November, 2009

Last night, I had the opportunity to sit down with the Hon. Ed Broadbent to discuss what has and hasn’t changed over the last two decades since he introduced the resolution to end child poverty by the year 2000. We also talked about what needs to be done, and the prospects for change in light of a new unanimous motion “… that the Government of Canada … develop an immediate plan to eliminate poverty in Canada for all,” passed last week in the House of Commons. Read more »

I was born in 1989. That same year there was a unanimous resolution passed in parliament to end child poverty by the time I turned eleven. I am now 20 years old and little advancement has been made on this critical issue. I was fortunate enough not to be born into poverty but if I had been I would have spent my entire life not only waiting, but desperately needing the government to act on its promise. Read more »

We’ve been hearing from the government that the recession is over and the economy is on the mend. But how do we measure recovery? Can we really measure recovery through slight improvements in GDP, growth in the stock market and overall economic developments? Or rather, is it through talking to communities and individuals hit hardest by the economic downturn? Read more »

On Tuesday Food Banks Canada released their annual report, Hungercount 2009, on food bank usage across the country. The report revealed that almost 800,000 individuals used a food bank during March 2009. This is an increase of 18% from March 2008, the biggest year-by-year national increase (by almost 10%) ever recorded by Food Banks Canada!

For over a decade, Food Banks Canada has been keeping track of the number of people using food banks during one month out of every year. Numbers of food bank use peaked in 2004 with over 840,000 people served, but since then usage has been gradually declining- that is until this year. Read more »

When the first wave of H1N1 hit this past spring, it was quickly apparent that this new strain of flu was not affecting people equally. Individuals of First Nations descent, particularly in the Prairie provinces, were disproportionately vulnerable to the virus. Read more »

Often during tough financial times like a recession, people find themselves asking for more help from the government and the non-profit sector. But at the same time economic downturns are tough on the non-profit sectors. The needs increase in a recession, but often the funding to support such needs go down. Read more »

Yesterday Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney released a new study guide for prospective Canadian citizens. Entitled Discover Canada: The rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship, the guide is much more extensive regarding Canadian history, and the forming of our country than the old guide.

Much of the historical emphasis, especially pre-Confederation history, is on the role of Aboriginal peoples, as well as the various English and French groups. But the expanding diversity and ethnic and cultural backgrounds among many of the more recent immigrants is also mentioned as well as the role of such immigrants in shaping Canada. Read more »

In all reports of dissatisfaction with Canadian democracy, Question Period seems to be at or near the top of the list. In the latest issue of the Canadian Parliamentary Review, Frances Ryan takes a critical look at Question Period. She suggests that the lack of effective accountability in Question Period stems from both behavioural and structural problems. But there is a conundrum: without addressing the behavioural issues, it is hard to address the structural problems, since parliamentarians themselves must be at the root of any changes to Question Period structure. Read more »

Last week Auditor-General Sheila Fraser tabled her fall report in Parliament, part of which critically evaluated Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) Program. Fraser criticized the management of the program, and specifically the federal government’s failure to ensure the safety of workers or to monitor the status and location of workers. These criticisms generated responses from very different points of view.

One point of view included concerns for improving the well-being of people entering Canada through the TFW program, while another called for the overhaul of the system with a refocus on highly skilled workers within immigration policy. Read more »

November 5 was a Day of Action for the Ontario branch of the Canadian Federation of Students in the fight for a poverty-free Ontario. The students and their supporters are demanding a livable minimum wage, access to good childcare, effective social assistance, affordable and decent housing, and a reduction in tuition fees.

Student rallies and protests were organized all over Ontario today in order to focus the government’s attention on the concerns of those living in poverty, and particularly students. Read more »

Last week’s Employment Insurance numbers revealed that while EI claims are still increasing, the number of Canadians receiving benefits in August dropped. 22,500 more claims were filed, but 19,000 fewer Canadians received benefits.

According to Erin Weir of the Progressive Economics blog, we should not start celebrating the recovery of the job market: while total employment rose in August, the labour force also expanded. Thus, Weir concludes, 68,000 workers were competing for only 27,000 new jobs. It is likely, then, that a good proportion of those who are no longer receiving EI did not find new work, but simply exhausted their benefits. Read more »