Special Projects

The Opportunities 2000 model was further developed into Vibrant Communities – a pan-Canadian network of 13 communities collaborating on effective poverty reduction and local revitalization strategies. Caledon joined the Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement and the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation as a member of the governance committee for the project. Continuing to lend our policy research expertise, Caledon chronicled the efforts of local partners initiatives through our ‘community stories’ series. In December 2011, Vibrant Communities Canada began operating as Cities Reducing Poverty. It now seeks to improve the lives of one million low-income Canadians in 100 cities across the country.

The Caledon Institute led a 13-month project focused upon the creation of a pan-Canadian community of practice with a primary interest in community-government collaboration on policy.

The project generated two major products: a web-based policy tracking document and a bilingual manual on community-government collaboration. The work was supported through the Social Development Partnerships Program of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

This report presented 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 study was to identify the needs of caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. While the concerns of this group of caregivers are similar to other caregivers, there are also specific challenges unique to dementia.

This study put forward a wide range of recommendations for improving respite options for caregivers, which were grouped into three major themes. The first set of proposals focused upon recognition of caregiver needs and support for their significant role. The second group was concerned with improving the quantity and quality of services for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia and for their families. The third cluster of proposals sought to reduce the costs and financial pressures associated with caregiving.

Our policy and research work in Vibrant Communities led to a similar role in the national revitalization initiative Action for Neighbourhood Change. Funded by the federal government, it involved four national and five local partners including United Way/Centraide Canada, Caledon, Tamarack, the National Film Board and five local United Ways.

The Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities was announced in the 2003 federal budget to advise the Ministers of Finance and National Revenue on disability-related tax measures. The Committee was appointed in April 2003 and was composed of members of organizations representing persons with disabilities, health practitioners, and human rights and tax experts. Its final report was submitted to the Ministers of Finance and National Revenue on December 15, 2004.

The Committee’s recommendations were all adopted in the 2005 federal Budget. Subsequent improvements have helped reduce costs, primarily through the disability tax credit and the medical expense tax credit, for the estimated 16 percent of Canadians with some form of disability. In addition, a disability supports deduction allows claims for the costs of equipment and services required for education or employment.

Caledon Vice-President Sherri Torjman co-chaired the Committee with tax expert Robert Brown.