WHAT'S NEW

Toronto, October 25, 2011 – Adventure Place is being recognized by the Atkinson Charitable Foundation with the 2011 Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award for its outstanding contribution to improving the wellbeing of children and families.

“Adventure Place is a proven community leader, with almost 40 years of experience in the development and delivery of specialized services for children with special needs. Their commitment to young children and their families is evident in their unique “Continuum of Service” program model, that provides access to a web of resources under one roof. It is a privilege for the Foundation to have the opportunity to recognize the work of an organization that has had such a meaningful and continued impact on the lives of so many people”, said Emily Mathieu, Committee Chair and a Trustee of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation.

Adventure Place has been a leader in the Toronto area in providing services to approximately 6653 children/parents annually. In 2009, the agency’s founding Executive Director, Clara Will, was made a Member of the Order of Canada, in recognition of her work and commitment to young children and families. The agency was one of the first of its kind to identify the importance of a service model that integrates effective and accessible services for disadvantaged children with systems, policy development and reform. The Adventure Place model integrates three levels of service: Prevention, Early Intervention and Intensive Day Treatment Programs. All agency services work to assist children in achieving their potential. Services are wrapped around families as they require them and they are family centred.

“I am happy to hear that Adventure Place was selected as this year’s recipient of the Ruth Hindmarsh Award. It is indeed an honour to receive such a prestigious award. Mrs. Hindmarsh recognized the vulnerability inherent in children as she dedicated herself to making a meaningful difference in their lives. We share Mrs. Hindmarsh’s commitment and dedication to young children and we will continue to find new ways to reach out and support families in our community. On behalf of the Board of Directors at Adventure Place, I want to thank Dr. Fraser Mustard for nominating Adventure Place for this award, and I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Atkinson Foundation for recognizing the services we offer to children and families”, said Cheryl Webb Executive Director, Adventure Place.

The Award is presented annually in memory of Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh, president of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation until her death in 1994. Established in 1998 to improve the lives of disadvantaged children, the $50,000 award is the largest of its kind in Canada.

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For more information: Christine Avery Nuñez, Atkinson Charitable Foundation, 416-869-4584

TORONTO STAR COVERAGE:
Oct 24 2011

Hindmarsh award goes to Adventure Place centre

A special-needs child at the Adventure Place Child and Family Centre washes a doll in the centre's pretend hospital. The centre has been awarded the the 2011 Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award. (Oct. 24, 2011)

Keith Beaty/Toronto Star

Ashante Infantry
Staff Reporter

Packing bags for an imaginary holiday, dressing up like a nurse and bandaging a doll, all seem like typical child’s play, but at Adventure Place such activities are regarded as crucial teaching tools for kids with special needs.

“Play gives children the opportunity to create, imagine, interact, experience, explore, engage, imitate, to test theories and to develop and refine skills,” said Cheryl Webb, executive director of the agency which provides comprehensive mental health, social and developmental services to young children and families, residing primarily within the boundaries of North York.

The agency has been selected from 27 nominees across the province for the 2011 Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award.

“They’ve been in existence since 1972 and they were really ahead of the game around a multi-service organization serving families with early intervention treatment services,” said Christine Nunez, managing director of the Atkinson Foundation which distributes the award.

“They’ve really looked at how you can coordinate and integrate some of the best programs and services available for children with special needs.”

More than 6,500 youngsters and families receive treatment annually through Adventure Place’s continuum of prevention, early intervention, and treatment services, courtesy of a staff of 85 that includes social workers, psychologists, early childhood specialists and music and speech therapists.

Founded by now retired educator Clara Will, the centre is housed at the defunct McNicoll Public School in the Don Mills Rd.-Finch Ave. area.

It administers mainly to kids from birth to six years experiencing disorders, such as autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, behavioural and emotional problems, as well as those at risk through poverty.

The award, which comes with $50,000, was established in 1989 to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and named for Hindmarsh, a former foundation president and daughter of legendary Toronto Star publisher Joseph E. Atkinson, who ran the newspaper for almost 50 years.

“We’re looking to use the money to help us reach out to more kids and families,” Webb said. “We don’t have enough funding right now to meet the needs. We can’t service all the kids who have been referred to us, but we know that there’s quite a large clientele of families that just never find their way to us. They don’t know about us. We’re trying to come up with new ways to reach out and inform them of the services that we have.”

The Atkinson Centre is pleased to release 'Seamless Day Schools, a film that documents a full day of learning and play for children in Waterloo. Seamless day schools mean we are finally getting it right when it comes to meeting the learning needs of children and the work/family balance of parents. Board operated programs can be made available in every neighbourhood for every family. "The long-term implications of early intervention that this program provides will be altering for our society. This is almost the most important thing we have ever done to improve student outcomes." (Mary Lou Mackie, Executive Superintendant, Waterloo Region District School Board)

What others are saying:

Catherine Fife, President, Ontario Public School Boards Association - This video will transform the status of public education in Ontario. It demonstrates how school boards can take a leadership role in ensuring they meet the needs of all children and their families across this province.

Jenny Jenkins, Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto - Young children do best when they receive consistent care from a small number of adults that is simultaneously sensitive and challenging. This film provides a wonderful example of what this care can look like for young children. Through the partnership of early childhood educators and teachers, with play at the centre of children's activities, children are exposed to a seamless day program that both nurtures and stimulates. What a fabulous achievement for these boards of education!

Linda Fabi, Director of Education, Waterloo Region District School - One way we have ensured the success of the full day and extended day program is that our board of trustees has fully embraced this direction - our staff have kept trustees involved in every step of the way.

Kim Hiscott, Executive Director, Andrew Fleck Child Care Services, Ottawa - Thank you for highlighting the value of a seamless extended day program for children and families. As the child care and early learning sector adapts to the opportunities and changes because of the implementation of full day kindergarten, we will benefit from real-life examples that remind us to think of children and families first.

See video on you tube.

The annual general report is available in PDF and also can be viewed as the slideshow below. We've also created a mini-poster showcasing Atkinson's principles that's highly sharable.

Will Focus on the Struggles of Young Adults in the Work Force

June 7, 2011 – Award winning CBC journalist Neil Sandell is the recipient of the 23nd annual Atkinson Fellowship. The announcement will be made tonight at The Canadian Journalism Foundation’s 14th Annual Awards Gala.

Sandell’s research project is entitled “Help Wanted: The Struggles of Young Adults in the Work Force.” When it comes to unemployment, young adults in Canada and abroad have been the group hit hardest by the recession. Despite Canada’s economic recovery, there are 200,000 fewer young people working today than two years ago. In Ireland, Italy, and Spain, the unemployment rate hovers at 40%. 20-somethings, some with multiple degrees, are searching for work in their field one and even two years after graduating. Those with only secondary education are falling further behind.

"Long term unemployment and underemployment among young adults represents a profound squandering of talent, education, and creative energy,” says Sandell. “It is dispiriting for the individual. For society, it is a quiet disaster.” Sandell will examine the causes of unemployment among young adults and investigate solutions to the problem.

“In supporting this research, the Atkinson Foundation throws a spotlight on an issue of profound concern, one that frustrates young adults and confounds their parents" says Sandell. "This fellowship is a rare opportunity for a journalist to dig deep, think big, and make a difference. I’m grateful for the support of the Atkinson Foundation, The Toronto Star and the Honderich family.”

*****

Background

Neil Sandell is a senior radio producer at the CBC, his professional home for more than 25 years. Based in Toronto, he has worked on most of the network’s iconic programs: Morningside, As It Happens, Quirk n Quarks, and IDEAS. For five years, he was senior producer of Outfront, an award winning program put microphones in the hands of ordinary Canadians to document their own lives. As a producer and editor, Sandell has won over 15 national and international radio awards. These include honours from the New York Festivals, the CAJ, Amnesty International Canada, the Gabriel Awards, the RTNDA, and the Third Coast Festival in Chicago. Sandell has a passion for mentoring young journalists. He has taught workshops in Oslo, Chicago, Alert Bay BC, and Nuuk, Greenland. Born in Winnipeg, he is a graduate of the University of Manitoba.

Established in 1988, the Fellowship is named after The Star’s early publisher Joseph E. Atkinson, and is designed to further Atkinson’s tradition of liberal journalism. Under the terms of the Fellowship, Sandell will receive a stipend of $75,000 and up to $25,000 for expenses as he spends a year doing research on the public policy issues outlined above, preparing a series of in-depth articles which will be made available to all Canadian newspapers in the fall of 2012.

Hugh Mackenzie elected as Atkinson Foundation’s new Chair and President

Toronto, December 7, 2010 – Progressive economist Hugh Mackenzie has been elected as the Atkinson Charitable Foundation’s new board Chair and President. Mr. Mackenzie will head the Board in pursuit of the Foundation’s mission to champion social and economic justice.   "We have much work to do in continuing to advance the Foundation’s vision for a kinder, more prosperous and just future for all Canadians,” said Mr. Mackenzie.  “It is a great honour to work with Trustees and staff who are so invested in seeing through the kinds of public policies and programs that can lead to greater social justice.”   Hugh Mackenzie has worked for more than 35 years in a variety of public policy capacities in labour, civil society and at all three levels of government in Canada. Mr. Mackenzie is a prolific author on a variety of public policy issues and an expert on education finance reform. He is a research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and is principal at Hugh Mackenzie & Associates, specializing in economic analysis and public policy analysis. Previously he has held roles as Executive Director of the Ontario Fair Tax Commission and as Research Director in the Canadian National Office of the United Steelworkers of America.     Effective today, Mr. Mackenzie becomes the fifth President and Chair of the Foundation.  He also chairs the Foundation’s Finance and Investment committee and has served as trustee since 2000.  Mr. Mackenzie follows Peter A. Armstrong, who held the role since 2007 and will continue to sit on the Board.     “Mr. Mackenzie’s extensive experience and sound strategic judgment will be an invaluable asset as the Foundation charts its course in the years ahead,”   said Executive Director Olivia Nuamah. “We look forward to working together with our partners to build on our successes and forge bold new initiatives to realize our mission.”   Established in 1942 by Joseph E. Atkinson, former publisher of The Toronto Star, the Atkinson Charitable Foundation is a private Canadian foundation with the mission to "promote social and economic justice in the tradition of our founder.”  It has granted more than $60 million in the categories of health, social welfare, economic justice and education.  Current priority areas are Poverty Reduction, Early Learning and Development, and the Canadian Index of Wellbeing.    -30-   For more information: Pedro Barata, Outreach and Communications Coordinator, 416-869-4800.

Hugh Mackenzie

From the Toronto Star:

NORTHERN LIGHTS:

Kate Taylor's Atkinson Fellowship examines the future of Canadian Culture

 

Atkinson Fellow Kate Taylor spent the past year researching the future of Canadian culture in a global and digital age.

What will happen to Canadian content regulation as Internet TV and radio take over our cultural space?

Is there room for Canadian popular culture in our digital future?

Taylor interviewed more than 100 people and travelled to France and Australia as well as Montreal, Ottawa and St. John's, Nfld. asking about the purpose of a national culture and the ability of regulations to protect it.

Taylor, a Masters graduate in journalism from the University of Western Ontario, is an arts columnist at the Globe and Mail as well as an award-winning novelist. Her 2003 book, Mme Proust and the Kosher Kitchen, won a Commonwealth Prize. Her second novel, A Man in Uniform, was published this year.

The first three parts of Northern Lights appear online in the Toronto Star over the weekend. Parts 3 through 6 will appear next week.

More about Kate Taylor

Atkinson Charitable Foundation

Recent Stories from the Toronto Star

SEP 24, 2010

TOPIC MILESTONE

Part 1: How to make the CBC viable in the digital age

Is there room for Canadian popular culture in our digital future? 2010 Atkinson Fellow Kate Taylor explores this question in her series Northern Lights. Read Part 1: Is the CBC made for the digital age?

0:16:AM

SEP 24, 2010

TOPIC MILESTONE

Is a national Canadian culture important? If so, what would it be?

In the digital age, where boundaries cease to exist, we need new answers in the search for a national identity. Plus: Nine myths about Canadian culture.

0:15:AM

SEP 24, 2010

How to improve Canada's chintzy patchwork of multicultural broadcasting

Australia's Special Broadcasting Service, featuring multilingual and multicultural fare, makes Canada’s patchwork of ethnic broadcasters and multicultural cable channels look pretty chintzy.

0:13:AM

SEP 24, 2010

Quebec TV is beloved by Quebecers

Back in the 1980s, Quebecers watched dubbed versions of U.S. television shows. Now, shows made in Quebec are all the rage.

0:13:AM

SEP 24, 2010

TOPIC MILESTONE

Part 2: Canadian children's programs a hit, both here and abroad

Canadian fare has an internationally-winning mix of role models, action and educational content.

0:12:AM

SEP 24, 2010

Canada's video game industry is a going concern

The medium has found financial success, but is still searching for cultural legitimacy.

0:11:AM

SEP 24, 2010

TOPIC MILESTONE

Part 3: Canadian pop music may well have outgrown Cancon rules

As the Web supplants radio as a hub for tunes, do Canadian content regulations still make sense?

0:10:AM

SEP 24, 2010

The downloading debate: when it comes to copyright, it’s impossible to satisfy everyone

Canada’s music industry is split on how to deal with file-sharing websites. Ottawa is trying to find a compromise.

Information must be Canada’s bedrock By Roy Romanow Special to Globe and Mail Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/information-must-be-canadas-bedrock/article1668377/   When the next census takes place in 2011, it will mark 345 years since Jean Talon personally surveyed the 3,215 colonists of New France. Since then, the story of Canada’s census has been much like that of Canadians themselves – a story of change, of new responses to evolving conditions and of transformation to meet the demands of new times.   From 1710 to 1760, a major focus of the census was on the number of household armaments, such as muskets and swords. The 1931 census gauged the extent and severity of unemployment so that its causes could be analyzed and policy responses prepared. The 1941 census was the first that linked the urban poor with the development of urban planning. It was also critical to new federal-provincial fiscal arrangements such as equalization payments, and transfers for health care and postsecondary education. Without the benefits of census data, we could not have paved the way to the modern, progressive society that Canada is today.   The census has not been carved in stone or immutable to change. But changes have historically been made with a view toward strengthening the census, not weakening it. Which is why a new plan by the federal government to make the long-form Canada census voluntary has drawn – I would argue quite rightly – a hailstorm of criticism.   Research experts and statisticians have stated that the information gleaned from a voluntary census would not be valid, reliable or comparable to previous data and would be significantly biased. The bias would stem from a likely lower response rate from society’s most disadvantaged – families with low incomes, new immigrants, aboriginal Canadians.   Policy shapers and government decision makers have underscored that the absence of reliable data will make it harder to set priorities and allocate government spending and develop, monitor and evaluate policy changes. The United Way of Toronto has said that it will lose its most reliable tool for understanding neighbourhoods, weakening its ability to target root causes. Marketers and business are wondering how they will tailor their products and services to specific communities. More than a few Canadians have noted the irony of a country reducing its information flow in the midst of an information age.   Let’s consider the gap in our knowledge that might have existed if the last long-form census in 2006 had been voluntary. How would we have known with unimpeachable certainty that the top 20 per cent of Canadian families earned 10 times more that the bottom 20 per cent? That for every dollar earned by a native-born Canadian, a recent immigrant male earned just 63 cents and female 56 cents? That 20 per cent fewer farmers worked at home on a family farm, or that the numbers of commuters rose by more than 9 per cent?   Census data are more than just a compendium of numbers. They enable us to view the changing face of our country and those who live in it. They allow us to prepare for the future by understanding the past and present.   In July, 2009, I had the privilege of launching the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. The CIW is part of a global movement to measure changes in the quality of life of a society by monitoring a wide variety of economic, social, health and environmental indicators, The CIW, along with organizations that track quality of life at the community level, uses many sources of data. But we must be able to continue accessing the data that is uniquely available through the Canada census if we are to improve the lives of all Canadians.   I’m aware that in a technological era an increasing number of people are concerned about privacy issues. So they should be. But they should also know that Statistics Canada has long had a worldwide reputation, not only for the quality of its data but for its protection of citizen privacy.   Identifying information is never disclosed and is kept strictly confidential. As for those who argue that the census is “invasive and coercive,” I would say that it is less so than an income tax return, airline security check, passport or mortgage application. Surely we aren’t planning on making any of those voluntary – are we?   Information must be the bedrock on which we build public policy in areas that matter to Canadians. Trying to get a snapshot of our country with inaccurate and unreliable data is like using a camera without enough pixels. The blurrier the picture gets, the harder it becomes to recognize the face of our nation.   Roy Romanow is chair of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing’s advisory board and a former premier of Saskatchewan.

Government appointed Council recommends bold vision for social assistance reform

TORONTO, June 14 /CNW/ - The province urgently requires a more effective system of income security programs that meet the needs of Ontarians in a rapidly shifting economy, says a new report by the Social Assistance Review Advisory Council (SARAC).

Appointed by the government of Ontario, the Council was mandated to recommend a scope and terms of reference for a review of Ontario's social assistance system. In a report released today, it outlines a consultation process focusing on six key strategies that would transform the delivery of income security programs, employment supports and related services for low-income working age adults.

"We are currently investing billions into federal and provincial programs that too often trap people in poverty and fail to offer alternatives to social assistance," said Gail Nyberg, chair of the Social Assistance Review Advisory Council. "Tinkering with a broken system will not lead to different outcomes. It's time to unleash a bold review."

The Council recommends the review focus on the following six strategies for reform:

    -  Building on the approach of the Ontario Child Benefit, develop an expanded range of income and services to be available to all low-income Ontarians.

    -  Strengthen initiatives such as minimum wage increases, enhanced employment standards, fair employment initiatives and the federal Working Income Tax Benefit to ensure the labour market offers effective pathways out of poverty.

    -  Replace short term coverage in Ontario Works with more appropriate financial support outside of the social assistance system for those who are temporarily unemployed.

    -  Re-engineer long-term coverage in Ontario Works as an opportunity planning program to support achieving full labour market potential through skills building, education, training, employment and related support.

    -  Develop standards for a liveable income and a process to use those standards to assess the adequacy of Ontarians' incomes.

    -  Improve income and social supports for those whose reasonable prospects of earning liveable incomes from employment are limited by disability or other circumstances, including a possible new vision for the Ontario Disability Support Program and exploring options for alternative models of financial assistance.

"The next step is for the Ontario government to appoint Income Security Commissioners and to start a comprehensive review," said Nyberg. "Now is the time to engage Ontarians from all walks of life to ensure income security programs meet the needs of Ontarians and our economy."

The Council is also calling for immediate action to address the incomes of social assistance recipients without children. Their incomes fall far below any reasonable liveable standard.

The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council (SARAC) was appointed by the government of Ontario to submit recommendations to the Minister of Community and Social Services regarding the scope and terms of reference for a review of Ontario's social assistance system. The report is available on the Ministry of Community and Social Services website at http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/sacouncil/index.aspx

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TORONTO STAR EDITORIAL

WELFARE REFORM ROADMAP (June 15)

 Everyone agrees that Ontario’s welfare system is a mess. In a report released Monday, a panel of experts cites “deep and continuing dissatisfaction” with the status quo in all quarters — government, business, labour, community groups, and welfare recipients. What is lacking is a consensus on how to fix it, which is why the provincial government is planning a major policy review of welfare.

The expert panel, chaired by Gail Nyberg of the Daily Bread Food Bank, has given the government some useful signposts for the review. It says the review should be arm’s-length from the government, rather than internal, and be completed in 12 to 18 months, not dragged out endlessly. As for the scope of the review, the panel says it should be comprehensive and not focused exclusively on welfare, per se, which accounts for just 23 per cent of all income support programs. Other relevant programs include child tax benefits, employment insurance, and CPP disability payments.

Of course, all these fall under federal jurisdiction, and the Harper government has no apparent interest in the file. But the panel says that the “lack of federal government co-operation . . . should not impede Ontario’s work to define the reforms needed in federal programs to meet Ontario’s interests.”

“I cannot agree with them more,” said Madeleine Meilleur, minister of community and social services, in welcoming the report’s recommendations on Monday.

That’s encouraging. Now the provincial government should move quickly to start up the review, which is long overdue. Some argue for delay because the province faces a monstrous deficit. But the expert panel rightly says that the review should proceed “not despite Ontario’s fiscal situation but because of it.” That is, Ontario’s economic recovery depends, in part, on helping the province’s poorest residents to break out of the welfare trap and lead productive lives.

Selected media coverage

Ontario should adopt bold vision for welfare reform
Toronto Star, Laurie Monsebraaten June 14
Ontario urgently needs a more effective system of income security to meet the rapidly changing economic times, says a government-appointed panel.

Ontario welfare system needs overhaul: panel

CBC.ca - June 14

A government-appointed panel says the Ontario welfare system is not working, and is calling for it to be completely overhauled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magazine Journalist Wins Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy - Will Focus on Women and Alcohol Abuse

June 10, 2010 – Acclaimed Toronto journalist Ann Dowsett Johnston is the recipient of the 22nd annual Atkinson Fellowship. The announcement will be made tonight at The Canadian Journalism Foundation’s 13th Annual Awards Gala.

Dowsett Johnston’s research project, entitled Women and Drinking: Having it All and Then Some, will take a hard look at a growing phenomenon: while women now outstrip their male peers in postsecondary achievement, and match male participation in the workplace, they are also closing the gap in alcohol consumption.

“The Atkinson Fellowship represents a rare opportunity to explore an issue of broad social concern,” says Dowsett Johnston. “I am extremely honoured to have been chosen to research this subject, one that crosses all socioeconomic boundaries, causes undeniable damage to families, broader communities and society at large. I hope my research serves as a wake-up call, connecting some dots for the thinking public. It’s an enormous privilege to be supported by the Atkinson Foundation, The Toronto Star and the Honderich family.”

"We are delighted with the choice of Ms. Dowsett Johnston and her impending research on a topic that has been under the journalistic radar, " noted John Honderich, chair of the Atkinson Fellowship committee.

***

Background

Winner of five National Magazine Awards and numerous other honours, Dowsett Johnston spent most of her 30-year career at Maclean’s, where she held a wide variety of senior leadership positions. Best known as the architect of the Maclean’s university rankings, she pioneered a system of evaluating higher education in Canada in 1992. For 14 years, she shaped all educational coverage at the magazine. As a columnist, feature writer and seasoned public speaker, she developed a keen understanding of educational policy in multiple jurisdictions, and became a vocal advocate for reinvestment in higher education.

Established in 1988, the Fellowship is named after The Star’s early publisher Joseph E. Atkinson, and is designed to further Atkinson’s tradition of liberal journalism.  Under the terms of the Fellowship, Dowsett Johnston will spend a year doing research on the public policy issues outlined above, preparing a series of in-depth articles which will be made available to all Canadian newspapers in the fall of 2011.

As part of the terms of the Fellowship, Ann Dowsett Johnston will receive a stipend of $75,000 plus an expense budget of up to $25,000.

The Atkinson Fellowship is an annual competition open to all full-time Canadian journalists in print or broadcast media. Preference is given to those applicants who have already achieved some distinction in reporting on policy issues. The Fellowship is sponsored by the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, the Toronto Star, and the Honderich Family.

1. To be considered, all that is required is a THREE PAGE maximum LETTER of INTENT, along with your curriculum vitae, that summarizes your topic, its importance, brief outline of proposed articles, and treatment/approach to be received by Monday, January 17, 2011.

2. The Fellowship Committee will choose three to five Finalists who will be invited to submit a full application and proposal for consideration for the 2011 Fellowship award. Each finalist will receive an honorarium for submitting a proposal.

Please e-mail and send 4 copies of your Letter of Intent and CV to:

Elizabeth Chan

Coordinator, Atkinson Fellowship Committee

The Atkinson Charitable Foundation

1 Yonge Street, Suite 1508

Toronto, ON M5E 1E5

416 869 4034 telephone

416 865 3619 fax

echan@atkinsonfoundation.ca

 

The May 30th CBC Sunday Edition featured an interview with Atkinson Fellow Cindy Blackstock on issues of Aboriginal Child Health.  It examines the treatment of First Nations children by federal and provincial governments, and delves into the Human Rights Tribunal hearing regarding under-funding of Aboriginal child welfare on reserve.   To hear the interview visit http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/ and listen to “hour two.”    Here’s an excerpt from the intro:    “The Harper government has made much of its agenda for the G-8 and G-20 summits -- where the focus will be child and maternal health in the developing world. But if you want to see the effects of poverty and inadequate care you hardly have to travel the globe. Just look at children living on many of Canada's first nations reserves. We'll talk about the challenges of fighting for equal care with Dr. Cindy Blackstock... who's taken that fight to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.”   For more about Cindy Blackstock and the Tribunal visit http://www.fncfcs.com/home.html

 

 

ONTARIO GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASE

Ontario Passes Full-Day Learning Act

Ontario is one step closer to implementing full-day learning for four- and five-year-olds across the province.

Earlier today, the legislature passed the Full-Day Early Learning Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010. The legislation included a number of amendments, such as clarifying the roles of teachers and early childhood educators in full-day early learning classrooms.

In addition, the government will address the need for child care centres to have the flexibility they need as four- and five-year-olds move into the integrated before- and after-school program.

Ontario is also supporting the child care sector and will help improve the delivery of other children's services in a number of ways, including:

• Providing stabilization funding. This will be phased in over the period of implementation, growing to $51 million annually at full implementation to help stabilize child care centres as four- and five-year-olds move into the full-day learning program.

• Providing $12 million over five years to help non-profit child care centres make retrofits and renovations to serve younger children.

• Transferring child care policy and program responsibilities to the Ministry of Education from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services to facilitate smoother transitions for children from the child care system to the education system.

• Minister of Children and Youth Services Laurel Broten, assisted by Dr. Charles Pascal, will take the lead to bring about integrated services for parents of infants and young children so they can access them in a more co-ordinated, timely and efficient way.  

Full-day early learning is a key part of the government's Open Ontario plan to strengthen education in Ontario. It will increase student achievement, build a stronger workforce and help break the cycle of poverty.

LINKS TO ACF PARTNERS

Breaking News, Additional Fee Subsidies and Captial Funding Announced, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care

Ontario Government Makes Groundbreaking Announcement on Early Learning and Care, Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario

Canadian Wellbeing: The Real Deal

Properly measuring quality of life means moving past how "average" Canadians are doing, write Grace-Edward Galabuzi and Uzma Shakir in "The Mark"

 

When it comes to quality of life, how are Canadians doing? The answer to that question greatly depends on how you define wellbeing.

The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) is a promising initiative that presents a new way to measure our quality of life. It offers the first and only national index with a focus on several key indicators that matter to all Canadians. These include: living standards, healthy populations, community vitality, education, environment, time use, and democratic engagement, as well as arts, culture, and recreation.

Following its inaugural report in 2009, the CIW delved even deeper into the issue with its December 2009 report entitled, “How Are Canadians Really Doing? A Closer Look at Select Groups,”, which focused on Aboriginal Peoples, racialized groups, youth, and low-income Canadians.

This report represents an important detour for the CIW because it suggests we need to go beyond the experience of the “average Canadian” to fully understand how the country is doing. Indeed, there are some glaring gaps between the wellbeing of different groups.

Read more in The Mark by clicking here...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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When it comes to quality of life, how are Canadians doing? The answer to that question greatly depends on how you define wellbeing.

Not long ago, the gross domestic product was the primary measure of this. The more goods and services produced in the country, the better off we all were. However, it’s now widely agreed that the GDP does not tell us everything we need to know about quality of life. What if growth in production causes pollution and negative health effects? What if income growth exacerbates disparity, poverty, and homelessness? A higher GDP doesn’t necessarily mean greater wellbeing.

The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) is a promising initiative that presents a new way to measure our quality of life. It offers the first and only national index with a focus on several key indicators that matter to all Canadians. These include: living standards, healthy populations, community vitality, education, environment, time use, and democratic engagement, as well as arts, culture, and recreation.

Following its inaugural report in 2009, the CIW delved even deeper into the issue with its December 2009 report entitled, “How Are Canadians Really Doing? A Closer Look at Select Groups,”, which focused on Aboriginal Peoples, racialized groups, youth, and low-income Canadians.

This report represents an important detour for the CIW because it suggests we need to go beyond the experience of the “average Canadian” to fully understand how the country is doing. Indeed, there are some glaring gaps between the wellbeing of different groups.

For instance, while the CIW’s first report showed that Canadians were, on average, better off in terms of income and wealth than they were in the past, the more recent report indicates that, with our fraying social safety net, poverty and inequality have been on the rise. The findings include:

1. Visible minority or racialized groups are three times more likely to be poor than other Canadians.
2. In 2006, only 61 per cent of First Nations adults aged 25-54 were employed, compared with 82 per cent for non-aboriginal adults.
3. The median annual income for First Nations people aged 15 and over in Canada was $14,517 in 2005, which is about $11,000 lower than the figure for the non-aboriginal population ($25,955).
4. Minimum wage employment grew from 4.7 per cent in 2000 to 5.1 per cent in 2008 – an increase of three quarters of a million people. This growth disproportionately impacted youth, with the percentage of 14- to 24-year-olds with low-paid jobs rising from 31.2 per cent in 1980 to 45 per cent in 2000.

All of these developments coincided with a steady increase in our GDP.

In the health domain, the CIW’s original report indicated that Canadians don’t feel as healthy as they did in the past. The new report shows that this is especially true for particular groups, including some surprising demographics.

For example, teenagers are increasingly experiencing more health problems than before. Only 67 per cent of 12- to 19-year-olds reported good health in 2005, compared with 80 per cent in 1998.

As well, households with incomes below $20,000 are three times more likely to experience a decline in self-rated health than those with higher incomes. Low-income Canadians also have the highest mortality rates, the lowest life expectancy rates, and the greatest frequency of hospitalization and emergency visits.

As for community vitality, the first CIW report showed that Canadians’ social networks are shrinking. In general, we provide more help to others, crime is down, and community trust is high.

However, when the experiences of select groups are considered, the picture is starkly different. According to the latest report, 81 per cent of visible minorities felt they had experienced discrimination because of their race or ethnic origin. Only 54 per cent of Aboriginal Peoples, Blacks, and Latin Americans and 52 per cent of Southeast Asians reported a sense of community belonging and connectedness, compared to 65 per cent of white people. Racialized and low-income people also felt higher levels of physical insecurity.

These gaps demonstrate that indices that generically measure the experiences of populations often present a picture that is insufficient for either general understanding or policy and program development. In that regard, the most recent CIW report adds considerably to our knowledge of how Canadians are really doing.

Going forward, we need a measure of wellbeing that integrates as much as possible the indicators of gender, racial, and age differences into the actual index. This is not an easy task. It requires collecting and releasing relevant data from Statistics Canada, the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), and other research outlets in disaggregated formats that allow for a deeper level of analysis.

By looking at the different experiences of Canadians, we can also make giant strides towards more effective research and policy development, which could benefit the wellbeing of all Canadians.

 

The Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award was established in 1998 to celebrate and encourage the outstanding efforts of organizations whose work has significantly improved the wellbeing of disadvantaged children.   The annual award, the largest of its kind in Canada, provides a one-time gift of $50,000 to an Ontario-based charitable organization.   The gift will allow the winning organization to build on its success.  The funds may be used to further develop activities, to educate the public or influence other organizations and policies that help disadvantaged children.   To find out more, and to download the 2010 RAH Brochure, click here.   Or contact us directly at:  The Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award c/o Christine Avery Nuñez The Atkinson Charitable Foundation One Yonge Street 15th Floor, Toronto ON  M5E 1E5 (416) 869-4584  Fax: (416) 865-3619  E-mail:cnunez@atkinsonfoundation.ca    Deadline for Nominations is April 12, 2010

 

Reprinted from Toronto Star blogs

04/06/2010

Public transit a necessity

Pat Capponi.

I love to walk, I do it every day, for health, for stress, to think out difficult problems.

It wasn't always something I enjoyed, but now that I'm working, I can afford good shoes and proper socks, I can dress against the cold, and when its hot, I can stop and have a cool refreshing drink on a patio somewhere. I can visit different neighborhoods, enjoy gardens with their floral gifts, feel a part of the world. And if I get tired, I can use my bus pass to get home. 

Not so long ago, walking was the only alternative to staying in place.  The price of a TTC ticket was too high, even just one way.  I simply didn't have the money to spend on this luxury. Walking hungry and cold and tired, walking on blisters or untreated corns, walking weighed down by hopelessness and despair was never much fun, watching as buses roared past, filled with people with options, with lives..  Now the price of a one way fare is up to  $3, we've removed public transit as a possibility for far too many.  Three dollars can be the difference between eating and going hungry.

The poor are stuck in their neighborhoods, effectively shut in since we've priced transportation so high. Job searches are out, as is the prospect of real grocery stores instead of the high priced corner variety store. For those on social assistance it just slams the door on opportunity, with a very final sounding thud.  Allowing those in need to have a bus pass increases their chances of making their way out of poverty, of seeing other ways to live. 

Public transit is one of life's necessities, and we should treat it as such.

About Pat Capponi

Newcomers endure the colour of poverty

 

March 25, 2010

BY LIZ MONTEIRO, Published in the Kitchener Waterloo RECORD

WATERLOO — Highly skilled immigrants in Canada are living in poverty because they can’t access jobs in their fields and they face racism that is embedded in Canadian institutions, a Toronto community activist told a group of people gathered in Waterloo to talk about how better to integrate immigrant populations.

“Racism is not just in individuals … it’s embedded in our structural institutions,’’ said Uzma Shakir.

“We need to change the source of the problem. For God’s sake be radical,’’ Shakir told more than 200 people gathered at the Luther Village Sunshine Centre for a community forum Wednesday.

The forum focused on how best to create a local immigration partnership council made up of settlement agencies in conjunction with school boards, hospitals and local government to better serve recent immigrant populations. Some of the areas the council hopes to act on include increasing civic engagement, employment and improving settlement services

Citizenship and Immigration Canada asked communities to look at forming an immigrant council to bring various groups together. The Region of Waterloo received $175,000 in a federal grant for the initial steps in the project and is working with the Centre for Community Based Research and the Waterloo Region Immigrant Employment Network.

Shakir, the past president of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, said language is fundamental in terms of preserving culture and protecting it, and if organizations are not equipped with the diversity of languages, “the problem is not the people but the organization.’’

“We carry the bag of multiculturalism but we won’t carry the price of multiculturalism,’’ she said.

There is a significant shift in the demographic of immigrants coming to Canada and Canadians need to be ready, she said. Most are people of colour coming from places Canada has never seen before, such as Africa, Asia and Latin America.

“These immigrants are highly qualified, more than ever before in the history of immigration,’’ she said.

But newcomers, who settle mostly in urban areas, are disproportionately living in poverty, said Shakir who calls this the colour of poverty.

In Waterloo Region, 22.3 per cent of residents are immigrants or refugees and by 2031, it’s expected the population of newcomers will increase to 30 per cent.

According to Statistics Canada, the region is one of the top seven Canadian communities that newcomers choose to call home.

Shakir said civic engagement of immigrant populations will come when they feel ownership and a sense of pride in their country.

“The challenge is how can we change Canadian norms and become in tune with the globalized world we live in,’’ she said. “We have no problem buying clothes made in Bangladesh but we have a problem when they come here.

“If you are a person of colour, you are seen differently,’’ said Shakir, who knows many skilled visible minority immigrants who are working as taxi cab drivers and pizza deliverers in “precarious” temporary employment.

Ghazala Fauzia, who attended the forum, said she hopes by talking about barriers facing newcomers that some of them can be better understood by other Canadians and why living in Canada can be a struggle for recent immigrants.

Fauzia came to Canada in 2006 with her husband and four children. Her husband, who was an engineer in Pakistan, is now working as an engineer here, but Fauzia, who had a master’s degree from her homeland, felt she had to enrol at Wilfrid Laurier University’s social work grad school to work in the social services sector in the region.

“From the first day I arrived here, I didn’t feel I had an equal status coming as an immigrant,’’ Fauzia said. “I feel like I’m a lower-class citizen.

“I feel there is no place for me because I don’t have a Canadian philosophy or have Canadian norms,’’ she said.

Fauzia said her family chose Canada because they were told that it valued multiculturalism, “but I don’t see it.’’

Fauzia said immigrants must change, too, but “we don’t want to change ourselves completely. I want to keep my identity.’’

Julia Langham, regional manager at Libro Financial Group, said employers must recognize they have an opportunity to address the needs of a changing demographic and be leaders.

“We have to get this. It’s an economic imperative,’’ she said. “We need to be proactive and have conversations and dialogue so we know the face of our changing community.

“We can bury our heads in the sand but the stats say it will change,’’ Langham said. “If we do nothing, we will still have a changed workforce and as employers we will be scrambling.’’

lmonteiro@therecord.com

Paying Down The Democratic Deficit

A growing number of Canadians are turning away from the political process. How can they be brought back into the fold?

 

Read the op-ed by Allan Gregg and Monique Bégin in The Mark.

 

Nobel Prize laureate Amartya Sen once was asked what he thought was the most important accomplishment of the 20th Century. His response was, “the rise of democracy.” Societal wellbeing, Sen argues, depends on the ability of citizens to participate in political discussions and influence public policy.

Yet looking back on the past two decades in Canada – and in much of the Western world – citizen engagement has significantly declined.

According to a new Canadian Index of Wellbeing report on democratic engagement, our country has a growing democratic deficit. The report by the Institute of Wellbeing – an independent, non-partisan Canadian network of leaders in civil society, government, and academia – shows that the disconnect between Canadians and those who govern on their behalf is deep, wide, and growing.

Read the op-ed by Allan Gregg and Monique Bégin in The Mark.

 

Canada Suffering from a Huge Democratic Deficit

Fewer Canadians are voting or volunteering for formal political groups, nearly half say they aren’t happy with the way Canada’s democracy works, and an overwhelming majority say that federal government policies have not made their lives better, according to the Democratic Engagement Domain Report (PDF 2MB) released on January 27 by the Institute of Wellbeing.

The Report also noted that women and minorities are underrepresented in the political process. Since 1997, the percentage of women Members of Parliament has remained low at about 20% of total seats.

On the positive side, Canadians are becoming more involved in informal democratic activities such as online discussions, social networking, protests and petitions. They want to have a greater say in the decisions that are shaping their world.

The report puts forward a number of positive ways that Canadians can become more engaged in their own Democracy. 

Download the Report Highlights (PDF 345KB), the full Report (PDF 2MB), or read Improving Canada’s Democratic Engagement: 10 Ideas for Positive Change (PDF 87KB).

 

ACF E-BULLETIN – DECEMBER 2009

 

	Atkinson Foundation e-bulletin Featuring news, views and updates from the Atkinson Charitable Foundation and its partners.
IN THIS BULLETIN...  ACF year-end review... Refrew CPAN makes a difference... Cindy Blackstock newest Atkinson Fellow... New CIW report on select populations… Lessons for Early Learning in Ontario......	Poverty reduction key to recovery... J.E. Atkinson's Fighting Words… Brainstorm: new Atkinson series on education… Scroll down for more...

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S CORNER

 

Charles E. Pascal

ACF year-end review...    In a year fraught with precariousness and uncertainty for many Canadians, the Atkinson Foundation partners worked hard and smart seizing opportunities to advance the mission of J.E. Atkinson for a more just society.   We must remain impatient for change while we also look for every opportunity to strategically cement ongoing longer-term progress.  We need to remember the strength of collective thought and action, and put all of our respective assets on the table, plot and act together.     More from Charles Pascal...

 

RUTH ATKINSON HINDMARSH AWARD

 

Renfrew County Child Poverty Action Network makes difference in tough times   The Renfrew County Child Poverty Action Network (CPAN) is the 2009 recipient of the Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award.  The $50,000 award by ACF honours outstanding contributions to improving the wellbeing of children.   “CPAN’s determination and resourcefulness in tackling child poverty in Renfrew County is remarkable and inspiring.  We applaud their ability to advocate for improved economic and social conditions while at the same time providing tangible, practical assistance to low income families during very difficult times,” said Nancy Hindmarsh, chair of the selection Committee.  More…

 

ATKINSON FELLOWSHIP IN ECONOMIC JUSTICE

 

Aboriginal-Rights Champion Cindy Blackstock Awarded Atkinson Fellowship   Cindy Blackstock has been awarded the Atkinson Foundation's Economic Justice Fellowship to support efforts on behalf of First Nations children and communities.   “With every generation comes an opportunity to create a better world.  But First Nations children are debilitated by funding inequalities in education and child welfare.  We can correct past mistakes by giving this generation a real opportunity to understand their place in the world differently and to succeed,” said Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Service Caring Society of Canada.   More including links to Toronto Star Feature...

Cindy Blackstock

  

CANADIAN INDEX OF WELLBEING

 

Quality of Life Much Worse for Some Groups, Says New Institute Report   People with low incomes, Aboriginal peoples, racialized groups and youth are falling behind on key quality of life indicators, says a new report rby the Institute of Wellbeing, “How are Canadians Really doing? A Closer Look at Select Groups”   Women in poor neighbourhoods have 25% higher odds of having a premature birth; Aboriginal people are almost four times more likely to live in a crowded dwelling; visible minority or racialized groups are three times more likely to be poor due to low wages, social exclusion and racialization in the labour market; and earnings of young adults relative to other earners have been falling over the past 20 years.    Click here for a fact sheet or download the full report

 

EARLY LEARNING

 

Toronto First Duty research informs foundation of full day learning in Ontario   Next September Ontario will become the first jurisdiction in North America to launch a universal, publicly-funded and operated learning and care program for four and five year olds.   The Toronto First Duty (TFD) project has had a clear impact on the province’s promise to implement full day learning.    The Atkinson Centre/OISE UofT research team has led the evaluation and analysis of the TFD early childhood demonstration project.  Phase 2 Research looks at dissemination of the First Duty model and the further development of program integration in one of the five sites, the Bruce Woodgreen Early Learning Centre.   Following are some of the lessons from TFD research that can inform the foundation of full day learning in Ontario.  More…

 

ECONOMIC JUSTICE: POVERTY REDUCTION

 

Time to transform Social Assistance By Jennefer Laidley and Deirdre Pike (Hamilton Spectator)   Whether he meant to or not, the auditor general's analysis of social assistance lets a dysfunctional welfare system off the hook and erroneously lays blame with the people who have nowhere else to turn for basic support.   The real problem is the patchwork of more than 800 rules that trap people in poverty, limit their options, and compromise their health with punishingly low levels of income support.  More…   We Must Work To Lift People Out of Poverty By John Stapleton & Greg deGroot-Maggetti (Kitchener-Waterloo Record)   In the 1990s, governments succumbed to repeated rounds of belt-tightening, resulting in increased poverty. This time around, Ontario should approach the recession as an important opportunity to eradicate poverty as part of a plan to contribute to Ontario’s economic recovery… More…

 

J.E. ATKINSON CORNER

 

Joseph Atkinson’s Social Crusades Fighting words captured in words and video Joseph Atkinson challenged Canadians to create a just, equitable, safe and healthy society for every citizen, no matter what their circumstances. Big Ideas: The Social Crusades of Joseph E Atkinson, is a book that captures the Atkinson legacy in the words he wrote or commissioned for The Toronto Star during his 49 years at the helm. More by clicking here... Fighting Words is a new documentary produced by the Atkinson Charitable Foundation that examines the life and times of the Star’s legendary publisher, tells the story of a great newspaper in the making, and charts the City of Toronto’s progress towards a more civil society. The documentary is now available on Youtube by clicking here… or on DVD from the Foundation by clicking here….

 

ATKINSON FELLOWSHIP IN PUBLIC POLICY

 

2009 Atkinson Fellowship Series: Brainstorm, by Alanna Mitchell   Alanna Mitchell, a Toronto-based writer and journalist who specializes in global science issues, spent much of the past year investigating the controversial push to use brain science to improve education.   She travelled to England, France, Australia and the U.S. as part of her 2008 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy.   Her series delves into the push to put the brain at the centre of the education system — and the pushback. An up-close look at neuroscience in action.  What are schools really for? With seven myths about the brain.  More…

 

ACF E-BULLETIN

 

Visit our website or email pbarata@atkinsonfoundation.ca with your comments or ideas.   Click here to unsubscribe from the ACF e-list or for other options

 

 

Quality of Life Significantly Worse for Some Groups of Canadians Low-Income, Aboriginal, Racialized Groups and Youth have Fallen Behind   TORONTO, Dec. 16 /CNW/ - People with low incomes, Aboriginal peoples, racialized groups and youth are falling behind on key quality of life indicators, says a report released today by the Institute of Wellbeing, How are Canadians Really doing? A Closer Look at Select Groups.   "Overall, Canadians enjoy reasonably high living standards, population health and community vitality," said Institute CEO Lynne Slotek. "But we have enormous inequalities in our society and some groups of Canadians are being left behind due to levels of education, barriers to employment, low wages, social exclusion and racialization in the labour market."   The new report, based on research released in 2008 and 2009, examines living standards, health status and community vitality for four groups: Canadians with low incomes, Aboriginal Peoples, racialized groups, and youth. Report highlights include:   -       Canadians living in households with incomes below $20,000 are three times more likely to experience a decline in self-rated health than people with the highest incomes. -       In Ontario, women living in the lowest income neighbourhoods have 25% higher odds of a premature birth and 46% higher odds of a low-birth-weight baby. -       Between 2002 and 2006, the tuberculosis rate among the Inuit was 90 times higher than in the non-Aboriginal population. -       34% of the Aboriginal population has not completed high school compared to 15% of the non-Aboriginal Population. -       Aboriginal people are almost four times more likely than non-Aboriginal people to live in a crowded dwelling and are three times as likely to live in a dwelling in need of major repairs. -       Visible minority or racialized groups are three times more likely to be poor than other Canadians. -       While 65% of White Canadians reported a strong sense of community belonging, only 54% of Black and Latin American Canadians and 52% of Southeast Asian Canadians felt that way. -       White youth reported higher levels of wellbeing than racial minority youth and two times higher than Aboriginal youth. -       Earnings of young adults relative to other earners have been falling over the past 20 years and young adults are entering employment later than ever before.   The report also draws on a number of international studies to place Canadian wellbeing in a global context. "International evidence shows us that these kinds of results aren't inevitable - they relate specifically to Canada's policy and program context," Slotek said. "In general, countries with more generous social protection systems tend to have better population health outcomes. By comparison, Canada is falling behind other industrialized nations when it comes to levels of poverty, advances in learning, levels of inequality, and investments in social programs."   The report is a follow-up to the Institute's First Report, How are Canadians Really doing? released on June 10, 2009 by the Honourable Roy. J. Romanow, Chair of the Institute's Advisory Board. The First Report presented trends, highlights and interconnections among three related areas of wellbeing - Living Standards, Healthy Populations and Community Vitality.   The report is available at www.ciw.ca   ABOUT THE INSTITUTE OF WELLBEING   The Institute's mission is to report on the quality of life of Canadians, and promote a dialogue on how to improve it through evidence-based policies that are responsive to the needs and values of Canadians. The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) is the Institute's signature product. When released in 2010, the CIW will be the only national index that measures wellbeing in Canada across a wide spectrum of categories.

Renfrew County Child Poverty Action Network makes difference in tough times   Toronto, December 3 – The Renfrew County Child Poverty Action Network (CPAN) is the 2009 recipient of the Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award.  The $50,000 award by the Atkinson Charitable Foundation honours CPAN for their outstanding contributions to improving the wellbeing of children. “CPAN’s determination and resourcefulness in tackling child poverty in Renfrew County is remarkable and inspiring.  We applaud their ability to advocate for improved economic and social conditions while at the same time providing tangible, practical assistance to low income families during very difficult times,” said Nancy Hindmarsh, chair of the selection Committee and a Trustee of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation. CPAN is a grassroots network dedicated to the elimination of child poverty and minimizing the effect that poverty has on children living in Renfrew County.  Members from a wide range of social, economic, and geographic areas work together to provide practical assistance, advocate for stronger supports, and raise public education about poverty.  “Renfrew County Child Poverty Action Network (CPAN) is honoured to receive the Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award.  There are so many worthy recipients many in extra need especially in these tough times.  We look forward to working alongside the Foundation in advocating for a better life for children and families that live in poverty,” said Lynn Smith, coordinator of CPAN. CPAN has been acknowledged for by all levels of government for their work in rallying all social sectors for a vision of an inclusive society.  CPAN leads initiatives such as Backpack Plus program, Operation Snowsuit and their Rural Inclusion and School Inclusion programs.  They have also encouraged and assisted numerous individuals and groups in eastern Ontario to adopt similar initiatives in their local communities.   CPAN has been cited by the Government of Ontario as an essential voice in encouraging the achievement of a provincial Poverty Reduction Strategy. The Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award is presented annually in memory of Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh president of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation until her death in 1994. Established in 1998 to improve the lives of disadvantaged children, the award is the largest of its kind in Canada. TORONTO STAR COVERAGE Charity honoured for helping needy kids December 04, 2009 - Laurie Monsebraaten Lyn Smith describes herself as the "chief cook and bottle washer" for the Renfrew County Child Poverty Action Network. She is certainly that – but so much more. Since the energetic and outspoken single mom of two teenagers took the reins of the fledgling Pembroke-based operation in 2006, Smith has "worked magic" to prevent her neighbours from falling through the cracks, community leaders say. In the rural Ottawa Valley area, where child poverty hovers at 26 per cent, Smith oversees a used snowsuit and winter clothing drive fuelled entirely by volunteers that provides coats, boots, hats and mitts to almost 300 children and teenagers. And this year, Smith is heading a pilot program in three county schools to cover extracurricular expenses and activities for needy kids, at a cost of about $216 per student. The network's "outstanding" contribution to improving the wellbeing of children in Renfrew County was recognized by the Atkinson Charitable Foundation yesterday with the 2009 Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award. The award, which comes with $50,000, is the largest of its kind in Canada. It was established in 1989 to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and named for Hindmarsh, a former foundation president and daughter of legendary Toronto Star publisher Joseph E. Atkinson, who ran the newspaper for almost 50 years until his death in 1948. He founded the Atkinson Charitable Foundation in 1942 to promote social and economic justice. The network's "determination and resourcefulness in tackling child poverty in Renfrew County is remarkable and inspiring," said Hindmarsh's granddaughter Nancy Hindmarsh, chair of the selection committee and a foundation trustee. "We applaud their ability to advocate for improved economic and social conditions while at the same time providing tangible, practical assistance to low income families during very difficult times," she said at the award ceremony in Pembroke yesterday. For Smith, who has grown the network from 30 members to more than 250, it's all about bringing as many hands to the table as possible to help children. "We fly by the seat of our pants and trust in the universe to do right by us" said Smith, 53. The Atkinson award money will help the network introduce new programs such as children's guitar lessons and help her get the word out to other communities that may want to set up their own networks, she said.

 

 

From CBC's The Current, Monday nov 23

Child Welfare - Native Kids

Two decades ago, Canada signed on to the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child. It acknowledged that all children have the right to be safe and protected from harm, cared for, nurtured, and heard.

It's a commitment to children that critics say Canada has ignored.
Their case in point. One in ten Canadian children live in poverty and a lot of those children live on reserves. And it's being alleged that those kids do not have the same access to health care, education and other services as children living off reserves.

The Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society have filed a human rights complaint, saying this is blatant discrimination.

 A tribunal had been scheduled to begin hearings into the complaint last week. But those hearings have now been postponed until January 18th, a delay that further frustrates those making the complaint.

Cindy Blackstock is one of them. She is the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. She is to be awarded the Economic Justice Fellowship today from The Atkinson Charitable Foundation. She was in Montreal. And Carolyn Buffalo is Chief of the Montana Cree Nation in Hobbema, Alberta and mother of Noah.

We invited Chuck Strahl, the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Janis Tarchuk, Alberta's Minister of Children and Youth Services to appear on the program. They both declined our invitation.

We also invited federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq but received no response. Ottawa has responded to the Human Rights complaint by arguing the Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear the matter because the federal government is the funder of the services and not the provider. The government will be in Federal Court in January to try and stop the Tribunal.

Listen by clicking here and scrolling down to Part Two.

 

Aboriginal-Rights Champion Cindy Blackstock Awarded Atkinson Fellowship Toronto, November 23 - Cindy Blackstock has been awarded the Atkinson Foundation's Economic Justice Fellowship.  The three-year Fellowship will provide $100,000 annually for Ms. Blackstock's advocacy on behalf of First Nations children and communities.  “With every generation comes an opportunity to create a better world.  But First Nations children are debilitated by funding inequalities in education and child welfare.  We can correct past mistakes by giving this generation a real opportunity to understand their place in the world differently and to succeed,” said Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director of the First Nations child and Family Service Caring Society of Canada. Ms. Blackstock is one of Canada's leading and most passionate spokespersons for the promotion and strengthening of First Nations cultures, knowledge and rights. A member of the Gitksan First Nation, she has worked in the field of child and family services for over 20 years.   “The foundation was inspired by Cindy Blackstock's authoritative, passionate and relentless pursuit of justice for First Nations.   We believe that our support will go a long way towards educating ordinary Canadians, decision makers and influencers, on the importance of these issues and the possibility for change," said Peter Armstrong, President of the Board of Trustees of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation.   The announcement took place during the launch of a new photography exhibition entitled "Caring Across Boundaries." Curated by Ms. Blackstock, with photographs by Liam Sharp, it documents the hopes and dreams of three First Nations communities and runs at First Canadian Place in Toronto November 23-27.   “This Fellowship addresses issues of utmost importance not only to First Nations, but to all of us as compassionate Canadians, as Canadians committed to justice, and as Canadians who understand the critical role of Aboriginal people to our future prosperity.  It's time to turn a page and commit to a better future for everyone,” said Charles Pascal, Executive Director of the Atkinson Foundation.   Fellowships support social change leaders to think and act for a more just future for all Canadians.  Previous winners include progressive economist Armine Yalnizyan, former premier Roy Romanow, housing activist Cathy Crowe, and immigrant rights advocate Uzma Shakir.   The Atkinson Charitable Foundation, a private Canadian foundation established in 1942, seeks to promote social and economic justice in the tradition of its founder, former Star Publisher Joseph E. Atkinson.   For information: Pedro Barata, Atkinson Foundation, (416) 302-7524   TORONTO STAR PROFILE CINDY BLACKSTOCK AWARDED ECONOMIC JUSTICE FELLOWSHIP Profile by Laurie Monsebraaten, in Toronto Star (Nov 22) There were two things you didn't want to be growing up in northern British Columbia in 1964 – a communist and an Indian, says Cindy Blackstock, 45, the Atkinson Charitable Foundation's 2009 Economic Justice Fellow. "I didn't know what a communist was. But I knew what it was to be Indian," says Blackstock, whose father is a member of the Gitksan Nation and whose mother is white. "I would be treated completely differently when I was with my father than when I was with my mom because my skin is lighter." Blackstock still shudders at the memory of the "Indian entrances" to local taverns and the residential schools in some of the remote communities where her father worked as a forest ranger. But her mother, Helen, taught her about social justice and how to rise above discrimination. "My mother always grew extra vegetables so the kids next door had enough to eat and invited the worst kids in the neighbourhood over to play because she believed all children need a chance," Blackstock recalls. Her mother's example led Blackstock into a career in child and family services, where she has seen first-hand how Ottawa spends less money on child protection services for First Nations children than the provinces spend on services for non-aboriginal children. The discrimination prompted her to help establish the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada in 1999 to lobby for change. As executive director of the society, Blackstock and the Assembly of First Nations have spearheaded a landmark Canadian Human Rights Commission Tribunal complaint against the federal government. The hearing began in September. Although not a mother herself, Blackstock believes strongly in the promise of every child. "With every generation comes an opportunity to create a better world," Blackstock says. "No matter how many mistakes we've made, we can correct them by giving this generation a real chance to understand the world differently, understand themselves differently and grow up respecting their environment and each other. "Half of my working life I have worked for non-aboriginal kids because I really believe in the well-being of all children. My focus on aboriginal children is partly because of who I am and the fact that they get so much less than every other kid." Atkinson Charitable Foundation president Peter Armstrong says the foundation was inspired by Blackstock's authoritative, passionate and relentless pursuit of justice for aboriginal children. "We at the foundation believe that our support of Cindy can go a considerable distance towards educating ordinary Canadians, as well as decision makers and influencers on the importance of these issues. And show that there are solutions," says Armstrong. "The fellowship and the recognition that it provides is really important," says former prime minister Paul Martin, who has dedicated much of his time in retirement to promoting justice for First Nations. "Cindy Blackstock's whole life has been dedicated to this. And I think we're finally beginning to see the pebbles in the river starting to move. We've just got to start moving the rocks." THE AWARD, to be announced tomorrow at the launch of a new photographic exhibit of images from three northern First Nations communities, will provide up to $100,000 annually for three years to support Blackstock's work. "I honestly believe if you live this life well and if you are really lucky, you have one opportunity to make a difference for people," she says. "I just feel that this might be it. That we might be at a point where we can really turn this page in history and really allow this generation of First Nation children to grow up in respect and honour in this country." – Laurie Monsebraaten See Photo Gallery of Images from Caring Across Boundaries, a photo exhibit opening Monday Nov 23 at First Canadian Place. Sponsored by the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, the collection by freelance photographer Liam Sharp depicts the dreams of native children in three northern communities.

Cindy Blackstock

 

Native children flooding into aid societies

Toronto Star, November 22, 2009

LAURIE MONSEBRAATEN

SOCIAL JUSTICE REPORTER

More First Nations children are in the care of children's aid societies today than were forced to live in residential schools at the height of that shameful chapter in Canadian history.

And yet because of Ottawa's longstanding record of short-changing children on Indian reserves, these children get far less support than non-aboriginal children served by provincial child protection systems, First Nations activists say.

They have taken the matter to the federal Human Rights Commission, which was supposed to begin hearing testimony last week. But in a surprise move, the Harper government's newly appointed commission chair has adjourned the tribunal hearings until January.

"This came as a complete surprise," said Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, which along with the Assembly of First Nations launched the complaint more than two years ago.

"All of the procedural issues were dealt with in September with the former (commission) chair and we were ready to begin testimony," she said in an interview. "We really want to move this forward and have the evidence put before the Canadian public and before the tribunal itself. Two months is a huge amount of time in a child's life and they have already waited so long."

A spokesperson for the tribunal said the adjournment was "procedural" and is aimed at getting the parties to narrow the issues so "that the hearing can proceed in a faster manner."

But NDP Indian Affairs Critic Jean Crowder, who along with Blackstock was slated to testify last week, is troubled by the new commission chair's push to narrow the issues at such a late date.

"If that's what the tribunal is saying and if that's what's happening then I'm very alarmed about it," she said in an interview.

A spokesperson for Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said the commission is an independent body that makes its own decisions.

"There is no interference from this government on this issue, whatsoever," said Ted Yeomans.

Although numbers are difficult to obtain – particularly in Ontario, which has the largest population of First Nations people – Blackstock estimates there are 27,000 aboriginal children in foster care across Canada. That's three times as many children as were shipped off to residential schools at the peak of their operation in 1948 and 1949, she said.

First Nations children receive an average of 22 per cent less for child protection services than non-aboriginal children, said Blackstock. And yet the remote location of most reserves, the poverty, substance abuse and squalid living conditions, means these children are 10 times more likely to need child protection services, she said.

"A year after the apology for residential schools, this case is in many ways a truth and reconciliation commission on how Canada is treating First Nations children today," she said.

"It will decide whether or not it is acceptable for the government of Canada to provide First Nations children with a lesser standard of child welfare services than other children on the basis of race."

The implications of this case go beyond child welfare – the blanket term used to describe services that respond to reports of child abuse and neglect. Other children's services on reserves such as education are also under funded. Children on reserves receive about $2,000 to $3,0000 less per year for elementary and secondary school than their peers off reserves, Blackstock said.

The federal Indian Affairs department funds the delivery of First Nations child protection on reserves. Numerous reports have shown that funding levels are lower than what children off reserve receive and do not allow First Nations children's aid societies to respond adequately to reports of neglect.

Blackstock notes that even the Indian Affairs website admits this is a problem when it says: "A fundamental change in the funding approach of First Nations Child and Family Services Agencies to child welfare is required in order to reverse the growth rate of children coming into care, and in order for the agencies to meet their mandated responsibilities."

In 2005, a joint federal-aboriginal commission found that Ottawa needed to spend $109 million per year over seven years to achieve basic equity for First Nations children in Canada outside Ontario. For Ontario, the commission recommended a separate funding review, which still hasn't happened.

Indian Affairs officials say spending for First Nations child welfare has increased from $193 million in 1996 to $523 million in 2008.

But last year, federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser found that despite funding improvements in some provinces, federal funding of child protection services on reserves is still inadequate to meet the need and is still less than what non-Aboriginal children receive.

The result is increasingly higher numbers of First Nations children in peril. Between 1999 and 2005, the number of First Nations children on reserves going into care increased 71.5 per cent. In Ontario it went up 164 per cent, Blackstock said.

Ontario is the only jurisdiction where the province pays for child protection services for First Nations children and is reimbursed by Ottawa. Under a 1965 agreement, Ottawa pays 93 per cent of the province's cost and Ontario pays the rest. However, Ontario uses the same funding formula for its six First Nations children's aid societies as it does for the rest of the province, said Virginia Rowden of the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies. But costs are dramatically higher to serve remote reserves which can only be accessed by air.

This situation was made worse by Ontario's decision last summer to cap administration costs at 10 per cent for all provincial children's aid societies and to stop covering funding shortfalls. Ontario's refusal to change the funding formula to reflect the higher costs of serving children on remote reserves is a concern to children's aid societies, Rowden said.

"The federal tribunal is very important," she said. "We are watching it very closely."

Ontario Child Advocate Irwin Elman said the federal tribunal is an opportunity for Canadians to learn about the inequality that persists for First Nations children.

"It's a landmark case. It's a unique case," he said. "I just hope people will do something with this story once they've heard it. I think it will be impossible not to. It's such a compelling case."

Published in Toronto Star

ATKINSON FELLOWSHIP SERIES:  BRAINSTORM

Alanna Mitchell, this year's Atkinson Fellowship recipient, is pictured at the Institute of Child Study.

STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

Alanna Mitchell, a Toronto-based writer and journalist who specializes in global science issues, spent much of the past year investigating the controversial push to use brain science to improve education. She travelled to England, France, Australia and the U.S. as part of her 2008 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy.

 

The author of two books —Sea Sick: The Global Ocean In Crisis andDancing at the Dead Sea: Tracking the World’s Environmental Hotspots— Mitchell spent much of the past year investigating the controversial push to use brain science to improve education.

 

She travelled to England, France, Australia and the U.S. as part of her 2008 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy, a $75,000 prize with an expense budget of up to $25,000.

The fellowship, sponsored by The Atkinson Charitable Foundation, the Toronto Star and the Honderich family, aims to further liberal journalism in the tradition of legendary Star publisher Joseph E. Atkinson.

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Brainstorm
Read the series in the Toronto Star by cliking here 

SATURDAY
•The push to put the brain at the centre of the education system — and the pushback. 
•An up-close look at neuroscience in action. 
•What are schools really for? With seven myths about the brain.

SUNDAY
•An inside look at Toronto’s own neuroeducation Petri dish — the Institute of Child Study. 
•Examining the roots of the mind/brain education movement, plus mini-profiles of the key pioneers.

MONDAY
•Why the 15-minute marshmallow test can predict your future.

TUESDAY
•Do boys and girls learn differently? No, say neuroeducators. Plus a look at specialty schools.

WEDNESDAY
•A surprising window of opportunity for learning opens up in adolescence, and we’re squandering it.

THURSDAY
•What teachers need to know about brain biology to improve education.

FRIDAY
•What is possible, right now, right here, to make schools better.

SATURDAY
•A manifesto for motivated teachers and parents.

Early Learning Investment key to recovery

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         October 27, 2009

QUEEN’S PARK – Today’s provincial government commitment to begin transforming early learning programs is a critical first step toward Ontario’s economic recovery and future prosperity, say public education and early learning advocates.

 The announcement is a needed first step to implementing the transformative vision recommended last spring by the Premier’s early learning advisor Dr. Charles Pascal, which was widely applauded by parents, public educators and early learning providers.

 “In these tough times it’s encouraging to see the government is sticking to a strategy that will be as good for families and children as it is for Ontario’s economic recovery,” says Annie Kidder, People for Education. “Early learning is one of the best stimulus investments a government can make to stem an economic downturn.

 “Beginning the transformation of our schools into vibrant community hubs will pay off for generations to come. We must stick to the full vision laid out in the Pascal report, so that Ontario becomes a world leader in early learning innovation.”

 Andrea Calver, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, says today’s announcement represents the first new provincial investment in early learning in about two decades.

 “There is still a lot of work ahead to implement the Pascal blueprint but today’s commitment is a green light to municipalities, school boards and the early learning sector to move forward on making the vision a reality,” Calver says. “It’s time to get to work.”

 “We are more than ready to partner with teachers to create a team-based approach to providing Ontario’s children the best full-day early learning experience possible,” says Diane Kashin, Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario. “That’s the vision in the Pascal report and it’s one we’re committed to, because it’s best for children.”

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Support for today’s early learning announcement

“I am relieved and appreciative of the Premier's strong commitment to the early learning and care agenda for Ontario's children, even in the most difficult economic times we have ever faced. Staying the course with the investment in the early years is mission critical to our economic future, and to the health, well being and success of all our children.” – Dr. Robin Williams, paediatrician and public health physician.
 
 “The Government’s announcement today to implement full-day learning is a great investment. It is a great start to moving ahead with the excellent report prepared by Charles Pascal.” -- The Honourable William G. Davis, P.C., C.C., Q.C.
 
 “Today’s announcement from the Ontario government opens the way for what so many of us have been anticipating for decades, beginning to build a coherent early childhood education and care system, rather than merely applying band-aids. The Pascal report has changed the dialogue across Canada about how to go beyond just shoring up child care to creating an ECEC system to support families in the 21st century. From this perspective, today’s announcement signals the beginning -- not the end -- of the process.” -- Martha Friendly, Child Care Resource Unit.
 
“WoodGreen Community Services fully supports the recommendations in Dr. Charles Pascal’s report. WoodGreen and Bruce Jr. Public School are proud to say we have already implemented this innovative model. It has been successfully running, to the delight of students, parents, teachers and early childhood educators, for more than five years. Now is the time for all Ontario families to have this choice.”  -- Brian F.C. Smith, President & C.E.O., WoodGreen Community Services.

“More than a decade of solid research at home and abroad shows the benefits of this direction for children's learning and development, and social savings on prevention. Healthier, better educated children are the best social and economic investment we can make, now more than ever.” -- Carl Corter Atkinson Charitable Foundation Chair in Early Child Development and Education, Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development, Institute of Child Study, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto.

More Links to the Premier's announcement on early learning available from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit by clicking here.

OPINION - Toronto star

Mr. Premier, don't drag your heels on early learning report

Oct 05, 2009 04:30 AM

DAVID CROMBIE 
MARGARET NORRIE MCCAIN 

In the next few days, Premier Dalton McGuinty will be making an announcement that could begin a revolution in education and help define his own legacy as a leader.

If the premier follows the blueprint laid out by his early learning adviser, not only will he set Ontario on a course to become one of the best places in the world to raise a child, he will up the province's competitiveness quotient in the same breath.

The plan, devised by former deputy minister of education Charles Pascal, is centred on schools. The goal is smarter, healthier kids, less harried parents and better economic returns.

The report is about so much more than replacing part-time kindergarten with a full-day program for 4- and 5-year-olds. It's about transforming schools into vibrant, family-centred learning hubs. Instead of operating for the regularly scheduled six hours a day, 188 days a year, they would open from 7:30 in the morning till 6 at night year-round.

Families could access helpful parenting information and resources and affordable on-site after-school activities for their children. No more ferrying kids back and forth to between school and daycare or recreation programs. Additional space in schools would be made available to municipalities to transform the array of parenting and child-care programs for younger kids into one-stop child and family centres.

Put it all together as the plan suggests and you've created a continuous learning system, an umbrella covering everyone in the school community from new parents and their babies to burgeoning adolescents.

This common-sense use of our schools is more cost-effective than the current labyrinth of child care, education and family-support services that frustrate parents, charging them and taxpayers more than they should.

Ironically, Ontario's economic woes make this an opportune time to modernize primary education. Even the most conservative economists agree: spending on learning and care programs for young kids is a stimulus package that keeps on giving. It creates jobs for educators and helps parents work. It's a powerful local economic multiplier – the money earned is spent in the community. And it pays off in greater competency in adulthood and less spending on mop-up programs.

Ontario's early learning revolution is considered "shovel ready" – 35 per cent of our schools already have the capacity to handle the first phase of change. With minor retrofitting, another third of schools could be operational within a year. For the remaining third, Ontario could draw down federal stimulus dollars to add classrooms.

By all accounts, families are telling the government they like the plan. Municipalities and school boards are preparing themselves for the changeover. Champions of publicly funded education are applauding. Other jurisdictions are looking to Ontario to lead the way.

According to media reports, however, the government is thinking of starting small – prepared to invest only in 4- and 5-year-olds by slowly rolling out a full school day with the option of before- and after-school, but no summer programming. Younger kids and school-aged children will need to wait until sometime in the future. It is a first step but unfortunately we have seen too many promising starts stutter and stop.

The recommendations in the Pascal report are not a smorgasbord of choices but a tightly knit package designed to erase service fragmentation once and for all. Selecting some while delaying others creates its own set of problems.

Picking off only the 4- and 5-year-olds will destabilize child care. Unless the government comes up with bailout money, daycare centres will shut down and those that don't will be charging their remaining parents higher fees to keep afloat. Parents and taxpayers could end up footing the bill for an inefficient system that's not as good as it could, and should, be.

Doing it all is not a big stretch. If schools are already operating longer hours to accommodate 4- and 5-year-olds, it would take little more for their siblings to benefit. The cost to taxpayers is negligible since most costs for after-school and summer programming are recouped through parent fees.

Premier McGuinty: You asked Dr. Pascal to advise you on the best way to implement full-day learning. He's delivered a transformational, effective and doable report that serves as a blueprint for Ontario and a benchmark for the rest of Canada. Our place on the education centre stage awaits your leadership.

The Hon. Margaret Norrie McCain is the former lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick and co-chair of the Early Years Studies.

David Crombie, a former Toronto mayor, is chair of Toronto Lands Corp

 

 

Ontario urged to enact early learning report

TORONTO, Sept. 22 - Premier Dalton McGuinty should act now to implement a blueprint for major educational reform that will make Ontario the best place there is to raise a child, say the province's leading early learning experts and champions of publicly funded education.

More than 100 individuals and organizations released a declaration at a Queen's Park news conference today, urging the Ontario government to implement the full set of educational reforms recommended by the Premier's early learning advisor's blueprint for change.

"This blueprint shows the government how to transform Ontario's schools into vibrant, family-centred learning hubs for children and their parents," says Annie Kidder, People for Education.

"This is good not only for Ontario's families today but also for the long-term prosperity of our province. With the economy in the dumps, this is a lifeline that will pay off for generations."

David Crombie, former Toronto Mayor and chair of Toronto Lands Trust, called on the government to make this the last study to sit on a shelf.

"Acting on this blueprint will establish Ontario as a world-class education leader. Families and children are ready. Municipalities and school boards are ready. Educators and champions of publicly funded education are ready," Crombie says. "This is our opportunity to get it right, for children and families today and for the benefit of all into the future."

York University research scientist, Dr. Stuart Shanker, called on the Ontario government to avoid cherrypicking and implement all of the recommendations in its early learning advisor's report - starting in September 2010 with 2012 as the rollout end date.

"This is a doable timeframe," said Dr. Shanker. "35 per cent of our schools already have the capacity to handle the first phase of change and are ready to go."

To download the Open Letter click here...

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Related News Coverage:

Don't lose focus on early learning

Toronto Star - ‎Sep 23

In Canada, about three-quarters of women with a child under age 6 are in the paid workforce. Yet there are regulated daycare spaces for only 20 per cent of ...

 

Teachers' role in full-day preschool plan debated

CBC.ca - ‎Sep 23

The Ontario government is under pressure from several groups as it chooses between expanding the role of teachers in kindergarten classes and enlisting ...

 

Stick with Pascal's plan

Hamilton Spectator - ‎Sep 23

Premier Dalton McGuinty should be very wary of trying to have it both ways in implementing his government's full-day learning plan. ...

 

Ontario set to roll out full-day kindergarten

Toronto Sun - JONATHAN JENKINS - Sep 23

Full-day kindergarten is on track to start next year and how exactly that full day will be split between teachers and early childhood educators should soon be revealed, Education Minister Kathleen Wynne said yesterday.

 

INTERVIEW: Pascal report implementation

CBC Here and Now – Matt Galloway – Sep 22

Just a few hours ago, a group of early childhood education advocates called upon Premier Dalton McGuinty to act on recommendations to reform schooling for four and five year olds

 

Province on verge of giving in to teachers

Toronto Star - Colin Mcconnell - ‎Sep 22, 2009‎

Kindergarten pupils Destiny Williams, 4, left, and Ricki Perreault, 5, read to their doll in class at Bruce Junior Public School on Larchmount Ave. ...

 

Support for early childhood education plan

CTV News Sep. 22

More than one hundred individuals and organizations are sending Premier Dalton McGuinty a message about education…

 

'Seamless day' closer

Metro Canada - Toronto - Colin Mcconnell - ‎Sep 21, 2009‎

Teacher Dora Dilic reads to her kindergarten class at Bruce Junior Public School yesterday. The province is close to approving a plan to put kindergarten 

 

 

Quality of Life Measurement takes flight in the news this week... Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) front and center as a picture of Canadian wellbeing Sept 15 – Toronto Star http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/695624 Sept 14 – National Post http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=1992691 Sept 13 – Toronto Star http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/694584 Check out our website... To find out more about the Institute, and look for our latest reports, please check out our website at www.ciw.ca. Everything produced by the Institute is available free of charge in both user-friendly and research-rich format. Institute of Wellbeing 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1508 Toronto, ON M5E 1E5

Nation looks to premiers to lead fight against poverty

By Laurel Rothman and Trish Hennessy, Toronto Star (Aug 4 09)

 

Canada has been plunged into a worldwide recession that is harsher than any economic downturn since the Great Depression. Now, more than ever, citizens are counting on their governments for vision, compassion and leadership.

 

This week's premiers' talks create a vital opening to start now on an economic recovery plan that reduces poverty, prevents more Canadians from falling into poverty, and puts all of Canada's provincial economies back on a steady footing.

 

The recession hit Canada last October, and since then about 370,000 Canadians have been thrown out of work. But the federal employment insurance (EI) program isn't there for half (52 per cent) of the nation's unemployed.

 

The fallout from this recession is landing squarely on the premiers' shoulders. Without an adequate EI program, Canada's unemployed will be turning to social assistance, food banks, homeless shelters and other provincially funded programs. Provincial poverty rates are bound to soar – with dizzying speed in some regions.

 

For too long, there has been a leadership void at the federal level. We urge Canada's premiers to do everything it takes to bring the federal government to the table, and to act in a cooperative, coordinated way to address poverty before the situation gets worse. According to an Environics poll, 89 per cent of Canadians say the Prime Minister and the provincial premiers need to set concrete goals and timelines to reduce poverty.

 

Four out of 10 children living in poverty have at least one parent working full time. Unfortunately, there are few income supports for that family when the parent loses a job or cannot find work.

 

In the 1980s and 1990s recessions, there were more and better supports. Employment insurance and provincial social assistance programs were available and accessible. Not so today. Nine months into recession, Canada is still not recession-ready. An immediate increase in social assistance rates and a relaxation of the rules on asset limits would help many families gain economic independence.

 

The burden will fall on Canada's premiers to deal with the aftermath. Some are implementing poverty reduction strategies in their province. Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba – representing more than two-thirds of Canada's population – are planning or implementing poverty reduction strategies. This leadership is welcome but it is still not visionary enough to ensure Canada is positioned for a return to prosperity post-recession.

 

Most Canadians agree that the persistence of child and family poverty is unacceptable. An Environics poll reveals 90 per cent of Canadians say they would be proud if their premier took the lead in reducing poverty in their province; 88 per cent want Canada to be a leader in poverty reduction; and 77 per cent say a recession is all the more reason to act now. Even in recession Canadians' desire for their governments to act on poverty and inequality reduction remains strong.

 

Poverty robs us of critical talent and denies young people the opportunity to succeed. As we approach Nov. 24 – which marks 20 years since the unanimous 1989 all-party resolution to end child poverty in Canada – nearly 680,000 children and their families live in poverty. That's 9.5 per cent of all children – about one out of every 10. And that was before this recession. As acknowledged in the Kelowna Accord, for First Nations, Métis and Inuit children the poverty rate is substantially higher. We can, and must, do better.

 

There are other, non-recessionary pressures on provinces and territories as well. The demographic shift is on our doorstep as baby boomers begin the biggest wave of retirement this nation will have ever experienced. Pressures on our future labour market in the context of a globally competitive post-recession environment means Canada needs every citizen to be at his or her working best. Persistent poverty acts as a barrier to future prosperity – it exacts punishing hardships on those who live it and it keeps Canada from realizing its full potential.

 

The cost of political inaction is steep. Recent analysis by the Ontario Association of Food Banks estimates the cost of poverty at $38 billion a year. Repeating the "belt-tightening" method of the 1990s will only deepen recession-driven hardships.

 

Canadians are counting on every premier in this country to act now to reduce and prevent poverty. And they're counting on the premiers to rise above jurisdictional differences and bring the Prime Minister on board for a coordinated recession-fighting poverty reduction plan. Our premiers have a heavy responsibility but also hold tremendous power. We trust they will exercise that power during their upcoming talks

 

Laurel Rothman works at Family Service Toronto and is national coordinator of Campaign 2000. Trish Hennessy is director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' Inequality Project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to make recovery quicker and less painful for those hurting most By Roy Romanow, Globe and Mail (Aug 3 09) A11   The Bank of Canada recently declared an end to the recession. There’s a world of difference, however, between an end to economic decline as measured by GDP and a real recovery as felt by Canadians. And when we look behind the numbers, we can’t avoid the fact that the costs of the recession are profoundly unequally shared, as those who suffer most will be those who can bear it least – unemployed and poor Canadians.   History has a lot to tell us about the difference between the technical end of a recession and real economic recovery, and about the economic consequences for lower-and middle-income Canadians.   A recently released report, The Economic Crisis through the Lens of Economic Well-being, points out that in each of the past two recessions, lowerand middle-income families experienced much larger losses of income proportionately than higher-income households. In the 1982-83 recession, the market income of the bottom 20 per cent of households dropped by 38 per cent and that of the middle 20 per cent dropped by 13 per cent, while the top 20 per cent of households lost just 3 per cent. In the 1990-93 recession, the bottom 20 per cent lost 74 per cent of income and the middle 20 per cent lost 19 per cent compared to 5.1 per cent for the top 20 per cent. This means that whether the recession ends now or later, recovery will be longer and slower for low-and middle-income households.   Connecting the dots between unemployment and poverty, the report also reveals that during the recession of the 1980s, the unemployment rate grew by 4.4 percentage points while the poverty rate went up by a much smaller 2.4 percentage points thanks to the impact of Canada’s relatively strong social safety net. During the recession of the 1990s, however, unemployment rose by 3.9 percentage points but poverty increased much more by 4.1 points. That change shouldn’t surprise anyone as it coincided with significant cuts to EI coverage and benefits – the safety net designed to cushion Canadians from the worst effects of economic downturn. Even though the unemployment rate started falling in 1994, poverty kept rising until 1997 – three years later.   Poverty is expected to grow in step with unemployment in this recession as well. EI is even weaker now than it was in the 1991 recession, and the impact of those cuts has been magnified by a weakening of welfare benefits in most parts of Canada. To put it bluntly, it is much more difficult to avoid becoming poor in a weakening economy in Canada today than it used to be and it is much more difficult to climb out of poverty than it used to be. The report suggests that unemployment will continue to climb to 10 per cent in 2010, with the poverty rate rising to more than 13 per cent – a level our country hasn’t seen since 1998.   From a public policy perspective, there are two priorities for government action. First, governments must continue to offset the shortfall in private-sector spending that prevents our economy from operating at full capacity. This is no time to become complacent and assume that just because GDP may be picking up a little, the market economy will take care of everything. It was that kind of thinking that got us into trouble in the first place.   Second, since recessions primarily hit the unemployed hardest and longest, it is vital that governments support individual Canadians who lose their jobs through incomesupplement and retraining programs that meet their needs. The system we now have simply isn’t up to the task and fixing it is going to require more than tinkering.   In short, ongoing government stimulus and support for both individuals and the economy is still very much needed if we are to avoid the extended periods of high unemployment and even higher poverty rates that have followed previous recessions.   Canada has already acted by lowering interest rates and injecting massive stimulus into the economy to ensure a shallower and shorter recession than most had predicted. It must now demonstrate that it has also learned how to make the recovery quicker and less painful for those who are hurting most.    Roy J. Romanow is chair of the Institute of Wellbeing advisory board.

 

ACF 2008 Annual Report Stepping Forward: The Atkinson Legacy in Action   Looking back at 2008, we celebrate the determination of our partners in pursuit of social and economic justice, in the midst of very challenging times. As job losses, rising economic insecurity, and uncertainty about the future gripped communities, we were reminded that the work of our partners was important now more than ever.   Featuring: ·   “Keeping it real: Lessons from the temp workers’ front line,” an essay by Deena Ladd from the Worker’s Action Centre… ·   Progress on the Canadian Index of Wellbeing, Early Childhood and Economic Justice… ·   Checking in with Atkinson Fellows… ·   Milestone year for ACF’s Inclusion Task Force…   Click here to download (pdf 1 MB)

Annual Report coverage in The Toronto Star   Work of labour activists and child educators is bolstered by gifts of Atkinson Foundation (July 11) - Laurie Monsebraaten features two ACF partners: the campaigning of the Workers' Action Centre with temp workers, and the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development’s groundbreaking research on the First Duty pilot project at Bruce Junior Public School. More…   When workers unite for fair treatment (July 11) - Deena Ladd and Trish Hennessy write about the uneasy world of non-standard work and how to fight back against unfairness, low pay and exploitation.  More…

 

TORONTO STAR - TURNED AWAY AT THE DOOR

Landlords trample on tenants' human rights

IAN WILLMS/TORONTO STAR

Kristen Stewart, with daughter Janaiyah at their Scarborough apartment July 2, 2009, has been refused housing because she is a single mother on welfare. A study on discrimination in Toronto's rental market, paid for through an Atkinson Charitable Foundation grant, found her experience was common.

Toronto study finds the most vulnerable renters are the most likely to be refused

Jul 07, 2009 - TORONTO STAR

LAURIE MONSEBRAATEN 
SOCIAL JUSTICE REPORTER

At first, Kristen Stewart thought it was just bad timing when several apartments she was hoping to rent were no longer available when she showed up to view them.

But when a landlord looked her in the eye and coldly said he didn't rent to teens with babies, the truth hit like a slap in the face. As a young, black, single mom on welfare, nobody wanted to rent to her.

And she is not alone.

A groundbreaking study, to be released today, estimates that about one in four black, single parents and households on social assistance face moderate to severe discrimination in Toronto's tight rental market. The same is true for South Asians.

For those with a mental illness, more than one-third face discrimination when they inquire about available apartments, the study found.

"Even when rental housing is available, thousands of marginalized individuals and families cannot make it through the door," says the report by the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation.

"Any strategies to address homelessness and housing insecurity must address this reality."

The study, one of the largest and most comprehensive of its kind in Canada, was funded through a $90,000 grant from the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, established by former Toronto Starpublisher Joseph E. Atkinson.

Ontario's Human Rights Code protects renters from discrimination on a variety of grounds, including family status, age, disability, colour, ethnic background and reliance on social assistance.

To test landlord compliance, the centre created five "renter profiles" – a single mother with one child; a black single mother with one child; a single South Asian man, a single man with a mental illness and a married woman on provincial disability benefits.

Volunteers posing as these vulnerable renters made telephone inquires about 982 apartments listed for rent across Toronto last summer. Each call was followed up within 1 1/2 hours by another volunteer with no discernable grounds for discrimination.

Each pair asked the same 12 questions and the landlords' responses were recorded and analyzed for mild, moderate or severe differential treatment.

For example, to gauge discrimination against the South Asian man, one caller used a distinct South Asian accent and name, while the second caller had no accent and used a Western European name.

Discrimination against the South Asian man ranged from not having his call returned to being told the unit was already rented when it was still available.

The South Asian man also faced extra application requirements such as being asked for postdated cheques. And 31 per cent of the time, he was offered fewer move-in incentives such as free cable TV, the study found.

"In some cases, the landlord makes the unit so unappealing that he doesn't have to turn the person down," said John Fraser, the centre's program director.

The centre's results are similar to those from studies in the United States, where community-based organizations regularly monitor discrimination in rental housing, Fraser said.

He hopes Queen's Park will fund local groups to use the centre's model to track the situation.

The centre is also calling on the province to fund more human-rights cases based on housing discrimination and to beef up support for local agencies that help households facing these barriers.

Education is also key, says Barbara Hall, chief of Ontario's Human Rights Commission, which held consultations on housing discrimination last year and will release a related policy document this summer.

"I think it's fair to say most people are not aware there is a human rights component to housing," Hall said in an interview.

"The commission has never focused on this issue and it's something we and other commissions in Canada are just beginning to investigate."

The study's findings translate into tens of thousands of Torontonians potentially facing discrimination, including about 6,000 single parents, 2,000 of whom are single black parents like Stewart.

About 10,000 South Asians and nearly 15,000 Torontonians receiving Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program benefits and more than 8,000 people with schizophrenia in Toronto experience significant discriminatory barriers every year, the study says.

And the numbers likely are low because those who don't face discrimination during the initial phone call could be treated unfairly when they view the apartment or fill out an application, it adds.

That was Stewart's experience, and the incident two years ago left her hurt and confused. "I was stunned. I couldn't believe someone would say something like that."

Stewart, now 18 and living with her 2-year-old daughter in a subsidized apartment in the city's east end, has just completed high school and is about to start college.

"I hope this study makes people more aware so this sort of thing stops," she said.

Immigration's tough new faceJune 27, 2009

UZMA SHAKIR

The federal government's latest moves to step up deportations of foreign workers have solidified Canada's fall from grace when it comes to our immigration policy.

Coordinated raids throughout southern Ontario since May have already led to the arrest and deportation of at least 100 undocumented workers originating from places such as Thailand, Mexico, China, the Philippines and the Caribbean. Many more currently await their fate while in detention, according to No One Is Illegal, an immigrant rights organization monitoring the emerging situation.

Interestingly, no charges have been laid against the employers.

It is a moment reminiscent of the Bush era's worst anti-immigrant policies: chasing, arresting, detaining and eventually deporting undocumented workers had turned into a national pastime.

But even in the U.S., the anti-immigrant, anti-racialized worker rhetoric has quieted. Here, however, Canada is showing that it does not mind arriving at the party a little late.

In this age of globalization, we are quick to celebrate the movement of ideas, money and trade that produces multicultural new realities. Yet we are almost contradictory in increasingly asserting the right to stop people precisely for crossing borders in pursuit of the very work that calls for being filled.

To treat people who are seeking work as criminals, and not prosecute the employers and recruiters who lure them for profit into precarious employment, is indeed a far cry from the days of nation-building.

But it is entirely consistent with our federal government's general approach to immigration and racial equity in the recent past.

Amendments to the Immigration Act (Bill C-50) that slipped through the most recent 2008 federal budget are now having far-reaching effect.

First, these amendments turned a relatively neutral system of immigrant determination into a discretionary one. The minister of the day is now given unprecedented discretionary powers to identify which occupations are to be given precedence in the selection process. The minister also can, without parliamentary oversight, issue "instructions" about who should be selected or rejected.

This makes the system arbitrary and subject to the vagaries of political whim.

Second, Canada is shifting from a nation-building approach to immigration to one focused on filling labour market needs through temporary permits.

Take the introduction of the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

According to the government's own estimates, CEC would fast-track 12,000 to 18,000 people in the first year and 25,000 in the second year. However, given that Canada is letting in more than 165,000 temporary workers per year, it is clear that our immigration ethos has changed from seeking citizens to becoming a temp agency for short-term workers.

In fact, according to recent changes, the number of temporary foreign workers being introduced into our society is almost on par with the national targets for immigrants.

As professor Grace-Edward Galabuzi wrote recently: "Enacting Bill C-50 ... has made it possible to transform an immigration system focused on citizenship development into one whose priority is commodified labour through the expansion of the Temporary Worker Program ..."

What is even more telling is that the amendments have also brought a particularly non-humanitarian tone to the immigration process.

For example, the bill changes the language from "visa shall be issued" to "visa may be issued" regarding those who in the past qualified for permanent residency but were denied or faced delays with their claim.

This change, while appearing minor, replaces a legal right to appeal with one that lacks any recourse. Recent amendments also eliminate the right to an overseas application for humanitarian and compassionate consideration (e.g. separated families like overseas parents of children who are refugees in Canada).

Now such applications can be returned unexamined or shredded.

It is ironic that as Europe tries to move away from foreign worker programs to develop more equitable and sustainable immigration policies, we are moving away from seeing immigrants as citizens toward a cruder policy of regarding immigrants as "capital on two legs."

Immigration is the cornerstone of our national lore – we are a land built by immigrants, the story goes.

To turn our national narrative, no matter how flawed, from seeking nation-builders to recruiting insecure, unprotected and exploitable temp workers is a sign of our collective descent into intolerance and a systematic suspension of humanitarian principles.

Albeit under the radar screen, our approach to immigration speaks to the unravelling of our social contract as Canadians and hints at where we could be headed as a society.

As conscious citizens of a society worth fighting for, we must raise our voices and stop our country from sliding into a place we may not have reason to value.

Uzma Shakir is an Economic Justice Fellow with the Atkinson Charitable Foundation.

 

ACF NEWS:  CHARLES PASCAL RELEASES EARLY LEARNING REPORT

 

Dear Friends and Colleagues:    Today Charles Pascal released his Early Learning Advisor's report to the Premier of Ontario.  For the past 18 months Charles has played a key role in seeding potential advances on early learning and care, a cause that is central to the Foundation's vision for progress.  In his role as Early Learning Advisor, Charles traveled the province to tap into the best knowledge and experience of parents, experts, providers and advocates, many of whom have been valued partners of the Foundation and have helped till the soil for hopeful gains.  We look forward to continuing to work with our partners towards universal early learning and care for all children and families in Ontario.   To download a copy of the report visit: www.ontario.ca/earlylearning   Sincerely, Peter A. Armstrong President The Atkinson Charitable Foundation

 

In partnership with parents, full-day learning will provide Ontario children with high quality programs that help lay the foundation for a healthy and productive life. I have submitted my report, With Our Best Future in Mind to the Premier on how to implement full day learning for 4- and 5-year-olds.   I encourage you to read the report and the accompanying brochure which provides a summary of my recommendations. In addition you may be interested in reviewing the working assumptions that guided my thinking throughout the development of the report.

 

I also invite you to download and read two companion reports, one that provides the vast evidence and best practice that informed my recommendations and another, due shortly on this site, that offers a curriculum for the early years to guide early learning professionals in fostering the development of young children.   I am extremely grateful to the thousands of Ontarians who contributed their thoughts on early learning through emails, phone calls, meetings, and our website.   There is tremendous support for early learning in Ontario. Together, I am confident we can build ‘our best future’.   Charles E. Pascal June 15th, 2009   -- Read the Report                                  --Read the Summary -- Download the Report (PDF - 2.06 MB)     --Download the Summary (PDF - 298 KB)   RELATED LINKS   EARLY LEARNING:  A Star Special on a new vision for Ontario Children Read news, analysis and resources on www.parentcentral.ca     Full day learning starts next year Toronto Star - ‎June 15 McGuinty to back education blueprint blending kindergarten and daycare for children…   Full-day learning unveiled today Hamilton Spectator - ‎ June 15 It's unlikely McGuinty will commit to the entire $1 billion annual price tag recommended by early learning adviser Charles Pascal in his report to be ...   Education report calls for all-day kindergarten, sweeping reforms Globe and Mail - ‎ June 15 After two years of study, former deputy minister of education Charles Pascal will today release his long-awaited report on the province's early years ...   The people behind the report Toronto Star - ‎ June 15 Charles Pascal's report on full-day learning recommends a network of Best Start Child and Family Centres, bringing together the current mishmash of child ...   Grit report recommends province blend kindergarten, day care Ottawa Citizen - ‎ June 15 It's time to erase the divide,” said the report, authored by Charles Pascal, an expert in early childhood learning and a former deputy minister of education ...   Making it all about the kids Metro Canada - Toronto - ‎ June 15 It's unlikely McGuinty will commit to the entire $1 billion annual price tag recommended by early learning adviser Charles Pascal in his report to be ...   Education experts say full-day kindergarten would benefit Ont ... The Canadian Press - ‎June 14 Among the recommendations in a report by Charles Pascal are plans to create full-day "early learning programs" for four-and-five-year-olds and housing ...   Children are more successful with day-long learning: Pascal Hamilton Spectator - ‎June 14 Charles Pascal says these changes will also provide a boost to the well-being of student's families. Premier Dalton McGuinty gave Pascal, a former deputy ...

 

 

 

Atkinson Fellow to study Canadian media in global age   Kate Taylor, an arts columnist at the Globe and Mail and award-winning novelist, has won the 2009 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy for her project entititled:  Maple Leaf Rag: Canadian Cultural Sovereignty in the Digital Age, she will study how a national culture can survive the forces of digitization and globalization.     The daughter of a Canadian diplomat, she was born in France and raised in Ottawa and Europe. She studied history and art history at the University of Toronto, and completed a Masters in journalism at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont.   She worked at the London Free Press and Hamilton Spectator before joining the copy desk at the Globe and Mail in 1989. She became an arts reporter at that paper in 1991 and served as the Globe’s authoritative and provocative theatre critic from 1995-2003, winning two Nathan Cohen Awards and a nomination for a National Newspaper Award with her reviews. Since 2003, she has worked as a columnist, critic and feature writer in the Globe’s arts section, with a special interest in the programming and policies of both television and museums.   Kate Taylor is also an award-winning novelist. Her 2003 novel Mme Proust and the Kosher Kitchen won the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Novel - Canada/Caribbean region; the Toronto Book Award and the Canadian Jewish Book Award. Her second novel, A Man in Uniform, is a detective story set in late 19th-century France and will be published by Doubleday Canada in 2010.    As part of the terms of the Fellowship, Taylor will receive a stipend of $75,000 plus an expense budget of up to $25,000.   The Atkinson Fellowship is an annual competition open to all full-time Canadian journalists in print or broadcast media. Preference is given to those applicants who have already achieved some distinction in reporting on policy issues. The Fellowship is sponsored by the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, the Toronto Star, and the Honderich Family.   1.    To be considered, all that is required is a THREE PAGE maximum LETTER of INTENT, along with your curriculum vitae, that summarizes your topic, its importance, brief outline of proposed articles, and treatment/approach to be received by Monday, January 11, 2010.   2.    The Fellowship Committee will choose three to five Finalists who will be invited to submit a full application and proposal for consideration for the 2010 Fellowship award. Each finalist will receive an honorarium for submitting a proposal.   Send 4 copies of your Letter of Intent and CV to:   Elizabeth Chan