In 2006, Crime Prevention Ottawa began a community development project in Ottawa’s downtown Vanier neighbourhood.  Rich in history, community organizations and concerned residents, Vanier has exp...

The release of Ontario’s first comprehensive anti-poverty strategy makes now the ideal time for community leaders from across Ontario to come together and be inspired by the stories and experiences fr...

Vibrant Communities convener organizations prepare a ‘framework for change’ upon which they can build their poverty reduction efforts.  Vibrant Communities Saint John (VCSJ) completed its first f...

Community engagement begins when people respond to a well-delivered invitation.  Vibrant Communities Saint John Neighbourhood Assistants now act as personal ambassadors of programs, events and ne...

Rapid population growth, lower than average high school graduation rates and more diversity made it imperative for organizers in Abbotsford, BC, to find a way to address issues of concern.  This ...

Formed in the summer of 2007, the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council is capitalizing on the experience and reputation of its members to address serious poverty issues in that city.  This paper pr...

Having proven its effectiveness during two pilot projects, “Makin’ it Work” continues to provide job seekers with hands-on experience, new skills and mentoring from local employers.  The project ...

This story describes an initiative that creates a match between employers and potential employees by providing essential skills training.  Successful job candidates receive 12 weeks of classroom ...

Belt-tightening changes made to Employment Insurance in the 1990s have decimated the program’s coverage over the years and substantially reduced the value of payments.  Today only three in ten un...

Developed by a group of ten partners, this manual provides practical lessons for the establishment and operation of effective government-community collaborations on policy.  Though poverty reduct...

An ambitious experiment, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Strategic Social Plan (SSP) – unveiled in 1998 – called for involvement of the voluntary, community-based sector and citizens in policy formulation...

This paper is part of Vibrant Communities’ continuing effort to strengthen the knowledge and practice of comprehensive, multisectoral approaches to poverty reduction.  It explores the idea of ‘co...

One-size-fits-all benefits, passive income strategies and over-simplified disability concepts have failed, in Canada and across the developed world, to achieve real economic integration of adult citiz...

Michael Mendelson was Ontario’s Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance from 1989 to 1990 and Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet from 1990 to 1995.  He is now Senior Scholar at the Caledon Institute of...

Ken Battle appeared before the Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women.  His presentation discusses gender aspects of the Employment Insurance program. ...

Recent layoffs and closures in mainstream broadcast and newspaper outlets make it more difficult for people to get local news.  Community newspapers – particularly when written by residents – can...

The Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction’s work to make a serious dent in poverty began in 2006.  Its record of success is now inspiring communities across Ontario to consider similar action...

A Saskatoon community project 10 years in the making was nearly derailed by the removal of provincial funding in March 2008.  Station 20 West was designed to provide access to healthy food, affor...

Since forming in 2001, Alberta’s Seven Cities partnership has created a solid base of relationships, produced evidence for change, identified causes and solutions to the problem of homelessness, and i...

Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman, Caledon’s President and Vice-President, respectively, were invited to appear before the Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and ...

Calgary City Council’s November 2008 decision to make Low-Income Transit Passes a permanent project was the successful conclusion of a decade-long push to help low-income residents and people with dis...

This commentary makes the case for investment in social infrastructure as a key element of Ottawa’s economic stimulus package.  Social infrastructure includes such items as affordable housing, sc...

This paper provides a detailed analysis and explanation of the Budget’s changes to the Working Income Tax Benefit, the Canada Child Tax Benefit and the personal income tax system.  The discussion...

The 2009 federal Budget stated that it has four main goals:   Support the economy when it is most needed. Support Canadian families and sectors most affected. Ensure maximum impact for Canadian j...

Vibrant Communities convener organizations across the country were saddened by the termination of the Opportunities Niagara initiative in late 2008.  This story introduces five elements of the ‘p...

There has been growing interest in recent years in place-based interventions and their unique contribution to tackling complex issues, such as poverty.  While communities are pursuing a range of ...

2008 PUBLICATION OVERVIEW   In case you missed us, below is an overview of the Caledon Institute 2008 publications.  If you would like to review any of these publications, please see our web...

This commentary was prepared in recognition of January as Alzheimer Awareness Month.  It is drawn from the research in a report entitled Caregivers and Dementia published by the Caledon Institute...

La Démarche is neighbourhood revitalization initiative and now a member of the Vibrant Communities network.  It was established in 2001 by a community economic development corporation to improve ...

Strong social programs can play a vital part in an economic stimulus package. Ottawa has at its disposal several effective social programs that can play an important part in an economic stimulus packa...

Building on the foundation established by Opportunities 2000 to establish a comprehensive community initiative to reduce poverty, Opportunities Waterloo Region continues to forge new relationships and...

This paper discusses ten major policy areas that comprise the core of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy:   ·       affordable housing which involves the cre...

This article, which first appeared in the Toronto Star, argues that Canada will be caught in a prolonged recession in the US.  If so, most governments in Canada will end up with deficits in the n...

This story describes a community-based initiative designed by members and groups affiliated with the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, a Vibrant Communities convener organization.   Resi...

This story describes a community-based initiative designed by members and groups affiliated with the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, a Vibrant Communities convener organization.   A co...

This story describes a community-based initiative designed by members and groups affiliated with the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction (HRPR), a Vibrant Communities convener organization. &nbs...

This story describes a community-based initiative designed by members and groups affiliated with the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, a Vibrant Communities convener organization.   A se...

This essay discusses the various dimensions of the social economy − a unique and burgeoning sector of the economy in which business enterprises and economic activity seek not only to generate re...

This Labour Day commentary explores various actions that governments and employers can take to improve the earnings of the working poor.  One in four Canadian workers makes just $10 an hour or le...

A decade ago, the 1996 Census found that approximately 60 percent of First Nation on-reserve residents aged 20 to 24 had not completed high school.  The 2006 Census results are unchanged: approxi...

This publication contains the appendices which accompany the Caledon Institute report Caregivers and Dementia....

This report presents the results of a study carried out on behalf of the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County in collaboration with the Champlain Dementia Network.  The purpose of the s...

This paper measures the degree of interregional redistribution in 1998 and 2004 generated by federal fiscal activity. Our results show indicate that the changes in the federal fiscal structure associa...

This paper was presented as a policy keynote address at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association held in Halifax in June 2008.  It considers three major links between psycholo...

This paper presents a new methodology for determining which portion of health care spending may be treated as investment.  Applying this methodology to Ontario shows that over 60 percent of healt...

Newfoundland and Labrador is in the midst of an economic boom, yet several St. John’s neighbourhoods are among the poorest in the province.   This paradox presents both a challenge and rally...

The purpose of this paper is to identify the unique and significant contributions that voluntary sector organizations can make in the field of public health.  Many voluntary sector organizations ...

The first of its kind in Canada, Project Comeback combines employment readiness and placement with housing assistance and ongoing support for homeless day labourers in Surrey, BC.  The initiative...

This paper focuses upon a serious weakness in Canada’s income security system.  There is a major gap in social insurance coverage for millions of Canadians whose work and earnings are interrupted...

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) are headed towards an historical crossroads.  The most recent actuarial valuation of the CPP shows that the federal scheme is sound...

The federal child benefits system has undergone far-reaching changes over the past two years, with the addition of the Universal Child Care Benefit and non-refundable child tax credit to the existing ...

This short paper answers key questions about the Caledon Institute’s proposal for a $5,000 Canada Child Tax Benefit, contained in the longer paper A Bigger and Better Child Benefit: A $5,000 Canada Ch...

In 2003, members of Vibrant Communities Calgary began meeting with representatives from business, nonprofit organizations and the public sector to build support for a Living Wage campaign.  They ...

Since 2006, low-income Calgary residents have been able to apply for Universal Low Income Transit passes.  Ongoing effort by the Fair Fares action team was responsible for the creation of the pas...

Concerned with low voter turnout, members of Vibrant Communities Calgary used the fall 2007 municipal election as an opportunity to find ways of involving citizens in the electoral process.  This...

Between 2001 and 2003, organizers in Saskatoon developed a comprehensive plan for revitalizing eight downtown neighbourhoods.  But the initiative ground to a halt at the moment of action.  F...

Opportunities 2000 faced an important year of change in 2001 when its members decided to shift from a focused poverty reduction campaign to an ongoing community revitalization initiative.  This s...

In 2005, the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Community Foundation established a high profile roundtable in response to deep concerns over poverty levels in that city.  This story describes the ...

The Old Age Security (OAS) program, which is the cornerstone of Canada’s pension system, is fundamentally sound.  However, some changes need to be made to the program to improve its fairness and ...

The Caledon Institute of Social Policy applauds Liberal leader Stéphane Dion’s November 9, 2007 speech laying out his party’s poverty reduction strategy.  It recognizes poverty as a serious natio...

Shared Space: The Communities Agenda seeks to capture the essence of the profound changes taking place in communities across the country and around the world. Community interventions to promote econom...

This paper discusses the role of community capacity building in neighbourhood revitalization and the implications for the way in which such work is funded.  It reviews recent trends in funding pr...

This paper sets out a five-point checklist to guide the reform of provincial and territorial systems of disability supports – the goods and services that persons with disabilities require to live inde...

This commentary focuses upon the value of public space.  A society marked by cultural, racial and religious difference needs to find the common anchors that hold it together.  It is our publ...

Recent figures released by Statistics Canada found that 36 percent of Canadians are overweight and 23 percent are obese.  The proportion of obese children has nearly tripled over the past 25 year...

The 2006 federal Budget acknowledged the need to address a number of provincial-  territorial concerns that had been placed under the label of “fiscal imbalance.”  This paper argues that the...

Beginning in mid-2006, staff and students at Mohawk College harnessed existing learning opportunities – cooperative placements, and class and special projects – to the learning, leadership and citizen...

Imagine a newspaper that devotes three years of coverage to creating a broader understanding of poverty in its city, makes a corporate commitment to poverty alleviation projects at an elementary schoo...

Hamilton’s Best Start Network provides an arena for high-level discussions about early learning and for sharing resources and decision-making among its 50 members.  Since its formation in 2005, t...

The upcoming Throne Speech affords a prime opportunity to make progress on the social policy front, especially with another massive surplus being banked in Ottawa.  The growing gap between rich a...

The search for new ideas is on in Ottawa as federal parties gear up for the next election.  Proposed initiatives typically take the form of individual disparate measures – or policy ‘sound bites....

Capitalizing on the interest of an earlier city-wide book club, Hamilton Public Library joined forces with Arts Hamilton to encourage residents to read a book about poverty and respond to the issue th...

Vibrant Communities Edmonton is taking a leaf from Opportunities Niagara and initiating discussions between Edmonton Transit and large local employers to establish specialized bus routes for underserv...

Make Tax Time Pay (MTTP) is an education and tax preparation assistance program that was originally launched in 2006 by Vibrant Communities Edmonton.  It alerts residents to ten benefits, subsidi...

Action for Neighbourhood Change began as an action research project in February 2005 to explore resident-led neighbourhood revitalization.  This paper presents the highlights of the project’s ach...

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Communities play a vital role in promoting resilience, described in a related paper entitled Organizing for Neighbourhood Renewal.  But the wide-ranging interventions that communities can underta...

This paper explores upon neighbourhood revitalization within the context of complexity theory.  It was written in association with a related document The Enabling Environment for Community Work.&...

The Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada invited departmental representatives and four outside panelists to a roundtable to consider options for repairing Canada’s social safety...

This series of Vibrant Communities (VC) stories explores the role which government – federal, provincial, regional and municipal – can play in developing, delivering and collaborating on strategies th...

This paper was prepared for an Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conference on asset-based strategies and has also been published by the OECD.  The paper reviews the cur...

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Action for Neighbourhood Change was a two-year action research project which ran from February 2005 to March 2007.  It operated in five cities – Surrey, Regina, Thunder Bay, Toronto and Halifax.&...

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In this paper on what he calls the “third version” of federalism, Tom Kent argues that both parliamentary democracy and federalism need modernization.  A suite of reforms is required including th...

Workplace pension plans – often referred to in Canada as occupational, employer-sponsored or registered pension plans – play a key role in ensuring the financial security of Canadian seniors.  Th...

There is considerable data demonstrating the important contribution of workplace pension plans in ensuring the financial security of today’s seniors.  However, will workplace plans continue to pl...

In bringing down the 2007 Budget, the Finance Minister wanted all to know that he had listened to Canadians.  He had talked to ordinary people on the streets.  He sat down with folks in coff...

Rural communities must grapple with the same economic and social challenges faced by larger centres – unemployment and loss of key industries – as well as a lack of access to services, ...

Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) was an action research project which operated from February 2005 to March 2007.  The ANC Sketches document provides an overview of the ANC theory of change.&...

This commentary describes the value of community enterprise in terms of both economic and social return.  It points out that, unlike the US and the UK, Canada does not have financial incentives s...

Vibrant Surrey is committed to bridging differences and promoting inclusion in this fast-growing municipality.  The project seeks to create a legacy of exemplary practice and robust infrastructur...

The commentary looks at the recent “Ashley case” in which the parents of a young girl with a severe disability had arranged for surgical intervention to stunt her growth to ease their ability to care ...

Vibrant Communities is a Pan-Canadian initiative exploring promising local solutions for poverty reduction.  Beginning in the spring 2002, three national sponsors (the J.W. McConnell Family Found...

Occupational pension plans – often referred to in Canada as employer-sponsored, workplace or registered pension plans – play a critical role in ensuring the income security of Canadian seniors.  ...

Occupational pension plans – often referred to in Canada as employer-sponsored, workplace or registered pension plans – play a critical role in ensuring the income security of Canadian seniors.  ...

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s surprise announcement on October 31, 2006, shutting down income trusts was front page news across Canada.  Little media attention, however, was given to ot...

In his report Aboriginal Peoples and Postsecondary Education in Canada (Caledon Institute of Social Policy, July 2006), Michael Mendelson found that a very high percentage of Aboriginal students were ...

Fifteen years ago, Natural Resources Canada launched the Canadian Model Forest Program as part of the federal government’s Green Plan.  Since then, 11 Model Forests have been established, attract...

Imagine if youth were viewed as competent community builders.  With this idea in mind, former young people who had lived in foster or group homes in Nova Scotia supported the development of leade...

This paper is the first in a series on the “communities agenda.”  The paper defines this term and develops it within the context of theories on resilience, and innovation and its application as c...

Financing the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans describes the evolution and financing policies of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), focusing on the organization and experi...

In dozens of cities across Canada, the last few years have seen middle-class homeowners spellbound by the dizzying spectre of escalating prices for homes in their neighbourhoods.  Today, some hom...

In February 2005, Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) was launched with funding from the Government of Canada.  Its purpose is to explore and assess approaches to strengthening neighbourhoods t...

The author aims to pop the federal government’s trial balloon of reducing Canada Pension Plan contributions from employees and employers by paying some of the federal surplus directly into the CPP. ...

The author proposes modifications to the design of the new Universal Child Care Benefit intended to respond to criticisms of the initiative, while achieving the federal government’s objectives and off...

This commentary responds to the Conservatives’ search for its next top priority ideas.  The paper speaks to the need for investment in technical aids and personal supports, such as attendant care...

The success of Aboriginal people in our postsecondary education (PSE) system is of vital interest to all Canadians.  Aboriginal Peoples and Postsecondary Education in Canada reviews the empi...

Since its creation in 1992, the Caledon Institute of Social Policy has worked to modernize Canada’s social security system.  We have made the case for major changes not just to individual social ...

In February 2005, Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) was launched with funding from the Government of Canada.  Its purpose is to explore and assess approaches to strengthening neighbourhoods t...

Policy dialogue is a relatively new technique for building a shared vision and operational frameworks among governments and communities.  In the spirit of action research, ANC created a policy d...

Romanow, Romanow, where art thou?  Canadians ignore the royal commission"s findings at their peril, says health policy expert....

Before the arrival of Opportunities Niagara in 2002, no mechanism existed to initiate and guide poverty reduction work across the 12 municipal jurisdictions that make up southern Ontario’s Niagara Reg...

The federal government’s new Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) - formerly known as the Choice in Child Care Allowance - contains two serious flaws.  First, the UCCB will be taxable in the hands...

As proposed to date, the new $1,200 Child Care Allowance will be a flawed scheme creating deep inequities.  Working poor and modest-income families will end up with low net benefits, and one-earn...

The Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project has completed its first 14 months of operation.  Its main purpose was to help revitalize five neighbourhoods across the country.  ANC enable...

The Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project has completed its first 14 months of operation.  Its main purpose was to help revitalize five neighbourhoods across the country.  ANC enable...

The Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project has completed its first 14 months of operation.  Its main purpose was to help revitalize five neighbourhoods across the country.  ANC enable...

The Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project has completed its first 14 months of operation.  Its main purpose was to help revitalize five neighbourhoods across the country.  ANC enable...

The Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project has completed its first 14 months of operation.  Its main purpose was to help revitalize five neighbourhoods across the country.  ANC enable...

Vibrant Communities Saint John (VCSJ) was founded in 2004 with support from its convenor organization, the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative.  Saint John community organizers take pride ...

Vivre Saint-Michel en Santé, a community revitalization initiative in the Montreal neighbourhood of Saint-Michel, has created a new offshoot organization to work specifically on projects that will ad...

The proposed $1,200 Choice in Child Care Allowance is a stealth program that will in fact deliver smaller benefits than advertised.  Caledon proposes that the federal government instead deliver t...

Renewal efforts in communities typically concern themselves with bricks and mortar.  Safe, decent and affordable housing comprises the core of a healthy community.  But there has been growin...

This is the third in a series of policy papers developed in support called Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC).  ANC is a pan-Canadian project that involves four national and five local partner...

This is the fourth in a series of policy papers developed in support of Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC).  The paper focuses upon the policies and strategies for implementing neighbourhood r...

Vibrant Communities Edmonton (VCE) is basing its work on a model of family economic success developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in the US.  Focusing its efforts on residents who work but e...

As part of its goal of helping families to achieve economic success, Vibrant Communities Edmonton (VCE) has launched the Make Tax Time Pay campaign.  Working in collaboration with the Canada Reve...

The Conservatives’ plan for a “Choice in Child Care Allowance” is seriously flawed.  Because the new program will trigger reductions in federal and provincial/territorial income-tested benefits a...

The November 2003 Report of the Auditor General, released in February 2004, set in motion a chain of events that led to an obsession with accountability.  The November 2005 report of the Auditor ...

This paper was prepared on behalf of Social Development Canada to support the department and its partners in developing an evaluation framework for potential federal investment in the social economy.&...

By educating Calgarians about the complex realities of poverty and influencing the development of responsive public policies, Vibrant Communities Calgary is trying to create a profound shift in thinki...

This paper focuses on the coexistence of strong labour demand in Saskatchewan, and a chronically underemployed segment of the population that is not achieving full economic citizenship.  It argue...

The November 2005 federal mini-Budget planted the seeds of an innovative social program – a Working Income Tax Benefit to supplement the wages of the working poor.  While the initiative is a prom...

Caledon Senior Scholar Michael Mendelson challenges governments to start thinking and talking about – and planning for – an inevitable looming crisis: the next recession. ...

Keith Horner’s paper presents an analysis of the proposed registered disability savings plan − an idea put forward by the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN).  The registered disabilit...

Richard Shillington"s paper presents an analysis of the proposed registered disability savings plan − an idea put forward by the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN).  The paper examine...

Intergenerational equity has been used as a rationale for debt repayment in Canada.  This paper addresses this issue by evaluating a set of economic and fiscal projections.  The results show...

The City of Calgary recently began to issue reduced fare transit passes to citizens who receive benefits from the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program.  Beginning in January...

BC’s Capital Region has one of the highest average house prices in the country.  In order to build homes which are affordable to the majority of citizens, seven of the region’s thirteen municipal...

Since 1999, the Quality of Life CHALLENGE has charted a bold new way for people throughout BC’s Capital Region to improve quality of life for all, particularly those disadvantaged by poverty.  By...

Senator Landon Pearson – the Senator for Children and the Children’s Senator – retires from her seat in the Senate in November 2005.  This issue of ‘real leaders’ is dedicated to a woman whose li...

The Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project, based in five cities across Canada, enables community members to help one another to make their neighbourhoods better places to live.  This 14-m...

The Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project, based in five cities across Canada, enables community members to help one another to make their neighbourhoods better places to live.  This 14-m...

The Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project, based in five cities across Canada, enables community members to help one another to make their neighbourhoods better places to live.  This 14-m...

The Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project, based in five cities across Canada, enables community members to help one another to make their neighbourhoods better places to live.  This 14-m...

The Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project, based in five cities across Canada, enables community members to help one another to make their neighbourhoods better places to live.  This 14-m...

This commentary highlights the vision of Senator Landon Pearson, retiring this fall, who has worked tirelessly over the years to create a world fit for children.  It is a world that affords all c...

This paper was written to support the work of community initiatives interested in policy development.  A public policy is a deliberate decision that provides guidance for addressing identified ob...

Bethlehem Projects of Niagara, a nonprofit organization which provides transitional housing and life skills programs for people living in poverty, recently announced the construction of a 40-unit apar...

This paper is the second of three policy papers developed in support of a new national initiative called Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC).  The first, entitled "Policy Dialogue," was re...

This paper was developed in support of a new national initiative called Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC).  ANC is a pan-Canadian project that involves four national and five local partners i...

Responding to interest in the issue of poverty reduction through the payment of a ‘living wage,’ Vibrant Communities initiated a tele-learning forum to investigate the process of designing and initiat...

The Caledon Institute is proud to announce its involvement in Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC), a 14-month community revitalization project announced by Labour and Housing Minister Joe Fontana on...

Efforts to provide support for teenage mothers led to the creation of several youth-centred programs and services in the City of Saint John.  This story profiles the efforts of the Business Commu...

The Alberta government’s recently announced changes to the AISH program capped a four-year review of the province’s low income security programs.  A public policy Roundtable was initiated by staf...

This commentary discusses the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities and the subsequent adoption, in the 2005 federal Budget, of virtually al...

This ‘real leaders’ story describes Parliamentary Secretary Eleni Bakopanos’ work to advance the understanding and functioning of the social economy in Canada.  Highlighted in the March...

Vibrant Communities is the foundation for a ‘Group of Six’ trying to develop a distinctive approach to community-based poverty reduction.  The Group of Six initiatives within the overall project ...

Engaging low-income residents in community-based poverty reduction requires careful planning and the provision of ongoing support.  Victoria’s Quality of Life CHALLENGE has made this issue a prio...

Caledon assesses the 2005 federal Budget relative to three principles that we put forward in the pre-Budget consultations on the fiscal surplus: transparency, balance and purpose.  On the basis o...

This report addresses two critical questions in social policy: what is child poverty and how much is an adequate child benefit?  To answer these questions, the report provides an analytic basis t...

This paper describes the core elements of a sustainable development research framework for science and technology.  While the framework is concerned generally with sustainability, it seeks to ide...

Spurred by media reports about a lack of uptake of the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) by low-income seniors, Human Resources Development Canada and the OP2000 poverty reduction project in Waterloo...

This community story profiles a Canadian employer with an exemplary attitude and demonstrated ability to change its operations for the good of all employees.  By adopting the principle that every...

The Government of Canada established the Technical Advisory Committee in April 2003 to provide advice to the federal Ministers of Finance and National Revenue on how to address issues related to tax m...

This book challenges a widely held view that Canada’s fiscal system is not competitive with that of the United States. Comparing the fiscal systems of the two countries with respect to the current sit...

This paper was prepared for the pre-Budget consultations of the Finance Committee.  It discusses several key principles to help guide the spending of the federal surplus: transparency, balance an...

This commentary challenges current management practice which places sole emphasis upon the measurable outcomes of a given initiative.  The authors make the case for managing for sustainability wh...

This story examines the influence of creativity on business and community development in two ‘villages’ – one in downtown Toronto, the other north of Ottawa.  Inspired by Richard Florida’s creati...

This paper is the text of a presentation at the International Conference on Urban Health held in Boston, October 20-22, 2004.  Panelists were asked to address the issue of engaging disenfranchise...

This case study was written as part of the Special Studies series developed by the Canada School of Public Service.  It will be used as training material for federal public servants.  The Vi...

Federal-provincial discussions on health care financing have paid little attention to the equity aspects of a formula that allocates total federal contributions among provinces on an equal per capita ...

About two million Canadians are engaged in elder care and over two-thirds of them are working.  As the baby boomers age, the potential number of carers in the cohorts following are smaller. ...

An innovative and newly-created Internet gateway is allowing businesses in Vancouver to make purchases on the basis of price, value, quality and a new dimension – social value.  Blending corporat...

Transitions, the landmark 1988 report of the Social Assistance Review in Ontario, created a new vision for social assistance and related programs that called for a radically redesigned set of child be...

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) has helped to build the region’s economic capacity since it was established by the federal government in 1987.  This community story profiles four ...

By forging strategic partnerships among its member immigrant services agencies, government departments and educational institutions, Ottawa-based Local Agencies Serving Immigrants (LASI) has helped to...

Youth Action Now is a two-year project in Saskatchewan which will enable young people between the ages of 15 and 30 to explore the concept of multiculturalism with an eye to creating a prosperous and ...

This commentary shows that the debt-to-GDP ratio, federal and total, is on a rapidly declining path, even without debt repayment.  It also shows that the federal debt repayment plan will have lit...

This report argues that the federal Conservatives’ proposal for a $2,000 child tax deduction “is a retrograde and regressive idea...resurrected from the graveyard of Canadian public pol...

Environment Canada and the Canadian Nature Federation are promoting the widespread development of a Canadian Community Monitoring Network (CCMN) – a process which engages citizens in gathering data on...

Three Ottawa organizations are proposing to construct a bungalow which will provide respite for 12 people with mild to moderate levels of dementia and their caregivers.  The Perley and Rideau Vet...

This commentary discusses the need for respite for the millions of Canadians who care at home for elderly, sick or disabled relatives.  The notion of "respite as outcome" encourages a fundamental...

This paper explores the importance of culture and recreation for the health and well-being of individuals and communities.  It is the eighth in a series of papers written in support of the Vibran...

Has the labour market situation of Aboriginal people in Canada been improving over the last several years?  This paper uses data from the 1996 and 2001 censuses to present comprehensive, factual ...

This paper argues that Canadians are at a crossroads in terms of the future of medicare.  Critical directional decisions will be made at the First Ministers Meeting in a few months.  Ottawa ...

This is the sixth in a series of papers written in support of the Vibrant Communities project, a four-year national effort to explore promising local solutions to reduce poverty.  The paper discu...

This is the seventh in series of papers written in support of the Vibrant Communities project.  This paper reflects on the first 18 months of the Vibrant Communities experience and the Face-to-Fa...

COEP – the Comitê de Entidades no Combate à Fome e Pela Vida (“Committee of entities Against Hunger and For Life”) – is a Brazilian network that mobilizes organizations to combat hunger and poverty.&n...

This paper discusses child poverty in Canada in terms of access to savings and assets, as well as income and public services.  Middle-  and upper-income families have incentives to set aside...

The City of Ottawa recently reopened the EnviroCentre, a non-profit, self-sustaining enviro-business which offers programs and information aimed at improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse ...

This commentary analyzes the impact of the new disability supports deduction announced in the 2004 federal Budget.  Persons with disabilities who are attending school or working will benefit thro...

Ottawa’s practice of underestimating the annual surplus has prevented Canadians from making informed choices about government spending.  Letting surpluses lapse into debt repayment has, in fact, ...

Asset-building programs invite low-income citizens to participate in forced savings plans by matching their contributions with funds from financial institutions. These programs have enjoyed wide popul...

This community story focuses upon the Toronto Public Library (TPL), the second busiest library in the world with the second largest collection of materials in North America.  TPL"s commitment to ...

Who Does What in Comprehensive Community Initiatives? is the fifth in a series of Caledon papers to support the Vibrant Communities initiative, a four-year national effort to explore promising local s...

REFLECT is an innovative process that was developed originally by the British nongovernmental organization ActionAid and its partners for use in adult literacy work in developing countries.  It h...

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) created the Office of Learning Technologies (OLT) in 1996, in order to encourage innovative, technology-based learning.  HRDC staff and representatives f...

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) created the Office of Learning Technologies (OLT) in 1996, in order to encourage innovative, technology-based learning.  HRDC staff and representatives f...

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) created the Office of Learning Technologies (OLT) in 1996, in order to encourage innovative, technology-based learning.  HRDC staff and representatives f...

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) created the Office of Learning Technologies (OLT) in 1996, in order to encourage innovative, technology-based learning.  HRDC staff and representatives f...

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) created the Office of Learning Technologies (OLT) in 1996, in order to encourage innovative, technology-based learning.  HRDC staff and representatives f...

This paper explores the renewal of communities through rethinking the use of community resources and building relationships among these resources for mutually beneficial problem-solving.  The ‘en...

This commentary argues the need for exploring possible methods of expanding the ‘fiscal pie.’  It explores one possible model put forward by PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network), a group...

This new paper from Tom Kent argues that federal taxation has become so unfair and so slack, so undermined by avoidance and evasion, that its repair is now the urgent social reform on which others dep...

The Canadian government has used 9/11 and the consequential focus on security as a cover for negotiating an agreement with the United States which would deflect Canada-bound asylum seekers who pass th...

This statement calls upon the federal and provincial/territorial governments to build on the success of the National Child Benefit and undertake a comprehensive review of income supports and employmen...

Presented originally to the Social Policy Committee of the National Liberal Caucus, this commentary argues that the Canada Social Transfer should function temporarily as an equal per capita block fund...

How does policy change happen?  This paper documents the achievement of one reform, access to student loans for refugees, which took five years and was championed by many.  The authors lay o...

This paper discusses the concept of innovation and explores how it can be applied to local solutions to reduce poverty. Interventions include the creation of clusters outside of the high-tech sector, ...

This set of papers on community-based poverty reduction in Quebec was prepared by William Ninacs and his colleagues at the Coopérative de consultation en développement La Clé. These papers link to the...

This set of papers on community-based poverty reduction in Quebec was prepared by William Ninacs and his colleagues at the Coopérative de consultation en développement La Clé.These papers link to the ...

This set of papers on community-based poverty reduction in Quebec was prepared by William Ninacs and his colleagues at the Coopérative de consultation en développement La Clé. These papers link to the...

This set of papers on community-based poverty reduction in Quebec was prepared by William Ninacs and his colleagues at the Coopérative de consultation en développement La Clé. These papers link to the...

This set of papers on community-based poverty reduction in Quebec was prepared by William Ninacs and his colleagues at the Coopérative de consultation en développement La Clé.These papers link to the ...

This set of papers on community-based poverty reduction in Quebec was prepared by William Ninacs and his colleagues at the Coopérative de consultation en développement La Clé. These papers link to the...

This paper, written for a Japanese-edited volume on pension reform in developed countries, analyzes and explains two recent public pension reform projects in Canada. The Seniors Benefit would have ra...

The emerging focus of Canadian labour market and social policy on 'social inclusion' through paid employment is broadly appropriate (with significant caveats). However, positive outcomes for workers ...

This think piece was commissioned as a background paper for a Policy Conversation on Community Learning organized by the Office of Learning Technologies, Human Resources Development Canada. The paper ...

This publication documents the range of effective crime prevention practices under way throughout Canada. Members of the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Working Group on Community Safety and Crime Pre...

The Social Role of Local Government is the second in a series of Caledon papers to support the Vibrant Communities initiative. The first paper in this series, Comprehensive Community Initiatives, exam...

This community story describes how one Vancouver neighbourhood is translating the concept of sustainable development into practice. City planners, developers, environmentalists, design professionals a...

Australia, Canada, the UK and the US all have programs providing cash benefits to families with children. This study is a detailed comparison of current child benefit rates in the four countries, for ...

This essay appears in H. Aster and T. Axworthy eds. (2003). Searching for the New Liberalism. Toronto: Mosaic Press of Canada. It was first presented at the Searching for the New Liberalism Conference...

This paper explores the emerging theory and practice on comprehensive community initiatives. It is one of a series of papers written in support of the Vibrant Communities project, which has embraced t...

Can technology clusters deliver sustainable livelihoods? Following the bursting of the ‘tech bubble’ worldwide, technology clusters appear capable of delivering sustainable livelihoods mainly for elit...

This paper applies the theory of complex adaptive systems to health in cities. It describes the features of complex systems and identifies a variety of tools for promoting health in such a context. ...

This article offers a critique of the federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration"s proposed ‘dispersion’ policy, which is considering offering a temporary work visa that ties an immigrant to a pa...

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Written by renowned health expert Dr. Michael Rachlis, this response to the Romanow report on the future of health care calls upon the federal government to rejuvenate Canada’s health care system. The...

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This report presents the findings from interviews with selected key informants who have a policy interest in respite for caregivers. The survey was carried out in January and February 2003 on behalf o...

The purpose of this paper is to explore the links between the concept of innovation and the practice of community economic development (CED). The paper first examines the practice of community economi...

The minimum wage is one of the oldest social policies, originating in New Zealand in 1894 and spreading to Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Yet it remains highly controversial. Some peopl...

The Caledon Institute marked its tenth anniversary with a day-long series of presentations and panel discussions at the Château Laurier Hotel in Ottawa on November 6, 2002. The celebration offered an ...

The case for investing in high quality child care is compelling and unequivocal. The current challenge is to develop an architecture that will help guide the construction of a Canadian child care syst...

This address was presented at the Caledon Institute's Tenth Anniversary Celebration in Ottawa on November 6, 2002....

This commentary on affordable housing was published as an op ed in the Globe and Mail on September 24, 2002....

Canada needs social policy that works, says new Caledon report.  "Health care is the $100 billion gorilla of Canadian public policy. We all must hope that the forthcoming report of the Roman...

This speech to the Groundswell Conference organized by the Learning Enrichment Foundation in Toronto and the Canadian Community Economic Development Network focusses upon the challenges related to the...

This paper argues that issue of health care sustainability does not arise because of the inability of the economy or the overall fiscal system to finance rising health care costs. It arises from a com...

This special edition of real leaders was written in conjunction with the Caledon report A Social Vision for the New City of Hamilton.In preparing this Social Vision, interviews were held with manycomm...

This Social Vision was prepared at the request of the Social and Public Health Services Department of the New City of Hamilton and was approved by Hamilton City Council on October 22, 2002. The Vision...

This report describes four scenarios for future global economic and political structures – called Global Club, Shared Governance, Cyberwave and Regional Dominators – and looks at the future of health ...

In this presentation which was made at the D.G. Willmot Lecture, Brock University, Spring 2002, Ed Broadbent discusses his views about the threat to democratic citizenship in Canada. He explores the a...

This paper is a summary of the wide range of reductions and cuts the BC Liberals have introduced to social programs over the past year. It documents changes in the areas of health care, education, inc...

This paper discusses the problems faced by low- and middle-income Canadians regarding access to postsecondary education. The author proposes several remedies, including increased federal funding for p...

Advice and Business Loans for Entrepreneurs with Disabilities (ABLED) is an initiative operating out of Vancouver and Victoria. This story profiles three entrepreneurs and provides details of lessons ...

This paper explores the state of government finances in Canada. It focusses upon the growing fiscal imbalance, commonly known as vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI), between the federal and provincial/ter...

In this speech delivered at an April 2002 conference at Queen’s University’s School of Policy Studies, Alan Broadbent – one of Canada’s most influential action-thinkers on urban issues – offers a rang...

Decision Time for Medicare "The uncertain future of medicare does not come from public opinion. By a wide margin, most Canadians want health insurance according to the five principles that identify me...

This commentary was first published as an op ed in the Toronto Star under the title "World-class cities need magnets and glue." It argues that cities must invest in key areas of social infrastructure:...

This paper was written at the request of the Labour Market Information Working Group of the Forum of Labour Market Ministers. It identifies major gaps in labour market information, especially at the l...

The Creating Access to Regulated Employment (CARE) initiative for Nurses helps Internationally Educated Nurses prepare for a licensing examination. Early results have exceeded expectations....

Family Service Canada has introduced a family involvement program in communities across the country with the assistance of local schools, school boards and a variety of funding partners. Children who ...

This edition of real leaders profiles three individuals who have contributed to social well-being through their involvement in political life. John Godfrey,Member of Parliament for the Toronto riding ...

This paper sets out the context, proposed approach and components of a system envisaged by the Maytree Foundation in which Canada values and benefits from the skills, training, education and experienc...

This community story profiles Power Camp, a summer day camp and off-season workshop program which collaborates with community organizations in cities across Canada. Power Camp was conceived by three ...

This op ed points out how the loss of the Canada Assistance Plan in 1996 shook the foundation of community supports that help keep people out of hospital and decimated the systems of community care th...

World summit events have recently been marked by violence, injury and property destruction. A process for engaging police, media, politicians, activists and the general public has been developed by a ...

This paper, presented at the Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs, argues that economic competitiveness and social cohesion are not a trade-off, but rather are intrinsically linked. It discusses t...

This report presents a policy history of the Canada Pension Plan disability benefit. It discusses the strengths and unique features of this national program, trends in caseload and cost, key issues re...

In this commentary, the author contends that a recent misinterpretation regarding the equalization formula not only would undermine the constitutional foundations of the equalization program but also ...

This story describes the development of a program in British Columbia which supports non-profit organizations in their bid to diversify revenue sources by launching business enterprises. Started as a...

The Lifeline Budget was developed by the group, Our Schools, Our Communities, in support of a strong, adequately funded public education system. The paper is intended to help similar groups that are s...

This social vision paper was written on behalf of the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations, the Canadian Council on Social Development and United Way Canada. It discusses the constitutional, ...

This paper discusses the partnership process in which Aboriginal communities were engaged with the University of Victoria to create a culturally sensitive and appropriate Early Childhood Care curricul...

The Caledon Institute submitted this brief entitled Proposal for a National Disability Supports Initiative to the Standing Committee on Finance. The brief calls for a federal/provincial initiative tha...

This commentary addresses the future of the equalization agreement in Canada. The authors stress the need to focus upon its underlying principles in order to ensure the fiscal health of all regions of...

Growing Prospects is a nonprofit organization that is providing training and employment to individuals on income assistance, helping them develop the skills required to find full-time employment in th...

This story describes an innovative partnership which seeks to change the way that health services are delivered to homeless individuals....

Food security issues are increasingly preoccupying municipal governments as they grapple with the persistence of hunger, food-related health issues, waste disposal problems and other symptoms of probl...

This article profiles the steps taken to revitalize an inner-city elementary school community in Vancouver"s east end. A 1997 family crisis became the impetus for change, allowing school staff to pri...

The Canadian Council for International Co-operation has been testing innovative methods of engaging the public in meaningful discussion of international policy issues. This community story describes ...

This edition of real leaders shines the spotlight on youth. Founders of vastly different initiatives, Simon Jackson, Ryan Hreljac and Rahul Raj demonstrate that a powerful vision can go a long way. ...

Written by Steve Pomeroy, one of Canada's most knowledgeable housing experts, this report offers a comprehensive perspective on the problem of lack of affordable housing in this country and sets out a...

This review summarizes selected literature sources on the subject of community learning and identifies key themes considered in these sources. The findings of this work will be applied to the subsequ...

This commentary is the text of a keynote address delivered at the National Settlement Conference in Kingston June 2001. The address describes the settlement "journey" that immigrants experience when ...

This paper is a revised version of a presentation to the Symposium on Affordable Housing Policy organized by the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association. The paper reports on a number of innovative ...

This report is a comprehensive analysis of recent and ongoing changes to Canadian income security policy. The paper argues that economic factors are a necessary but not sufficient explanation for the...

An innovative partnership in Western Australia is helping to keep young people in school and prepare them for the world of work. The Kwinana Industries Council (KIC) Excellence in Education Compact i...

This commentary was prepared in response to an op ed in The Ottawa Citizen that called for a return to workhouses for welfare recipients. It was published under the banner of “New Ideas.” The commen...

Presentation to the Commons Subcommittee on Children and Youth at Risk ...

In this speech to the Private Foundations Canada Conference held in Toronto on June 1, 2001, Alan Broadbent explains The Maytree Foundation's approach to philanthropic giving.  Broadbent is a business...

The purpose of this follow-up note to the earlier paper for the CEPRA Project (see above) to reflect upon the findings of the research carried out on income security in Russia and to link these findi...

This framework was designed for presentation at a meeting of the federal Interdepartmental Working Group on Sustainable Development. The framework focusses specifically upon the links between sustain...

This report was prepared for the CEPRA (Consortium for Economic Policy Research and Advice) Project, "Living Standards and Income Inequality in Selected Regions," for the International and Canadian Pr...

On April 5, 2001, the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton, Ontario sponsored a conference titled “Building a Winning Community: Visions and Challenges for the New City of Hamilton.” The ...

The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association uses bold typeface to advise potential buyers of private insurance: “Read your contract!” While the warning is sound advice in general, it was meant...

This report is an analysis of the Our Millennium gift registry. Our Millennium was a special project initiated by the Community Foundations of Canada to mark the new century. It was designed as a na...

The First Stop program is on site at the downtown bus station in Montreal to provide assistance to vulnerable people, and to help prevent crime and victimization.  Part of the work of First Stop ...

The Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank is a food bank with a difference. Besides helping people put food on the table, it also feeds people's desire to be accepted as capable, contributing members of their...

Quint Development Corporation was formed in 1995 by residents of the five neighbourhoods that comprise the inner city of Saskatoon. This not-for-profit community organization was created to help local...

The personal stories series was launched to give families and individuals a 'voice' to tell their stories. In this story, Joan Johnson describes the challenges related to the transition to retirement....

The Individual Development Account (IDA) is an important new tool for combating poverty. It enables people with low incomes to accumulate a substantial financial asset to be invested in a potentially ...

This edition of real leaders profiles one individual and two groups who demonstrate that working together can make a difference in a community. Carol Ann Cole raised more than $1 million for breast ca...

This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the social housing program of the Fédération des OSBL d'habitation de Montréal (Montreal Federation of Housing Non-profit Organizations). The result...

Written by Edward Tamagno, a senior federal official responsible for the negotiation and administration of Canada's international social security agreements, this paper discusses the growth of “hybrid...

Healthy Families programs offer education and positive social modelling to families with young children in a number of communities in Canada. This paper describes a project supported by the Crime Prev...

Young people who have been "in care" - in the child welfare system, foster homes or institutions - face many challenges. Their lives are often characterized by instability, and many bear scars from ea...

Municipalities play a key role in crime prevention. This paper describes several municipal crime prevention projects supported by the Safer Communities Initiative. The Federation of Canadian Municipal...

Ottawa is reacting to outcry over smuggled immigrants by threatening to tighten the borders. There are much better ways to solve this problem argues The Maytree Foundation’s Andrew Brouwer, in a Comme...

Benefits for Children: A Four Country Study reports on the system of income benefits paid on behalf of children in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. The study compares the s...

Launched in 1999 by a community development organization in Montreal known as the Third Avenue Resource Centre, People in Action for Education offers support and information for parents from socially ...

Drug-related crime is a major problem in many Canadian communities, and studies have shown a strong link between drug addiction and repeat criminal behaviour. The traditional criminal justice system o...

It is estimated that more than 300,000 children and youths are involved in the sex trade in North America. Law enforcement officials, social service providers and the general public often regard these...

The South Shore Family Resource Association is an initiative supported by Health Canada's Community Action Program for Children. The Association serves the Shelburne, Queens and Lunenburg counties of ...

A version of this commentary was originally published in the National Post on December 13, 2000. ...

Patterns of criminal behaviour and victimization often begin in childhood and adolescence, and children and youth are priorities for the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention.&nbs...

Children and youth are priorities for the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention. Particular attention is being paid to fostering community action and promoting conditions that hel...

For 65 years, Goodwill Toronto has been on a mission: to help people with disabilities and others facing employment barriers find meaningful jobs in the community. This paper describes several Goodwil...

Fostering the healthy, secure, prosocial development of children and youth is an important component of crime prevention through social development. With assistance from the Community Mobilization Pro...

This is one of two commentaries which discuss the status of special education in Ontario. Special education essentially involves tailoring and personalizing the school experience for each exceptional ...

This issues of real leaders takes us across the country to Ottawa, Winnipeg and Saskatoon for a look at innovative community development initiatives. Andrejs and Lorraine Berzins are working to achie...

In a brief to the Finance Committee, the Caledon Institute of Social Policy calls for the “reconstruction not restoration” of Canadian social programs. In the emerging post-deficit era, 'social reinve...

Despite the Ontario government's claim that 'families are better off,' many people in Ontario are worse off and struggling to get by, says a report released today by the Caledon Institute. The report,...

Personal supports refer to a range of goods and services technical aids and equipment, personal services and brokerage that offset the effects of a disabling condition. These supports help ensure th...

This commentary discusses the status of special education in Ontario. Special education essentially involves tailoring and personalizing the school experience for each exceptional student when the reg...

The refugee and immigrant series was launched by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy in partnership with the Maytree Foundation"s Refugee and Immigrant Program. The purpose of the series is to high...

The Southwest Regional School Board in Nova Scotia has undertaken several initiatives to increase public involvement and support for publicly funded education. Two of these initiatives are highlighte...

Joe Duquette High School in Saskatoon opened its doors in 1980 after a decade of activism by Aboriginal community members who wanted greater conrol of educational philosophy and direction. Originally...

This proposed model framework is a follow-up to the February 2000 report entitled Ottawa Should Help Build a National Early Childhood Development System. The framework was developed in response to the...

This commentary points out the lack of action on the disability front, despite governments' commitment to proceed in this area. Their written promise was made in a document entitled In Unison: A Canad...

This commentary points out what can happen when society downplays or neglects the public infrastructure that has an impact on our health and safety. Walkerton is a tragic but instructie wake-up call....

In this report, Mr. Kent offers a comprehensive set of measures to rebuild medicare as a firm partnership between the federal and provincial governments. First and foremost, the federal government mus...

With assistance from the Community Mobilization Program, the Centre Option-Prévention T.V.D.S. in Montreal has developed the prototype for a board game that addresses the issue of bullying. Guets-Apen...

After many years of negotiations, an innovative partnership of community groups and government agencies is putting in place an integrated approach to tourism in order to encourage sustainable developm...

Crime and the fear of crime are two critical factors that can greatly undermine a person"s sense of security. Personal security issues are particularly important for women and girls. Various studies h...

Ottawa"s proposed overhaul of the Immigration Act fails to live up to democratic principles and human rights norms. Many of the most important elements of the immigration and refugee system, such as r...

Richmond School District Number 53 in British Columbia provides an example of gracious communication under pressure. Two years ago, the district was asked by a large group of its Asian parents to open...

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This paper was prepared in response to a request by the Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development at the Office of the Auditor General to clarify the meaning of the social dimension of s...

The "public good" refers to actions taken in the interest of all citizens. Unfortunately, it is a concept that has fallen out of favour in recent years. The notion of the public good flies in the face...

The research for this report was undertaken at the request of the Partners for Jobs Working Group spearheaded by the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. The purpose of this report is to identify...

People for Education is a citizen advocacy group working out of Toronto. The group was formed in response to recent changes in Ontario's education system. The paper describes how People for Education ...

In 1997, the town of Tisdale in northeastern Saskatchewan (population 3,500) opened a 100,000 square foot joint-use facility which houses an array of educational, recreational and cultural spaces. Thi...

This is the first paper in a series entitled communities and schools. The series will consist of a set of commentaries and stories on various aspects of public education. It will explore the role that...

Ryerson Community School is located in the heart of downtown Toronto in an area considered by many as undesirable. Since the early 1980s, Ryerson school administrators have worked to develop community...

This commentary highlights the impact of recent cuts in Ontario to English as a Second Language (ESL). A strong ESL program is the cornerstone of public education in a culturally diverse society. Yet ...

This report, by leading health policy expert (and practising physician) Dr. Michael Rachlis, offers a sharp critique of the Alberta government's planned legislation to allow regional health authoritie...

This report is a response to the federal budget of 2000, which Caledon believes will 'rank among Canada's most important.' While Caledon argues that the money that will be devoted to debt repayment wo...

This edition of real leaders profiles Robert Conn, Alice Carlick and Debbie Groat, and Bev Kirby. Robert Conn is founder and Executive Director of the SmartRisk Foundation in Toronto whose innovative ...

This paper makes the case for federal leadership and financial investment - a total of $7.5 billion over five years - in a national early childhood development system. Early childhood development serv...

Federal law and provincial regulations exclude Convention refugees from public student loan programs until they have been granted permanent resident status. These are individuals who fall within the d...

This commentary discusses the problems that have arisen with the introduction of the Employment Insurance (EI) Act which replaced the former Unemployment Insurance Program in 1996. The purpose of the ...

The Maytree Foundation, in conjunction with the Caledon Institute of Social Policy and the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, sponsored the forum Economic Migrants or Refugees? Trends in Glo...

Opportunities 2000 (OP2000) is an innovative community-based program to reduce poverty in the Waterloo Region of Southwestern Ontario. Its works with various community partners to develop initiatives ...

Reach is an Ottawa-based voluntary organization that assists people with disabilities in Ottawa-Carleton and eastern Ontario to resolve legal issues by linking them with lawyers. More than 250 lawyers...

This paper describes how the Compass Community Trust in Tauranga, New Zealand, has supported the development of a dynamic network of community and not-for-profit organizations, helping them to link wi...

Tax Breaks or Broken by Taxes is the first in our personal stories series. This letter was written by a mother with a daughter with multiple disabilities. It provides examples of the problems raised i...

The Youth Centre in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, is a place where youth from all backgrounds can feel welcome. It came to life because of a partnership effort of the Fort Smith Métis Council, th...

"Bracket creep" - the decline in tax brackets due to lack of full indexation - has attracted attention recently, though it has been slowly hiking the taxes of some taxpayers since 1986; about one in f...

This paper, written by the coordinator of the Community Action Committee for Bay St. George, describes how parents, caregivers and community organizations in rural Newfoundland have developed Family R...

The federal Department of Finance"s recent Economic and Fiscal Update provides for $28 billion a hefty 30 percent of the total $95 billion projected surplus between 2000-01 and 2004-05 - to be set as...

The Child/Family Resource Centre provides programs for children and families in Cranberry Portage, Manitoba, and surrounding communities in the north of the province. With support from Health Canada"s...

Success by 6 is a movement that is sweeping North America, bringing together communities around the concept of giving young children the foundation they need to get a good start in life. Initiated by ...

This report challenges the obsession with outcomes as part of the current preoccupation with accountability. The paper recognizes and concurs with the importance of setting and trying to meet clearly ...

This report argues that the so-called "children"s budget" that Ottawa is expected to bring down in the year 2000 may fail to address the needs of a large number of Canada"s children - the 458,000 chil...

This paper describes an innovative project to help address the shortage of affordable housing in aboriginal communities. With contributions from the Homegrown Solutions program and a variety of busine...

Ottawa is under pressure to deliver a so-called 'children's budget' in 2000, but there are also demands to ease the tax burden. Caledon offers a package of proposals that would accomplish both tasks. ...

The current flap over productivity and the brain drain may have pushed unemployment to the side of the chattering class"s radar screen. But the recent decline in Canada"s unemployment rate from doubl...

This paper is the first in a series of Caledon/Maytree papers on immigrant access to the professions and trades in Canada. The paper describes the difficulties facing immigrant professionals and trade...

This commentary makes the case for mentoring the pairing of an individual with a 'significant other' who takes an interest in that individual and who provides personal and professional guidance. The ...

Opportunities 2000 is a project of the Lutherwood Community Opportunities Development Association in Waterloo Region. The organization will work over the next few years with various community partners...

Opportunities 2000 is a project of the Lutherwood Community Opportunities Development Association in Waterloo Region. The organization will work over the next few years with various community partners...

This paper describes the innovative academic programs offered at the Cornwall Alternative School in Regina.  The school specializes in an alternative curriculum for students who are experiencing ...

This paper describes the innovative academic programs offered at the Cornwall Alternative School in Regina. The school specializes in an alternative curriculum for students who are experiencing diffic...

The small town of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, was experiencing an increase in criminal activity, particularly amongst the youth in the community. In the past, citizens of Kugluktuk did not acknowledge crime a...

Violence against women and children cannot be tolerated. This paper highlights the need for more joint provincial and local responses to protect women from abuse. Key to improving protection for women...

KIDS COUNT is a unique, community-wide partnership to improve the health and learning opportunities of children and their families in neighbourhoods of London, Ontario. KIDS COUNT brings together pare...

In 1995, Ottawa imposed a $975 right of landing fee, or "Head Tax," on immigrants and refugees. This tax came in addition to a $500 processing fee introduced the previous year. Canada gained the d...

Using data from the 1996 Census and the 1991 Census-based Aboriginal Peoples Survey, this report compares the job situation of Aboriginal people to that of the general population. The Aboriginal ident...

This paper describes the activities of the voluntary sector and its three key roles: service delivery, innovation and ethical leadership. The voluntary sector operates, at least in theory, outside of ...

The Online Healthy Relationships Project is an innovative approachto educating adolescents about the underlying issues that contribute toviolent behaviour. Essentially a violence prevention program, t...

Customized training is one method of facilitating labour market entry and reentry. While described as a discrete approach, it is linked to a range of labour market interventions. This paper first expl...

This edition of real leaders profiles three individuals from Ottawa-Carleton. John Kelly is President and CEO of JetForm, an Ottawa high-technology company which donates significant time and money to ...

This paper describes the process undertaken to create the PEI Community Promise of Inclusion. Despite the strength of community involvement in Prince Edward Island,there are still many Islanders who f...

The Roots of Empathy is a classroom-based parenting program designed for elementary school students. The program has as its cornerstone a monthly classroom visit by an infant and parent. The goals o...

The health care system in Ontario is unravelling, say household members the Speaking Out Project has intervewed since 1997. They explain that the Ontario government"s restructuring of health care is n...

This labour force development strategy was commissioned by the Chairman of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. The report identifies the extent of the Region's labour market problems in term...

CRUNCH is an innovative community development process which devises cooperative solutions to the problems facing Victoria"s downtown core. The city faces many challenges: fear of violence on the stree...

After two years of increases in 1995 and 1996, poverty eased a bit in 1997. Statistics Canada estimates that 5,222,000 Canadians or 17.5 percent of the population - one person in six - lived on low in...

This community story describes the work of the Neighbourhood Coalition for Conflict Resolution in Ottawa, Ontario. Conflict is part of life in any community and knowing how to deal with it is vital to...

There is an entire class of marginalized people living in Canada today: United Nations Convention refugees who do not have travel documents, passports or other official documents to prove their identi...

This commentary, first published as an op ed in The Ottawa Citizen, discusses possible tax changes in the 1999 Budget. The paper notes that any income tax cuts announced in the Budget will be worth le...

Enviroworks is a Used Building Materials Store owned by the Limestone District School Board in Kingston, Ontario and is operated by students in the Board. It is an example of a highly successful commu...

This commentary describes the range of barriers that arise as a result of 'dumb' rules associated with various government programs. At the federal level, tighter eligibility criteria for Employment In...

Using a fiscal model developed at the Caledon Institute, this report explores the impact of two archetypical scenarios on the federal debt between now and fiscal year 2008-09. The first scenario is Ca...

In this edition of real leaders, Erica Watts and Caitlin McRae lead their public school in an initiative to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Mitch. As founder of the Family Abuse Crisis Exchange (...

This summary document is a companion report to the book, Employment Policy Options, to be published by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy. The book is composed of 10 chapters on various aspects of...

Caledon's critique of the 1999 Budget was issued several hours after it was read in the House of Commons. The Social Fundamentals points out that Canadians have endured several years of tough fiscal m...

This report draws inspiration from Tom Kent's influential 1960 tract Towards a Philosophy of Social Security, the blueprint for the phenomenal development of social programs in the 1960s. The report p...

This paper describes how a dedicated teacher, a supportive school and business community, and numerous volunteers created Igalaaq, an innovative community computer access centre in Rankin Inlet. ...

This paper describes Babies Best Start, an innovative initiative of Health Canada"s Community Action Program for Children. Based in Scarborough, Babies Best Start trains and supports parents from ...

Certain welfare rules on assets and earnings create disincentives to work. Welfare applicants are expected to deplete most of their assets before they are considered eligible for financial assistance....

This commentary argues that current discussions on home care are being framed far too narrowly. Home care is not simply a means of providing medical or nursing care at home. Rather, any home care init...

Students and families in our study support the goal of education reform, but they do not believe the Ontario government’s reforms are improving the quality of education. Instead, they point to a numbe...

This report explains the plight of the estimated 7,500 to 10,000 refugees in Canada who are living in ‘legal limbo.’  Refugees in legal limbo have been accepted to Canada but have not yet been gr...

This paper is the keynote address for the "Strategies for a Caring Society: Investing in the Whole Community" conference organized by The Trillium Foundation on October 15-16, 1998. The international ...

Early Childhood Services for Kindergarten-Age Children in Four Canadian Provinces: Scope, Nature and Models for the Future examines kindergarten and child care for kindergartners in communities in New...

The next federal Budget is expected to focus on health care. Ottawa has to redress some of the damage created through cuts to social programs introduced as part of the Canada Health and Social Transfe...

This paper describes "tailor-made training," an approach to welfare reform that focusses upon individual skills. Under this model, a nonprofit organization identifies job opportunities in the local ec...

This edition of real leaders profiles Francisco Rico-Martinez, Claude Turgeon, and Frank and Kaja Westgarth. Francisco founded a shelter in Toronto and supports refugees during the immigration process...

Skills for Change is a nonprofit organization that provides training to help immigrants and refugees participate in the workforce and the wider community. The authors describe the agency's Mentors...

This paper describes the Alternatives Program and other services provided by the Agincourt Community Services Association in Scarborough. The author describes how activities and projects such as a Coo...

This report challenges the rise of anti-panhandling legislation in several Canadian cities, the latest being Winnipeg. The author, Director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, Universit...

This story is an edited excerpt from a chapter in a forthcoming book by Eric Shragge entitled Social Economy: Critiques and Perspectives. The social economy in Québec is concerned fundamentally with e...

In 1996-97, the federal government spent $12 million on public polls and focus groups to seek opinions on its performance. The new public "pollicy," which relies so much on opinion polls for guidanc...

Perspectives on Partnership is a collection of readings on collaborative working arrangements. Partnerships are strategic alliances which involve a sharing of resources and responsibility to achieve a...

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 4th International Partnership Conference in Trondheim, Norway, June 27 - July 1, 1998. The paper describes the research in partnerships that the Caledon...

This commentary argues that, if health care is underfunded as many people believe, the solution does not lie in increasing federal transfer payments to the provinces under the Canada Health and Social...

This report explores the impact of partial deindexation of the personal income tax system, refundable GST credit and federal child benefits. Introduced into the tax/transfer system in 1986 by Mulrone...

This paper discusses the role of Citizens for Local Democracy (C4LD) in seeking social equity and democracy for all members of a community, including the poor and disadvantaged. C4LD was created i...

The author describes how SEED Winnipeg helped changed welfare regulations in Manitoba that were an impediment to self-employment. SEED Winnipeg is a nonprofit organization which helps low-income peopl...

Lack of access to adequate child care has been identified as a major barrier for at-risk families and parents seeking employment. This paper describes The Parent Relief Project in Toronto which wo...

Opportunities 2000 is an innovative and ambitious community-based program to reduce poverty in the Waterloo Region of Southern Ontario.  Opportunities 2000 is being undertaken by the Lutherwood C...

This is the question that the Community Opportunities Development Association (now known as Lutherwood CODA) in Waterloo Region has set out to answer. It has embarked upon Opportunities 2000 (OP2000) ...

Under an international agreement signed in December 1997, Canada committed itself to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by six percent by the years 2008-2012. But because the emission of three of the s...

Tough love refers to the conventional 'wisdom' now shaping the design of many social programs. The term typically gets used in relation to welfare and has influenced the design of workfare – which inv...

Unemployment and poverty are multifaceted, complex problems that must be addressed through a combination of public policy and community-based approaches. This paper sets out a framework for community-...

This same-day response to the 1998 federal Budget argues that Canada's poor - who suffered most from cuts to social programs during the anti-deficit campaign - have first claim on the soon-to-be-risin...

Partipants expressed their concerns about all of the changes happening in Ontario. They said there are too many changes in major policies and programs, the pace at which change is happening is too rus...

Despite an improving Ontario economy, interviewees reported experiencing a rise in job insecurity.  They pointed to new government policies that are contributing to a ‘bad jobs’ economy. ...

To Pay or Not to Pay: Should the Federal Government 'Pay Down' its Debt? develops a fiscal model to forecast the impact of several scenarios on the federal debt between now and fiscal year 2008-09. Th...

The Speaking Out project is documenting the effects policy changes are having on ordinary people in Ontario, especially those with low incomes, through ongoing interviews with 40 Ontario households. T...

In this same-day analysis of the 1996 low income estimates from Statistics Canada, the Caledon Institute concludes that the poverty figures are worse than they appear.  While the number and perce...

This report offers governments advice on how to build and evaluate the National Child Benefit System announced in the 1997 federal Budget. The study traces the development of the concept of an "integr...

This third edition of real leaders profiles Tina Conlon, Dan O"Grady and the little red dot club. While Tina and Dan approach their work from different perspectives (Tina"s work deals primarily with i...

Tom Kent warns that equitable health care in Canada requires new federal action soon. For the past 20 years, medicare has been sustained by the public will – not by the actions of the federal governme...

This commentary discusses two basic models of capitalism. One is 'coordinated market capitalism' (CMC) in which institutions (e.g., national wage-setting or bargaining, business-labour management of s...

This paper explores the potential impact of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) upon public and social services.  The MAI is currently being negotiated by officials from the 29 member ...

This paper assesses the potential impact of Bill 142 which replaces existing Ontario welfare legislation with the Ontario Works Act and the Ontario Disability Support Program Act. The Ontario Works Ac...

Chambers of Commerce typically act as an advocate for business in their communities. This paper describes the unique perspective of the Truro and District Chamber of Commerce in Nova Scotia which sees...

Written by two leading scholars (John Myles at Florida State University and Paul Pierson of Harvard Uni-versity), this paper compares and contrasts the rise of income-tested social programs in Canada ...

Changes to the tax system since the mid-1980s have placed a growing burden on Canadians least able to bear it – those with low and modest incomes.  The elimination of the federal income tax reduc...

This commentary builds on some of the experiences shared at the Jane Jacobs: Ideas That Matter Conference held in Toronto in October 1997. A major purpose of the conference was to bring together peopl...

This paper, originally presented to the Eighth Conference on Canadian Social Welfare Policy held in Regina, assesses social groups" criticisms of the National Child Benefit announced in the 1997 feder...

This commentary highlights recent federal/provincial initiatives around two key issues: child poverty and supports for persons with disabilities. While these efforts rarely make the headlines, they ar...

The third story in this community stories series was written by David Hall, Manager of Operations and Development of the Dufferin Mall in Toronto. This paper describes how the management of Dufferin M...

This second Memo to the Next Prime Minister sets out a detailed agenda for social reinvestment.  The new government should ensure a stable fiscal framework which includes clear parameters for mon...

Harvard School of Business Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter writes that communities need both magnets and glue to thrive in the global economy. Magnets attract new people and companies to renew and broa...

This second Memo to the Next Prime Minister sets out a detailed agenda for social reinvestment. The new government should ensure a stable fiscal framework which includes clear parameters for monetary ...

This paper presents a unique approach that psychiatric survivors have taken over the past decade towards economic development in Ontario. The term "psychiatric survivors" refers to people who are typi...

In this second edition of real leaders, Caledon profiles three Canadians who have established creative partnerships that make significant strides in promoting economic and social well-being: Sue Kurbi...

The 1997 federal Budget is a 'Down Payment' budget because it represents only a first step in social reinvestment. The centrepiece of the Budget was the announcement of a National Child Benefit System...

This study investigates the role and experience of social partnerships in the establishment of labour force development boards. Drawing upon recent theory in political science and comparative public p...

This report explores the meaning of the concept 'civil society.' While this term is being used more frequently in public discourse, there is no common understanding of what it actually means. This pap...

This research was undertaken for the federal Task Force on Disability Issues. Its purpose was to identify the short-term, medium-term and long-term options for reform of the disability income system. ...

The first paper in this series was written by Lance Evoy, Coordinator of the Institute in Management and Community Development at Concordia University. The paper describes the Montreal Community Loan ...

Ontario recently announced plans to shift powers and costs between the provincial and municipal governments with respect to a wide range of human services. The changes come on the heels of the work of...

Respite care is a service for caregivers. It provides relief for the individuals who care at home for a severely disabled or ill child, an ailing spouse or a frail or sick parent. Respite care is in s...

This commentary argues that the debate on the CPP disability benefit has been misinformed. The purpose of the program is not well understood. Moreover, most Canadians are unaware of some key historica...

This paper presents key statistical data on trends in low incomes including child poverty, risk of poverty by family type and provincial rates of poverty. The major conclusion from this analysis is th...

Individualized funding is a method of financing that has been employed primarily to help people with disabilities purchase disability-related goods and services. However, the underlying principles can...

Does Canada Need Ottawa? urges the federal government to resume its traditional role as leader of the country. In recent years, Ottawa appears to have lost sight of its role and purpose as a national ...

This paper discusses the contents of the Report of the Ministerial Council on Social Policy Reform and Renewal as well as the process through which it was developed. The four positive proposals for re...

This brief statement expresses a consensus emerging from a roundtable hosted by Caledon on June 14, 1996, to discuss social policy proposals put forward by the provincial and territorial governments i...

This commentary highlights one of the proposals put forward in the recent Report of the Ministerial Council on Social Policy Reform and Renewal. A national child benefit would replace the federal Chil...

These proceedings include a set of papers presented at the two-day Sustainable Social Policy and Community Capital forum, published jointly with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The forum ...

Good Idea, Bad Execution describes the recent federal changes to the Divorce Act as it relates to child support. The paper analyzes the guidelines component of the federal initiative and examines the ...

This event was hosted by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy and sponsored by Status of Women Canada.  It was held on May 17, 1996. ...

The proceedings contain an executive summary which highlights key themes and the papers presented throughout the day. The papers focus on a range of issues including the policy context of CPP reform, ...

In this first edition of real leaders, Caledon profiles three very special Canadians who have established creative partnerships between business and community groups: Robert Caldwell through his invol...

The proceedings of the Experts" Forum on Canada Pension Plan Reform contain 13 papers which illustrate the wide range of perspectives on CPP reform. The papers make clear that there is fundamental dis...

This paper discusses the primary needs of children and sets our a blueprint for meeting these needs and for promoting community health. The four major categories of basic need are biological, other ph...

These papers were presented in a panel session at the Seventh Annual Social Welfare Policy Conference, Remaking Canadian Social Policy.  The event took place in Vancouver, BC in June 19...

In this same-day response to the 1996 federal Budget, the Caledon Institute of Social Policy describes and assesses the major social policy changes announced by the Minister of Finance. Caledon strong...

This volume presents estimates of the extent to which the tax and spending policies of the three orders of government affect the economic position of different income and demographic groups in Canada....

Workfare: A Poor Law describes the fundamental distinction between a welfare approach and a human resources approach to welfare reform. Strictly speaking, "workfare" refers to mandatory participation ...

Can Workfare Work? traces the history of workfare from the English Poor Laws of the 16th century to the present-day Common Sense Revolution in Ontario. The author discusses the early roots of workfare...

This paper explores the long-run implications of the 'provincialization' of health policy in Canada. It discusses why the market for health care operates in a fundamentally different way than the mark...

This paper discusses the mounting pressure on the budget of old age pensions. The first pressure arises from the ‘revenge of capital’ – the reassertion of market power that has taken place across the ...

This commentary argues that strong social programs are needed in this period of political instability. The pressure to decentralize the federal government may actually destroy the country, rather than...

In the recent referendum, the Oui side argued that Canada no longer would provide good social programs and that only an independent Quebec would support a strong social security system.  The curr...

If Quebec votes ‘no,’ should the federal government continue to remove itself from the field of social policy as a way of reconciling Quebec with Canada? The paper argues that this policy, first adopt...

The forthcoming negotiations on the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) will be among the most important federal-provincial discussions in recent history.  Yet what is at stake in these nego...

This book explores the choices Canadians and their governments must make to balance fiscal restraint with the bonds that keep a civic society vital.  It is a joint publication of the Caledon Inst...

This paper is the text of the keynote address delivered at the 7th Social Welfare Policy Conference in Vancouver in June 1995.  The paper argues that the official Social Security Review could hav...

The proceedings include presentations on the changing age structure of the Canadian population, the impact of labour market developments on retirement, and the strengths and weaknesses of various comp...

This paper explores the financing arrangement that will form the basis of the newly-announced Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST).  The cash portion of this arrangement is declining rapidly ...

Under the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) announced in the 1995 Budget, the federal government is obliged to discuss principles and objectives with the provinces.  This paper discusses t...

The CHST will have a major impact on people with disabilities. The withdrawal of the Canada Assis- tance Plan, the legislative base for welfare and social services, combined with rapidly declining fe...

The Let-Them-Eat-Cake Law contends that low- and modest-income households will bear the direct cost of losing the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) when it is replaced by the Canada Health and Social Trans...

How Finance Re-Formed Social Policy analyzes the implications of the 1995 federal Budget for social policy.  It explores the likely impact of the Canada Health and Social Transfer on welfare, soc...

The Dangers of Block Funding rings the alarm bell on rumours that the federal government will replace the Canada Assistance Plan’s cost-shared transfers to the provinces for welfare and social service...

This paper questions the standards of inter-national credit rating agencies in light of the threat by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. to downgrade Canada’s credit rating on most of its debt. The commen...

This commentary argues that the Social Security Review is in danger of becoming little more than the cuts exercise that its critics have accused it of being from the outset.  The rumoured mega-bl...

This event took place in Ottawa on January 26, 1995. ...

This monograph contains a set of commentaries on the Social Security Review written by 42 contributors from across the country. Authors were asked to document their initial responses to the federal Di...

This commentary supports a central tenet of the federal Discussion Paper, Improving Social Security in Canada: The social security system should be made more active in assisting beneficiaries of incom...

This paper is the first in a new series, Caledon Debates, launched by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy. John Myles, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Pepper Institute on Aging at the Un...

The Caledon Institute supports the drive to reform social programs and to direct more resources towards improving the education and employment skills of Canadians.  Green Light, Red Flag goes bey...

This paper questions whether the Social Security Review is sunk before it is launched. Human Resources Development Minister Axworthy’s Action Plan has been delayed until the Fall – in order to avoid t...

This paper notes the problems related to the exclusion of seniors’ concerns from the Social Security Review.  The issues of training and upgrading, adjustment programs for older workers and nonst...

This commentary presents the forecast for the Action Plan discussion paper being prepared by the federal government.  The Action Plan is expected to receive an icy response from the provinces.&nb...

This paper argues that we are stuck in the welfare lane on the social highway. Public debate has focused primarily upon welfare dependence, workfare and welfare fraud. It is time to shift gears in ord...

The Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) allows the federal government to share with provinces the cost of welfare and social services.  The Social Security Review should pay attention to a CAP technical...

Published by School of Policy Studies, Queen"s University, 1994.  Kingston, Ontario. Contact Queen's University for copies. ...

The conventional wisdom that sees social programs as drain on the economy fails to recognize the drain that the economy has placed on social programs.  There is no doubt that these need to be ref...

In this commentary, the Caledon Institute urges the federal and provincial finance ministers to work as a team with the ministers responsible for social services in order to effect social policy refor...

This monograph contains a set of papers presented at a seminar on Fiscal Federalism for the 21st Century organized by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy on October 13, 1993.  ...

In 1991, Canada’s 3.2 million women and men aged 65 and older constituted 11.6 percent of the population. Recent projections by Statistics Canada put the aged at 8.6 million or 23.2 percent of the pop...

This memorandum to the next Prime Minister encourages the federal government to carry out an informed and open review of social programs.  The memo draws attention to the myriad changes that Otta...

This report summarizes the findings of a study conducted by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy for the Ontario Fair Tax Commission on the interaction of the Ontario welfare system and the federal ...

This report summarizes the findings of a study conducted by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy for the Ontario Tax Commission on the interaction of the welfare system and the federal and Ontario t...

This paper examines social policy within the context of economic policy.  It describes how certain changes to fiscal and monetary policies in the 1970s and 1980s created a ‘debt crisis’ that, in ...

This commentary explores the concept of the ‘welfare wall’ – the obstacles that welfare recipients face when they try to enter or re-enter the labour market.  The welfare wall refers to direct ta...

The impact of the newly-created superministry of Human Resources and Labour upon social programs is explored.  On the one hand, the move may be positive in that it recognizes the explicit links b...

This commentary considers how ‘newspeak’ has been used by governments to try to manipulate public perceptions of key social problems and issues.  People who are unemployed now are considered to b...

This commentary describes the four key funding arrangements that constitute the backbone of fiscal federalism; equalization payments, Established Programs Financing, the Canada Assistance Plan and the...

This commentary provides an explanation and critique of the new federal Child Tax Benefit, which replaces Family Allowances and the refundable and non-refundable child tax credits.  While the sam...

A succession of federal budgets has introduced substantial cuts (both direct and indirect through partial indexation) to social programs.  Despite these cuts, social spending can be attributed to...

This report explores the changes that have been made to federal social programs since 1985 in the areas of child benefits, child care, pensions, Unemployment Insurance, federal transfers to the provin...