Canadian CED Network

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty answers questions on the 2014 Federal budget.

The Road to Balance: Creating Jobs and Opportunities, the Federal government’s 2014 budget, was released yesterday. This year, CCEDNet submitted two recommendations to the Federal government’s pre-budget consultations: the inclusion of 20% social value weighting in all requests for proposals and community benefit agreements on all relevant contracts; and investment in training to ensure government staff understand the social enterprise and co-operative business models so these businesses can access federal business development programs on a level playing field with other businesses.

Neither of these submissions is addressed in the budget document.  Parts of the budget that are relevant to the CED sector include:

  • Continued focus on social finance, likely building on the report issued last year.  The budget reiterated the government’s intention to work with the not-for-profit and private sectors to “explore the potential for social finance initiatives.” A Ministerial Advisory Council on Social Innovation was created in December 2013 to support that process.   (p.215 of the PDF budget document)
  • The Canada Jobs Grant will be implemented on April 1, 2014.  In provinces and territories that have not signed renewed Labour Market Agreements with the federal government, the program will be delivered directly by Service Canada and the federal regional development agencies.  (p.60)
  • Regulations for credit unions that wish to operate federally will be clarified, leading to a “streamlined process for amalgamating two or more provincial credit unions into one federal credit union.” (p.132)
  • The government will carry out a public consultation on the income tax framework for non-profit organizations (NPOs) to ensure that the tax exemption for NPOs is appropriately targeted and not subject to abuse by organizations that claim the exemption but are not operating in the manner intended, and to ensure that reporting requirements for legitimate NPOs provide the public and the Canada Revenue Agency with sufficient information to evaluate their activities. (p.343)
  • Administrative burdens faced by charities will be reduced by modernizing the Canada Revenue Agency to enable charities to file their annual returns online.  (p.213)
  • A $5 million per year increase in funding for New Horizons for Seniors program, which can “support municipalities, not-for-profits, social enterprises and other community partners to address the needs of seniors.”  (p.206)  The Targeted Initiative for Older Workers is also renewed for three years with a $75 million investment for unemployed older workers in smaller, vulnerable communities affected by closures or high unemployment.  (p.78)
  • A proposal to introduce legislative and regulatory changes for a Property and Causality demutualization framework. (p.128)  Many mutuals are locally owned and controlled in Canada, and can be important supporters of CED initiatives. Opening the door for demutualization may contribute to the loss of this connection with their communities.

CCEDNet would have liked to see specific measures supporting community economic development, such as a neighbourhood revitalization fund and a CED lens, which were part of the Alternative Federal Budget released last week. 

The Canadian Community Economic Development Network looks forward to continuing our work with the federal government to implement enabling policy for organizations building resilient, inclusive community economies.

Other Budget Responses

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On February 1, 2014, CCEDNet member Assiniboine Credit Union (ACU) was recognized for their commitment to environmental sustainability when they were awarded the Anne Lindsey Protecting Our Earth Award in the organization category.

The Anne Lindsey Protecting Our Earth Awards, also known as the Earthies, were established in 1990 to recognize the achievements of Manitobans who work to protect and steward the environment. The awards are given by the Manitoba Eco-Network at their annual Reel Green film event.

Photo used with permission from Will Milne and the Manitoba Eco-Network.

Assiniboine Credit Union has a strong history of action on environmental sustainability that extends to business practices, granting priorities, and employee engagement. Some of ACU’s environmental achievements include:

The Manitoba credit union is also in the process of formalizing their commitment to the environment and CED values by creating a formal Corporate Social Responsibility policy. ACU is also one of only three Canadian financial institutions to be a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values.

It is this commitment to CED values that led to CCEDNet’s nomination of ACU for an Earthie in the organization/project category. We are always proud of the great work of our members, and privileged to highlight their work through nomination for awards like this.

Congratulations, ACU!

 

Learn more about the benefits of CCEDNet membership, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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Economic stakeholders in Canada’s official language minority communities are invited to express themselves. In particular, English speakers inside Quebec and French speakers living outside Quebec are invited, by March 14, to participate in a short online survey to share their opinion on the economic development of their communities. Only one click at www.inbusinesstogether.ca (English version) or www.enaffairesensemble.ca (French version) is required. Ten minutes definitely well invested!

The economic development stakeholders sought out to participate in this Pan-Canadian survey include business owners, entrepreneurs in the private and cooperative sectors, administrators and managers of organizations in the economic milieu, representatives of community organizations, and all levels of government. Not to be missed, we are also seeking community members who want to share their vision of the future.

“By participating in this consultation, businesspeople will directly influence the orientations of the Plan”, said Gilles Lanteigne, President of the RDÉE Canada Board of Directors.
The expected result: the first Canadian Plan for Economic Development of Official Language Minority Communities. Following the survey, discussion groups will help to better define certain challenges and opportunities for serious consideration.

“This plan will steer us into the future, notably for the economic development of official language communities,” said John Gancz, President of the CEDEC Board of Directors. “It will guide the creation of jobs, stimulate economic growth and contribute to the prosperity of the entire country.”

This national consultation is an initiative of RDÉE Canada and CEDEC. This first Canadian Plan for Economic Development of Official Language Minority Communities aims to implement the strategic recommendations within Canada’s Economic Action Plan, Plan d’action intégré en développement économique pour la Francophonie canadienne and the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages 2013-2018, which have recognized the importance of strengthening the economic vitality of the official language minority communities, their participation in the labour market and the importance of English and French in Canada’s national identity, growth and prosperity.

Deadline March 14!

About RDÉE Canada and CEDEC

A leader in the economic development of the Francophone and Acadian communities in Canada, RDÉE Canada and its members as well as CEDEC, a leading partner and driving force for community economic development and employability in Quebec, support businesses in their efforts to solve the issues hindering economic growth and help them seize emerging economic development opportunities.

Source

Kirsten Hathaway
Communications Officer
CEDEC
Cell phone: 514 755-7043
E-mail:

Patrick L. Doyon
Manager
External Relations
RDÉE Canada
Cell phone: 613 720-5766
E-mail:

An initiative of:

 

 

 

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New Brunswick Finance Minister Blaine HIggs delivering the 2014 – 2015 Budget Speech.

Community economic development organizations in New Brunswick have new financing avenues to bolster access to capital for their local CED initiatives. In their budget this week, the provincial government announced the creation of Community Economic Development Investment Funds (CEDIF) and the extension of their Small Business Tax Investor Credit (SBTIC) to these CEDIFs.

CEDIFs are pools of capital from individuals, corporations and trusts within a defined community that are used to operate or invest in businesses within the defined community – a big boon to local CED initiatives. CEDIFs have been used with great success in other jurisdictions – since 1999, Nova Scotia has seen 48 CEDIFs established, mobilizing 7500 investors, with total assets at more than $56 million. (See CCEDNet’s webinar on Nova Scotia CEDIFs for more)

The SBTIC already allowed New Brunswick individuals to invest up to $500,000 in New Brunswick businesses for a 30% tax credit. This change extends eligilibility to corporations and trusts, for a 15% non-refundable corporate income tax credit on eligible investments up to $500,000, and includes CEDIFs as an eligible investment vehicle.

Access to capital is as big or bigger a hurdle to co-operatives and social enterprises as it is to small businesses, and this program will open up new financing avenues for innovative projects strengthening New Brunswick communities.  Congratulations to CCEDNet members like the Co-operative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick who have been working towards this announcement.  

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The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released today their annual Alternative Federal Budget (AFB). The budget includes many recommendations for investments related to community economic development initiatives, including: a neighbourhood revitalization program; social impact weighting and community benefit agreements as part of government purchasing and decision-making; a public policy roundtable to support the co-construction of public policy to support CED; affordable housing; the reduction of income inequality; and sound environmental stewardship.

This year’s AFB delivers a plan that would significantly reduce poverty, strengthen the economy, lower unemployment to 5.4% and still balance the budget by 2016-17 (one year later than the federal government). It also raises the bar on transparency by providing an analysis of the distributional and poverty impacts of its tax measures—a first for any budget.

Under the AFB:

  • 855,000 Canadians would be lifted from poverty. The poverty rate for seniors would drop by 46% and child poverty by 26%.
  • The bottom 60% of Canadian families will see improved incomes from the AFB’s tax measures.
  • Upper-middle class families would see tax increases of under 2% of their family income.
  • The top 5% of families would see the largest tax increases (6% of their family income) as tax loopholes used by the rich are closed.
  • All Canadians would benefit from public services such as affordable child care, expanded health care, and improved infrastructure.

Visit policyalternatives.ca/afb2014 for the full budget document, a budget-in-brief, and infographics.

 

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The Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS) is pleased to invite your organization / network to contribute to the participatory construction of the Recommendations by Social Solidarity Economy to the Millenium Development Goals post-2015.
 
The Consultation is public and open from February 1st to March 28, 2014. It is available in English, Spanish and French. The document is the result of two major global participatory processes:
 
Advancing Regional Recommendations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda
The first was a public consultation held in the 5 continents (in English, Arabic, Spanish and French) and coordinated by the United Nations Non Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) with 120 civil society networks (representing more than 3 thousand grassroots organisations). It resulted in the report “Advancing Regional Recommendations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda” (available here). This report was officially handed to the UN State Members by the President of the 68th session of the General Assembly on September 25, 2013, and presented in the UN Headquarters in the course of the biggest activity ever organized by the UN with civil society, which brought together more than one thousand people in the plenary. This report was recently organized in a series of 8 brief policy recommendations from civil society compiled by UN-NGLS, which will be used as inputs to the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals in February 2014.
 
5th International Meeting of Social Solidarity Economy
The above-mentioned report served as important input to the construction and approval of the current recommendations, during the 5th International Meeting of Social Solidarity Economy, held in Manila in October 2013, when 650 people, representing organizations and 35 countries all took part (read more here and here). It was decided at that moment that RIPESS would launch a public consultation to have a more consistent and bottom-up set of recommendations made by the actors of the Social Solidarity Economy Movement.

How your input will be used

After the current public consultation, RIPESS will release the final document that will incorporate feedback received. It will then be possible for organizations and networks to endorse it, and have their names added to the recommendations. These will then be formally presented to the United Nations.
 
Because this is a collective SSE initiative, and to help with the feedback process, RIPESS is asking for feedback primarily from organizations, social movements or networks rather than individuals.  Canadians who would like to provide feedback are invited to review the draft and send comments to international [at] ccednet-rcdec.ca

[ Review the Draft Recommendations ]

 
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Since the early days of the Network, through the creation of the International Committee in 2007 and continuing today, CCEDNet has been an active partner in international movement building, learning and representation.  2013 was no exception.  Here is an overview of activities that CCEDNet was directly or indirectly involved in over the last year.

World Social Forum (WSF) in Tunisia and the African SSE network

In partnership with the Uniterra program, I attended the WSF in Tunisia (March 26 to 30).  Since CCEDNet is also a member of Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS) North America, the participation at this event was prepared with RIPESS Europe and with RAESS (RIPESS Africa). Ten workshops were organised, reports and press releases were prepared.   Maude Brossard from the Chantier de l’économie sociale du Québec, also a RIPESS member, was also very involved in the process, including workshops in Tunis. The WSF was an occasion to deepen links with other Québec and Canadian organisations, in particular people from the Union movement.  Read more here.

Maude and I were able to attend the 2nd meeting of the Réseau africain d’économie sociale et solidaire (RAESS), the RIPESS continental organisation for Africa. This meeting, held March 24-25, in Hammamet (about 60 km form Tunis) was a great opportunity to develop closer ties with African colleagues involved in RIPESS.

CCEDNet participation at the WSF was possible because of the partnership with Uniterra (a joint CECI and WUSC) program.

Mission to Guinea

Also as part of the Uniterra program, I agreed to a one-week mission in Guinea (a Western African country whose capital is Conakry) from March 18 to 23, just before the WSF. In part, this was follow-up to a mission of two people from Guinea who came to Quebec and Acadian regions in 2012.  At that time, I had accompanied this mission on behalf of CCEDNet.  For example, there were visits to projects of the Microfinance Mutual in Guinea. This Mutual is in partnership with the new Mutuelle de microfinance (Québec).  Seeing in person the situation in one of the poorest countries in the world is useful. Also interesting to see the presence of Canadian Corporations such as Rio Tinto and Alcoa.  Guinea has 2/3 of world reserves of bauxite.

Webinars on International Themes

The Microfinance webinar (in March) was quite successful. There were two, one in English and one in French. The example of the Mutuelle de la Microfinance MECEPAG in Guinea (in coastal fishing communities) and the Mutuelle de Microfinance (Québec) proposed by the Fonds d’Emprunt Québec (the community loan fund in Québec City). The Québec National Assembly had unanimously adopted this law in December 2012. There are many similarities between microfinance in the South and in the North, when practiced in a collective manner, with full involvement of the clients / members.

Centre de la Francophone des Amériques Project on the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE)

CCEDNet and the Chantier de l’économie sociale were official partners of the Centre in a meeting held in Haiti last May to examine the possibility of organising networking on the SSE, mainly through knowledge exchange, websites, and participation in different events.  The purpose is to promote SSE as a tool in French speaking communities, in particular for those in minority situations. CCEDNet and the Centre are looking at ways or formalising collaborations for work both within the Canada and in the rest of the francophone communities of the Americas (about 33 million people are French, or French speaking).

Quartiers du Monde International Conference in Paris

Ethel Côté, a member of the International Committee, was invited by this International women’s organisation to a conference in Paris last Spring as specialist on SSE. Ethel was officially a CCEDNet delegate.  Ethel is continuing work within this organisation.

Second Social Forum on Solidarity Economy

Since both RIPESS Board members at that time for North America, Nancy Neamtan and Emily Kawano, were not available, I agreed to represent RIPESS North America at this meeting in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, in the south part of Brazil.  Two youth delegates close to the Chantier were also at the meeting held in July (7 to 10).  I presented the history of RIPESS movement from 1997 to today in a plenary session. The meeting was an occasion to know better Paul Singer, the Brazil Federal government Secretary of State for Solidarity Economy. The international presence from RIPESS (one each from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and North America) was useful for the organisation to make this event truly international. Interestingly, in South America, Solidarity Economy is the name in use. Nobody uses SSE, except at the continental level (RIPESS LAC-Latin America and Caribbean).

Social Enterprise World Forum

Even if the international aspect for CCEDNet was not predominant at the Social Enterprise World Forum held in Calgary this past October, the CCEDNet reception and meetings with Bob Massie from the New Economy Coalition were very useful to build relationships within North America.  Watch Bob’s powerful talk.

Pat Conaty from the UK, co-author of the book The Resilience Imperative with Mike Lewis, was also in Calgary. I enjoyed meeting with him and catching up – last time was in 2004. Pat is with the New Economics Foundation (NEF).

Networking with New Economy Coalition (US) and New Economics Foundation (UK)

CCEDNet Executive Director Mike Toye met Bob Massie, the New Economy Coalition  (NEC) President in Boston last June.  Subsequently, considering many similarities in the vision and work of NEC and of CCEDNet, the CCEDNet Board agreed to accept the invitation made in June to join NEC.  Since NEC and NEF are collaborating a lot, we are now in closer ties and we are involved in sharing on-line, and attending webinars organised by NEC.

RIPESS: 5th Global Meeting, RIPESS North America, RIPESS Board of Directors

Mike Toye, Ethel and I attended the 5th Global Meeting in Manila (October 14-18). CCEDNet founding member Mike Lewis was also invited as keynote speaker for the opening plenary. There were also 6 people from the Chantier and 4 from the US Solidarity Economy Network (SEN).  Since it was agreed to alternate between Quebec organisations and CCEDNet on the RIPESS Board, CCEDNet has agreed to accept this responsibility for the next 4 years, with the Board appointing me to this role.  For the past mandate, Nancy Neamtan was on the Board as the second representative for RIPESS North America alongside Emily Kawano from US SEN. Emily is continuing for the next years.

UN Inter-Agency workgroup on SSE

By far, one of the main breakthroughs for RIPESS has been formal recognition from different UN Agencies of the SSE as an important alternative, and RIPESS as an organisation is recognised.  This started in 2009 with work at the International Labor Organisation (ILO). In May 2013, UNRISD (United Nations Research Institute on Social Development) held a two-day Seminar on SSE in Geneva. Many people from RIPESS spoke at the event. This was a very significant step.  This was followed up in September by the creation of a UN Inter-Agency workgroup on SSE. Besides UNRISD, the FOA, UNDP, NGLS are members. RIPESS now has official Observer status.  At the same time, SSE was introduced and recognized as an important approach by International NOG’s for the UN post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Last September 25, Daniel Tygel, the RIPESS operations manager, gave a 5-minute presentation at the UN in front of 1200 participants. He was one of the 35 speakers.  This is certainly the first time that SSE is mentioned at the UN itself.

Links with Chantier International Committee

Close ties are kept with the International Committee of the Chantier de l’économie sociale. We share information and collaborate on many issues. 

Prospects for 2014

At the international level, work on post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is very intensive, since the UN General Assembly will be adopting the SDG’s in the next session later this year. Since there are now possibilities for work with UN Agencies, this is important for the movement.

Even more important is the adoption by the UN, and afterwards implementation by all countries of the world, of the SDG’s.

Since CED, Social Solidarity Economy, and other alternative approaches are at the heart of a people-centred and sustainable world, our objectives are clear, the opportunities are there, but the challenges are awesome, especially for us in the North American context.  We already know that the average temperature of our planet will increase by 2 degrees. We must take drastic action to prevent a worsening situation.

It is within this context that the International Committee will continue its work, in particular in the movement building and in the advocacy work, both within Canada, within North America and in the world.

For RIPESS, the next steps are participating in the Inter-Agency workgroup. In our movement itself, the RAESS (RIPESS Africa) just announced a meeting of the African network in Morocco next April 24-25. This will be followed by a RIPESS Board meeting on April 26-27.  I will be representing CCEDNet will be at both meetings.

Next June 6-8, I and other CCEDNet members and staff are planning to attend the New Economy Coalition’s National Gathering for the New Economy Movement in Boston. If you are considering attending, let me know!

If you’d like to know more, or get involved with CCEDNet’s international activities, please contact me.

Yvon Poirier is President of CCEDNet’s International Committee and Secretary of the Board.

 

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Last fall, CCEDNet launched a ‘What is CED’ photo contest to gather images of community economic development in action from our members throughout the country. 

We had almost 150 entries with many fantastic images illustrating the diversity of communities and CED initiatives from all across Canada. 

We have posted all the photos received on our Flickr account and many appear in a recently launched ‘What is CED’ video.  They are inspiring — check them out!

The winner of the draw for a visit by a CCEDNet staff member to deliver a “What is CED” community workshop is La Bikery Co-op in Moncton, New Brunswick.  Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who participated.  And if you have more pictures that illustrate CED for you, don’t hesitate to send them to us!

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Last fall, CCEDNet launched a ‘What is CED’ photo contest to gather images of community economic development in action from our members throughout the country. 

We had almost 150 entries with many fantastic images illustrating the diversity of communities and CED initiatives from all across Canada. 

We have posted all the photos received on our Flickr account and many appear in a recently launched ‘What is CED’ video.  They are inspiring — check them out!

The winner of the draw for a visit by a CCEDNet staff member to deliver a “What is CED” community workshop is La Bikery Co-op in Moncton, New Brunswick.  Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who participated.  And if you have more pictures that illustrate CED for you, don’t hesitate to send them to us!

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Industry Canada has launched a 90-day consultation on the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA). Importantly, one of the items under consideration is the incorporation of hybrid enterprises, titled Socially Responsible Enterprises (SREs), which are broadly defined as entities who use a “commercial business model to encourage social change.”

The CBCA provides the legal and regulatory framework for corporations in Canada. This includes the basic rules for corporate governance – from executive compensation to communication with shareholders. This consultation follows a statutory review held in June 2010, where Tim Draimin of the Social Innovation Generation spoke to amending the CBCA regulations to facilitate the incorporation of enterprises that include both for-profit and non-profit goals.

Canada’s non-profit sector (comprising of over 161,000 organizations, with revenues in excess of $100 billion and over 1.5 million people employed) are in an era of decreasing revenues in both donations and government grants. Many organizations have developed profit-making business ventures that simultaneously provide revenue and pursue the organization’s goals, and establishing the regulatory framework for private investment would open the door for innovation.

Precedent for this type of incorporation is available domestically and internationally, including British Columbia (Community Contribution Companies), Nova Scotia (Community Interest Companies Act), the United States (Low-profit Limited Liability corporations), and the United Kingdom (Community Interest Companies).

The consultations, among other things, will seek to decide on amending the CBCA regulations to allow SRE incorporation, or creating a separate regulator.

Submissions are being accepted until March 11, 2014.

Resources

Government of Canada’s Press Release: “Minister Moore launches Consultation to Strengthen Canada’s Corporate Governance” – https://www.canada.ca/en/news.html

Consultation on the Canada Business Corporations Act full contents – http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cilp-pdci.nsf/eng/h_cl00867.html

Consultation on the Canada Business Corporations Act Incorporation Structure for Socially Responsible Enterprises – http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cilp-pdci.nsf/eng/h_cl00867.html#p3.5

Statutory Review of the Canada Business Corporations Act – http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/40-3/INDU/report-4

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Making investments in people & communities
You often hear about bull and bear markets on Wall Street – but what about the people on Main Street? Several members of the Canadian CED Network provide opportunities for individual investors to make meaningful community impacts with their money. Moving beyond charity, these investment opportunities allow you to actively participate in the growth and development of projects and enterprises that create jobs, reduce poverty, and build community.

This guide provides THREE exciting opportunities that CCEDNet members are offering for you to invest in creating equitable and sustainable communities and economies here in Manitoba and beyond.

Community Enterprise Development Tax Credit
With the Community Enterprise Development (CED) Tax Credit, you can contribute to the growth of important community initiatives and receive a 30% tax credit on your investment. An investment through the CED Tax Credit will help create jobs for Manitobans and support the work of community enterprises that are revitalizing neighbourhoods and creating a more sustainable and equitable local economy. 

Here’s how it works: Manitobans can invest up to $30,000 annually into eligible community enterprises, such as co-operatives, to be used towards the development, growth or expansion of their business operations. Investors will then receive a 30% personal income tax credit from the Province of Manitoba. Click here to visit the Province of Manitoba’s webpage on the CED Tax Credit for more information.

Peg City Car Co-op (CCEDNet member) is among several community enterprises using the CED Tax Credit to attract individual investors in Manitoba. Peg City is Manitoba’s first and only car sharing co-op.  Purchasing an investment share with Peg City Car Co-op is an investment in the future of a locally owned co-op that is governed by its members. Last year Peg City raised $66,800 which funded the doubling of their fleet, and made carsharing available to more than 250 Winnipeggers. The Co-op’s goal for 2014 is to raise another $50,000 by March 31. Investment shares are available in $100 increments.  

Community Loan Investment Funds
Community Loan Investment Funds are flexible financing tools that can be used to support community-based projects that might not qualify for traditional financing. The Jubilee Fund (CCEDNet Member) is a Winnipeg-based community investment fund that helps to finance community businesses, housing projects and social services that contribute to community well-being. How you can get involved: The Jubilee Fund offers Investment Certificates as three or five year term deposits. Click here to learn more.

 

Socially Responsible Investment Funds
Socially Responsible Investment Funds look for strong financial performance as well as strong social and environmental performance when selecting investments. Assiniboine Credit Union (CCEDNet Member), for example, offers its members the opportunity to invest in SRI mutual funds. They use a number of socially responsible investment strategies, including ESG analysis (the process of considering Environmental, Social and Governance factors when selecting investments), shareholder engagement and action, negative screening and community investing. Read more

The Field Guide to Investing in a Regenerative Economy
Learn how financial capital can be a restorative rather than a coercive agent as it supports enterprises and practices that empower individuals and regenerate the land, local communities, and global economies in which they operate.  Read more

 

 

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Should anyone working full time still live in poverty?

In a wealthy society that values the concept of working hard in order to provide for yourself and your family, it makes no sense that fully employed people in our economy still have to choose between feeding their kids or paying their rent or paying school fees or saving for any kind of emergency. People who work hard should have enough for these basic needs, and should not be forced into dangerous choices that put them and their families at risk.

This is the premise of a rising North American campaign for living wage laws. It is a statement that our communities are failing if fellow citizens put in an honest day’s work, but their family’s participation in our fruitful society is dampened by economic constraints placed on them by remuneration that leave them in poverty. This is particularly troubling when those workers are public servants, employed by a governing body whose mandate is to ensure the well-being of its citizens. This is why the Mayor of Seattle recently supported a $15 minimum wage for all City employees.

At the Canadian CED Network – Manitoba’s annual Policy Summit, our member – led network passed the policy resolution 2014 – 4 Living Wage for All Manitobans. It is a request for the Province of Manitoba and municipalities in Manitoba to take a lead in ensuring all working Manitobans have a fair chance by developing a Living Wage Policy for their employees and contracted services.

Lynne Fernandez, the Errol Black Chair in Labour Studies at the CCPA-MB, wrote a fantastic article (reproduced below) explaining the need and benefits of, as well as the method of calculating, a living wage in Manitoba.

The Living Wage:  An idea whose time has come

Minimum-wage workers are not just teenagers working at fast-food restaurants after school. According to the Manitoba Federation of Labour, 55 per cent of minimum wage earners in Manitoba are adults twenty years and older; 51 per cent of minimum-wage earners work for companies with 100 workers or more and 42 per cent work for companies with 500 or more employees. With approximately 38,600 Manitobans earning minimum wage ($10.45/hour) and fully 73,700 Manitobans making only 10% more, we need to ask if the minimum wage provides sufficient income to raise a family.

Whether it be throughout the US, Canada or the UK, the inadequacy of the minimum wage to meet basic needs is well documented. When tens of thousands of American fast-food workers walked off the job for one day last August, they did so to deliver a message: they cannot survive on minimum wage jobs. In the August 2013 edition of The New Yorker, James Suirowiecki, explains that 46 per cent of family income in the US is earned by low-wage workers, a figure that demonstrates the sea change in the American economy which has shifted many middle-class workers to the new precarious labour market. This phenomenon is not restricted to the US.

According to CIBC senior economist Benjamin Tal, “There’s clearly a movement from high-paying professional, public sector and construction jobs to lower-paying and retail jobs. Even within manufacturing, there’s a movement from high-paying manufacturing jobs to lower paying.”  Mr. Tal goes on to explain why this trend is problematic; low-income earners have less disposable income and cannot provide much-needed demand in the economy. But the problems do not end there.

“Low-income families – many working more than one job/parent – face difficult choices: pay the rent or buy food; forego dental care in order to buy school supplies; put off saving for retirement in order pay off some debt.“

Low-income families – many working more than one job/parent – face difficult choices: pay the rent or buy food; forego dental care in order to buy school supplies; put off saving for retirement in order pay off some debt. Parents faced with these dilemmas are stressed to the point of becoming physically ill and/or depressed. Their children suffer as a result; they do worse in school and endure health problems of their own. These issues in turn cost both employers – in terms of lower productivity, absenteeism and employee turnover – and society in terms of healthcare costs, lower effective demand and revenues paid to income tax.  In short, the effects of low wages are not just suffered by the employers who pay them, they are externalized in the form of social exclusion and higher costs to government. If families could earn a living wage, many of these effects would be lessened.

A living wage is different from the minimum wage, being the legal minimum employers must pay. A living wage is based on the principle that fulltime work should provide families with a basic level of economic security. It allows a family of four with two parents working fulltime to pay for necessities, support the healthy development of their children, escape financial stress, and participate in the social, civic and cultural lives of their communities.

We have estimated the family living wage for 2013 in Winnipeg at $14.07/hour. The living wage calculation is based on the needs of a two-parent family with young children, but it would also support a mix of family types throughout the life cycle so that young adults are not discouraged from having children and older workers have some extra income as they age. The living wage is a conservative, bare-bones budget without the extras many of us take for granted.

“Approximately 38,600 Manitobans earn a minimum wage of $10.75/hr. In the United States, 46 per cent of family income  is earned by low-wage workers.“

The living wage considers the cost to meet basic needs in a particular community, including: food, clothing, rent for a three-bedroom apartment, transportation, childcare, basic extended healthcare plan, part-time education for one parent, a contingency fund for emergencies and some other household expenses. It does NOT include: interest payments, retirement savings, home ownership, savings for children’s education, or costs of caring for a disabled, ill or elderly family member. The method for calculating the living wage is:
Annual Family Expenses = Living Wage + Government Transfers*  – EI, CPP, Income Tax

Given the role of employers in determining the living wage, there is a call to public and private-sector employers (larger ones in particular) to pay a living wage. This can be achieved through wages or a combination of wages and non-mandatory benefits, such as extended health benefits, profit sharing, subsidised transit passes and childcare. But as the above equation demonstrates, the living wage is not just about employers. Government policies and programs also have a direct impact on families’ quality of life and directly affect the calculation of the living wage. The change in the living wage for single-parent, one child families demonstrates this point.

Although we use the two-parent, two-child living wage as our benchmark, we recognize that single-parent families face greater difficulties. Since our 2009 report, the living wage for single-parent, one-child families in all three cities has decreased, in spite of increases in the cost of living.  Of particular note is the change for single-parent families in Brandon: their living wage decreased from $16.99/hour to $10.79/hour, despite a 7.6 per cent increase in expenses. How is this dramatic 36 per cent decrease possible?

Tax-policy changes made the family eligible for the provincial childcare subsidy and a greater National Childcare Basic Supplement, which allowed the living wage to decrease, in turn qualifying the family for the provincial Rent Aid program (adding $230/month to the family purse). It must be emphasized that without these government programs, the 2013 living wage would be higher than it was in 2009.

Unfortunately, the situation in Brandon is the exception to the rule. There still remains a considerable gap between the living wage for the two-parent, two-child family and most single-parent, one-child families in other municipalities (as high as $17.04/hour in Winnipeg). We must close this gap so all working families benefit from living wages.

Employers and government need to work towards adopting a family living-wage policy for Manitoba. Minimum wage is a full $3.62/hour BELOW what a two-parent, two-child family needs. Seventy-two per cent of Manitoba families are headed by two parents and 63 per cent of them have two children or more. Clearly a family living wage is an idea whose time has come.

For more information, visit www.livingwagecanada.ca and the Living Wage Canada Facebook page.

Lynne Fernandez is the Errol Black Chair in Labour Studies at the CCPA MB.

Download a PDF of this Work Life

PDF of the full report A Family Living Wage for Manitoba

*Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB); Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB); GST Rebate; and Provincial Child Care Subsidy

 

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