April, 2010

UPDATE:

The Senate report, In from the Margins, passed in the Senate last week! This means that the government has to respond within 150 days to the over 70 recommendations made by the Subcommittee on Cities.

But it is still important to contact our Members of Parliament and Senators about the importance of taking strong action to eliminate poverty in Canada, for the sake of dignity for all Canadians, and for the sake of our economy. See the Parliamentary website for a list of current MPs, and please continue to use the Talking Points below to get the message through to your MP. Read more »

Last week I participated in a conference call hosted by Tamarack with James Hughes, the Deputy Minister of Social Development in New Brunswick. This call was the second in a monthly tele-learning series looking at the various provincial poverty reduction strategies across Canada. New Brunswick’s plan, Overcoming Poverty Together: The New Brunswick economic and social inclusion plan, is the latest provincial plan, launched at the end of 2009.

The approach of the plan is cooperation between various sectors, and also grassroots initiatives under general provincial direction across various regions. James Hughes talked about politicians coming together, both government and opposition, with the social justice community and business sector to develop the plan. Read more »

Yesterday I mentioned the Mincome experiment which took place in Dauphin, Manitoba from 1974 to 1978. Dr. Evelyn Forget of the University of Manitoba has been doing wonderful research on the long-term health and social benefits of Mincome. But Dr. Forget has been forced to rely on using anonymous health data for her research, rather than being able to interview participants in the experiment.

However, several months ago the Winnipeg Free Press tracked down some participants and asked them what they remember about the experiment. The answers are very interesting. Read more »

Today, April 22, is Earth Day. Initiated by US Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 as a national movement for education and promotion of environmental care, Earth Day eventually was recognized and is now celebrated around the world.

The first International Earth Day was held in 1990, with over 140 countries joining the movement. Today, with over 170 countries involved, Earth Day is one of the biggest movements in the world in terms of global environmental education and action. Read more »

Last week I was in Montreal for an international conference on “Basic Income at a Time of Economic Upheaval: A Path to Justice and Stability?” This conference, sponsored by the Centre de Recherches en Ethiques de l’Université de Montréal, BIEN Canada and USBIG, welcomed nearly 90 participants from around the world. It was an excellent and thought-provoking several days of discussion about Guaranteed Livable Income (GLI) and its prospects in our time of economic uncertainty. Read more »

I always think its funny when people talk about how bad taxes are without ever referring to the fact that those taxes are actually paying for things we all rely on.

Apparently, John Stapleton thinks so too. He wrote this lovely, scathing article on a world without taxes for The Mark, highlighting all of the ways in which "individuals can spend their money better than governments." Read more »

On April 16, Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter publicly apologized to Viola Desmond and her family for her humiliating arrest, trial and jail term over 65 years ago, for sitting in the “white only” section of a Nova Scotia movie theatre. Known as the “Rosa Parks of Canada”, even though her arrest was 9 years earlier (1946), Desmond refused to get out of her seat in a theatre just because she was an African-Canadian. Read more »

This week Joe, Karri and I attended the Parliament Hill launch of “Poor No More,” the documentary film hosted by Canadian television and film star, Mary Walsh. The film is aimed at exposing the challenges of the working poor in Canada and offering viable government solutions.

A common misconception among Canadians is that if people would just get a job and work hard, they won’t be living in poverty. But this is not the case. As the film illustrates, many low income Canadians are working for companies that pay very low wages, often keeping employees’ hour just below the full-time threshold, even after years of service to the company, where they receive little or no benefits, such as health and dental coverage, and sick or vacation days. Read more »

April 4 is Refugee Rights Day in Canada, when we commemorate the declaration by the Supreme Court in 1985 that the Charter of Rights of Freedoms is meant to protect the rights to liberty, personal security and justice of everyone in Canada, including refugees. This means that all refugee claimants are entitled to an oral hearing to make their case.

This year, Refugee Rights Day comes less than a week after Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announces major changes to Canada’s refugee and asylum system. In response to the rising number of asylum claims and the long waiting list Kenney has made changes, part of  which is the proposal of a "safe country" list which will categorize applications.

False claims are a real concern, as is the daunting backlog of applicants, but is the categorization of refugee applicants by country a viable solution? What about the Supreme Court decision which emphasizes equal treatment? Read more »