COMMUNITY SOCIAL PLANNING COUNCIL
OF
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Issue
# 45, December 2006
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the forty-fifth
edition of the electronic newsletter from the Community Social Planning Council
of Toronto. At the beginning of each
month, this e-bulletin provides news on the activities of the CSPC-T and our
partners, as well as access to new research and policy products and networks,
in print and web-based forms. We hope it
is useful. We value and welcome your
feedback at the email address below.
To subscribe to this
bulletin, send an email with your name,
organization, address, and telephone number to cspc@cspc.toronto.on.ca with the message
SUBSCRIBE
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
If you wish to stop receiving
the bulletin, send the message UNSUBSCRIBE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
If you do not have regular
access to email and you wish to receive this bulletin, please contact Margaret
Hau at (416) 351-0095 x 211, and she will arrange to send it to you by fax. If
you want a printable version of this newsletter, please go to:
http://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/CSPC-T%20Newsletters/Newsletter%202006.htm
Please
note the deadline to submit information for the next e-Newsletter is
December
20, 2006.
CONTENTS
1.
News from the Council
2.
Upcoming Events
3.
News from our Partners
4.
Conferences and Calls for Papers
5.
Information Resources
5.1
New Reports and Publications
5.2
Websites
of Interest
6.
Contact Us
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1. NEWS FROM
THE COUNCIL
New Faces at the Council
Arshia Raafat – Development Officer
The
CSPC-T is pleased
to announce that Arshia Raafat has accepted the position of Development
Officer at the Council.
Arshia’s most recent position was Coordinator of Strategic Funding and
Marketing Initiatives with Skills for Change
Arshia has a Master of Business Administration from Schulich School of
Business,
Christine
Rahim – Community Planner –
We are also pleased that Christine Rahim has
accepted the position of Community Planner, effective December 11, 2006.
Christine comes to us from the Women’s Counselling Referral and
Education Centre where she held the position of Resource/Self-Help Co-ordinator.
Christine has 20 years experience in community and organizational
development. Christine is currently a Sessional Instructor at
The primary focus of Christine’s work will be with the Regent Park
Neighbourhood Initiative, who have partnered with the CSPC-T to make the
establishment of this position possible.
The Council is very excited to have the opportunity to work with the
RPNI as the re-development of
Communications Officer
Please note that the CSPC-T will shortly be accepting applications for
the position of “Communications Officer.”
This position will be posted on the
Sign On Today for Women’s
Equality and Human Rights
In September 2006, the federal government
announced a $5 million cut to Status of Women Canada (SWC), amounting to a 40% decrease
in funding to this already under-resourced federal department – a department
charged with advancing women’s equality.
The impact of this cut is beginning to emerge: two of the five regional
SWC offices will close, small one-person SWC offices will close, 50% of the SWC
staff have received lay off notices.
The federal government also announced sweeping changes
to the funding criteria for the SWC Women’s Program, which previously funded
many non-profit women’s organizations.
The changes will eliminate funding for general research, lobbying and
advocacy activities – activities central to promoting women’s equality and to
the activities of many of the funded groups.
The changes will also open the door for the funding of for-profit
companies through the Women’s Program.
Women’s organizations are inviting groups and
individuals to sign onto the December 10th statement for women’s equality and
human rights. This statement will be released to the
media at a press conference in
To read the full statement, please go to www.socialplanningtoronto.org
and click on the link in the left-hand column.
To sign on to the statement, please email womenactionfemmes@gmail.com by
Friday, December 8th at 5 p.m.
Other recent SWC news: The House of Commons Standing Committee on
the Status of Women will be holding hearings in December. These hearings are an opportunity for
community groups to voice their concerns regarding the $5 million cut to Status
of Women Canada and the change in funding criteria that prohibits funding for
general research, advocacy or lobbying, and opens the door to funding of
for-profit groups. Demonstrating the
concern of organizations nation-wide, the Committee received an astounding 220
requests from groups, including CSPC-T, seeking to present at the
hearings. Please check the CSPC-T
federal cuts webpage for updates on the hearings. For in-depth information on the Status of
Women Canada cuts, funding criteria changes, and related community action,
please visit www.statusreport.ca
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$1 Billion Federal Cuts -
Webpage Updates
Thank you to all who took part in the Community Social
Planning Council of
Toronto's October 11 Faces of the Cuts forum on
the federal cuts. Thanks to CSPC-T student intern Erin Rumsby, our webpage on
the cuts has recently been updated with lots of event, community, government
and media reports. To view the webpage, go to
www.socialplanningtoronto.org
and click on the "$1 Billion Federal Cuts -
Updates" link in the left-hand column. Check regularly for more updates.
Thanks to everyone who sent content for the
webpage. If you have more
information to share, please email it to Beth
Wilson at
bwilson@cspc.toronto.on.ca.
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Congratulations
to CSPC-T Community Planner Yasmin Khan!
“The Vital People
program supports and recognizes individuals who are making an outstanding
contribution through non-profit organizations and helping to keep
Yasmin Khan has
worked as an agent of change in the former City of
Described as
“relentless” by her peers, Yasmin’s advocacy efforts helped bring a planned
satellite Community Health Centre to the at-risk neighbourhood of
Weston-Lawrence/St. Dennis. One of her
current goals is the building of a recreation centre in the former City of
Yasmin believes the
non-profit sector is severely under-resourced and that misunderstanding and
conflicts are becoming more common. She
will use her Vital People grant to upgrade her skills in the areas of conflict
de-escalation, resolution and peace building.
She will travel to
Congratulations
Yasmin!
To read about all of
the award winners: http://www.tcf.ca/pdf/VitalPeople2006.pdf
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Blue Ribbon Panel
Session
On October 17, CSPC-T hosted a session
on the work of the federal Blue Ribbon Panel on Grants and Contributions. The Blue Ribbon Panel is a federally
appointed panel, chaired by United Way CEO
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2. UPCOMING EVENTS
Concert:
Common Thread Community Chorus
"GRANDMOTHERS
TO GRANDMOTHERS" A Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation
Special Guest -
Venue: Bloor Street United Church,
Date & Time: Saturday, December 9th, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.
Adults: $20 advance/ sliding scale at the door
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
To purchase tickets: Phone: 416-410-5022 or Email: info@commonthreadchorus.ca
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Please
drop by and say hello to Mayor Miller when he visits four
Saturday, December 9
Dennis R. Timbrell Resource Centre from 10 a.m. to noon
(formerly Flemingdon Resource Centre)
29 St. Dennis Drive in the Don Mills-Eglinton area
North Kipling Community Centre from 2 to 4 p.m.
2 Rowntree Road in the Kipling-Finch area
Sunday, December 10
Malvern Community Recreation Centre from 1 to 3 p.m.
30 Sewells Rd. in the Neilson-Sheppard area
Lawrence Heights Community Centre from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
5 Replin Rd. in the Lawrence-Allen Road area
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Public
Appointment Opportunities
The City is asking residents of
Application deadline is: 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 10, 2007
For
more information and to download application forms, please visit: http://www.toronto.ca/citizen-appointments/index.htm
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The Youth Challenge Fund (YCF)
Grant Applications
The YCF was established to create meaningful
opportunities for
The focus of the fund will primarily be the 13
priority neighbourhood areas that have been identified in the Strong
Neighbourhoods Task Force report. These neighbourhoods were selected based on
urgent local needs and inadequate local services.
Application deadline is: January 15, 2007
at 12 noon
The Fund
guidelines, criteria and application forms are available at: www.youthchallengefund.org
For any questions
or clarifications please call at: 416-507-3290
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Racism.
Stop It! National Video Competition
This
competition is a major component of the March 21 Campaign. This year’s youth
challenge is for the youth to come up with a project; they create the scenario,
write the script, direct, shoot and edit a one-minute video story that
expresses their feelings about racism. Winners of the selected entries will
have the opportunity to attend an awards ceremony in the National Capital.
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Citizen's Assembly and Electoral Reform
The provincial government's Citizen's
Assembly (CA) has already begun province-wide hearings on electoral reform and
will continue until the end of January. Through the
consultative process, the Assembly will identify what
principles Ontarians value most in their electoral system. And it will hold
public consultations to hear what other citizens’ value. Recommendations will
then be made on whether
Please attend meetings in your own area, or make
a brief presentation of your own.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Toronto Central (bilingual) 7:00 pm
- 10:00 pm YMCA
North York Employment & Newcomer Services;
Seventh Semester;
Thursday, January 25, 2007
If you'd like to participate or want
more information, please contact Brian McInnnis at 647-989-2800 or email
brian.mcinnis@fairvote.ca
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Sponsorship Breakdown-
what you need to know.
OCASI will be hosting various
information sessions across the province that will provide an overview of current
Ontario Works regulations and a general picture about the implication of
sponsorship breakdown. It will also provide you with an opportunity to raise
some of your questions and concerns.
If you are interested in learning when
and where these information sessions will take place, please contact Martha
Orellana at 416-322-4950 ext 230 or email morellana@ocasi.org.
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3. NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Growing Gap, Growing Concerns: Poll
A
record high number of Canadians think Canada’s gap between rich and poor is
growing – and it’s causing them concern, according to an Environics Research
poll conducted for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The
poll reveals three-quarters (76%) of Canadians believe
Download
the report at:
www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/National_Office_Pubs/2006/Growing_Gap_Growing_Concerns.pdf
(PDF
File, 1042 Kb)
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HungerCount 2006
The Canadian Association of Food Banks
recently released HungerCount 2006, the annual survey of food banks in
For the full report: www.cafb-acba.ca/english/EducationandResearch-ResearchStudies.html
CSPC-T was very pleased to provide data
collection and analyses services to the HungerCount project.
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Campaign 2000
2006 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in
The rate of child and family poverty in
The full report is available at http://www.campaign2000.ca/rc/rc06/06_C2000NationalReportCard.pdf
(PDF File 6 pages)
VSF
conducting survey on impact of government cuts
The
Voluntary Sector Forum (VSF) is currently collecting
information on the impact of the federal spending cuts announced in September, and what they mean
to the sector as a whole. The cutbacks have affected programs such as the Court
Challenges Program, the Law Commission of Canada, Status of Women Canada, adult
learning and literacy programs, youth employment programs, the Museum
Assistance Program, First Nations programs, and the Canadian
Volunteerism Initiative. It is estimated that about $200 million of the $1
billion in cutbacks will directly or indirectly impact volunteer organizations
in
If
your organization or your particular sector has been affected by the cuts, the
VSF is asking that you complete a short survey. For more information or a copy
of the survey, visit: http://www.vsf-fsbc.ca/eng/newsletters/2006/foruminfo_nov06.cfm
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United Way of Greater
Results of the UWGT Survey
In the wake of the announced federal cuts, many affected groups have
begun to organize in their respective sectors and on a national basis. To date,
UWGT has been keeping an active "Watching Brief" on the cuts.
An agency survey was done on the week of October 16, 2006 and surveys were sent
out to 148 agencies to better understand the impact of these cuts on services.
The
response rate was close to 25%. The key
findings are as follows:
At this time, the cuts seem like a “fait accompli” and with
the uncertain federal political situation, i.e., minority government and
possibility of new election in 2007, energy may be best spent on working to
understand and influence the overall election policies of all parties. UWGT
will maintain an active Watching Brief on this issue.
For more information, please contact Kathy Gallagher Ross at
416-777-1444 ext. 223 or Ming Young Tam at 416-777-1444 ext 276.
United Way of Greater
2nd Canadian
Conference on Social
The UWGT is offering
subsidies to attend the 2nd National Canadian Conference on Social
Enterprise to be held in
Any Toronto-based non-profit
organization operating, or planning to operate, a social enterprise whose
purpose is to create employment opportunities for people who are homeless or
at-risk of homelessness are welcomed to apply for a subsidy to attend the
conference.
Information is available
online at: www.torontoenterprisefund.ca
If you have any questions or need further
clarification, please contact Anne Jamieson at 416-777-1444 ext. 513. Or email ajamieson@uwgt.org
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Natural Resources
Maps for Canadians
As of January 2007, Natural
Resources Canada will discontinue the printing of paper topographic maps and
will close the Canada Map Office. Our
government wants to get out of the business of producing maps. However, many Canadian depend on the paper
map service that the government currently provides.
This is a political issue and
your help is needed to lobby the government, your M.P. and the Minister of
Natural Resources know that the map printing service of the government is
important to Canadians.
For more information and to
support Access to Maps for Canadian by visiting: http://www.mapsforcanadians.ca
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The Blue Print to End
Homelessness (
Homelessness has a
devastating impact on
The full report is available
at http://wellesleyinstitute.com/files/blueprint/TheBlueprint%28final%29.pdf
(PDF file -
521K, 12 pages)
Framework for the Blue Print
to End homelessness in
http://wellesleyinstitute.com/files/blueprint/Blueprint_TheFramework%28final%29.pdf (PDF file- 3.35MB, 106 pages)
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4.
CONFERENCES AND CALLS FOR PAPERS
Building
Bridges: A Labour Studies Conference
Registration Open
Feb. 1-3, 2007
How can we defend and create good jobs, protect the environment, challenge
injustice and inequality, and create peace? This conference will explore those
issues which both divide and unite labour and social movements, and discuss
current and possible strategies for improving unity within and across movements
and borders.
Join union activists, researchers,
students and artists from across the continent at this free conference to share
strategies, find out what works, and discuss how we can work together to build
a stronger movement for progressive social change. The conference is being held
at the same time as the 9th Annual Labour Arts Festival, which will allow
participants to take in a variety of arts events over a three-day period.
Any questions, please address them to bridges@uwindsor.ca.
For more information, updates, or to
register, go to: http://web4.uwindsor.ca/units/socsci/Labour.nsf/
Accessing
Answers Conference
Accessing
Answers will be an exciting and engaging processional development day for the
front line workers of organizations that work with New Canadians. The objectives of this one-day event are to
improve access to services provided to immigrants, and to encourage the
exchange of information among community organizations.
Date
and Time: Friday, March 23rd 2007, from 9.00 to 4.00pm
Location:
Learning Enrichment Foundation (
For more information, please
contact
Call For Speakers: The conference is looking for speakers on the
following topics: Dealing with Conflict; Family Abuse; Anger Management,
Internet Safety; Access to Quality Jobs, Positive Role Modeling; Family
Stresses; Special Needs, Housing; Access to Government Services; Bullying
Submission
Deadline: Friday, November 24, 2006 to Thursday, December 8th, 2006
For
more information, please contact The Learning Enrichment Foundation Events Team
at 416-760-2576 or email kbacon@lefca.org
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What Public Policies for Work in the
Global Era?
HEC
Montréal, Canada
24-26 May 2007
The Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT-Université
de Montréal, Université Laval, HEC Montréal) and its “Rethinking Institutions
for Work and Employment in the Global Era” project (SSHRC-MCRI program) invite
you to discuss at an international conference on policies for work and employment
in the global era. The conference will be held in both English and French.
There will be researchers in various
social science disciplines, those in charge of developing public policies and
representatives of social actors and labour market partners. The conference
will be open to multidisciplinary academic proposals based on economics,
sociology, law, management and other social science disciplines relevant to the
study of public policies for work and employment.
For more information, visit: http://www.crimt.org/English/Bottom_Accueil_eng.html
5. INFORMATION RESOURCES
5.1
New
Reports and Publications
2006
Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration
The 2006 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration outlines
The
full report is available at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/annual-report2006/index.html
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Tools for an Inclusive
Inclusion:
Societies that Foster Belonging Improve Health is a document
that joins the growing body of ideas, research and understanding about the
importance of inclusion to support health. It is based on six, day-long Count
Me In! forums in
For more information, and to download the document, please visit www.count-me-in.ca/forums
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Advancing the
Non-Profit Sector
Non-profit sector
organizations in
The full report is available
at
www.corneil.com/eakin/reports/Advancing_the_Nonprofit_Sector.pdf
(PDF File 36 pages)
Advisory to Board
of Directors of Non-Profit Corporations
Deep government funding
cutbacks to not-for-profit agencies over a short period of notice places tremendous
pressure on the Board of Directors. This advisory has been prepared to provide
Board of Directors with some beginning advice on things they should be aware of
when dealing with sudden funding cuts in their organizations.
The full advisory is available
at www.corneil.com/eakin/reports/ADVISORYCutbacks.pdf
(PDF file 7 pages)
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Health
Policy Research Bulletin 2006--Social Capital and Health:
Maximizing the Benefits
This issue of the Health Policy Research Bulletin (Health Canada) traces the
evolution of research on the correlation between social relations and health and
discusses the impacts of the social capital concept; highlights different
approaches for defining social capital, including the "network"
approach that gained consensus among federal departments, and presents an
analytical model for measuring the relationship between social capital and
health; describes how this model was used to analyze the 2003 General Social
Survey (GSS) on Social Engagement and presents the results for the Canadian
population as a whole and for selected subpopulations; examines key policy and
program areas where social capital is already playing a role and explores the
impacts of recent research.
The
full research is available at
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/sr-sr/alt_formats/hpb-dgps/pdf/pubs/hpr-rps/bull/2006-capital-social-capital/2006-capital-social-capital_e.pdf
(PDF File 42 pages)
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Task Force on Community Investments
The
report of the Task Force on Community Investments contains 41 proposed
directions that focus on more consistent and coherent funding practices between
the Government of Canada and the community nonprofit sector.
The
report can now be accessed at www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/cs/sp/sdc/task_force/tfci/page00.shtml
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The National Council Welfare Report: Welfare Incomes 2005
This annual report produced by the
National Council of Welfare lists trends and patterns of welfare incomes for
various household forms across the nation, for a total of 52 scenarios, and
findings are discussed. To see the whole report, visit:
http://www.ncwcnbes.net/htmdocument/reportWelfareIncomes2005/WI2005ENGrevised.pdf
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The Daily,
Statistics
November 1, 2006
Employment Insurance Coverage Survey, 2005
The proportion of unemployed Canadians eligible for Employment Insurance benefits edged up in 2005, according to data from the Employment Insurance Coverage Survey.
Approximately 769,700 unemployed individuals contributed to the Employment Insurance program in 2005 and 619,800 of them had a job separation that met the program criteria. This represents 55.2% of all unemployed, up from 53.5% in 2004.
The survey is available at http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/061101/d061101.pdf (PDF file 8 pages)
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November 3, 2006
Labour Force Survey, October 2006
Employment
increased by an estimated 51,000 in October following four months of
little change. The unemployment rate declined 0.2 percentage points
to 6.2%. Since the beginning of the year, employment has increased
by 261,000.
For a detailed summary of the
Labour Force Survey, go to: www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/061103/d061103.pdf
(PDF File 12 pages)
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November 8, 2006
Homicides
2005
The
national homicide rate increased for the second consecutive year
in 2005 to its highest point in nearly a decade, after reaching a
30-year low in 2003. The number of homicides committed with a firearm rose
for the third year in a row. Most of the increase in the homicide rate was
driven by a jump in gang-related homicides, particularly in
The
full report is available at www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/061108/d061108.pdf
(PDF File 13 pages)
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November 22, 2006
Study: Measuring
housing affordability, 2004
According to a new study, although the vast majority of Canadian households live in suitable and adequate housing, 1.7 million spent 30% or more of their budget on shelter costs in 2004. In 2004, about 14% of households spent 30% or more of their budget on shelter costs. Of these, 12% spent between 30% and 50%, and 2% spent 50% or more.
This study highlights an alternative measure of housing affordability that is based on household expenditure, using data from the Survey of Household Spending.
The full report is
available at www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/75-001-XIE/75-001-XIE2006111.pdf
(PDF file 25 pages)
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November 23, 2006
Charitable Donors
2005
Canadian
taxfilers opened their pocketbooks even wider to charities in 2005, with
more than 5.8 million donors contributing a record
high $7.9 billion. The total donations were 13.8% higher than
in 2004. The amount increased in all provinces and territories. The number
of donors in
For taxfilers
reporting donations, the median donation has increased each year
since 1999. In 2005, the median donation was $240, up
from $230 in 2004.
The full report is
available at http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/061123/d061123e.htm
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November 23, 2006
Gender
differences in university participation, 1977 to 2003
Women's participation in university has outpaced men's since the late 1970s. In fact, the gap widened substantially during the 1990s. The study findings suggest that a major factor underlying the steady increase in university enrolment among women is that it pays more for women to attend university.
The study found that the gap in university attendance between children from high and low income families declined more over the period for women than men, but this fact by itself did not account for the divergent trends.
The study is available at http://www.utoronto.ca/rdc/files/papers/L_Yang_Gender.pdf (PDF File 31 pages)
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November 27, 2006
Study:
Readiness to learn at school among five-year-old children, 2002/2003.
Girls and boys differed in important ways in their readiness to learn as they entered school at the age of five, with girls outperforming their male counterparts in several areas, a new study has found.
The
full report is available at
http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/89-599-MIE/89-599-MIE2006004.pdf (PDF File 153 pages)
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November 28, 2006
Community
Employment Innovation Project, 2002 to 2004
Can communities create meaningful work that is an attractive alternative to Employment Insurance and welfare? This report presents 18-month impacts from the Community Employment Innovation Project (CEIP), a study of a program designed to encourage the longer-term employability of participants while supporting local community development in areas of continuing high unemployment. Communities were challenged to utilize the social economy as a source of jobs, which would provide participants with opportunities for developing skills and social capital.
The
full report is available at http://www.srdc.org/uploads/CEIP-18-mo-full-report-English.pdf
(PDF File 166 pages)
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5.2 WEBSITES OF INTEREST
On
Monday November 13, 2006, the citizens of
1 Mayor, 44
Councillors and School Board Trustees for 4 Local School Boards
The
poll-by-poll results are available at http://www.toronto.ca/vote2006/results/index.htm
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The following websites are
for women’s organizations that have previously received funding through Status
of Women Canada. (See first item in
newsletter for information on the federal government changes that are putting
women’s organizations in jeopardy.)
Canadian
Council for Muslim Women
Canadian
Federation of University Women
Canadian Feminist
Canadian
Research Institute for the Advancement of Women
Child
Care Advocacy Association of
Community
Microskills Development Centre
Calgary
Immigrant Women’s Association
DAWN
Ontario: Disabled Women’s Network
Fédération des Femmes du Québec