
- incl. links to:
Introduction and Methodology - The Index for Canada -The Index for Canada and the United States - The Index for Canada and the Provinces - The Index for OECD Countries - An Index of Labour Market Well-being - Weighting tool for Canada and OECD Countries

- 100+ links

Selected site content :

Recent Release of New Research Products from the
Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS)

The Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), a national, independent, not-for-profit, economic research organization, recently released five new research reports and one new research note. The new research documents are briefly described below:

* On July 27, the CSLS released a new research note “” (PDF - 434K, 12 pages).
Two key findings were that (1) the rise in inequality was a much more important factor for the divergence between the growth rates of labour productivity and real wages in the United States and that (2) ambiguity in the interpretation of labour share suggests the attention should be more appropriately focused on rising inequality as a key driver of the divergence between the growth of real wages and labour productivity.

* The Advisory Panel on Labour Market Information recently tabled its .
The CSLS has been an active participant to the Panel through its report (PDF - 858K, 55 pages), released in July 2009. The report presented 20 recommendations to improve the operation of LMI in Canada in the areas of LMI data, LMI analysis and forecasting, and LMI dissemination.

* On June 10, the and its signature product, the were officially launched at the St. Lawrence Hall in Toronto. The CSLS has been an active participant in this important development, and in particular wrote the report on the living standards domain of the CIW.

* On May 21, the CSLS released a research report, (PDF - 1.6MB, 108 pages).
This report examines the potential economic gains of increased Aboriginal education, as well as the fiscal implications of increased education and improved Aboriginal social well-being for Canadian governments to 2026. Most notably, it concludes that if the Aboriginal population were to attain complete economic and social parity with the non-Aboriginal population, Canadian governments would improve their balance sheets by nearly $12 billion in 2026 alone.

* On May 13, the CSLS released a research report, (PDF - 5.2MB, 173 pages).
This report examines human resource and skills issues pertaining to the Ontario-Quebec Continental Gateway and Trade Corridor over the short- to medium-term and concludes that despite the economic downturn, there may be shortages of skilled labour in certain occupations.

* On May 12, the CSLS released a research report, (PDF - 1.1MB, 80 pages).
The report concludes that the Métis Human Resources Development Agreements result in annual fiscal savings of $8.5 million to the federal and five provincial governments covered by the program, with total lifetime benefits of one year of Métis programming reaching $103 million.

* In addition, the CSLS recently released a new for Canada and the provinces. Unlike , the new estimates adjust labour and capital inputs for changes in composition and are methodologically consistent with national estimates produced by Statistics Canada. The data cover the period and 15 industries. All CSLS databases can be found in .

Source:
(CSLS)
The Centre for the Study of Living Standards is a non-profit, national, independent organization that seeks to contribute to a better understanding of trends in and determinants of productivity, living standards and economic and
social well-being through research

Also from CLSL:

May 28, 2009
The Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), a national, independent, not-for-profit, economic research organization, today released the Spring 2009 issue of the International Productivity Monitor.
Highlights of the issue:
* Serge Coulombe and Jean-Francois Tremblay of the University of Ottawa provide a synthesis of the literature on the relationship between education and productivity.
A key finding is that the macroeconomic returns to education depend on a country’s distance from the world technology frontier. Given that Canada is close to the frontier, the authors conclude that the returns to additional investment in post-secondary education could be substantial.
* Andrew Sharpe and Jean-Francois Arsenault from the Centre for the Study of Living Standards present new estimates of productivity for the Canadian provinces from 1997 to 2007.
Perhaps surprisingly, Newfoundland recorded the best productivity performance while Alberta had the worst. In both cases, the oil and gas sector was largely responsible, reducing productivity growth in Alberta as resources moved from into the lower productivity oil sands (relative to conventional oil and gas) and raising it in Newfoundland as the output expanded rapidly in the high productivity oil and gas sector.
* In late April the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) released the Expert panel report on business innovation in Canada.
The first article by CCA President Peter Nicholson summarizes the report, arguing that Canada's lagging productivity growth has been due to subpar innovation. He concludes that too many businesses in Canada are technology followers, not leaders, and that what is needed is a fresh discussion on factors that influence the adoption of innovation-based business strategies. Three commentaries on the report follow, by Richard Hawkins of the University of Calgary, Jorge Niosi from the University of Quebec at Montreal, and Ian A. Stewart, a former Deputy Minister of Finance.

[ ]
On May 12, the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), a national, independent, not-for-profit, economic research organization, released the Spring 2008 issue of the International Productivity Monitor. The issue contains five articles : two on the productivity performance of the Canadian economy and three in a symposium on data needs for better productivity measurement.
* Editor’s Overview
* Business Sector Productivity in Canada: What Do We Know? By Paul Boothe and Richard Roy
* An Analysis of the Causes of Weak Labour Productivity Growth in Canada since 2000 - By Jean-François Arsenault and Andrew Sharpe
* Symposium on Data Needs for Better Productivity Measurement
--- What Is To Be Done for Better Productivity Measurement - By Erwin Diewert
--- The State of Data for Services Productivity Measurement in the United States - By Jack E. Triplett and Barry P. Bosworth
--- Data for Productivity Measurement in Market Services: An International Comparison - By Robert Inklaar, Marcel P. Timmer and Bart van Ark

(16 issues , back to Fall 2000)

(CCPI)
"The CCPI is a non-profit organization that solves significant social, economic and environmental problems by applying systems thinking to policy development and activation."
- someone from CCPI contacted me by e-mail to ask me to post a link to this site --- although there's not really much content on the site yet except for the full text of the (above) Globe article, which I found interesting enough to share.
[- an "About this Site" page would be very nice...]

August 20, 2005
OTTAWA -- A generation of influential Canadian policy-makers are moving on. They're not politicians or bureaucrats, but the heads of think-tanks, the deep thinkers sought out for fresh ideas by government leaders. It is part of a widespread rollover that is leaving Canada's think-tank sector at a crossroads. Even some of the current crop say the field may be strong but it could use something more -- a bit more edge, a little worldliness, or a touch more relevance -- to fill a market of ideas undersupplied by a sterile political debate.(...) The think-tank positions certainly have influence. Brian Guest, a former senior aide to Paul Martin who left the prime minister's office to co-found the Canadian Centre for Policy Ingenuity, which deals with the issues of cities and the environment, said his interest in think-tanks was sparked because he had to keep up with Mr. Martin's demands for arguments about their papers or perspective from someone such as Ms. Maxwell."
Source:

The (CRISP) is a multi-disciplinary research organization based at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Fredericton. CRISP is dedicated to improving the effectiveness of social policy in Canada, to help Canadian communities provide better education and care for their children, and to contribute to capacity-building efforts in developing countries.

(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.

CIAR has three research programs vital to human well-being (Human Development; Population Health; Economic Growth and Policy); three dealing with the physical and biological origins and preservation of the planet Earth (Cosmology and Gravity; Earth System Evolution; Evolutionary Biology) and two in materials science (Superconductivity; and Nanoelectronics).

"The Founders' Network links a diverse group of individuals from across Canada and in other countries. We are an international collection of people interested in promoting the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR), science and technology, early childhood, economic issues, determinants of health and human development."

(PDF file - 1.5MB, 58 pages)
August 2002
by Margaret McCain and J. Fraser Mustard
"Ontario has the opportunity to provide leadership in enabling communities to put in place ECD programs to improve human development for the future. This investment is key for the future of our next generation communities and society."
The authors of the original study offer their comments on the response of the Government of Ontario to the recommendations in the report.

Here's the link to the original report, done for the Ontario (govt.) Children's Secretariat (which no longer exists, but the report is on the Founders' Network site):

- Final Report (PDF file - 1.1MB, 207 pages)
February 1999 (Modified 06/2002, according to the Adobe file info)
Co-Chairs : Margaret McCain and J. Fraser Mustard

Arm's-length agency of the federal government responsible for funding basic research in the social sciences and humanities in Canada. SSHRC funds researchers at post secondary institutions, via a process of rigourous, non-partisan, peer review of their research proposals. SSHRC also supports young researchers ( MA, PhD, Post Doc)  through  a similar process of evaluation.
See the for : Research News - About SSHRC - Program Information - Human Sciences Links - Career Opportunities - Policy Documents

May 6, 2003
"The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) is investing $2.3 million in a study that will examine the link between the location of neighbourhood resources and the health and school readiness of children. (...) The Consortium for Health, Intervention, Learning and Development (CHILD) Project—led by the University of British Columbia’s Hillel Goelman, associate director of the Human Early Learning Partnership—will examine the physical, intellectual and social development of young children in various neighbourhoods and map their growth and well-being in light of community resources."

- (PDF file - 137K, 52 pages)
Clyde Hertzman, Sidney A.McLean, Dafna E.Kohen, Jim Dunn, Terry Evans
August 2002
(small PDF file)
(PDF file - 2.7MB)
Related Link:

Canada 2020 is a dynamic and networked “ideas generation council” that takes a unique approach to addressing Canada’s public policy opportunities and challenges.
Objectives:
a. to act as a non-partisan forum to address Canada’s policy opportunities and challenges;
b. to develop public policy solutions to address the opportunities and challenges Canada faces;
c. to promote and communicate ideas to government, media, and interested Canadians.

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore will deliver his message about global warming as the keynote dinner speaker at the Canada 2020 Progressive Policies, Practical Solutions conference in Mont Tremblant, Quebec on Wednesday, June 14th. Mr. Gore joins internationally renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs, Harper's Magazine Editor Lewis Lapham and former President of the European Bank Jacques Attali as part of a stellar program of progressive Canadian and international thinkers that is expected to be one of the most thought provoking and exciting forums in recent memory. More than 150 prominent Canadians from business, government, and academia will discuss ideas and debate progressive policies during the two-day session, June 13-15, 2006 at the Fairmont Tremblant Hotel. [See the Canada 2020 link below for more info about this conference.]
Source:
("Alternative News Media on Democracy, Energy, Politics, Trade, Environment, Military and Money")

Miscellaneous

- 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. The list of funded projects for 1998 alone is impressive...

- The Donner Canadian Foundation was established in 1950 by William H. Donner. In the mid-1960s, the Foundation began to focus on specific program interests, among these, research on public policy. The Donner family chose Canada’s centennial year, 1967, to embark on a course of professional grantmaking that has contributed well over $100 million to more than 1,000 projects across Canada and around the world. In addition to ongoing funding of public policy research, the Foundation supports environmental, international development, and social service projects.

(Ontario)

The Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada promotes teaching, research, and scholarship in the humanities and social sciences and a better understanding of the importance of such work for Canada and the world.

The Wellesley Institute is a Toronto-based non-profit and non-partisan research and policy institute. Our focus is on developing research and community-based policy solutions to the problems of urban health and health disparities. We are committed to advancing the health of urban populations.

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