Archive for the ‘Inclusion’ Category
A rare success in the battle against homelessness
May 20 2012
Woodgreen launched an ambitious fundraising campaign and began the makeover. Using private donations, in-kind contributions (flowers, bedding, pots and pans) and every source of government funding available, it transformed the Edwin from a neighbourhood embarrassment into an attractive residence for homeless men over 55. The cost was $3.8 million. It reopened in 2010. It is now a source of local pride, an architectural gem and a safe, impeccably maintained home for the 28 men who live there… A project like the Edwin is not cheap or easy… But the ideological debate is over. It is hard to argue with success.
Tags: homelessness, housing, ideology, mental Health, poverty, standard of living
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Real cost of poverty
May 19, 2012
The real cost of poverty to Ontario is immense. According to the Ontario Association of Food Banks, the cost of poverty to Ontarians amounts to 5.5 to 6.6 per cent of Ontario’s GDP. In real terms that equals $2,299 to $2,895 annually for every Ontario household… Poverty-induced health care costs alone amount to $2.9 billion each year… If a concerted effort is made to eliminate poverty, the savings can be passed along to taxpayers, used to reduce our debt and also to improve our health care and education system.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, poverty, rights, standard of living
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Charities silenced by the taxman
May. 16, 2012
… in this case, the law gagging charities is most definitely wrong because it infringes on free speech… democracy would be better served if charities had more freedom to advance ideas and to debate issues. Certainly, this would help ensure voters are better informed when it comes to policies… this is something Mr. Harper should already understand. In fact, as a conservative, he should be ideologically opposed to government rules and regulations that only serve to stifle free expression.
Tags: ideology, philanthropy, rights, standard of living, tax
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Childhood hunger is a Canadian public health crisis
May. 14, 2012
”We admit proportionately more children from high poverty neighbourhoods to hospital than from other neighbourhoods, and the children from poorer neighbourhoods stay longer at the hospital… childhood hunger – which of course is linked to poverty – has long-term impacts on physical and mental health… “Children who live in food-insecure households are more likely to have growth and developmental problems, be susceptible to illness and perform poorly in school, compared to children who are food-secure.” Adequate nutrition is also a key issue when it comes to mental health among youth.
Tags: disabilities, Health, mental Health, poverty, rights, youth
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Which charities get the most foreign cash? Not those on Tory hit list
May. 10, 2012
The CRA database shows only 1,998 of the 85,000 or so registered charities now active in Canada have reported any foreign income. Most are aid organizations, religious groups or schools. All of their foreign funding over the years amounts to a combined total of $811,467,808… Canadian charities do not have to disclose on their tax returns which foreign groups gave them money. But the recent federal budget promised to impose new penalties on charities that fail to provide full disclosure of funding and activities.
Tags: ideology, philanthropy, rights, tax
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Canada must actively recruit the best and brightest immigrants
May. 05, 2012
Ottawa must do more to ensure newcomers can convert their foreign credentials and job experience. It must address discrimination in the labour market, and gate-keeping by professional associations. But first and foremost, Canada needs to change its mentality around immigration. It should be designed as much around whom Canada wants, as who wants Canada… Canada must learn to compete. Educated professionals, entrepreneurs, leaders, will not waste their most productive years trying just to get through the door.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, immigration, multiculturalism, standard of living
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Migrants need protection from Bill C-31
Apr 26 2012
At best, these policies are misguided and driven by ideology. At worst, they are intentionally cruel and inhumane. Bill C-31 proposes automatic detention of refugee claimants for up to one year without review if deemed unilaterally to be an “irregular arrival” by the Minister of Public Safety… The health consequences of the policies proposed by C-31 cannot be underestimated. In Australia, where the policies that Kenney proposes have been tried and discarded, studies show that detention increases risk of suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress disorder and self-harm in refugee claimants.
Tags: budget, Health, immigration, poverty, rights, standard of living
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A call for Canadian charities to become politically active
Apr 21 2012
Even among those charities that have an interest in public policy, there is a reluctance to engage, and few play anywhere close to the 10 per cent level… Since governments have shed much of their policy capacity in the last few decades, they need good ideas from outside, and particularly from those working close to the coal face of society’s problems… Many charities who weren’t aware of the 10 per cent rule can now gear up to add a public policy dimension to their work, to begin to get a grip on one of the biggest levers of change for the better.
Tags: participation, philanthropy, rights, standard of living
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Stephen Harper’s attack on charities doesn’t go far enough
Apr 20 2012
… you and I are both on the hook for a portion of $2.8 million in so-called charitable donations that the Fraser Institute raised in 2010. Its donors too received charitable tax receipts. I don’t know about you. But I resent having to subsidize an organization that spends much its time fulminating for neo-liberalism. For the same reason, I have no interest in helping to fund the Canadian Constitution 2005 Foundation, which agitates against medicare… So what is to be done? The simplest answer is to scrap charitable tax receipts entirely. Distinguishing between real and bogus charities is an almost impossible task. Even established charities can be controversial.
Tags: featured, ideology, philanthropy, rights, standard of living, tax
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Canada’s non-profit sector invents a solution to gaps in funding
Apr 19 2012
The recession hit Canada’s non-profit sector hard. Demand surged. Donations shrank. Foundations suspended grants to protect their endowments. Government support held up for a time as Ottawa and the provinces poured money into the moribund economy, then it too was cut… Innovative non-profit organizations shelved groundbreaking projects and went into survival mode… In 2010, the Community Forward Fund (CFF) was born. It took another two years of work — painstaking legal work — to build Canada’s first non-profit lending institution.
Tags: budget, participation, philanthropy, standard of living
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