Canadian CED Network

The Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria (CSPCGV) is calling upon the Government of British Columbia to follow the lead of other provinces by supporting Community Investment Funds in their new Policy Brief on Enabling Community Investment in British Columbia.

Community Investment Funds (CIFs) are locally sourced and controlled pools of capital that are capitalized by individual investors within a specific geography or community. The proceeds of CIFs are directed towards a range of businesses and organizations that help achieve provincial objectives such as job creation, small and medium sized business development, and affordable housing. Many community investment funds are enabled by policy tools that include investor tax credits and, in the strongest examples, the articulation of simplified regulatory environment that eases the process of registering and reporting for a community investment fund.

Community Investment Funds (CIFs) have demonstrated success in helping provincial governments achieve policy objectives in job creation, small and medium sized business development, and affordable housing development. This is achieved by enabling local residents to form locally-controlled capital pools that provide a vehicle through which accredited and non-accredited investors can easily invest in their own communities.

Currently, four Canadian provinces (Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Manitoba) have established Community Economic Development Investment Fund (CEDIF) programs or enabling legislation. Collectively these programs have raised hundreds of millions of dollars from local investors and in some cases have had a profound impact on redirecting outward-bound investment and RRSP flows toward local projects. British Columbia currently lacks the policy environment that has been proven to enable CIFs to thrive in other jurisdictions. Specifically, the creation of an investor tax credit and the simplification of the securities process for recognized CIFs would allow open up a new source of capital for community investment.

There is opportunity now for the government of British Columbia to create a community investment strategy to enable BC residents to contribute to the health and prosperity of their communities while contributing to job creation, business development and affordable housing development goals. Specifically, this report recommends that the provincial government take action in the following areas:

  • Simplify the Securities Environment
  • Use a Tax Credit to Encourage Investment
  • Leverage the Co-operative Advantage
  • Recognize Investment in Local Capital Pools as RRSP-Eligible Investments
  • Federal Regulation Changes

Read the full Policy Brief >>

Share

Garry Loewen, in his reflections, noted that there was initially a sense that there was a little too much testosterone in the beginnings of CCEDNet.  He did not report (perhaps out of a sense of propriety) one example that I always chuckle about. 

We were in one of the first meetings and for an evening session we planned informal remarks from each participant that would help to introduce/orient each of us to each other. That evening we sat in a big circle, and one after another told a bit about our various organizations’ recent and past doings. Now, you’ve got to recognize that it was mostly men there, so in fact going around the circle meant that most of the guys had told their stories before it came to be a turn for one (or more) women to talk.  So it was that Carol Rock looked around the circle and commented in her wonderfully dry way, “Well, I guess we have all heard from each of you how much bigger your’s is than the other guys’.”

Oh, she was so right! The remarks had really taken on a bragging air! My guess is that (perhaps understandably) people (the guys) were rather unacquainted with each other and perhaps a bit insecure in this early meeting –  and so a bit of showing off….Anyway, she brought down the house! And ever after that the atmosphere was great and comradely. Thank you, Carol!!!

Honorary lifetime member of CCEDNet, Stewart is one of the pioneers of CED in the US and Canada, as both a policy adviser and a designer and manager of CED institutions. As head of the (U.S.) Center for Community Economic Development, he helped create the first finance institution for CED, the Massachusetts Community Development Finance Authority. He helped start Canada’s first community development corporation, New Dawn Enterprises, and headed the Community Economic Development Center in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. A consultant, researcher, and author, Stewart currently specializes in community and development finance as an associate with the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal.  

Read other stories gathered to celebrate CCEDNet’s 15th anniversary >>

Share

You Can Put CED in the
City of Winnipeg’s 2015 Budget

Get the issues that matter most to you and your community in the Winnipeg budget

The City of Winnipeg is engaging in a budget consultation process for the 2015-17 Operating Budget and the 2015-2020 Capital Budget. Our Budget, Forward will provide citizens with an opportunity to share their values, priorities, and needs about City services, programs and projects in order to provide direction and guidance that will initiate the drafting of the operating and capital budgets.
 
You can participate by attending a Budget Talk, hosting your own conversation, contributing online, or by visiting the Talk Truck around the city. Find out more about the various ways to participate.
 
Members of The Canadian CED Network – Manitoba have passed many policy resolutions in support of Community Economic Development that could be implemented by the City of Winnipeg. As explained in a recent blog post, several of these policy resolutions have been included in Taking Back the City: The Alternative Municipal Budget Winnipeg 2014. You are encouraged to read over this document and use it as a tool to shape the input you provide to the City’s consultation process.
 

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba and the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg are hosting three community meetings that will help feed into the City of Winnipeg’s 2015 Budget consultations. There will be a discussion of Taking Back the City: The Alternative Municipal Budget Winnipeg 2014, a document that proposes alternatives to spending and revenue, while addressing issues of community concern, like public transportation, recreation, planning and development, affordable housing, and green space, just to name a few.

Where and when?

  • Thursday, May 22 ­
    7-9 pm | 3450 Pembina Hwy
    St. Norbert Community Centre
  • Thursday, June 5 ­
    6:30-8:30 pm ­ | 180 Poplar Ave
    Elmwood Active Living Centre
  • Tuesday, June 10 ­
    7-9 pm ­ | 3830 Roblin Blvd
    St. Mary¹s Anglican Church

These meetings will be held for you to: 

  • Learn about Winnipeg’s Budget: Where is money collected and spent, how are decisions made, and how does Winnipeg compare to other cities?
  • Understand community issues and alternatives: How can we raise revenue and spend money to achieve a more equitable, healthy city?
  • Discuss what is important to Winnipeggers: What are critical issues in your communities? How can we all engage in budgets and civic decision-making?

 

More Information:
Share

CCEDNet had several starts. Mike Lewis on several occasions brought us together. Once with the Americans. They started an association – we did not.

About 17 years ago today, I was eating Vietnamese food with Mike Lewis and Victor Krahn, a staff member from the CED organization I led then called the Community Opportunities Development Association. It was there that Mike and I hatched a plan to build a small group of like-minded people and form the nucleus that would take CCEDNet forward.

Walter Hossli, Rankin McSween, Carol Rock, Mike Lewis, Garry Loewen, David Pell, Eunice Grayson, Paul Born, Mark Cabaj, Sherri Torjman, Flo Frank and Stewart Perry were at those first meetings. The McConnell Family Foundation gave us $10,000 funding to meet. We met mostly at the Ignatious Centre in Guelph.

We spent a lot of time in those early years trying to understand the value and structure needed. These meetings were hard – though always a lot of fun.

It took nearly 18 months to build the strength and trust to incorporate and formally start. I chaired the network through those 18 months, and once we incorporated passed over the chair to David Pell (I think). Garry Loewen was our first ED.

The developmental period for any new organization may be seen as a pre-formative stage. It is the stage where a new idea takes form.  From wish to reality.

I was glad to have been able to play a part in the developmental role and in turn build some lifelong friendships and, of course, CCEDNet. Mike Lewis and I are often noted as the founders of CCEDNet. Though technically correct it might be better to say co-founders – as it really takes a village to birth such a network. Wow – that was more than 15 years ago – nice village. Thanks Mike Toye and others for your role in keeping this flame alive and today burning so brightly.

Much joy indeed.

Paul Born is the President and cofounder of the Tamarack Institute, which since 2001 has provided leadership in Canada on issues of citizen engagement, collaborative leadership and community innovation. Prior to Tamarack, Paul was the Executive Director and co-founder of the Community Opportunities Development Association one of Canada’s leading community economic development organizations that was recognized by the United Nations as one of the top 40 projects in the world. Paul was elected into the world’s largest network of social innovators, as a Senior Ashoka Fellow in 2013.

Author of four books, Paul is a motivational speaker who loves the power of stories. Check out his latest book here: www.deepeningcommunity.org

tamarack

Read other stories gathered to celebrate CCEDNet’s 15th anniversary >>

Share

I was involved initially in Canadian CED via Greg MacLeod, and the beginnings of New Dawn Enterprises.  Sometime in that period, Greg (after I told him of the importance of the national organization of CDCs in the US) tried to start a pan-Canadian organization, called the Federation of Community Development Corporations in Canada.  Out of that effort came a national conference in Edmonton in 1982.  A small book on the proceedings was published by the Edmonton Social Planning Council, The Nuts and Bolts of Community Economic Development (1984).  Among those attending and represented by writings in that book were David Pell, Susan Wismer, Dal Brodhead, and Greg and I.  But nothing organizational came out of that experience; the Federation never took root.

Later, I moved to Cape Breton and began a more intensive participation in the Canadian field while running the Centre for Community Economic Development in Sydney. I was a kind of hanger-on in the early days of the incubation of CCEDNet. I attended a meeting in Chicago that Mike Lewis organized, which was a precursor to later pan-Canadian meetings. This evolved into the Digby Network and I attended almost all, if not all, of their meetings. And then came the organizing meeting of CCEDNet, where people put their ante on the table. At first, I was still living in Cape Breton, but then I later returned to the States, but continued to participate as if I were in Canada. I paid my dues like everyone else, until Eunice Grayson, at a meeting in Halifax, suddenly proposed my being an honorary member, whereupon I no longer had to pay dues.

Stewart and Flo Frank

Year after year the annual meetings were intellectually and practically stimulating — and fun. On one great occasion we sported outlandish headdresses and costumes on Flo Franks’ initiative (I believe she warned us all the year before). Somehow there came to be a tradition of long conversations / celebrations over scotch in my hotel room, to which young people were invited to mix with us oldsters. On these occasions, we came to present a serious-fun award each year to celebrate someone’s contribution to the field. It is sad to recognize that in that sense the annual meetings are not as noteworthy celebrations as they used to be.

Looking back, I am afraid that there was indeed a period when “CED” was too much just the fashionable word, and not seen simply as the crucial perspective and strategy that offers a struggling community its chance to make a new start. Nowadays it seems that “social enterprise” is the fashion. Again, a useful approach to a better world, but much more limited in its goals and practices. And, if I am not mistaken, the new fashionable idea in our field is beginning to be “social impact bonds” – a still more limited strategy for community renaissance – but, again, with its own pay-offs.  Perhaps more encouraging and significant is the growing recognition that the community has an even more critical part to play in the global picture of climate change and degenerative economics.

Whatever the limitations we must recognize in our 15-year history, at my “advanced” state, I look back on those 15 years of CCEDNet as an unbelievably rewarding period in my work life, with essential personal relationships that helped me to grow and to contribute to something important that was/is happening in my other land.

Honorary lifetime member of CCEDNet, Stewart is one of the pioneers of CED in the US and Canada, as both a policy adviser and a designer and manager of CED institutions. As head of the (U.S.) Center for Community Economic Development, he helped create the first finance institution for CED, the Massachusetts Community Development Finance Authority. He helped start Canada’s first community development corporation, New Dawn Enterprises, and headed the Community Economic Development Center in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. A consultant, researcher, and author, Stewart currently specializes in community and development finance as an associate with the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal.  

Read other stories gathered to celebrate CCEDNet’s 15th anniversary >>

Share

Social enterprise, while having existed for a long time under different names, has over the last decade or more become part of a growing movement in Canada to address economic inequality. Social enterprises, along with the broader cooperative and CED movements, are helping to build an alternative people-centred economy, principally through hiring and training those marginalized within the traditional economy but often times meeting other additional social and environmental missions at the same time. While the excitement around this effective tool has grown within the nonprofit sector, among entrepreneurs, with social-impact investors and recently in provincial governments, “a key barrier to social-impact purchasing is the disconnect between purchasers and suppliers.” (see David LePage’s recent report Exploring Social Procurement)

“We’ve got suppliers, whether they’re small businesses, local businesses, social enterprises, social-purpose business, co-ops, all kind of businesses that are putting social values into their production,” David says.

“And then there are a whole lot of purchasers who are trying to figure out how do we buy stuff and actually create some social value.

“So the summit is really the beginning of how do we create a discussion between these parties that want to be doing the same things.”

And purchasers do have a strong interest in making socially and environmentally ethical purchasing decisions. A recent report by BDC shows that almost one third of Canadian consumers are willing to pay more for ‘ethically-made products,’ a relatively equal number of Canadians have looked into the corporate social responsibility policies of companies they purchase from, and 90% of Canadians would discontinue their purchasing from companies that were found to be socially and/or environmentally irresponsible. So the appetite is there for the products and services offered within Canada’s social economy – purchasers just need to be made better aware of these ethical purchasing opportunities.

Recent studies have looked to highlight the potential for social procurement policies in the public sector (e.g. Toward a Community Benefit Model of Procurement in Community Services and The Political Economy of Procurement) while others have helped to demonstrate the heightened economic impact of local purchasing (e.g. The Power of Purchasing: The Economic Impacts of Local Procurement). These are important contributions to understanding how our purchasing decisions have a huge impact on planet and people.

Join the conversation on how we can better leverage existing purchasing into social value!

Read more about Buy Social Canada

Check out Social Enterprise Canada’s Social Enterprise Marketplace

Check out recent research on social enterprise

Are you a CCEDNet member attending the Buy Social Canada Summit? We’re holding a Members Reception before the Summit reception at 3:30pm on June 16th at the Italian Cultural Centre. Contact Matthew Thompson to find out more!

Quotations are taken from an Axiom News article written by Michelle Strutzenberger and published on Wednesday April 30, 2014.

 

Share

I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in the original group that helped create the foundation for CCEDNet.  Our time together was both exhilarating – and exhausting.  We grappled with the challenge of trying to integrate into a cohesive whole all the disparate visions and pathways.

We each came to the table with our own respective agendas and a unique set of expectations.  Despite our wide-ranging differences and perspectives, we were bound together by the strongest possible bond of all: our shared values. 

We all believed in the importance of deep respect for human dignity.

We all believed that every individual should have access to the essentials of life as a fundamental human right.

We all believed that every person and household should have access to economic opportunity.

We all believed that the various types of community economic development initiatives in which we were engaged − whether it involved training, provision of loans or venture capital, or support for community enterprise − would help give expression to these common values.

But we knew that we had to pay attention not only to economically vulnerable Canadians and communities.  We also needed to take the time and make the effort to pay attention to each other.  Community economic development work is challenging and often lonely.  A group of caring peers is an invaluable support.

How appropriate, then, that the group decided to select the geese-in-formation as our logo.  I remember clearly the evening that the proposed logo was unveiled and its rationale presented.

As geese begin to take flight, they lift off from the water independently.  But within minutes, they form a line and then fall into a perfect V.  A flock of geese flying in V formation can move faster and maintain flight longer than any one goose flying alone. 

When the leader gets tired, it rotates back and another member of the flock assumes the leadership.   If one of the geese gets sick and falls out, two geese leave the formation and follow it down to provide protection.  They remain there as long as necessary and then launch on their own or with another formation until they catch up with their group. 

It was such a powerful image and captured so well the need for us to take flight together in order to achieve our collective goals and to care about each other.

Sherri Torjman is Vice-President of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy.  Educated at McGill University, she has written in the areas of welfare reform, disability income and supports, caregivers, long-term care, employment policy and community-based poverty reduction. Sherri is the author of the book Shared Space: The Communities Agenda. Check out more of Sherri’s publications on CED here.

Read other stories gathered to celebrate CCEDNet’s 15th anniversary >>

Share

A special supplement of Canadian Public Policy, Canada’s foremost journal examining economic and social policy, highlights some of the key policy research produced by the Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships (CSERP) that was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) from 2005-2011.

The special issue brings together some of the leading academic voices on the Canadian social economy including: Yves Vaillancourt, Jan Myers, Martha MacDonald, JJ McMurtry, Lou Hammond Ketilson, Monica Adeler, Deborah A. Schrader, Michael Prince, to explore ways in which partnerships between government and social economy organziations and actors can strengthen communities, specifically based on the experiences and research coming out of the Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships (CSERP).

The social economy has significantly contributed to strengthening Canadian society by contesting the primacy of the private sector to control the market and the paternalism of the state in providing different social services as well as supporting the conditions for the private sector to thrive. The social economy has developed and evolved as a result of public policies that reflect partnerships between government, individuals and socially oriented organizations. Specific policies have reflected innovations in financing (e.g. credit unions), sector specific initiatives (e.g. non-market housing), and procurement practices (e.g. “fair trade” goods), just to name a few.

Read more and access the journal

CCEDNet Executive Director, Michael Toye co-edited this special edition along with Jorge Sousa. The Canadian CED Network was the national community partner in the Canadian Social Economy Hub, working with the University of Victoria to make research coming out of the regional research centres more accessible and useful to policy makers, social economy practitioners, and people in communities as well as for academic engagement. For more information on CSERP visit: http://socialeconomyhub.ca/.

For more information on public policy and the social economy, see also the free e-book Canadian Public Policy and the Social Economy, edited by Rupert Downing. 

Share

CoopZone is again accepting applications to its co-op development training courses for 2014-15. Register for free information webinars on May 27th, June 13th, and August 15th or visit www.coopzone.coop/Courses to learn more about the programs.

CoopZone is offering various levels of training:

  • The Introduction to Co-op Development course runs from late October through March (but half the number of weeks as the Foundations Program) and is appropriate for people interested in understanding the types and roles of co-ops and the basic co-op development process but who will not be active developers; 
  • The Foundations Program course runs for one year (mid-September – April) for those who may become developers or who are in the position of advising groups interested in exploring the creation of a co-operative enterprise;
  • The Advanced Program (Years 1 and 2) lasts for two years.  This level is designed for people who seek to provide full development services to co-operatives.

All of these on-line courses are designed to fit around a full-time job, taking a few hours per week. The Course Director is Peter Hough, and experienced co-op developers provide mentoring to students.

Any questions should be directed to Peter Hough at .

Download the brochure

Here’s what some of the students have had to say:

“The course is concise, informative and interactive. Mentors and course director are very knowledgeable, skilled, experienced, approachable and helpful. The readings and tools were very useful.”  –Billy Granger, SEED Winnipeg. 

“I would absolutely recommend the CoopZone program to anybody interested.  The course is pretty amazing in the way that it creates a common community amongst us aspiring co-op developers and several fully established and tremendously experienced ones. The instructors are great, and the mentoring system gives me the chance to have hours of one-on-one time with an expert in my desired field.”  –Joel Ratcliffe, Ontario. 

“The Advanced Co-op Developer training has enabled me to connect with other Co-op Developers and a Mentor which allowed me to apply what I am learning directly to the groups and projects I am working on, in real time.  I would recommend this program for anyone interested in Co-op Development as we are often working alone or in small teams in communities; the course allows you to feel part of a co-op team!”  –Amanda Hachey, CEC-NB

“What I like about the program:
• The webinars and online presentations, and the opportunity to connect with others across the country involved in the same work.
• The mentor element is great it’s been wonderful to have access to (my mentor’s) wealth of knowledge and perspectives.
• Access to the CoopZone listserv & tele-learning sessions has been good, too.
• The wonderfully curated and assembled reading materials.
• Learning together with great people–the director, cohort and mentors.”
               –Zoë Creighton, Upper Columbia Co-op Council.

Share

One of the most successful meetings we had was the National Policy Forum held in Vancouver in 2001. It had been well prepared for – preliminary meetings had been held in many provinces.  And Mike Toye and David LePage (among others no doubt) were on site as meeting trouble-shooters, key to making that meeting the success it became.

One of the evening sessions included a talk by the very charismatic founding CCEDNet member Rankin MacSween, Executive Director of New Dawn Enterprises in Sydney, Nova Scotia. As many people have learned, a relaxed Rankin spoke, as usual, in Cape Breton lilts, colloquially, amusingly, and, above all, trenchantly. But this time, for a neighbor (unknown to me) in the audience at a table next to mine, Rankin’s relaxation and easy humor trumped any other facet of his presentation.

Rankin MacSween at the 2001 National Policy Forum

Everybody else was alternately rolling in the aisles and then caught up in some striking insight, but this neighbor at the next table finally exploded: “That guy is drunk!” I did not try to explain. 

. . . . .

These days I am deep in the task of working with Rankin on a book about New Dawn that embodies the same humor and compelling insights.  However, I will this time seek to correct any misconceptions by neighbors, near or far (we do though enjoy a spot of scotch along with the work).

Honorary lifetime member of CCEDNet, Stewart is one of the pioneers of CED in the US and Canada, as both a policy adviser and a designer and manager of CED institutions. As head of the (U.S.) Center for Community Economic Development, he helped create the first finance institution for CED, the Massachusetts Community Development Finance Authority. He helped start Canada’s first community development corporation, New Dawn Enterprises, and headed the Community Economic Development Center in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. A consultant, researcher, and author, Stewart currently specializes in community and development finance as an associate with the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal.

Hear Rankin for yourself in the video below

Read other stories gathered to celebrate CCEDNet’s 15th anniversary >>

Share

It started right after several of us had been at a (non-related) meeting in Ottawa.  While waiting for flights to take us to our homes in different parts of Canada a few of us continued the ongoing talk about the importance of linking community needs and realities into policy agendas and doing it at various levels of government.  It was not a new conversation and we were not the first to have it. We were, however, an interesting and diverse group of people who occasionally worked together – we had connections, passion and some might argue a fair amount of talent. (Some might even say we were radicals). After a few beverages (and some storytelling) we were almost certain that we could be doing more and should be doing more of it together – and that IF we did do more together, perhaps we could pull the country together as we did it. Not a bad idea – and after all, how difficult could that be?

As is the way of things (when reality looks you right in the face and something seems possible but probably a great deal of work) the conversation took the typical turn toward that fact that all of us were “very busy” and yes we were all willing to do something but how would this actually play out? When could we get together? Who else should be invited? What were the policy windows? Who had specific access to policy makers? And on and on…The talk seemed rather familiar and non-committal and time was running out – we had to get to the airport. And, truthfully, many of us had been this far in the conversation before – it could easily have been another one of those “someone ought to do this” kind of talks. But that day it was different. In frustration we said it’s now or never. Let’s make this happen (or maybe it was something along the lines of, if not us – then who? If not now – then when?).

At any rate the “how was this going to happen” was answered very quickly when a couple of us pulled out our personal cheque books and said – put your money on the table. If we believe in this – let’s go.

And so we did. Before we went our separate ways, we had agreed to meet within a couple of months, had identified a few other key people to include, most of us used our personal money to get things going and the rest is history.  So yes, CCEDNet you were conceived in a bar, by well meaning people who cared a great deal about each other and about the future of our communities. Never underestimate what a small group of… well you know the rest!

Founding CCEDNet member Flo Frank is a community development specialist living in rural Saskatchewan. She is the Mayor of her town, works across Canada and in different parts of the world specifically with indigenous communities in Australia, Hawaii, Nunavut and South America. She is a consultant, facilitator, trainer and the author of 29 community self-help books including co-authoring (with Anne Smith) The Community Development Handbook and The Partnership Handbook that have both received international acclaim.

Read other stories gathered to celebrate CCEDNet’s 15th anniversary >>

Share

For some time now, Winnipeg’s municipal governance has had its share of negative press. Procedural mismanagement and a lack of transparency have dominated the civic discourse, leaving little room for debate over progressive policy. If early mayoral-candidate announcements are any indication, the October 2014 election will deal with themes of transparency, accountability, and the culture on Main Street.  But this should not put important policy debates on the back-burner.

Visions for municipal government have often been narrow – pick up the garbage, fill the potholes, and keep taxes down. But across the country, and across the pond, municipal governments have been thinking beyond logistics and are harnessing the potential for municipal governance – including powerful policies for community economic development.

A local source of policy potential for the City of Winnipeg is the Alternative Municipal Budget. Aimed at our upcoming municipal election, its publisher Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba states that “by reframing issues, raising revenue differently, recognizing inequities and incorporating fresh ideas, this AMB will educate, challenge and inspire voters and candidates alike.”

Indeed, sections of the AMB explore specific CCEDNet – Manitoba policy resolutions.

The chapter on Housing discusses Winnipeg’s current housing crunch, exemplified by 37.5% of renters being in core housing need. Consistent with CCEDNet – Manitoba’s Affordable and Social Housing policy resolution, the AMB considers serious investments in affordable housing rehabilitation and development. A policy not on CCEDNet – Manitoba’s books, the AMB also looks at inclusionary zoning – a mandate from the City that new residential developments include affordable units, or developers pay an opt-out fee which will be invested in other affordable housing programs or projects.

The AMB’s discussion of Employment and Training includes two CCEDNet – Manitoba policy resolutions: Community Benefit Clauses and Living Wage. The City has a tremendous amount of purchasing power, which can have a tremendous impact on our communities. By including social and economic outcomes as a weighted criteria in public bids through a Community Benefit Clause, the City can ensure the value provided by social enterprises hiring and training people with barriers to employment are measured and rewarded. Ensuring that all direct and contracted employees of the City are paid a living wage will mean that Winnipegger’s who work full time will not be living in poverty.

Finally, the AMB chapter on Food Security calls for the establishment of a Winnipeg Food Policy Council. A CCEDNet – Manitoba policy resolution and a long-standing body in many other Canadian cities, a food policy council would be made up of stakeholders from multiple departments, all aspects of food production, and community representatives – anti-hunger and food justice activists, educators, non-profit organizations, newcomers, and Aboriginal people. The council would evaluate and develop policy surrounding food security in Winnipeg.

From Planning, to Policing, to Arts and Culture, the Alternative Municipal Budget Winnipeg 2014 brings community organizers, academics, and activists together to discuss policy options that would lead to a more sustainable, inclusive, and just Winnipeg. Congratulations to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba and all fellow contributors for this inspiring document.

darcy_-_picture.jpg

Darcy Penner is a Research & Policy Advisor with the Canadian CED Network. He has been working in community development through various capacities since graduating from the University of Winnipeg with a BA (Honours) in Politics.

Darcy was also a contributing author to the Alternative Municipal Budget for CCEDNet-Manitoba.

Share