On Friday, December 4th, Mr. Brendan Reimer, Regional Coordinator for the Prairies and Northern Territories of the Canadian CED Network, made a formal presentation to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA). Reimer called for a comprehensive approach to poverty reduction grounded in the principles of Communicty Economic Development.

“We are talking about people in communities working together at a local level to generate innovative and effective initiatives that create economic opportunities for individuals, families, and neighbourhoods in ways that improve social and environmental conditions,” said Reimer. “The CED model understands that complex community issues require multi-faceted and coordinated responses.”

Reimer referred to the The View from Here, a Manitoba-based document co-produced by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Make Poverty History Manitoba that calls for a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy with indicators, targets, and timelines.

“When capital projects are undertaken, we recommend that the federal government implement training and apprenticeship components that ensure that skill development happens in the local community.”

Reimer mentioned a number of areas where community-led CED initiatives could provide greater social and economic benefit to communities across Canada, but ended by emphasizing the need for a meaningful national poverty reduction strategy.

“There’s a long history, and there’s current strength and innovation in communities across the country already working at reducing poverty,” Reimer concluded. “But what we need is strong government leadership…”

Read the presentation in full from the committee

Read the Canadian CED Network brief to the Standing Committee

Read In From the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness by the  Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (290 pages pdf; 2MB)

 

Canada’s co-operative sector is celebrating the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to proclaim 2012 the International Year of Co-operatives.

The proclamation of the International Year was included in a resolution entitled “Co-operatives in Social Development”, which was adopted by the General Assembly at today’s session in New York. The full text of the resolution can be downloaded here.

Since 1959, the UN has designated International Years in order to draw attention to major issues and to encourage international action to address concerns which have global importance.

“At a time when so many people around the world have a heightened interest in doing business with organizations whose values reflect their own, raising awareness of co-operatives and what they stand for is very important,” said Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators, who was recently elected to represent Canada on the board of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA).

“The International Year of Co-operatives is an opportunity for people everywhere to learn more about this diverse group of organizations that contribute so much to economies and communities in virtually every corner of the world.”

On December 3, the federal government announced its support for the UN resolution, the first time a Canadian government has officially expressed its support for a UN International Year before it was proclaimed. “Our government fully recognizes the importance of co-operatives and their contribution to Canadian society,” said the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture), at a news conference in Ottawa.

Carol Hunter, executive director of the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), said Canadian co-operative leaders, together with partner organizations in Canada and around the world, will be working on a program of International Year activities aimed at highlighting the social and economic contributions of co-operatives, including credit unions.

“Co-operatives and credit unions in Canada have more than 17 million members, but most Canadians are unaware of their social and economic impact on this country as a whole and on rural and urban communities across Canada,” she said. “The International Year will provide us with ample opportunities to generate awareness of that contribution, and to encourage people to organize themselves into co-operatives to address their own economic and social needs.”

Co-ops in Canada…and the world

• There are close to 9,000 co-ops and credit unions across Canada, with more than 17 million members.

• Some of Canada’s best-known businesses, including Mountain Equipment Co-op, Federated Co-operatives Limited, UFA Co-operative Limited, Co-op Atlantic, Gay Lea Foods, The Co-operators (insurance), Vancity (credit union), Agropur and Desjardins Group are co-operatives.

• The co-operative sector controls over $275 billion in assets.

• The world’s 300 largest co-operatives, nine of which are Canadian, have an aggregate turnover of $US 1.1 trillion, the size of the 10th largest economy in the world.

• According to the International Labour Organization, co-operatives provide more than 100 million jobs, more than all the world’s multinational corporations combined.

Friday, January 15^th 2010
9:00 am Pacific Time (12:00 pm Eastern time)

1. What role does the municipal government play in the social economy sector?
2. What are the best practices in municipal support of the social economy sector?
3. How can community citizens engage municipal government in supporting the social economy sector?

PRESENTERS:

Marguerite Mendell is Associate Professor in the School of Community and Public Affairs and Director of the Karl Polanyi Institute of Political Economy at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

 Jenny Kain is a senior strategic planner in the Policy and Research section, of the Community Services Department of the City of Edmonton.

 Martin Garber-Conrad is CEO of the Edmonton Community Foundation and chair of the Edmonton Housing Trust Fund.

 Peter Hall is an Assistant Professor in the Urban Studies Program at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. He is Chair of CCEDNet’s Research Advisory Committee and is a member of the BALTA Node of the Canadian Social Economy Research Partnership and will be moderating the session.

 

CALL LOGISTICS:

• Session Date: Friday, January 15^th 2010
• Call begins at 12:00 pm Eastern time, 9:00 am Pacific time
• Call-in information will be given upon registration
• Register before January 11th to obtain dial in information and background papers
• This session is in English.

 

SESSION FORMAT: 1 Hour

• Welcome: 5 min
• Presentations: 10 min by each speaker
• Discussion: 25 minutes

 

REGISTRATION:

Register by phoning 250-472-4976, or e-mailing with your name, location, and work or volunteer position. For more information about the Canadian Social Economy Hub, please visit: www.socialeconomyhub.ca

 

Limited number of spaces available – Register soon!

 

BIOGRAPHIES:

Marguerite Mendell is committed to partnership research, or to what she refers to as the “co-construction of knowledge.” For more than two decades, Mendell has collaborated with practitioners in community economic development, the social economy and the growing social finance sector, resulting in important innovations in public policy.

At the School of Community and Public Affairs, she has brought this methodology to her students, engaging them in community based research. Her work on the social economy and social finance in Quebec has generated international interest and is part of an ongoing dialogue on innovative economic initiatives to reduce poverty and develop new collective forms of wealth creation. Mendell is also the co-founder of the Karl Polanyi Institute of Political Economy established at Concordia University in 1988.

With Kari Polanyi-Levitt, the daughter of Karl Polanyi, she created the Karl Polanyi Archive, an extraordinary research tool for scholars in all disciplines interested in and inspired by the work of Karl Polanyi, considered one of the ten most important thinkers of the 20th century. The global financial crisis and impending world recession have increased the importance of the work of Karl Polanyi today.

 

Jenny Kain works as a strategic planner in the Policy and Research section of Community Services with the City of Edmonton. She believes passionately in the power of communities to create positive change. For the past 15 years her work has focused on municipal involvement in social economy/CED initiatives and she has been an active contributor to a variety of initiatives aimed at building community and reducing poverty.

Her passion, commitment and leadership have resulted in the establishment of a number of organizations and municipal projects that have made a significant contribution to the lives of many Edmontonians. Among these are Women Building Futures, The Edmonton Social Enterprise Fund and Vibrant Communities Edmonton. Jenny has used her skills for initiating and building collaborative and innovative projects to build healthy, vibrant communities and to support people in the pathway out of poverty.

 

Martin Garber-Conrad Martin Garber-Conrad has been CEO of the Edmonton Community Foundation since March, 2005. For the previous 18 years he was executive director of E4C—a community organization that operates a variety of programs for women, children and youth-at-risk, primarily in the areas of housing, feeding, employment and outreach.

Martin is chair of Homeward Trust and, in collaboration with the City of Edmonton, founded Edmonton’s Social Enterprise Fund, which provides loan financing for charitable and non-profit social enterprises.  He has been with the BALTA social economy research initiative since the beginning.

 

Dr. Peter Hall is an Assistant Professor in the Urban Studies Program at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. He is Chair of CCEDNet’s Research Advisory Committee and is a member of the BALTA Node of the Canadian Social Economy Research Partnership.

He has held appointments at the Centre for Sustainable Community Development at SFU, the Local Economic Development Program at the University of Waterloo, and in local government in Durban, South Africa. Dr Hall’s research work bridges the disciplines of geography, planning and economics, and is he especially interested in the role of the local public sector in shaping the economic activity and opportunity.

On Wednesday, October 28th, Mr. Michael Toye, Executive Director of the Canadian CED Network, made a formal presentation to the House of Common’s Standing Committee on Finance (FINA). Toye’s presentation, which was part of the Pre-Budget Consultations 2009, emphasized the importance of addressing the immediate needs of the most vulnerable Canadians who have been hardest hit by the economic downturn.

Toye emphasized the need for greater investment in Community Economic Development. “For this sector to continue to grow, we need modifications to federal policies and programs similar to what has been done in other jurisdictions internationally and provincially,” said Toye.

Toye further outlined how a cooperative investement plan is one option that could help alleviate poverty, strengthen communities, and build fairer local economies.

“The cost of such a plan at the federal level is estimated to be $17 million to $20 million per year but would generate some $120 million per year of new investment in Canada.”

Read the transcript of M. Toye’s presentation in its entirety
Read the Canadian CED Network’s brief submitted to the Standing Committee on Finance (FINA)

From homelessness to affordable housing…HISP interns weigh in on policy options that have the power to improve lives

 Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) in partnership with the Social Housing Services Corporation (SHSC) has just released six comprehensive papers that address a wide range of social housing policies in Canada. The papers are authored by graduate student interns as part of the Housing Internship and Scholar Program (HISP) with foundational support from SHSC and funding from other organizations in cooperation with CPRN. Dr. Michael Buzzelli, Director of Housing and Environment at CPRN, oversees the HISP.

This joint initiative between CPRN and SHSC began in 2006 with the goal of building policy capacity in the housing sector and encouraging evidence-based research initiatives from quality graduate students. In total, 20 interns have successfully completed the program and many have gone on to employment in the field or to pursue further social housing-related studies. Their research papers and reviews have been downloaded from the CPRN website more than 100,000 times, garnered national media attention and helped to inform public policy on the issue.

The most recent cohort of HISP interns has continued this tradition of producing comprehensive research, sound analysis and pragmatic policy recommendations. Papers in this newly released series include:

Rehousing Vancouver’s Street-Involved Youth

by Heather Millar

From 2002 to 2008, the homeless population in Metro Vancouver has more than doubled in size to more than 2,660 people. Youth aged 16 to 24 account for a sizeable portion of the city’s homeless, estimated between 10 and 20%. Studies suggest that the youth homeless population is extremely vulnerable, facing high levels of violence and sexual exploitation as well as complex mental health and addiction issues.

This paper documents, through key informant interviews and focus groups with youth service providers, government managers and private philanthropic funders, the challenges of youth homelessness and provides best practices and policy recommendations for permanently housing street-involved youth in Vancouver and British Columbia.

Can Inclusionary Zoning Help Address the Shortage of Affordable Housing in Toronto?

by Julie Mah

This report evaluates the effectiveness of using inclusionary zoning as a policy tool to aid in delivering affordable housing in the City of Toronto. Inclusionary zoning has been used extensively in the United States to help create mixed-income communities with a promise to improve housing affordability. The author reviews the use of inclusionary zoning in the US from the 1970s to the present, and examines more recent examples from Canada’s three largest cities (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver) to determine if inclusionary zoning delivers on the promise of more affordable housing.

Mah concludes that inclusionary zoning is a promising policy but only if it is properly designed in consultation with all relevant stakeholders and if it is part of a more comprehensive housing strategy. She also advises that the policy should target specific (shallow subsidy) income groups and that affordability should be rigorously controlled through price and occupancy restrictions.

The Homeownership Component of the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program: Critical Analysis of Program Objectives

by Helen Looker

In April 2005, the federal and Ontario governments jointly invested $734 million in the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program (COAHP) with more than $28 million dedicated to the COAHP Homeownership Component. The goal of the COAHP Homeownership Component was to help 20,000 low to moderate income households transition from renting to home ownership through assisted down payments.

This paper assesses the variable uptake of the COAHP Homeownership Component and critically analyzes the presumption that home ownership represents a necessarily positive trajectory for low and middle income Canadian households. The author reviews the policy guidelines and conducts interviews with service managers in urban, metropolitan and urban Ontario, and housing experts from public and private sectors, and from the research community.

The author concludes with recommendations that call for program-related enhancements, including the facilitation of asset accumulation in low-income households and income-related supports for low-income home owners. Looker also calls for government leadership to improve the quality of housing policy within the wider economic context.

Under Pressure: Affordable Housing in Rural Ontario

by Amanda Slaunwhite

This paper examines the geographic-specific obstacles that hinder the development of affordable housing in rural communities, such as the emphasis on single-family detached dwellings and home-ownership, and the population decline in some communities that may discourage government investment in affordable housing programs. The author focuses on the particular challenges faced by youth, single parents, the elderly and low-income families to find affordable housing in rural communities. Slaunwhite summarizes existing work on rural housing in Canada and then examines the provision of affordable housing in two specific townships: North Grenville and Rideau Lakes in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville in south eastern Ontario. The report concludes with recommendations for all levels of government to encourage the development of affordable housing in rural areas that address the place-specific challenges faced by communities that are sparsely populated.

Overcoming Challenges in Centralized and Decentralized Housing Models: Ontario and British Columbia Compared

by Carla Schuk

Social housing policy has experienced substantial changes over the past two decades. In the early 1990s, social housing devolved completely from federal responsibility to the purview of provincial and territorial governments who have differently organized and administered their respective social housing programs. This paper addresses the centralized model for social housing employed by the British Columbia government and the decentralized model employed by the province of Ontario in order to assess the challenges and advantages of each system. The report also examines theoretical models that have been adapted to overcome the trade-offs associated with these two systems. The author demonstrates that in both models there is an increasing movement toward encouraging partnerships and co-operation vertically and horizontally across levels of government, moving away from rigid models of organization and administration toward more fluid and responsive frameworks.

Recession and Stimulus Spending: A Preliminary Examination of Stimulus Spending on Affordable Housing in Ontario by Arif Jinha

(Forthcoming, January 2010)

The federal budget of January 2009 allocated almost $2 billion toward social housing, reversing a trend of funding cuts to social housing policies and programs from previous governments. This paper provides an early look at the significance of the global economic recession and the impact of one-time stimulus spending on affordable housing programs in the province of Ontario. The author interviews policy-makers from regional, provincial and federal levels of government and analyzes housing indicators to review the long-term needs for successful social housing programs. The author argues that housing is a public good unlike other durable goods in our economy and that the economic crisis creates an opportunity to think about the long-term needs and challenges for sustainable and affordable housing in Canada.

About Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN)

CPRN is a leading socio-economic think tank based in Ottawa with a non-partisan approach to policy engagement and analysis. Since 1994, CPRN has been producing high quality, independent research, informing public policy debate and providing evidence-based insights to Canadian leaders. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding resources, CPRN will close its doors on December 23, 2009.

We are pleased to report that this year’s Breakfast was another huge success, with over 800 attendees and more than $20,000 raised in ticket sales and donations!

Throughout the morning, the Indian and Metis Friendship Centre was bustling with hundreds of people who came out to mingle with old and new friends, to do some early Christmas shopping at our local Crafter’s Market, to enjoy the locally sourced blueberry pancakes catered by LITE Partners, and to take in performances by The Dusty Roads Band, Fred Penner, Troy Westwood, and Niji Mahkwa School Choir.

The staff and Board at LITE would like to thank our sponsors: Assinbione Credit Union, MGEU, The Thomas Sill Foundation, and CKUW, our dedicated volunteers, and everyone who attended to support LITE and CED in Winnipeg! We can’t wait to see you all again next year!

Help Spread the word about CED!

If your Church, School, or workplace is interested in learning more about LITE, our Community Partners, and CED in the inner city, please contact us to book a LITE presentation.

 

By David Parker, Calgary Herald

Too many immigrants are doing quite menial tasks here although they are well-educated and, before moving to Canada, were skilled tradesmen or qualified professionals. It is a tragedy as well as an embarrassment.

Some are not able to find equivalent work here because of problems communicating efficiently in the English language; but too many are hampered because of a lack of funds to enable them to take the time to study and afford the costs of taking exams to acquire the necessary accreditation.

Maria Eriksen, who passed away last year, recognized the problem while working as a psychologist at the Calgary General Hospital in talking with immigrants who were working as cleaning staff. She is quoted as saying of immigrants, “The first degree you have to get in Canada is one of humiliation.”

She decided to do something about it and began talking about launching a fund to help new Calgarians get the right tuition and be able to pay for expensive examination fees.

Money was raised, grants received and in late 2005 the Immigrant Access Fund (IAF) was established. In June 2006, Dianne Fehr, who at that time was a fund development officer with the Calgary Foundation, was hired as its first employee in her role as executive director for the provincial-wide organization.

Since then, it has helped immigrants with loans totalling more than $1.6 million at an average of $4,670. And the repayment rate is 98 per cent; of 400 loans, only eight have been written off.

Continue reading…

Increased educational attainment for Aboriginals would improve personal health and wealth – and significantly influence the Canadian economy

December 17, 2009 – Improving educational outcomes for Aboriginals in Canada is the most effective means to alleviate Aboriginal marginalization and poverty, argue the authors of two technical papers on the issue commissioned by Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN). Investing in Aboriginal education would also have a positive and long-lasting effect on the Canadian economy as a whole, the authors conclude.

Investing in Aboriginal Education in Canada: An Economic Perspective by economist and Executive Director, Andrew Sharpe, and senior economist, Jean-François Arsenault at the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), examines the strong positive correlation between education, employment and earnings that is well established in social science research, and postulates various positive economic outcomes for the Canadian economy – regionally and nationally – if Aboriginal educational attainment was improved even marginally. Sharpe and Arsenault argue that Canada’s Aboriginal population could play a key role in mitigating the looming long-term labour shortage caused by Canada’s ageing population and low birthrate.

Sharpe and Arsenault estimate that if Aboriginal education and education-specific labour market outcomes reach 2001 non-Aboriginal levels by 2026, all levels of the Canadian government would incur an increase in total tax revenue. In addition, if the average Aboriginal Canadian benefitted from the same social and economic conditions as those enjoyed by the average Canadian, all levels of government could re-allocate significant social program savings toward other programs.

By adding the decreased program expenditures and increased tax revenues, Sharpe and Arsenault estimate that the cumulative effect on government balance sheets would be roughly $115 billion for the 2006-2026 period. For Sharpe and Arsenault, the message is clear: investing in Aboriginal education will not only benefit the Aboriginal population itself, but will also benefit Canadian governments and businesses, and by extension, the Canadian economy as a whole.

In the second CPRN paper, Aboriginal Education: Strengthening the Foundations, John Richards, Professor in the Public Policy Program at Simon Fraser University and the Roger Phillips Chair in Social Policy at the C.D. Howe Institute, and Megan Scott, graduate student at Simon Fraser University’s Public Policy Program provide a detailed analysis of the current state of Aboriginal educational programs and policies across Canada’s regions and highlight the successes, failures and lessons learned.

Richards and Scott take as their starting point the widening gap in educational levels between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. Specifically, they focus on policies to improve educational completion for Aboriginal populations at the K to 12 levels. The authors note that as Aboriginals have “moved to town” the provincial role in education has become increasingly important: most Aboriginal children (4 in 5) attend provincially run public schools.

Richards and Scott argue that while many of the gaps in Aboriginal social and economic status have complex origins, improving educational outcomes is the social policy that most needs our attention. The authors draw on parallels between African Americans and North American Indians and First Nations as historically marginalized communities. They note that many of the educational lessons learned in the US over the last half-century have relevance as Canadians grapple with the long-neglected issue of Aboriginal education.

Richards and Scott conclude their extensive review with a clear set of policy recommendations for improving Aboriginal educational attainment both on and off-reserve that, importantly, include participation from all levels of government, businesses, community organizations and Aboriginal leadership.

Like Sharpe and Arsenault, Richards and Scott recognize that the future of Aboriginal populations in Canada is the future of Canada: that the two are inextricably linked, and that investing in Aboriginal education is an investment that will benefit all Canadians.

For more information:

• Investing in Aboriginal Education in Canada: An Economic Perspective by Andrew Sharpe and Jean-François Arsenault
• Aboriginal Education: Strengthening the Foundations by John Richards and Megan Scott

SAINT JOHN – A former pawn shop at 133 Prince Edward Street has taken on a new look and a new life as the office for the Saint John Community Loan Fund.

On Monday Health Minister Mary Schryer, Supply and Services Minister Ed Doherty and Saint John East MLA Roly MacIntyre joined about 30 people to celebrate the building’s rebirth as an office at street level with two apartments on the upper floors.

“I have a great deal of admiration for the staff, who several years ago at a brainstorming session told us we should have a building,” said Louise Béland, president of the board of directors of the community loan fund. “We all recoiled in horror and said we couldn’t afford it, but only a few years later here we are in new offices.”

An offshoot of the Human Development Council, the fund is a micro lending agency that helps individuals with business loans, employment loans, shelter loans, financial literacy training and leadership training.

Continue reading…

Edmonton, AB – At an awards ceremony in Toronto, JudyLynn Archer, President Women Building Futures was recognized as one of Canada’s most powerful women.

Last night, the Women’s Executive Network revealed the top 100 most powerful women in Canada, as selected by an independent advisory board.  Archer was recognized among them, in the Champions category.

Archer has been the President and CEO of Women Building Futures for seven years.  “JudyLynn has a deep and enduring belief in what individuals can achieve when given the opportunity,” says Sharon Bell, Chairman of the Board with Women Building Futures.  “She is dedicated to helping unemployed and under employed women prepare for, and succeed in, well-paying non-traditional jobs.”

Under Archer’s leadership, Women Building Futures completed construction in 2008 of the $12 million dollar Petro-Canada Training Center and Housing Facility – the first of its kind in Canada.  The building includes five workshops, five classrooms and 42 units of affordable housing for WBF students and their children. Currently over 60 Alberta employers have hired Women Building Futures graduates.

Women Building Futures is a charitable organization dedicated to empowering women to succeed in non-traditional careers, inspiring positive economic change for women and forever transforming the face of industry in Canada.  Women Building Futures offers 17 week programs in pre-trades and Heavy Equipment Operator training. For more information visit www.womenbuildingfutures.com

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Dec. 3, 2009) – Vancouver City Savings Credit Union’s (Vancity) Inhance Monthly Income Fund has won the 2009 Socially Responsible Investment Fund Award from the Canadian Investment Awards, Canada’s premier financial services awards program.

 

“Social responsibility is core to Vancity’s values, so we are thrilled to be recognized for our work in this area,” says Kerry Ho, Vancity’s Vice President of Sustainable Wealth Management. “Winning this award shows that we can meet investors’ needs for competitive financial returns and stay true to the values our members expect from Vancity.”

 

The awards, which recognize long-term excellence and leadership in the financial services industry, were presented at a gala event at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto on December 2.

 

Continue reading…

The Social Economy story published here is the first of ten stories that together will conclude the second phase of a two phase project. Complimentary to the first phase, designed to provide practitioners’ perspectives on what the Social Economy means to them and their communities, the second phase speaks to the national movement present. Taking a look at how the Social Economy creates solidarity within the country (i.e. between non-profits, CED organizations, credit unions, etc.) and how this inspires practitioners in their work. In particular, the stories you find here seek to highlight the voices of Aboriginal, immigrant and women practitioners.

Read Building Relationships with Yvonne Chiu (pdf)