English - Canadian CED Network

Originally published in CBC National, April 13, 2021.

The Global Risks Report, released by the World Economic Forum earlier this year, cites the top challenges facing us today – a daunting list. Damage to the environment from climate change and our failure to act on it is the main danger, while the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than two million people worldwide has highlighted the risk of infectious diseases. The pandemic has also increased societal risks such as poverty, and threatens economies.

We cannot react to these global problems with complacency, by simply throwing money at them, or with top-down or siloed solutions. We need bold community-based, sustainable and comprehensive approaches with far-reaching results. And we need them now.

We can harness social innovation and social finance as a solution to these very real global risks.

Social innovation and social finance provide an economic “triple play” — mobilizing investment and creating jobs, while also addressing social inequities and environmental degradation.

Social innovation simply means working together to develop outside-the-box solutions to collective problems in support of social progress. It requires collaboration among community leaders, non-profits, charities, cooperatives, government, and the private sector. Social innovation is that café down the street that employs at-risk youth to give them a better start in life, or a small-town housing co-op for seniors that allows them to age in place.

Social finance is a tool that enables social innovation. It is an approach to investing that provides measurable social and environmental benefits, mobilizing both private and philanthropic capital for the public good through social finance intermediaries.

Some provinces, for example, provide a generous tax credit to individuals who invest in Community Economic Development Investment Funds (CEDIFs). These CEDIFs in turn invest the money in local businesses and organizations, providing jobs and services to the local community. Like traditional investments, CEDIFs pay a return on investment while supporting the community and growing the local economy.

Many countries around the world are embracing social finance. Portugal, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union have established social finance funds, and social procurement initiatives have been successfully tested by Scotland, France, Finland and Australia.

Likewise, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals are a call to action to promote prosperity while protecting people and the planet, and corporations are increasingly putting an emphasis on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, as well as socially responsible investing.

Here in Canada, social innovation and social finance have already proven their value in helping to solve problems. The national Table of Impact Investment Practitioners and Québec’s CAP Finance represent dozens of funds across the country with more than $1 billion in assets and a record of investing in improving seniors care, ensuring food security, increasing access to affordable housing, and supporting women entrepreneurs.

Social financing can generate enormous spinoff benefits. In 2006, for example, the federal government provided $22.8 million in seed funding to the Fiducie du Chantier de l’économie sociale in Québec, which offers financial products to support the capitalization of social economy enterprises. This leveraged an additional $30 million to launch the fund, and over the next decade 212 investments were made, creating or maintaining 3,183 jobs and mobilizing an additional $374 million.

The impacts of COVID-19 have highlighted gaps in our social systems and have spurred innovative ideas about ways to build a better economy. The federal government has an opportunity to step up and enable these ideas to flourish through social innovation and social financing initiatives.

It has already taken initial steps in this direction, now the government needs to deliver on its promises.

A landmark report was authored before the pandemic by the Social Innovation and Social Finance Co-Creation Steering Group – an advisory group of leaders from the philanthropic, financial, and research sectors as well as the community, which was responsible for helping to develop a social innovation and social finance strategy with the Government of Canada. The report offers critical recommendations, among them a call for the creation of a social finance fund that would help meet the financing needs of organizations that work on positive social outcomes.

Just after the report was released, Ottawa announced it would launch a Social Finance Fund with a $755 million in funding over 10 years, and a $50 million Investment Readiness Program. However, the Social Finance Fund has yet to be rolled out and, after a successful two-year pilot, the Investment Readiness Program is set to expire this month.

If implemented, the Social Finance Fund would accelerate the development of opportunities across the country, resulting in improved access to capital for local organizations working to address social or environmental challenges. It would also increase opportunities for investors to support the local economy.

The federal government’s last full budget, in 2019, made promises about the Social Finance Fund that need to be kept. The upcoming budget on April 19 provides an opportunity to once again prioritize social innovation and social finance in the face of an unprecedented need. Key actions that need to be undertaken through the next budget include:

Implementing the Social Finance Fund to boost COVID-19 economic recovery;
Expanding the Investment Readiness Program into an ongoing program to help organizations access social finance funds;
Properly resourcing all 12 recommendations of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Co-Creation Steering Group.

As we look for solutions to our most pressing existential crises – such as climate change and global pandemics, and the social, environmental and economic havoc they wreak – social innovation and social finance should be in our toolkit.

An investment in social innovation and social finance is an investment in the future of all Canadians.

Victor Beausoleil is the founder and CEO of Social Economy Through Social Inclusion (SETSI) and president of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet).

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Marie J. Bouchard is a professor at the École des sciences de la gestion at the Université du Québec à Montréal, and member of the Centre de recherce sur les innovations sociales (CRISES).

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Carol Hanne Hilton is the founder and CEO of the Indigenomics Institute and was a member of the Federal Advisory Council on Economic Growth.

*The opinions expressed in blog posts are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of CCEDNet

Originally published in iPolitics, April 7, 2021.

Long before the global pandemic reached Canada, the care of our most vulnerable citizens had challenged many governments, communities, and families. “Care work” was “women’s work,” and therefore underpaid and undervalued. That often meant difficulty retaining staff and inadequate quality of care, particularly in for-profit settings.

When COVID-19 struck, no one suffered more than residents in long-term care. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, 80 per cent of COVID deaths in Canada have been in retirement homes and homes with 24-hour nursing care.

There’s been plenty of debate about how best to respond to the crisis. Solutions include better regulations, more inspectors, and more staff. Some jurisdictions have added new beds to reduce overcrowding. But the bigger concerns are ownership of long-term care facilities, and how the care economy operates more generally.

Does profit have a place in the care of our most vulnerable citizens? It’s time to look more closely at the many alternative models that put people, not profit, at the heart of community care.

COVID has illustrated the strength of the non-profit approach and how it’s built to serve communities, in stark contrast to for-profit models. Ownership is key. Non-profit and co-operative housing and services — be they seniors’ homes, supportive housing, or child-care centres — serve people locally and are accountable to communities through their volunteer boards of directors.

On the other hand, large, for-profit chains, while claiming to be better able to provide local services and facilities, have delivered inferior quality of care. According to a study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (2020), long-term care facilities that are run for profit had more extensive COVID outbreaks and more deaths than non-profit ones.

The non-profit model is established in Canada. For example, in the 1990s, Quebec introduced universal child care as an innovative solution to: the inferior quality but high cost of private daycares; high staff turnover; and stagnant government funding. The policy was instrumental in getting a record number of women into the workforce, and the investment more than paid off in economic spinoffs.

According to Statistics Canada, 20 per cent more women worked in Quebec in 2016 than in 1996 when universal child care was introduced, resulting in more government revenue through provincial and federal taxes and fewer families reliant on social benefits.

Another social-economy model, that of care co-operatives, is thriving in British Columbia. The Victoria Health Co-operative is a community-owned enterprise that brings together health-care practitioners and member-owners. All health co-ops are non-profit; the goal is to cover costs, and surpluses are re-invested in the services offered to patients.

Examples of social innovation often fly under the radar.

In 2018, the federal government committed to enabling social innovation across the country. This was in response to 12 important recommendations from the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group report, Inclusive Innovation: New Ideas and New Partnerships for Stronger Communities. The government subsequently promised a $50-million Investment Readiness Fund and a $755-million Social Finance Fund.

Thanks to the success of the Investment Readiness Program, there are now more non-profits and co-operatives ready to scale up and replicate innovative solutions in their own communities. The Social Finance Fund, which the government promised but has yet to roll out, could inject much-needed capital into converting for-profit ownership to non-profit or co-operative ownership.

In contemplating a post-COVID economic recovery, accelerating the Social Finance Fund would boost the care economy.

Establishing a national Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy, as well as a Social Finance Fund, should be part of the solution to the care crisis. They would provide high-quality care and decent work for women, who make up most of the care workforce. They would also generate social and economic benefits in a low-carbon sector.

Andre Beaudry is the executive director of Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada.

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Cathy Taylor is the executive director of the Ontario Nonprofit Network.

*The opinions expressed in blog posts are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of CCEDNet

The Overton window: A sweet spot for policies that are aligned with the government’s agenda and within the range of policies politically acceptable to the voting public at a given time.

Since last summer, efforts have ramped up to push for a national Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy as part of our COVID-recovery. These efforts have come from all corners.

Members of the People-Centred Economy Group identified social innovation and social finance as one of their three key recommendations for COVID-recovery and raised the issue repeatedly…
- …at meetings with Minister Hussen, Minister Anand’s staff, Minister Joly’s staff, Centre for Rural Economic Development staff, Senators Ratna Omidvar and Lucie Moncion, and Parliamentary Secretary Sean Fraser,
- …in their two pre-budget briefs (August & February), and
- …in letters sent to Prime Minister Trudeau, Ministers Freeland, Champagne, Fortier, Guillbeault, Joly, Monsef, and Qualtrough, Leader of the Opposition Erin O’Toole, MPs Candice Bergen, Dan Albas, and Peter Julian.
The Impact Response campaign, led by SVX and supported by over 100 leaders, outlined three key actions to respond to the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 by mobilizing social finance and social enterprise.
CCEDNet’s letter-writing campaign resulted in constituents in over 50 ridings writing to their MPs about the implementation of the 12 recommendations of the Co-Creation Steering Group, the acceleration of the social finance fund, and the expansion and renewal of the Investment Readiness Program (IRP).
All non-governmental members of the Co-Creation Steering Group signed a letter to Ministers Hussen and Qualtrough urging them to accelerate the deployment of the Social Finance Fund.
CCEDNet and its Policy Council have included social innovation and social finance as one of our national policy priorities, and have discussed it at length with ESDC officials, Minister Hussen’s political staff, Minister Qualtrough’s political staff, MPs Matthew Green and Leah Gazan, Senators Nancy Hartling, and Green Party Leader Annamie Paul.
Ryan Turnbull, MP for Whitby, has been an indefatigable champion for social innovation and social finance, creating the Liberal Party Social Innovation Caucus, hosting round table discussions with stakeholders, and making the case with his parliamentary colleagues.

We’ve been working hard to ensure that the upcoming federal budget contains a clear commitment to social innovation and social finance. So far, it’s working. The narrative is shifting.

In February, CCEDNet hosted Minister Hussen for a week-long virtual tour of social innovation examples from across the country. According to departmental sources, Minister Hussen has been drawing on these examples regularly in meetings and conversations, most recently at a public talk at the University of Ottawa. Most of the Liberal Caucus signed a letter to Ministers Freeland and Hussen asking them to accelerate the social finance fund and renew and expand the IRP, and 25 senators did the same in another joint letter.

More recently, because of our and others’ efforts, a number of articles have appeared in prominent media outlets and policy publications:

iPolitics: Liberal MP rallies senators to push government to invest in social enterprises by Janet E Silver, February 19
CBC Manitoba: Pandemic provides opportunity to make meaningful investments in social infrastructure by Diane Roussin, Andrew Chunilall and Julie Gelfand, March 21
The Hill Times: Food insecurity remains a serious challenge during the pandemic by Nancy Neamtan, April 1
The Toronto Star: Women have been hit the hardest by the pandemic — and are also the key to our economic recovery by Rosalind Lockyer, April 5
iPolitics: Ottawa must deliver on its promise to remove profit from long-term care by Andre Beaudry and Cathy Taylor, April 7
CBC National: New federal budget needs to deliver on government’s social finance and innovation commitments by Victor Beausoleil, Marie J. Bouchard, and Carol Anne Hilton, April 13

Our Overton window is open. The government has committed, time after time, to build back better. Civil society organizations and the general public are demanding that the recovery from COVID-19 be equitable and sustainable, that is strengthen communities and increase resilience. A national social innovation and social finance strategy is the way to make it happen.

Will our efforts be enough? We’ll find out on April 19 when the federal budget comes out.

*The opinions expressed in blog posts are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of CCEDNet

Originally published in The Toronto Star, April 5, 2021

Events of the past year have laid bare inequities faced by our country’s citizens. Women who are filling critical roles to aid in the nation’s response to COVID-19 have been disproportionately and negatively impacted by the pandemic, with extraordinary levels of job loss and economic hardship.

Women have been hit hardest by the pandemic, but they are also the key to our economic recovery. Investing in women-centred organizations with innovative solutions should be top of the federal government’s agenda.

Women have been rising up to tackle the country’s social and economic problems in innovative ways. Take Canada’s PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise, which has been called a poster child for social innovation. PARO has grown into the largest peer-lending network for women entrepreneurs, with more than 170 peer groups across North America.

The key to PARO’s success is its women-centred approach and “wraparound.” Wraparound involves working with other community partners with expertise in areas such as domestic violence, gender equity and skills training to help women find success as business owners. PARO provides the financial support and training that she needs, in addition to these wraparound services.

Today, these women-led organizations are struggling to respond to community needs with stagnant funding and lack of recognition for the important work they do — and how they do it.

Women-centred organizations are poised to be integral players in Canada’s recovery and rebuild efforts. The economic payoff alone is significant. According to a report by McKinsey and Company, it is estimated that Canada could add $150 billion to its annual GDP by 2026 through supporting women’s participation in the workforce. What stands in the way is a national social innovation and social finance strategy, and a framework and funding to make it work.

In 2018, the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group released its report. Promisingly, the federal government responded with promises of a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy, the launch of a $50-million Investment Readiness Fund and $755-million Social Finance Fund.

Thanks to government action on the Investment Readiness Fund, more non-profit and social-enterprise organizations are prepared with the knowledge and infrastructure to replicate and grow. They understand how to leverage government investment to attract private-sector investment for greater impact. They know their communities and what they need.

But promises for the Social Finance Fund have not yet materialized. The upcoming budget provides an opportunity to prioritize social innovation and social finance in the face of unprecedented need. There is no better time than now.

We no longer live in a world that accepts inequities and vulnerabilities. If anything, COVID-19 has taught us this. Investing in women, through socially innovative women-centred organizations, is a critical step toward a post-COVID economic recovery that doesn’t leave anyone on the sidelines.

Rosalind Lockyer is founder and CEO of PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise and serves on the board of directors of the Women’s Economic Council.

*The opinions expressed in blog posts are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of CCEDNet

The Stronger Together Award celebrates individual and organizational members who have made exceptional contributions to Community Economic Development and/or who have provided outstanding leadership to CCEDNet in achieving our vision of sustainable, equitable and inclusive communities directing their own futures.

In 2019, the inaugural awards were given to three individuals who had received honorary lifetime memberships over the years: Eunice Grayson, Stewart Perry and Rankin MacSween. In 2020, an award was given to Diana Jedig for her longstanding leadership on the Board. We now continue the annual tradition of recognizing and honouring four CCEDNet members who have advanced Community Economic Development by working to strengthen and advance sustainable and equitable local economies.

One of the four annual awards will be designated as the Youth Leadership Award in recognition of Stewart Perry’s commitment to youth leadership in Community Economic Development. This award champions action and innovation made by young people that has created positive social impact within their community.

It is our honor to highlight the invaluable work of our network. We warmly invite CCEDNet members to nominate their peers. The deadline to submit nominations is May 7, 2021, 11:59 pm EST.

The 2021 Stronger Together Award recipients will be celebrated at the 22nd Annual General Meeting on June 11, 2021.

Next Steps:

Please read the following criteria, nomination process and selection process information on this page before submitting your nomination.
Please complete the Nomination Form in its entirety and submit
Please submit a signed copy of the Nominee Consent Form to Adriana Zylinski at under the subject heading [Stronger Together Awards – “Name of Nominee”] and indicate that you have also submitted the nomination form.

Criteria

The nominees must be CCEDNet members in good standing for at least 1 year and demonstrate leadership in advancing CED in one or more of the following areas:

Strengthening community support systems and creating solutions that benefit and empower those in need.
Advocacy and policy work that encourages municipal, provincial and/or federal representatives to take action toward equitable, inclusive and sustainable community economies.
Fostering peer learning environments and building collaborative peer connections that engage and build capacity for others to be agents of change in their communities.
Youth category: significant contribution or innovation made by a young person (under 30 years of age) that has created positive social impact or inspired others to become engaged in supporting their communities.

Nomination Process

Nominations can be made by any individual or organizational member in good standing that is not on the Stronger Together Award Selection Committee. Former award recipients may not be nominated again; however, previous nominees may be.

Selection Process

The Stronger Together Award Selection Committee, composed of Board members, and CCEDNet staff, will review the nomination forms and select the award recipient(s).

The committee will evaluate and score the nominees based on the completed written content of the nomination form and an assessment of merit.

Support

If you have any questions or need support in sending your nomination, please contact Adriana Zylinski at .

Originally published in The Hill Times, April 1, 2021

The numbers are devastating. Almost one in seven Canadians (14.6 per cent) reported they live in a household where they’ve experienced food insecurity over the past 30 days, according to the Statistics Canada survey conducted May 4-10, 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic. Those living in households with children were more likely to be worried about food running out before there was money to buy more.

Affordable and easy access to healthy food is not a new challenge for Canada. It only took a global pandemic to shine a spotlight on the millions of Canadians who lack access to quality, affordable food.

Communities and community organizations across Canada have been pulling together in the face of loss and economic hardship—and they are to be commended. But they can’t do it alone. Governments need to create an environment where long-lasting and innovative solutions are possible. The status quo is no longer enough. If we want to make food insecurity, like the pandemic itself, a distant memory, we need new approaches.

It’s time the federal government delivered on its promise of a social innovation and finance strategy.

In 2018, the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group released its report, Inclusive Innovation: New Ideas and New Partnerships for Stronger Communities with 12 recommendations to help communities tackle their toughest social and environmental challenges, including food insecurity, through skill development, unlocking private capital, increasing market access, and regulatory changes.

In response, the federal government committed to developing a new Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy, a $50-million Investment Readiness Program, and $755-million Social Finance Fund. This was welcome news. However, today, the Social Finance Fund has yet to be rolled out, and after a very successful two-year pilot, the Investment Readiness Program is set to expire this month. There has been little action on the remaining recommendations.

Why is social innovation so critical for addressing food insecurity?

Social innovation is about redefining relationships and the way we do things. Innovation, by definition, is about taking risks and learning from our failures and our successes, much like the search for an effective COVID-19 vaccine. And social finance provides the means to achieve a sustainable future.

A nationwide social innovation strategy would enable us to move away from a siloed and risk averse approach to food security and other recurring challenges. It would allow communities, co-operatives, and non-profit organizations to create and test bold solutions with governments unified in their efforts to remove barriers and roadblocks. The promised Social Finance Fund would also make it possible for investment-ready organizations to attract investment from the private sector.

Social innovation is about a return to community.

Take, for example, Quebec’s La Cantine pour tous (Canteen for Everybody), the first network in the province to bring together community organizations and other partners to share often underutilized food production and distribution equipment, catering expertise and online ordering. Licensed caterers prepare food in school kitchens and parents can order and pay for meals online. In 2020, the program mobilized in response to COVID-19 with support from the Quebec government. Member organizations distributed some 1,500 meals every day for the homeless in emergency shelters established by the City of Montreal.

In Toronto, advocates for food sovereignty—the right of people to healthy and culturally appropriate food—are advocating for a Black food ecosystem. They want community members to be empowered with the tools, resources and financing to farm and distribute food. It will take bold leadership and bold ideas to put regulatory policies in place to protect agricultural land and make it more affordable for these communities. Social finance funding will be critical in order to create a pool of capital to make land acquisition more affordable, removing inequities and levelling the playing field.

The federal government’s last full budget more than two years ago made promises on the Social Finance Fund that need to be kept. The upcoming budget provides an opportunity to, once again, prioritize Social Innovation and Social Finance.

Now, more than ever, Canada needs a social innovation strategy so that communities, through the mobilisation and creativity of citizens and social purpose organisations, can put their innovative solutions to work.

Nancy Neamtan serves on the board of directors of Food Secure Canada and is a strategic advisor for the Chantier de l’économie sociale and the Territoires innovants en économie sociale et solidaire. She was a member of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group.

*The opinions expressed in blog posts are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of CCEDNet

Buy Social Canada has announced the winners of the 2021 Social Procurement Champion Awards.

The Champions are a municipality, a community advocacy group and a group of social enterprises who have successfully endeavoured to advance social procurement in their communities. Together these champions represent the necessary elements for a healthy social procurement ecosystem: the integration of social value demand, social enterprise supply, and community development. Together these elements create our future economies, where we collectively leverage existing purchasing to shape inclusive, vibrant and healthy communities

City of Calgary for the Benefit Driven Procurement Policy

In the social procurement purchaser category, the demand side of the marketplace, the 2021 champion is the City of Calgary’s Benefit Driven Procurement Policy. Across Canada the social procurement movement has been led on the municipal level, and Calgary has set the bar high for all purchasers. Calgary is using a comprehensive approach that includes a three-year pilot/implementation strategy, evolving metrics, multi-stakeholder engagement, training, and intentional change management, culminating in a recommended policy.

Construction Social Enterprises EMBERS, BUILD, Building Up, and Impact Construction

On the supply side of the marketplace, the Social Procurement Champions are a group of social enterprises engaged in and supporting the construction industry across the country: EMBERS in Vancouver, BUILD in Winnipeg, Building Up in Toronto, and Impact Construction in St. John’s. With the growing trend of Community Benefits Agreements (CBA) and Infrastructure Canada’s Community Employment Benefit Initiative (CEB) across Canada, the construction supply chain for labour and sub-contractors offers tremendous opportunities and social enterprises are responding. These social enterprises are countering the preconceptions and myths that using social enterprise suppliers results in higher costs and lower quality. In fact, with their competitive pricing and quality work, these social enterprises working in the construction industry are creating pathways to skilled, meaningful, and well-paying work for youth and equity-seeking individuals, while also filling critical labour gaps in the construction industry. These social enterprises represent exactly what it means to build back better.

LeBreton Flats Community Benefit Coalition

From the first Canadian CBA for the 2010 Olympic village in Vancouver, to successful social procurement advances in cities like Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto, the role of community-based leadership and advocacy is essential. The Social Procurement Champions for community advocacy this year are the LeBreton Flats Community Benefits Coalition, in Ottawa. The LeBreton Flats Community Benefits Coalition is a collaboration of 31 community organizations advocating for a CBA approach to the redevelopment of a 29 hectare federally owned tract of land in Ottawa and thereby stretch the value of every dollar of investment to realize multiple benefit outcomes. This advocacy has led to collaboration with the City of Ottawa and includes efforts to realize social procurement policies and initiatives, thereby supporting the burgeoning cluster of social enterprises in the Ottawa region. This year we celebrate the forward-thinking efforts of the LeBreton Flats Community Benefit Coalition, which was initiated and driven by volunteers from the communities that will be directly impacted by the land transfer.

Celebrate, connect with, and learn from the 2021 Social Procurement Champions at the Buy Social Canada Symposium. The awards will be presented by past Social Procurement Champions, SAP and Chandos Construction and will feature discussions where we can learn from the important work being done across Canada to harness the power of purchasing to create impact.

The Canadian Community Economic Development Network is excited to invite organizational members to apply to host a work experience youth through the CreateAction: Inclusive Social Innovation program. Not already a member? Check out how you can join the network (including barrier-free options) by visiting CCEDNet’s membership page.

**About CreateAction**

The purpose of CreateAction is to provide employment and career-relevant learning opportunities to young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) and facing barriers to employment. These placements will take place under the terms and conditions of a contribution agreement between the Canadian CED Network and Employment and Social Development Canada as part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.

The Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) and the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) are working in partnership to deliver the CreateAction program with funding by Employment and Social Development Canada and with evaluation support from the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation.

All work experience placements will support youth to further their career interests in community economic development and the social economy and/or off-reserve Indigenous service delivery infrastructure and provision of culturally enhanced programs and services to urban Indigenous residents.

This call for proposals is for placements taking place from June 21 to December 17, 2021 (26 weeks). The CreateAction program will provide to youth a wage of $19.50/hour for 37.5 hours/week. Employers may volunteer to increase their youth’s wages at their own expense. The deadline for submitting applications is April 9, 2021 at 11:59pm Pacific Time.

Employers will be selected according to the following criteria:

commitment to supporting and accommodating the needs of youth facing barriers, and a willingness to increase organizational capacity accordingly;
a commitment to the principle that the CreateAction program is first and foremost a program designed to support youth with barriers to employment;
a willingness to hire a youth who is a best fit for the program goals;
have a position available that aligns with the level of a youth with barriers to employment, and be willing to adapt the position based on the skills/abilities of the youth that has been identified for the position;
commitment and organizational capacity to assist youth with their daily work, providing coaching and career development support;
geographic diversity (e.g. rural, remote, Indigenous, northern, francophone communities outside of Quebec, and urban disadvantaged communities with recent immigrant populations);
demonstrated ability to recruit and support people who are Indigenous, Black, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, newcomers to Canada, francophone, and/or live with disability;
commitment to participate in a peer support network of employers;
dedication to leveraging the work experience into full-time employment or study for the youth;
ability to recruit and support youth not in employment, education or training (NEET);
ability to recruit and support youth from diverse backgrounds with barriers to employment;
capacity to adequately support skills development for youth, with additional support from the CreateAction partners;
relevance of proposed work experience to community economic development and social innovation (visit CCEDNet’s definition of CED) and/or off-reserve Indigenous service delivery infrastructure and provision of culturally enhanced programs and services to urban Indigenous residents (visit NAFC’s website).

Priority will be given to organizations that provide social supports for adults or youth as part of their mandate (e.g. organizations serving or supporting newcomers, refugees, survivors of violence or people escaping abuse, formerly incarcerated people, and people experiencing/overcoming mental health challenges, substance use disorders, precarious housing, etc).

Employers will:

offer a meaningful 26-week employment opportunity;
actively seek out youth candidates from diverse backgrounds with barriers to employment;
hire a youth who is a best fit for the CreateAction program;
provide youth with an orientation to the employer;
develop, at the beginning of the placement, a Learning Plan with youth;
develop and implement a plan to provide sufficient support services to enable the youth to succeed at their placement;
provide sufficient resources and time to effectively supervise and mentor work experience youth;
commit to weekly meetings with youth to support their learning objectives;
set aside a minimum of:
- six (6) hours per month for the work experience youth to participate in peer learning activities, and
- three (3) working days for the youth to participate in an in-person or online learning event.
provide, with support from the CreateAction program, career advice, regular feedback and guidance to youth and assist youth in laddering into further career relevant employment or education at the end of the placement;
provide youth with all reasonably required working materials;
provide the Canadian CED Network with periodic progress reports and report on outcomes at the end of the work experience;
participate in three (3) employer national virtual sessions with the Canadian CED Network and other selected organisations;
work with the CreateAction program evaluators on evaluation related activities, such as activities involved with midterm and final evaluations;
identify candidates by June 4, in order for work experience youth to start placements on June 21;
become a member of the Canadian CED Network, if not already a member.

CreateAction partners (CCEDNet, NAFC and SRDC) will:

directly cover full-time employment costs for work experience youth at a rate of $19.50/hour (though employers are welcome to top up the amount);
assist employers with the necessary advice and support to carry out the activities and realize the objectives of the program;
provide, in concert with employers, tailored wraparound supports for youth including supporting the capacity of employers in their ability to provide social supports for youth;
provide a robust peer learning and mentoring program for work experience youth’s ongoing professional development for the duration of the placement;
coordinate weekly video conference calls for youth to learn, share experiences, and to network;
host a virtual platform for youth to connect and share experiences throughout the CreateAction program;
coordinate three (3) video conference calls for employers to share experiences and to network;
work with employers to offer mediation support or resolve disputes arising with work experience youth;
work closely with employers in the event of crisis or conflict with work experience placement, including any decision to terminate the work experience placement as a last resort;
conduct mid-term evaluations and exit surveys with youth and employers to monitor progress, track youth learning, and capture youth outcomes, career expectations and satisfaction.

To participate in the CreateAction program, eligible youth must be:

not in education, employment or training (NEET);
a youth experiencing barriers to employment;
between 15 and 30 years of age (inclusive) at start of placement;
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons as defined by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
legally entitled to work in Canada;
legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial/territorial legislation and regulations.

How to apply?

Complete an application online here

If you require an offline application, please contact Matthew Thompson at the coordinates below. The deadline for submitting applications is April 9, 2021, at 11:59pm Pacific Time.

Youth interested in the program should apply directly to the employers. The successful employers will be announced on the Canadian CED Network’s website.

For more information, please contact Matthew Thompson, Director of Engagement, or Adriana Zylinski, Network Engagement Lead, at .

CCEDNet’s 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on…

June 11
10am Pacific, 11am Mountain, 12pm Central, 1pm Eastern, 2pm Atlantic, 2:30pm Newfoundland

This year’s AGM repeats the success of the last six years by being entirely virtual and bilingual. Members are able to make motions, vote and comment in English or French, all from the comfort of their computer.

For additional background information, you can consult CCEDNet’s by-laws.

AGM Documents

Meeting documents will be posted here as they become available.

AGM Resolutions

We are no longer accepting resolutions.

Board Nominations

Nominations are now closed. This year, there were four vacancies to be filled. Four eligible nominations were received, leading our Elections Officer to declare the candidates elected by acclamation. Meet the new board members.

Stronger Together Awards

We are no longer accepting nominations.

This year, we are pleased to offer a day of supportive member learning and networking, in addition to our annual business meeting. To register, be sure to sign up to attend the AGM and receive a link to a day of special member events! Here’s what the day entails…

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET – RIDING THE WAVES OF LEADERSHIP THROUGH COVID-19

Whether you’re an Executive Director or in the early stages of your career, there’s no doubt that this last year has tested you, both personally and professionally. Working toward sustainable, equitable and inclusive communities through a pandemic has likely required you to hone many new skills, let go of a lot of control, and become responsive to nearly constant change.

Intentional leadership has never been more valuable. Suzanne Gibson, our fabulous Community Leadership Program facilitator, will take you through exercises about leadership styles, change management, and power.

This 90-minute session will also provide you with guided time to contextualize what you’re experiencing along your personal leadership journey, as well as a chance to hear from peers in the CCEDNet membership about the challenges and possibilities of leadership through COVID-19.

12:30 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. ET – MUSICAL GUEST LAUREN EDDY

Headshot of Lauren Eddy Lauren Eddy is a musician, singer- songwriter, and sound technician from Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador. She now resides in St. John’s. Lauren’s current musical focus is her pop-rock group, Saint Scarlett. The group released their debut 6 song EP in January 2020. The project was nominated for two MusicNL awards in 2021. Lauren is also First Light’s new full-time Arts Technician. She also does a variety of freelance sound technician work for local businesses, music venues, and community events. Lauren graduated from the College of the North Atlantic with a diploma in Sound Recording & Production and diploma in Music Performance, Business, & Technology. Lauren has a passion for music, art, and community. In her free time she enjoys hiking and gardening.

12:45 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET – Break

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET – AGM BUSINESS MEETING

2:00 p.m.- 2:20 p.m. ET – STRONGER TOGETHER AWARDS

A celebration of the indispensable leadership role our CCEDNet members play in communities across Canada.

2:20 p.m.- 2:30 p.m. ET – Break

2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET – FRONT PORCH VISITS: BUILDING THE MEMBER NEIGHBOURHOOD

The more we know our neighbours, the better we can collaborate to make great places to live. A member neighbourhood is no different! It’s time to celebrate making it through this year, to fortify ourselves for the road ahead, and to pool our collective expertise as we look toward what’s next.

What is most alive for you and your community right now? How does this fit into the direction you want our Network to take?

Join us on the porch, and get to know your member neighbours as we map out our neighbourhood assets and notice any gaps. Bring your experience to share!

By knowing and listening to one another more deeply, we can practically shape our efforts toward a future that supports us all. With open doors and open windows, let’s become good neighbours.

Canada's Parliament The Canadian CED Network’s Policy Council submitted a response to the Minister of Finance’s invitation for pre-budget submissions for the 2021-22 federal budget.

Last August, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance called for submissions that addressed restarting the Canadian economy as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, CCEDNet made a submission.

Unusually, this year, the Minister of Finance asked for pre-budget submissions again, to hear Canadians’ very best ideas on how to create new jobs and build a greener, more competitive, more innovative, more inclusive, more resilient Canada. Again, CCEDNet made a submission, which is very similar to the one from August, but with a different pre-amble and framing.

Read the full pre-budget submission

If you also submitted a brief we’d love to hear about it…
Please send your pre-budget submission to Ben Losman at b.losman at ccednet-rcdec.ca.

Our Recommendations for the 2021-22 Federal Budget

1. Accelerate Social Innovation and Social Finance
a.	Implement a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy including all 12 recommendations of the Co-Creation Steering Group.
b.	Ensure equity seeking groups play a leading role in the implementation and subsequent evolution of the SI/SF strategy to build on existing local capacity and strengthen the expertise of the community economic development, non-profit, and co-operative sectors.
2. Support Resilient Local Enterprises
a.	Promote local and social procurement policies.
b.	Enable employee and community-based ownership succession and buyouts.
c.	Establish a national program to grow community investment funds in each province.
3. Build Economies for All
a.	Advance the decent work agenda to support good quality jobs and workers’ rights and well-being.
b.	Improve the efficacy of Labour Market and Workforce Development dollars to reach vulnerable groups seeking workplace skills and training, and ensure that an increased percentage of LMTA funding is directed at vulnerable groups.
c.	Accelerate the timeline of the Universal Broadband Fund, and use it to encourage community-owned broadband.

The government committed to:

For further reading:

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Now accepting applications for Spring 2021 cohort! Apply now!

Learn more about the CED Program

Next Steps:

Criteria

Nomination Process

Selection Process

Support

City of Calgary for the Benefit Driven Procurement Policy

Construction Social Enterprises EMBERS, BUILD, Building Up, and Impact Construction

LeBreton Flats Community Benefit Coalition

About CreateAction

Employers will be selected according to the following criteria:

Employers will:

CreateAction partners (CCEDNet, NAFC and SRDC) will:

How to apply?

AGM Documents

AGM Resolutions

Board Nominations

Stronger Together Awards

Read the full pre-budget submission

Our Recommendations for the 2021-22 Federal Budget

Read the full pre-budget submission

**About CreateAction**