text:
Ontario Featured News & Alerts
of Featured News
Featured News
Featured News
2004 Featured News
2003 Featured News 2002 Featured News
this link to Suggest an Addition
here to access a link to the latest issues of FemmeVox an initiative of
Womyn's Voices to engage women
to advance equality through technology
R.E.A.L. Women of Canada
click here
Dismayed by the Closing of Key Womens GroupThe
Canadian Feminist Alliance for
International Action (FAFIA) expresses its dismay at the closure of the offices
of the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL). As a long-standing
member group of FAFIA and collaborator on key policy issues affecting women, this
closure represents a significant loss to women in Canada. Read
October 10th Election & Referendum:
19, 2007
Pride Day - July 14, 2007 - An International Day Recognizing Mad Peoples
Movement in TorontoSurvivors!
... Consumers! ... Mad Folks! ... Allies ... Activists ...Help
Celebrate Mad Pride Toronto!Join
the BED PUSH - A pride parade of sortsGather at 1pm at
the front door of CAMH 1001 Queen Street West at 1pm.We will march to Parkdale
Activity & Recreation Center for a celebration!
Pride Day, July 14th, an international day recognizing Mad Peoples movement
has been proclaimed as such, within the city of Toronto.
recognize and celebrate psychiatric survivors, consumers and mad folks
by getting involved in and supporting Toronto's first ever Mad Pride Bed Push,
a parade of sorts.
idea of a Bed Push is inspired by our British counterparts who staged The Great
Escape Bed Push, as a Mad Pride event last year.
in Pajamas a group of campaigners pushed a psychiatric bed from Millview Psychiatric
Hospital in Brighton, 60 miles to the original site of Bedlam the
Bethlem Asylum in London, all the while being pursued by a giant syringe. The
aim of the stunt was to raise awareness about the poor levels of choice of treatments
and the widening use of force in the psychiatric system.
July 14, 2007 at 1:00 pmWhere: CAMH, 1001
Queen Street West Speakers: City Counselor
Gord Perks, M.P.P.
Cheri DiNovo, & M.P. Peggy Nash
or email us, let us know that you
care about Mad Pride by getting involved in it. Read
Against Poverty Take Over Abandoned BuildingSee
Photos and listen to Audio from the Women
Against Poverty Collective: Housing Takeover Day Rally
and March en
Bonnar: www.johnb.smugmug.com/gallery/...Graeme
Bacque: http://tinyurl.com/327u5j
Article: Police end anti-poverty group's house squat
- Sun. Jun. 3 2007 http://tinyurl.com/3cbkd7
Police Clash With Protesters At Affordable Housing Rally - Sun. June 3, 2007 http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_11648.aspx
Against Poverty Collective (WAPC) -
Press Release Women Against Poverty
Demand Government Action On Housing: Release dd June 3, 2007June
4, 2007
of Quality Non-Profit Child Care a "Disgrace" Say Elementary Teachers
Press Release dd May 30, 2007Poor
quality care in licensed Ontario child care facilities documented in recent media
reports dramatically underlines the need for a national, non-profit child care
program, says the Elementary Teachers'
Federation of Ontario (ETFO).
President Emily Noble acknowledged that the Ontario government quickly responded
to concerns about quality of care by promising to post details of child care inspections
on a government website. However, the issue of unsatisfactory child care continues
to be a serious concern, she said. Read More May
30, 2007
Futures - Self Employment Development Program Toronto Business Development
in Starting your own Business?
may have the perfect opportunity for you!
Information Session: Friday
June 22, 200710:00 a.m. to 12:00 NoonToronto Business Development
Centre1071 King Street WestRead More
Recovery Conference 2007 -- Putting the Evidence to Work for You! August
17 & 18, 2007 - Ottawa
& Objectives Why You Should Attend
Presenters Themes
About Ottawa Schedule
- August 17, 2007 Schedule
- August 18, 2007 Registration
Accommodation About
the Speakers
YOU SHOULD ATTEND: This
conference will allow YOU to meet researchers and professionals at the forefront
of stroke rehabilitation and treatment. Read MoreMay
24, 2007
Against Poverty Collective (WAPC) Women's Housing Takeover
We AreWhat We Are DoingWhy
We Are Doing ThisWhen & WhereContact
WAPC Facts About Violence Against Women
Facts About Poverty and WomenWays
to be InvolvedWe demandWomen
Against Poverty Collective Bloghttp://womenagainstpoverty.blogspot.com/
14, 2007
people are saying about McGuinty's "Don't Believe it Budget:People
from across Ontario are saying Dalton McGuinty's "Don't
Believe it Budget" fails to deliverLow
Income Families Together (L.I.F.T.)Too
Little, Too Late! 2007 Provincial budget offers last minute pre-election crumbs,
but does not address povertyO.D.S.P.
Action Coalition:People with Disabilities Left in Poverty by Ontario Budget
people are saying about McGuinty's "Don't Believe it Budget:People
from across Ontario are saying Dalton McGuinty's "Don't
Believe it Budget" fails to deliver
Income Families Together (L.I.F.T.)Too
Little, Too Late! 2007 Provincial budget offers last minute pre-election crumbs,
but does not address poverty
Action Coalition:People with Disabilities Left in Poverty by Ontario Budget
Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC):Budget
good first step, but much work remains to be done: anti-poverty activistsCUPE
families will wait for years to benefit from McGuinty's "war" on povertyWellesley
Institute:Thanks for the thoughts, but where's the money?Ontario
Federation of Labour (OFL):Wait
...Wait ...WaitAccessibility
For Ontarians With Disabilities Act Alliance Update (AODA Alliance): What
the Ontario Budget Includes on Disability/AccessibilityJohn
Tory: McGuinty's Budget: No relief, few results for average taxpayersTory
says McGuinty missed an opportunity to use billions in extra money to help familiesCanadian
Auto Workers (CAW):Ontario
Budget Falls Short of Expectations, Hargrove SaysOntario
Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO):Ontario
budget increases overall education funding but local programs may still sufferCanadian
Federation of Students:Ontario
Budget Forecast for Students: Higher Tuition Fees and More DebtDaily
Bread Food Bank:Budget's Ontario Child Benefit gets thumbs up from
Daily Bread Food Bank
Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC):Budget
good first step, but much work remains to be done: anti-poverty activists
families will wait for years to benefit from McGuinty's "war" on poverty
Institute:Thanks for the thoughts, but where's the money?
Federation of Labour (OFL):Wait
...Wait ...Wait
For Ontarians With Disabilities Act Alliance Update (AODA Alliance): What
the Ontario Budget Includes on Disability/Accessibility
Tory: McGuinty's Budget: No relief, few results for average taxpayersTory
says McGuinty missed an opportunity to use billions in extra money to help families
Auto Workers (CAW):Ontario
Budget Falls Short of Expectations, Hargrove Says
Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO):Ontario
budget increases overall education funding but local programs may still suffer
Federation of Students:Ontario
Budget Forecast for Students: Higher Tuition Fees and More Debt
Bread Food Bank:Budget's Ontario Child Benefit gets thumbs up from
Daily Bread Food Bank
Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO):Elementary
Teachers Applaud Government Focus on EducationCommunity
Living Ontario: McGuinty Government's Commitment to Developmental Services
Association of Food Banks (OAFB):Food banks welcome focus on poverty --
OAFB welcomes
first step on a long journey to reduce poverty in OntarioUnited
Ways of Ontario:Budget
Addresses Needs of Vulnerable Ontarians
Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO):Elementary
Teachers Applaud Government Focus on EducationCommunity
Living Ontario: McGuinty Government's Commitment to Developmental Services
Association of Food Banks (OAFB):Food banks welcome focus on poverty --
OAFB welcomes
first step on a long journey to reduce poverty in Ontario
Ways of Ontario:Budget
Addresses Needs of Vulnerable Ontarians
Women of Canada Press Release, February
8, 2007Hearings
by Status of Women Committee a Hoax February
15, 2007
and HIV/AIDS: Select Facts
Women are increasingly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.
Young people, especially young women, are disproportionately at risk.
Women and girls do not have access to comprehensive information and services.
The biggest HIV/AIDS risk
for many women and girls is marriage.
Sexual coercion and violence lead to a greater chance of infection. Read
More July
29, 2006
Much Longer? by Eduardo Galeano 07/28/06
"IPS" -- One country
bombed two countries. Such impunity might astound were it not business as usual.
In response to the few timid protests from the international community, Israel
said mistakes were made.
How much longer will horrors be called mistakes?
This slaughter of civilians began with the kidnapping of a soldier.
How much longer will the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier be allowed to justify
the kidnapping of Palestinian sovereignty?
How much longer will the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers be allowed to justify
the kidnapping of the entire nation of Lebanon?
For centuries the slaughter of Jews was the favorite sport of Europeans. Auschwitz
was the natural culmination of an ancient river of terror, which had flowed across
all of Europe.
How much longer will Palestinians and other Arabs be made to pay for crimes they
didnt commit? Read More July
28, 2006
Bennett-Coverley, 'Ms Lou' : 1919 - 2006 The
renowned folklorist, the Rt. Honorable Louise Bennett-Coverley, Ms Lou
passed away July 26, 2006. To
send condolences to the family please send emails to email@example.com
More July 27, 2006
Breast Cancer (IBC): The Silent Killer Inflammatory
Breast Cancer (IBC)
is an advanced and accelerated form of breast cancer usually not detected by mammograms
or ultrasounds.
Inflammatory breast cancer requires immediate aggressive treatment with chemotherapy
prior to surgery and is treated differently than more common types of breast cancer.
African Americans have
a higher incidence of IBC than do Caucasians and other ethnic groups (10.1%, 6.2%,
and 5.1%, respectively)."
the KOMO TV 4 video: The
Silent Killer: Inflammatory Breast Cancer
(6:00) Read
the KOMO 4 News Special Report dd May 7, 2006: Inflammatory
Breast Cancer Read More July
25, 2006
On You, Mr. Harper Video:
Abby Lippman and Jihad Bahlis Interviewed by Caroline Van Vlaardingen,
CTV Montreal
Livable Income a universal idea Cindy
L'Hirondelle, Women's
Economic Justice Project Coordinator responds to Vancouver Sun column In
Daphne Bramham's July 22 (Vancouver Sun) column "Oh,
wouldn't it be lover-ly?" she launches a none to subtle attack on
the Women's
Economic Justice Report on Guaranteed Livable Income and me personally.
hopes the ideas in the report are a joke, calls the report "sloppy",
"sentimentalist", "Rousseau-ian", "sprinkled with neo-Luddite
thinking", "buttressed with Marxist-socialist cant"; that I am
"channeling the founders of the Social Credit party", making the guaranteed
annual income idea seem "ridiculous", doing a "huge disservice"
to the women interviewed, that I "trivialized the desperate needs of the
poor", made a "nonsensical lament about how [low income women] can't
buy organic", put feminism in disrepute and made the rest of Canada see us
as "wigged-out West Coasters." I'm surprised she didn't call me a blood-drinking
vampire as well, but then she wonders if I'm vegan. If she had contacted me, I
would have told her: that's right, I only drink the blood of organic carrots.
More July 24, 2006
shameful silence on women's rights Paul
Sheehan asks why Western feminists are mute on the plight of their Islamic sisters
"... In this cultural clash, the treatment of women is the most hotly
contested terrain. Not just the treatment of non-Muslim women by Muslim men, but
the treatment of Muslim women within Western culture. Many Muslim women live under
constraints that are unacceptable to wider society. For years, a symptom of this
tension, which is largely submerged, has been the distraught young women turning
up at the Australian embassy in Beirut to escape forced marriages.
the midst of this cultural and moral struggle one element has been conspicuously
missing - the feminists - the authors, academics and commentators who rose to
prominence as advocates of women's rights. In Australia and Europe, their response
to the growing levels of sexual intimidation, harassment or suppression of women
by Muslim men has either been a deafening chorus of silence, or denial and blame-shifting.
the Full Article July 23, 2006
in Lebanon Immediately by
Kamala Sarup From
the news, it seems that thousands of innocent people are targeted in Lebanon.
More than 500,000 people, over a third of them children, had been touched in Lebanon
by the conflict and more than 100,000 Lebanese were now in Syria, most of whom
needed assistance. According to news, Israel's 12-day air offensive in Lebanon
has left more than 350 Lebanese and 33 Israelis dead, while more than 100 Palestinians
and one Israeli soldier have died in Gaza.
want immediate unilateral cease fire in Lebanon. I want equity and justice for
Palestinians and Israelis, especially for those children. Most of the deaths in
Middle East can be prevented by peace negotiations. Israeli and Palestinians must
accept a political solutions. People from both countries want peace.
see only one solution to solving major problems peace power can't be stopped if
it's great and persistent enough. The solution is to serve the needs of all the
people. Our history proves that when enough people act they get results. The greatest
peace gains were gotten by people action. We need that now especially to
end Middle East war. Read More July
23, 2006
Sun, columnist Daphne Bramham slams the Women's Economic Justice Report on Guaranteed
Livable Income
In the July 22, 2006 Vancouver Sun, columnist Daphne Bramham slams
the Women's Economic Justice Report on Guaranteed
Livable Income. (page C4) See article here: http://tinyurl.com/fs3kj
states: "Far from helping women like them, this report makes the whole
idea [guaranteed income] seem ridiculous." and
"The 72-page report by Cindy L'Hirondelle reeks of a sloppy,
sentimentalist view of nature, a vision of an idyllic, Rousseau-ian rural life
minus the peasants." and "Please,
somebody tell me that the Victoria Status of Women Action Group's recently released
list of benefits of a guaranteed annual income wasn't written for David Letterman."
that is not all. She also makes a very damaging mistake about one of the points
listed under the section on "concerns". She thinks we were saying that
we did not want people new to Canada to have a GLI. She got it backwards! We had
the opposite concern. We wanted to ensure that people new to Canada could easily
access getting a Guaranteed Livable Income. Throughout the report it is also noted
that a GLI must happen in every country in the world. Read
More July 23, 2006
Women file complaint against Ontario Chief Justice The
R.E.A.L. Women clan are at it again ... Now they have filed a formal complaint
against Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry with the Canadian Judicial Council,
alleging judicial misconduct.
to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy on Bill 107, The Proposed Ontario
Human Rights Code Amendment Act Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance - Draft Only - July 15, 2006
of this Brief's Contents: This brief is
divided into two parts. In Part I
(the shorter part), we summarize our position on Bill 107 and how it should
be amended. For those interested in our position, but not wanting to get into
all the background and detail, Part I
provides all the information needed. It:
those interested in far more detailed information, Part
II, the longer part, gives an extensive explanation of each of the 49
amendments we propose. Accompanying this brief are appendices with important background
materials to support our proposals. These include: 1.
A list of the AODA Alliance's 49 recommendations for amending Bill 107 2.
The AODA Alliance's "Fact Check" on Official Statements about Bill 107
3. The AODA Alliances
April 3, 2006 Discussion Paper on Options for Reforming the Ontario Human Rights
Code. Read
More July
19, 2006
to Dalton McGuinty: Keep Your Promises to Autistic Children July
Shelley Martel, MPP for Nickel Belt and the NDP Health and Long-Term Care Critic,
is dismayed by today's Court of Appeal decision but emphasized that, for New Democrats,
this issue has always been a political issue about what Dalton McGuinty promised
during the 2003 election and what he has continually failed to do.
McGuinty made an explicit promise to the parents of autistic children. He promised
IBI treatment for every single child who needs it - regardless of age," Martel
McGuinty should never have dragged parents and their vulnerable autistic children
through the courts, at great expense to taxpayers and the families, just so he
could break a promise. I am calling on the premier to do the right thing for autistic
children and extend IBI treatment to all children who need it -- without delay."
Read More
July 19, 2006
Batwoman's Gayness Today's women are pigeonholed
as either girly girls or lesbians Op-Ed in today's LA Times
... Whatever
the reason, it appears that there are only two ways to go about being female these
days: You are either a midriff-bearing, gum-snapping, engagement ring-chasing
girly girl or you are a probable lesbian.
used to think of this dichotomy in terms of "separating the women from the
girls." Perhaps you remember how this went. Teenagers and early twentysomethings
wore nameplate necklaces and waited for the phone to ring, and adult women owned
condos and knew how to unclog a toilet without losing their sex appeal.
in a culture that's as allergic to subtlety as it is obsessed with youth, acceptable
versions of womanhood seem to be melting away with the polar ice cap. You either
get the Botox, the boob job, the bikini wax and baby doll dresses, or you take
the radical step of looking and acting like a fully formed, grown-up female. Read
More July 15, 2006
Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile 2006
Victims Rarely Report Abuse: StatsCan Report
Victimization surveys have
shown that spousal violence frequently involves multiple incidents. However, a
new study examining 10 years of police-reported data shows that most spousal violence
is reported to police on only a single occasion.
study, which analyzed spousal violence offenders and their contact with police
using a 10-year data file for 1995 to 2004, was published today in the 2006 edition
of Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile. It found that 8 out of every
10 spousal offenders were reported to police on only one occasion during the 10-year
time frame. Persons accused of repeated spousal violence (those with two to four
police-reported incidents of spousal violence) accounted for 18% of the total.
Only 1% were considered chronic abusers, that is they were involved in five or
more reported incidents.
results may be partially explained by the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS) on
victimization that found that only 28% of victims of spousal violence turned to
police for help. Incidents that are reported tend to depend on the severity and
frequency of the violence, and on whether children were witnesses. Other factors
include whether the victim was female, young, Aboriginal or turned to others for
support. Read More July
13, 2006
of Choice: It's In Our Hands: Stop Violence Against Women
Amnesty International Report 2006
From birth to death, in
times of peace as well as war, women face discrimination and violence at the hands
of the state, the community and the family. Female infanticide deprives countless
women of life itself. Every year, millions of women are raped by partners, relatives,
friends and strangers, by employers and colleagues, security officials and soldiers.
Women, children and men suffer from violence inflicted in the home, but the overwhelming
majority of victims are women and girls. During armed conflicts, violence against
women is often used as a weapon of war, in order to dehumanize the women themselves,
or to persecute the community to which they belong.
against women is not confined to any particular political or economic system,
but is prevalent in every society in the world. It cuts across boundaries of wealth,
race and culture. The power structures within society which perpetuate violence
against women are deep-rooted and intransigent. The experience or threat of violence
inhibits women everywhere from fully exercising and enjoying their human rights.
Read More July
10, 2006
Report Card on the Status of Women in New Brunswick A
Statistical Profile by the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women
the Factsheets: Aboriginal
Women Health
the Full Report:
2006 Report Card on the Status of Women in New Brunswick: A Statistical Profile
by the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women
(PDF, 3.05 MB / 81p.)
7, 2006
Ensuring Access Sanda
Rodgers and Jocelyn Downie, Guest Editorial in the CMAJ, July 4, 2006
Access to reproductive
health care is essential to women's health, and for some women, abortion is a
key component of that care. But not all women in Canada have adequate, or in some
cases any, access to abortion.1 It is important for Canadian physicians to know
the facts about access to abortion so that they can better protect and promote
the health of their female patients. Many
of us assume that, in contrast to the United States, women's access to abortion
in Canada is enshrined in law and guaranteed by our health care system. This is
not always true. A brief review of history is needed here.
Read the Full Article here July 7, 2006
Mallick's CBC column: 'Attack on feminism hurts women here and overseas'
Heather Mallick
has written a cbc.ca
column on REAL Women's plans to gut funding for anything that has the fragrance
of feminism. Here
it an excerpt:
Then, please consider writing
to the CBC before all the misogynists get there first! Heather is one of the
few remaining feminist voices left in MSM and could do with some support! Email:
email@example.com July
2, 2006
Economic Justice Report available online In
April, 2006 the Women's Economic Justice Report on Guaranteed Livable Income
was released at a public meeting in Victoria BC. Follow this link to read
Project background:
copies of the report (printed with 100% recycled newsprint with a colour cover)
have been distributed to many groups and individuals in across Canada and a few
to the US and overseas. Out of 1000 copies, we have only 200 hard copies left
which we are reserving for those without easy access to the internet.
This report is not just for women. All the women interviewed want a Guaranteed
Livable Income for everyone; however, they also recognize that women face more
poverty, stress, violence, unpaid and underpaid work, while also carrying primary
responsibility and worry for the well-being of the world's children. Read
More June 29, 2006
bill would allow exceptions to save the woman�s life and �to prevent severe pathological
physical morbidity of the woman.� It
would impose a prison term of up to five years, and/or a fine of up to $100,000
on anyone who �uses any means or permits any means to be used� to perform an abortion
past 20 weeks. Read More:
Liberal MP Paul Steckle introduces bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks The
facts on later abortions in Canada Key
Links June
26, 2006
Gives Controversial Bill 107 Approval on Second Reading & Refers the Bill
to the Standing Committee for Public Hearings
Put in your Request Now to Make a Presentation
to Standing Committee Hearings
24, 2006
Women of Canada's lobby efforts to disband Status of Women & the Standing
Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO) - Update
REAL Women
of Canada has obtained an additional Access to Information request on feminist
groups for 2004 - 2005 through Status of Women Canada. In
their latest newsletter (May-June 2006), they've posted budgets to organizations
such as LEAF, NAWL, & NAC on their website as a part of their Letter Writing
Campaign to MPs.
to the specific articles in their online Newsletter: Ongoing
Discrimination of Status of Women: http://www.realwomenca.com/newsletter/2006_may_jun/article_7.html
Feminists Face Changing Times: http://www.realwomenca.com/newsletter/2006_may_jun/article_9.html
For anyone
who doesn't wish to visit the REAL Women website, DAWN Ontario has copied and
pasted the text from the REAL Women letter to MPs dated April 4, 2006 at this
pinpoint URL: http://dawn.thot.net/real_women.html#rwl
Read More
français : Le
lobby R.E.A.L. Women of Canada tente de faire démanteler Condition féminine
Canada et le Comité permanent de la condition féminine (CPCF)
June 24, 2006
Are Wage Supplements the Answer to the Problems of the Working Poor?
(PDF 184KB/13p.)
Jackson, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2006 The
idea of addressing poverty through some kind of wage supplementation program has
been around for some time, but has only recently moved to the centre stage of
Canadian social policy. Unlike the more visionary concept of a Guaranteed Annual
Income for all citizens, wage supplements are intended to promote and support
employment in low-paid jobs.
This paper examines different recommendations and finds wage supplements can play
useful supporting roles in assisting the working poor, but should not be seen
as the centerpiece of a new social architecture.
the report: Are
Wage Supplements the Answer to the Problems of the Working Poor?
(PDF 184KB/13p.)
24, 2006
There Is No Doctor: Now Available Online
The Hesperian
Foundation is proud to announce that their classic manual, Where There
Is No Doctor, is now available online! Follow
this link to access the 2006 edition on their website.
to the World Health Organization, Where There Is No Doctor is perhaps the
most widely used health care manual for health workers, clinicians, and others
involved in primary health care delivery and health promotion programs around
the world. The manual provides practical, easily understood information on how
to diagnose, treat, and prevent many common illnesses. With over 90 translations
and adaptations of the book available worldwide, and millions of copies in print,
the book is an essential health resource for individuals and communities around
the world. June
24, 2006
Domestic Violence Death Review Committee Releases Annual Report Dr.
Barry McLellan, Chief Coroner of Ontario, announced today the release of the third
annual report of the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee (DVDRC).
The report contains
an overview of domestic violence deaths occurring in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005
that were reviewed by the committee, along with the statistical analysis of information
collected. Recommendations arising from the review are also included in the report.
DVDRC is an advisory committee and reports directly to the chief coroner. The
committee was created in response to recommendations made by the juries in the
coroner's inquests in the deaths of Arlene May and Randy Iles (1998), and
Gillian and Ralph Hadley (2002), as well as the Joint Committee on Domestic
Violence. The committee members are drawn from the health, justice, advocacy
and social services sectors. Read More
June 20, 2004
Rejecting Harper Government Child Allowance, Poll Shows The
results of a poll released today show that Canadians are rejecting Stephen Harper's
plan to distribute a $1,200 child allowance to parents with children under six
years of age. The Environics poll asked more than 2,000 Canadians their views
on child care and the response was clear - 76% of Canadians support a national
affordable child care strategy such as the 2004 federal-provincial agreement that
was cancelled by the Conservative government.
Lysack, Executive Director of the Child
Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC) says that Canadians
are not buying into the Harper government's child-care strategy adding, "They
see that this plan isn't going to help them find affordable, quality care for
their children." The poll showed that only 35% of Canadians support the government's
child allowance plan.
most crucial for the minority Conservative government is that many Canadians say
that their opposition to the child allowance is strong enough that it is likely
to influence their vote in the next federal election. This is even true for one
third of Conservative voters, a fact Lysack cautions that Stephen Harper should
be very concerned about. Read More June
20, 2006
announces print clarity standards for all Canadians
Black and white contrast, Arial or Times Roman, and matte paper finish are
among ten recommendations for improved clarity and readability CNIB,
Canada's primary provider of vision loss support programs and services, today
launched Clear Print, the first formal print clarity standards for making
printed materials more accessible to all Canadians, from fully sighted individuals
to aging and low-vision readers. The standards were developed following an extensive
international review of research into the variables that affect an individual's
ability to easily consume print information. ...
Print identifies 10 variables that affect print clarity, including contrast (black
and white is always best), most readable fonts (Arial and Times Roman top the
list), paper finish (many readers are highly sensitive to glare), and size of
type (the bigger the better). Other recommendations cover type colour, type heaviness,
letter spacing, margins and columns, and design and simplicity. Read
More June 20, 2006
Government Improves Patient Access to Drugs
New Act Will Lead to Better Value for Taxpayer Dollars
The McGuinty
government is providing Ontario residents with better access to drugs while ensuring
significant new savings with legislation that received third and final reading
today, Health and Long Term Care Minister George Smitherman announced. "We're
on the side of Ontarians who want and deserve better health care, especially those
who will benefit from better access to medications," said Smitherman. "The
Transparent Drug System for Patients Act will allow our government to deliver
better value for money to the taxpayers of Ontario."... "Bill
102 brings the most significant change to Ontario's public drug system,"
said Marc Kealey, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists' Association. Read
More June 20, 2006
Lansing Monica
Lansing was a terminally ill mother who had her three children taken away from
her on the night she died Monica
Lansings entire life was centered around her three children. She worked
very hard to support them and provide them with a safe and loving home. Monica
and her ex-husband, had a joint custody agreement, in regards to their children,
but Monica had primary guardianship of all three children and they lived with
her full time.
years ago, she fled from her husband, who continued to harass her even though
she had moved to another province. He employed members of his family, specifically
a brother-in-law, to watch her house and enter into her home when she was at work.
His brother-in-law is a former police officer and paramedic and is now the subject
of a complaint filed with the Alberta College of Paramedics.
three years Monica was granted day-to-day care and was the primary guardian of
the children until she became sick. When Monica was diagnosed with Leukemia he
took her children away from her and cut off his support payments. Contrary to
what he told the courts and the newspapers, he uprooted the children from their
schools and friends and relocated them to British Columbia without notification
or her consent. Read More June
19, 2006
against Bill 107 grows: more than 50 organizations call on Premier for change
Human Rights Commissioner and member of 1992 Cornish Task Force Advisory Committee
Tom Warner joined community leaders at a press conference this morning
to release an open letter to Premier McGuinty.
The letter was signed by more than 50 organizations representing racialized
communities, seniors, gays and lesbians and people with disabilities.
sets out growing concerns over Bill 107, the government's human rights reform
legislation, and condemns the Premier's plan to hold public hearings on the legislation
in the summer when people are less able to attend and boards are unable to meet
to approve submissions. The groups are calling on the Premier to hold the hearings
in the fall and be prepared to make the necessary changes. Read
More June 15, 2006
Job Opportunities for People on Social Assistance Innovations
Fund Encourages Ontario Businesses to Get Involved TORONTO,
June 14, 2006 - The McGuinty government is calling on the Ontario business community
to help social assistance recipients get into the workforce and on the path to
a brighter future, Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Community and Social Services,
announced today.
government is launching a new Employment Innovations Fund to engage employers
in expanding employment opportunities for people on social assistance, including
people with disabilities. Organizations such as employer associations, municipalities
and not-for-profit organizations are invited to submit proposals for new programs
that will create sustainable job opportunities and help businesses tap into this
pool of willing, job-ready people. Read More June
14, 2006
of 'Failing the Homeless' report on Barriers to ODSP Access: June 20th
Street Health - Release
Over the past year and
a half Street Health, a community-based health care organization working
with homeless and underhoused people in downtown Toronto, has been working on
a research project exploring the barriers to accessing ODSP for our clients, while
at the same time helping them to secure benefits.
report, entitled: Failing the Homeless: Barriers
in the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) for Homeless People with Disabilities,
identifies key barriers and delays in the ODSP system for homeless people. It
also makes recommendations for how to improve access to ODSP benefits for homeless
people with disabilities. Read More
June 14, 2006
Fact Sheet In
response to recent inquiries and to help provide additional information for the
discussion on Bill 107 and how best to improve and rebalance Ontarios Human
Rights System, the Commission has prepared a Fact Sheet highlighting cases the
Commission has been involved in over the years that have received decisions from
higher courts. Please
go to www.ohrc.on.ca/english/news/e_june-06-facts.shtml.
de renseignements du CODP
En réponse aux enquêtes que nous avons reçue et pour donner
desrenseignements additionnels pour lentretien sur le projet de loi 107
et le sujet des meilleurs moyens daméliorer et de rééquilibrer
le système des droits de la personne en Ontario, la Commission a mis au
point une fiche de renseignements qui souligne des causes dont la Commission a
participé qui ont reçu une décision d'une cour supérieure.
Veuillez visiter www.ohrc.on.ca/french/news/f_june-06-facts.shtml.
June 14, 2006
Count Us In!
Inclusion and Homeless Women in Downtown
East Toronto - June 2006 Project Partners:
Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse, Ontario Women's Health
Network, Toronto Christian Resource Centre and Toronto Public Health The
purpose of this project was to investigate how health and social services in Toronto,
and in the province of Ontario, can be made more inclusive, and in turn, promote
the health and well-being of marginalized groups. Homeless and underhoused women
who live in Downtown East Toronto led the research and were actively engaged in
all stages of the project, from collecting and analysing the data to developing
the final recommendations.
facilitated 11 focus groups with 58 women who are homeless or underhoused.(4)
The researchers collected feedback on the health and social services that women
use as well as the participants ideas about how policies and services could
be improved. Count Us In! aims to influence how governments and service
providers plan, deliver and fund services for populations that are marginalized.
As one participant said, this is an opportunity for the service providers to "step
back and take a good look at what is needed." This report summarizes
what the women said. It describes many of the barriers they face, and then highlights
their solutions for making services more inclusive. Read
the key
Count Us In!
highlights the importance of marginalized women being actively involved in every
part of the process, to ensure that their voices are heard, that they are "at
the table," and that the appropriate actions are taken to meet their needs.
More Download
the Report
(PDF, 381 kb, 33 pages) June 13, 2006
Falun Gong Peaceful 24-hour Appeal Site In front of the Vancouver Chinese Consulate
Add Your Voice to the Petition On
June 8, Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan ordered local Falun Gong practitioners to
dismantle the appeal site they've maintained outside the Chinese Consulate 24/7,
rain or shine, for the past five years. Mayor Sullivan said the group's signs
and booth erected by the consulate contravene a city bylaw.
Falun Gong practitioners say they were initially given verbal permission to hold
a constant vigil at the site in order to raise awareness of the persecution
against Falun Gong in China, now in its seventh year. They
say the site bears witness to the thousands of practitioners who have been
tortured and killed as a result of the persecution, and believe they should
be allowed to remain until the persecution comes to an end.
sign the online petition at www.globalrescue.net/van.htm.
It would also
be very helpful and much appreciated if you would write an email or letter to
Mayor Sullivan asking him to
re-think his stance on the bylaw, as the site is not a safety hazard, and previous
city councils were not averse to it. Letters should be sent by Friday, June 16
which is the date the site is to be dismantled.
information: Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Mailing address: 453 West 12th Ave., Vancouver, B.C. V59 1V4 Read
More June
12, 2006
skepticism is needed, most media outlets let us down
Security sting of terror suspects seems a bit too pat and may well be by
Ish Theilheimer, Editorial June 6, 2006, Straight Goods
Excerpt: Last weekend, federal and Toronto authorities swooped down
on and arrested 17 Canadian Muslim youth and young men for allegedly plotting
to bomb landmarks and public buildings. It is alarming to think that "home-grown"
acts of terror are likely or inevitable, as many reporters and sources are convinced.
It is just as alarming when an ideologically-driven government uses an event to
drive support for itself and a harsh agenda of pro-American foreign policy and
repressive American-style policing and legislation at home.
country is immune from terrorism, but neither is any country safe from politically-motivated
and heavy-handed police operations that are intended to scare the public as much
as to protect them. We should wonder about the credibility of a sting operation
and media circus headed up by Stockwell Day, whose penchant for hyperbole is well
known. (His partner in ideology is Justice Minister Vic Toews). We should also
wonder why the media is not more cautious.
Read More June
8, 2006
Action: Support for Feminist
Voices in Public Places Read
Heather Mallick's
column, Protect
all women while they're alive published June 2nd on CBC news viewpoint
regarding the "fetal homicide"
Mallick is one of the very few feminist voices left in public places ... her CBC
column generated a lot of negative responses (they appear below her column). Hence,
we are calling for emails to: firstname.lastname@example.com
in Heather's defence.
must be incredibly frustrating for Heather Mallick to continue being one of the
few feminist voices left in MSM ... Please write and show solidarity with Heather
while countering the voices of the misogynist types who have responded to date.
8, 2006
New Bully on the Block: Cyber Bullying
Womyn's Voices The Internet has created a whole new world
of social communications for young people. They are using e-mail, Web sites, instant
messaging, chat rooms and text messaging (STM) to stay in touch with friends and
make new ones. While most of the interactions that these kids engage in are positive,
increasingly kids are using these communication tools to antagonize and intimidate
others. This has become known as cyber bullying.
Internet has facilitated the creation of an interactive world that is away from
adult knowledge and supervision. Because bullies tend to harass their victims
away from the watchful eyes of adults, the Internet is the perfect tool for reaching
others anonymously from any where at any time. This means that home, for children
who are victims of bullying, is no longer a refuge from the cruel peer pressures
of school. Read
More June
8, 2006
NEW FOR CANADA...Terror & Religious Conflict Is Old Hat
Edward Pickersgill, Passing Times, Guelph, Ontario, 7 June 2006
Excerpt: Back
in the dawn of the white man's creation known as Canada and many steps along the
way we've had terror, violence, religious conflict and attempts at cultural genocide.
Acknowledging this reality should not be taken as any indication I support any
of that. It's just a simple statement of fact.
conflicts between "Christians" and "Islam" is, for me, just
more of the same old, same old. Having witnessed the history of conflict between
Catholics and Protestants it is impossible to see the current conflicts as any
worse. English and Irish combatants shed as much blood and blew up as many of
each others things as anything happening today between ruffians and desperados
carrying copies of the bible or qur'an. Both gangs purport to carry the direct
word of God. Neither seem to carry much spirit of forgiveness or peace and both
seem to have large sections of their books with the pages glued shut. Read
More June
8, 2006
care facilities, 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 Women
outnumbered men by a ratio of more than two to one in Canada's residential care
facilities for seniors in 2003/2004. Data for all provinces and territories, except
Quebec, show that nearly 103,500 women lived in homes for the aged, compared with
just under 42,400 men.
the complete report: Residential Care Facilities, 2003/2004 http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/83-237-XIE/83-237-XIE2006001.pdf
(PDF file, 723k, 124 p) June
5, 2006
Endorsements from Individuals & Organizations Sign
on to the Open Letter to Premier McGuinty re: Bill
107, the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006 Excerpt:
As individuals and
community organizations who believe Ontario needs a strong human rights system,
we are writing to urge your government to take a balanced and genuinely open approach
in reforming the human rights system.
107, the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006, sets out to reform the process
for enforcing human rights in Ontario. We agree reform is long overdue, but Bill
107 is not the solution we are looking for.
understand that, prior to the introduction of the Bill, the Attorney General's
office has engaged in some private dialogues with select human rights and legal
clinic lawyers, all of whom are very skilled, but are not the people who are in
need of the assistance afforded by the human rights system. Many communities -
including racialized, disabled, GLBT, aboriginal and women's communities - of
which we are a part, were never consulted by this Government on what is truly
needed to improve the system. Read More
June 2, 2006
to End Poverty in Canada The
NDP launched a national End Poverty in Canada
campaign yesterday vowing to engage Canadians and their politicians to deciding
what the fairest way forward is for all Canadians. The NDP Social Policy Caucus
cited recent United Nations and Ontario-based reports documenting the crisis which
found: Over half of Canadians receiving social assistance
still need food banks to survive.
with their civil society allies, the NDP will engage Canadians in dialogue on
the Canada Social
Transfer which transfers billions of dollars to provinces and territories
with no accountability nor monitoring of its adequacy. We
will travel to communities to hear from Canadians about what their principles
of fairness, justice and equity say about what they want for themselves, their
neighbours and all Canadians. It is time for a fair deal for all said Tony
Martin (MP Sault Ste Marie).
part of the campaign, Martin introduced a motion in Parliament today to increase
the federal minimum wage to $10 an hour for federal jurisdiction workers, and
to implement recommendations from the Pay
Equity Task Force Final Report.
More: NDP
Launches Campaign to End Poverty in Canada
en français: Le NPD
Lance Sa Campagne Visant À Mettre Fin À La Pauvreté Au Canada
June 2, 2006
rapport du YWCA : La violence contre les femmes : une honte nationale
La violence contre les femmes : Une
honte nationale dont il faut faire une priorité nationale
Canada présente les résultats alarmants d'une étude nationale
qui indiquent qu'un haut pourcentage des femmes qui cherchent refuge dans les
maisons d'hébergement risquent d'être tuées. Des 368 femmes
interviewées à dix sites de recherche dans l'ensemble du pays, 77
pour cent étaient en extrême ou grave danger de mort.
Le public, en général, n'a pas idée de la peur et de la déchéance
que vivent les femmes victimes des mauvais traitements de leur partenaire intime,
explique la professeure Leslie Tutty, chargée de recherche. Il s' agit
de terrorisme continuel pour ces femmes. »
femmes qui font appel aux refuges ont maintes fois tenté de faire cesser
les violences à leur égard, mais elles n'ont aucun contrôle
sur les actions de leur conjoint violent. Quand elles ont épuisé
leurs ressources et sont à leur plus vulnérable, les refuges leur
fournissent la sécurité. Les
femmes de l'étude ont indiqué que les maisons d'hébergement
étaient pour elles le moyen d'appui le plus efficace, mais cela ne suffit
pas. Read More June
1, 2006
report from YWCA: Violence against women is a national shame
Violence Against Women is
a National Shame: Now it Must Become a National Priority
YWCA Canada
releases a national study that indicates an alarmingly high percentage of women
coming to shelters are at risk of being murdered. Of the 368 women interviewed
at ten research sites across Canada, 77 percent were at extreme or severe risk
of homicide.
general public has little understanding of the fear and degradation commonly experienced
by women abused by their intimate partners", explains researcher Professor
Leslie Tutty, "it is an ongoing secret terrorism for these women."
women who seek shelter have made many attempts to stop the abuse, but they cannot
control the abuser's actions. When they have exhausted their resources and are
most vulnerable, shelters provide safety. The women in the study indicate that
shelters are the most effective support available to them; but it is not enough.
Read More June
1, 2006
Gov't Invests in Services for Ontarians who are Deaf or Deafblind
Ministry of Community &
Social Services Press Release dd June 1, 2006 The
McGuinty government is investing in more services for Ontarians who need intervenors
or sign language interpreters to assist them with daily activities. "For
someone who is deafblind or has a hearing disability, communication barriers can
seriously limit their access to things that most of us take for granted, such
as going to the bank or visiting their doctor," said Community and Social
Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur. "By breaking down these communication
barriers, we are building greater independence for people with disabilities."
government's 2006 Budget includes nearly $11 million for interpreter and intervenor
services, an increase of nearly 65 per cent over existing funding levels. The
funding will help to provide more service to people who need it, improve the quality
of services and improve wages to attract and keep people who provide interpreter
and intervenor services. The government will also explore opportunities to increase
the availability of French sign language interpreters and intervenors in the coming
year. Read More June
1, 2006
Toll free number connects children with disabilities
Launch of first integrated,
coordinated care model for children with special needs bridges service gaps
and shortens waitlists
For the first time,
families of children with multiple disabilities in York Region and Simcoe County
have a single point of contact to access an integrated plan of care. Today marks
the official launch of the Children's Treatment Network of Simcoe York's new
toll-free number. By dialing 1-866-377-0286 parents of kids with special
physical, developmental and communications needs connect to the first service
delivery model that links regional healthcare, recreation, education, social and
community resources from over 25 agencies and organizations.
Network provides a single plan of care and coordinates services from many agencies
through all stages of a child's development from birth through to age 19. There
are over 4,500 children with multiple disabilities in Simcoe and York whose families
are currently challenged with battling waitlists and navigating and coordinating
services for their children as they mature. Read
More June
1, 2006
107 will take away rights now entrenched in the code
Commentary by Mary Woo Sims, former
chief of the B.C. Human Rights Commission Excerpt:
you're having difficulty in understanding why these reforms are a big deal, let
me draw this analogy. Many victims of crimes are unhappy with the justice system.
Imagine if the government responded to these concerns by eliminating the police
who investigate crime and Crown prosecutors who bring the matter before the courts.
Imagine the government saying that, since investigating and prosecuting crime
takes too long, you can now bring your charge directly to the courts. I can't
imagine Canadians would agree that this is an effective fix for our problems with
the criminal justice system. So why would we believe that this type of system
would work for human- rights administration?
isn't the first province to move in this direction. British Columbia and Nunavut
have also gone down this road, saying these reforms would improve human-rights
delivery. Indeed, these reforms have been seductively referred to as direct
access. But, as we've learned in B.C., direct access does
not mean direct access to justice, nor does it mean direct access to a hearing
on the merits or substance of a complaint. What it means, in practical terms,
is only direct access to a tribunal. Read More
1, 2006
most vulnerable are losing out: says Ontario's Ombudsman André Marin
Ombudsman Ontario Press
Release dd May 31, 2006
disabled have lost out on disability benefits to the tune of at least
$6 million, as a result of delays in processing their applications
for support by the Ministry of Community and Social Services Ontario Disability
Support Program and the impact of a provincial regulation, which limited retroactive
benefit payments to four months. Thousands of Ontarios most vulnerable
citizens have become losers in a cruelly insensitive and intensely bureaucratic
waiting game Mr. Marin notes in his latest report titled Losing
the Waiting Game.
Ontario Disability Support Program provides income support, health and other benefits
for people with disabilities who are in financial need. The Ombudsmans investigation
was launched after the office received 71 complaints of delays of up to 10 months
at the Ontario Disability Support Programs Disability Adjudication Unit,
which is charged with determining whether or not an applicant for financial support
meets the stringent definition of a person with a disability as set
out in the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997. During the Ombudsmans
investigation, an additional 74 complainants came forward and upon reviewing Ministry
statistics it was found that at least 4,630 individuals and probably many more,
were affected during the period from April 1, 2004 to December 31, 2005 alone.
add insult to injury, Mr. Marin found that once an applicant was deemed to be
entitled to financial support, they were limited by regulation, to receiving four
months of retroactive benefits, regardless of how long it may have taken for the
Ministry to process their application and even though the delay was through no
fault of their own. Read More
31, 2006
to Action to END Women's Poverty - June
Woman Stuck In Poverty...
Is A Woman Stuck In Abuse
coalition of women's advocates and anti-violence & income security groups
have come together to create an avalanche of support to demand real change.
We are calling on all women to raise our collective feminist
voices - TOO LOUD TO BE IGNORED
AND TOO ANGRY TO BE APPEASED - until real changes
are made.
June 7, plan on attending one of the simultaneous protests in Toronto and Ottawa
and/or help spread the word! Read More
Picket outside Minister Meilleur's constituency office at
237 Montreal Rd., Vanier
Violence Against Women & Children
With the increased cost of living, women can not afford to pay
rent & feed their children
As a result of cuts to the special diet
supplement many families lost $250 /person/mth
Federal child benefits must not be clawed back,
this funding is intended to support children
Most of those receiving social assistance are single mothers
Basic necessities can ensure women & children's health & safety
is not a surprise that many women decide to return
to abusive relationships in order
to survive economically! May
31, 2006
are the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? The
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set a powerful agenda for a global partnership
to fight poverty, offering a shared vision of a better world by the year 2015.
aim to cut extreme poverty by half, ensure every child has the chance to go to
school and live a long and healthy life, and bring discrimination against women
to an end. The risks of dying as a result of childbirth are to be dramatically
reduced, deadly diseases brought under control, the environment better managed,
and the benefits of progress more equally shared by all the nations of the world.
Together, the aspirations set out in the MDGs and their associated targets and
indicators represent a powerful framework for action.
3 challenges discrimination against women, and seeks to ensure that girls
as well as boys have the chance to go to school. Indicators linked to this goal
aim to measure progress towards ensuring that more women become literate, have
more voice and representation in public policy and decision making, and have improved
job prospects. But the issue of gender equality is not limited to a single goal
it applies to all of them. Without progress towards gender equality and
the empowerment of women, none of the MDGs will be achieved.
Read More Plain language guide to MDGs
30, 2006
Rally for Child Care on Parliament Hill Message
to Harper: Grow up and build a real child care program! Colourful
paper dolls billowed in the warm spring breeze as hundreds rallied on Parliament
Hill (May 25th) to push the Harper gov't to build a real child care program.
Child care advocates brought thousands of paper dolls & stuffed animals
to symbolize the 7,000 Ottawa children who are stuck on child care waiting lists
under misguided Conservative child care policies. The rally attracted
hundreds of Ottawa child care workers, parents and kids who were joined by hundreds
more CUPE Ontario members in town for their annual convention. Speakers called
for public, quality, not-for-profit early learning and child care programs across
the country. Read
More View
photo gallery of Child Care Rally May 25th 2006 at Parliament Hill May
30, 2006
107 needs to come with some assurances: Sandi Ellis As
someone who works for the Canadian Labour Congress and who has been a member of
the Ontario Federation of Labour Human Rights committee for over a decade, I quite
understand the positioning of Michael Bryant and the provincial government on
changes to the Human Rights Commission and the Code under Bill 107.
labour movement in Ontario has been lobbying for changes to the Human Rights Commission
for many years. There is no question that the current system for resolving violations
in Ontario is in need of reform, with two primary problems:
delay in the process with some investigations taking over a year to be assigned.
fact that some complaints are dismissed without ever being referred to the tribunal,
when it is believed they do not need to be.
107, as it is presented, seemingly alters the process of resolving human rights
complaints, stripping the commission of its responsibilities and transferring
the entire system to the tribunal. What
Bill 107 takes away What Bill 107
imposes What should happen
30, 2006
Women Learn to Use CEDAW as a Tool for Change
Workshops Teach Women About Their Rights Several
local women's groups in Jamaica have come together to address women's rights through
a series of five training workshops. While
talking to the women being trained at the first of five workshops recently, independent
gender issues consultant Dr. Glenda Simms said that many women do not know
what their rights are, and the workshops are a good place to start.
have a role to play. Use your privilege to empower the less privileged,"
she told the organisers, which comprised the Women's Resource and Outreach Centre
(WROC), the Coalition for Community Participation in Governance, Development Alternatives
with Women for a New Era and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung organisation.
workshops, designed to teach Jamaican women about the UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (UN CEDAW), attracted
65 participants from all over the island. "CEDAW
is a serious treaty document and the government should be held accountable for
what it does or does not do for you," Dr. Simms said. Read
More May 29, 2006
Have MPPs Said About the Controversial Bill 107 in the Legislature since April
26, 2006? AODA Alliance update May 27, 2006
Since April 26, 2006, when
the controversial bill 107 was introduced into the Legislature for First
Reading, the issue of the Human Rights Commission has been debated in the
Ontario Legislature on several days. Below we set out:
read a "Fact Check" on statements made during these and other
exchanges, visit: http://dawn.thot.net/bill107_fact_check.html
May 29, 2006
Open Door to Potential Treatments for Type 2 Diabetes Canadian Institutes
of Health Research Press Release dd May 29, 2006 OTTAWA,
May 29, 2006 - Researchers funded by the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Diabetes Association
(CDA) have identified an unsuspected role of a protein named SHP-1
that could constitute a new therapeutic path against Type 2 Diabetes.
the direction of professor André Marette (Laval University), Nicole Beauchemin
(McGill University), Martin Oliver (McGill University Health Centre) and Katherine
Siminovitch (University of Toronto) were part of a Canadian and American team
which published an article in the May issue of Nature Medicine that explains the
role of SHP-1 in the control of blood glucose.
researchers already knew that SHP-1 played a role in regulating the immune system.
However, no one had previously taken the time to verify if this protein was involved
in the regulation of metabolism. This is precisely what this team of Canadian
and American researchers did, thanks to a series of mutant or genetically modified
mice producing little or no SHP-1. Read More
May 29, 2006
Support for Students With Disabilities at Ontario's Colleges and Universities
Government Press Release dd May 29, 2006 TORONTO,
May 29, 2006 - The McGuinty government has expanded support for students with
disabilities to ensure they have the opportunity to study and succeed at postsecondary
institutions, Chris Bentley, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities,
announced today.
are on the side of hard working Ontario families who want their children to find
opportunity through access to postsecondary education," Bentley said. "That's
why our government is committed to ensuring that all Ontarians, including students
with disabilities, have the opportunity to reach their full potential."
The government
provided $28.2 million in 2005-06 to help universities and colleges provide services
for students with disabilities to help them succeed. This funding is used to support
a wide range of services provided through offices for students with disabilities.
Read More
May 29, 2006
Economic Justice Report on Guaranteed Livable Income released On
April 29, 2006, the "Women's Economic Justice Report on Guaranteed Livable
Income" was released. This
72-page report documents over 40 interviews held with women between September
2005 to April 2006 to examine these questions:
report also contains the article The Strong Case for a Guaranteed Livable Income;
data on women's income specially acquired for the project from Revenue Canada;
and where to learn more or get involved. This project was funded by Status of
Women Canada BC/Yukon Region. Read More
May 28, 2006
Committee Criticizes Canada for Persistent Poverty in the Midst of Wealth - Notes
Discriminatory Impact on Women FAFIA
& NAWL Press Release - May 23, 2006 In Concluding Observations
released yesterday in Geneva, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights expressed great concern about persistently high
rates of poverty among women, Aboriginal peoples, African Canadians, people with
disabilities, youth and single mothers. The Committee reviewed Canada's
4th and 5th periodic reports on its compliance with the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights during its 36th session, which ended in
Geneva on Friday.
Committee concluded that Canada is failing to fulfill the rights in the Covenant,
including the right to an adequate standard of living, despite Canada's wealth
and economic prosperity," said Shelagh Day, who was at the review
to represent FAFIA, a broad alliance of women's
and human rights groups, and the National Association
of Women and the Law. Read More
May 23,
C-291 -- the 'fetal homicide' bill Bill
C-291 is a private members' bill that would make it a separate offence to kill
or injure a fetus while committing a violent crime against its mother. Introduced
and given first reading May 17th by MP Leon Benoit, Bill C-291 would recognize
two "persons" in crimes such as the murder last year of Liana White
in Edmonton, or Lacey Peterson in California.
both cases, the women killed were pregnant. California law allows for murder charges
in the deaths of both the mother and her unborn child in such cases, but Canadian
law does not. There
is an article in the Toronto Star -- "MP
unveils fetal homicide bill" that quotes Mary Eberts, co-founder
of LEAF about the implications of Bill C-291 for the abortion debate. Read
More May
22, 2006
107 Action Kit - re proposed Human Rights Code Amendment Act
On April 26, 2006, the McGuinty
Government introduced the seriously-flawed Bill 107, its proposed Human Rights
Code Amendment Act, into the Legislature for First Reading.
Bill 107 sets back human rights protection. It seriously weakens the Ontario
Human Rights Commission, the public agency responsible to enforce your right not
to suffer illegal discrimination. We appreciate both the opposition Conservative
and New Democratic Parties voicing our concerns with Bill 107 in the Legislature.
We urge everyone
to act now to help with our campaign to fix Bill 107 so it makes things better,
not worse. This Kit:
words that sank Harper's Mr. Clean - Toronto Star
Link to the Toronto Star article published May 17, 2006 Gwyn Morgan's
views on ethnic Canadians virtually killed his chances of becoming the PM's federal
organisations lambast government for failure to heed copyright advice
This article
discusses some emerging issues on copyright and big business' attempt to get control
of information. Privacy
advocates launch DRM information portal - EFF, CIPPIC lambast government
for failure to heed copyright advice by Shane Schick, 5/18/2006
privacy advocates are pushing the federal government to back away from any moves
to extend legal protection to digital rights management technology through copyright
read this fact
sheet on copyright May
19, 2006
to Contact MPs to Support Bill C-304 - National Strategy for the Treatment of
Autism Act Significant developments
on Autism front in both House of Commons and the Senate
are really picking up on Parliament Hill, with significant developments on the
autism front in both the House of Commons and the Senate:
C-304 - National Strategy
for the Treatment of Autism Act - First Reading May 17, 2006
Court of Canada to Rule on Access Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) Press Release
dd May 17, 2006 The
leadership of Canada's disability community will be in the Supreme Court of
Canada at 9:30 am on May 19th, where the community's access rights will be
interpreted by the country's highest court for the first time. In October 2003
the Canadian Transportation Agency [CTA] ordered VIA Rail to make
its recently purchased rail cars accessible to persons with mobility and vision
disabilities. In March 2005 the Federal Court of Appeal overturned this
decision, saying people with disabilities who can't use the new trains will have
to find other means of transportation.
the trains were purchased, using 100% taxpayer money, former Liberal Transport
Minister David Collenette promised the trains would meet the CTA's train
accessibility standards. When told the trains were inaccessible Collenette washed
his hands of the matter, suggesting VIA seek the CTA's guidance on the issue.
VIA refused. Faced with Canada being the only developed country in the world where
new inaccessible trains could be brought into service, and with the CTA unable
to act on its own initiative, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD),
on behalf of it broad membership, applied to the CTA for a ruling on whether or
not the trains were legal. Read
More May
18, 2006
102 Transparent Drug System for Patients Act, 2006 Ontario Health
Coalition - Urgent Update The
drug industry and the pharmacy chains are descending on Queens Park regarding
a piece of legislation that will likely work to control the costs of drugs. The
OHC has been calling on government to take action to control the cost of drugs
for years. Now we need to act to support the initiatives in Bill 102 that will
work to control drug costs.
strongly encourage local coalitions, member groups and affiliated organizations
and individuals to sign up for standing at the committee hearings on this Bill.
Please note the deadline is next Tuesday, May 23rd, to email or call in to book
a spot. Please call or email in to book your spot now.
briefing note on the issues which you can use for
the hearings is below. A full submission from the OHC will be sent out early next
week for your use. Read More
May 17, 2006
families want withdrawal from Afghanistan The
Canadian Labour Congress calls for the withdrawal of Canadas troops
in Afghanistan and an increase of our commitment to the reconstruction and development
of that country.
At its regular spring meeting earlier this week, the Executive Council of the
Canadian Labour Congress commended the courage and bravery of all the men and
women serving in Afghanistan. The Executive Council, which brings together the
senior leaders of the countrys largest unions along with the presidents
of the provincial and territorial federations of labour, adopted a statement that
also denounces the fact that our federal government has moved beyond the
NATO mission of humanitarian relief and peacekeeping to an active combat role
in support of the US military mission in Afghanistan. In so doing, our government
has put Canadian troops in harms way in an unprecedented manner.
The Executive Council
of the Canadian Labour Congress does not accept the argument that Canadian
presence is intended to bring democracy to the people of Afghanistan. Nor do we
accept the premise that our presence is intended to put Afghanistan on the road
to sustainable development or improve womens equality in that country.
Read More
May 17, 2006
for Treatment of Autism Autism in the Senate - Debates
of the Senate (Hansard) May 16, 2006 Hon.
Terry M. Mercer: Honourable senators, it is an honour for me to support my
colleague, the Honourable Senator Munson, in his ongoing effort to raise awareness
of a problem in Canada with regard to our children. I will, no doubt, echo many
of the thoughts and feelings of those here today. I can only hope that we will
do our best to continue to raise awareness of autism and solve the issues surrounding
The Autism
Society Canada estimates the number of children with autism has grown by more
than 150 per cent in the last six years. This statistic is startling. These sufferers,
with compulsive behaviours and speech disorders, become alienated from their family
and friends, those who care about them so deeply. According to most research,
the disorder affects approximately 190,000 Canadians. Three out of every 1,000
children are being diagnosed - up from four in every 10,000 in 1986. Read
More May 17, 2006
Alliance Calls on Attorney General to Ensure Forthcoming Public Hearings on Bill
107 Will Be Fair, Open and Accessible, and to Correct the AG's Inaccurate Statement
About the AODA Alliance In Legislature On
May 8, 2006, the Attorney General incorrectly stated in the Legislature: "I
know that at least one member of the Ontarians with disabilities committee has
argued that we ought to put off debate over human rights reforms until 2025. That's
the date on which the accessibility legislation is to be implemented in its entirety."
Neither the AODA
Alliance (whom the Attorney General appears to have confused with its predecessor,
the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee), nor anyone speaking for it, has
asked the Government to hold off debating reforms to the Human Rights Commission
for twenty years. To the contrary, we have agreed that reform is needed and called
for prompt, time-limited public consultations. However we have opposed the specific
weakening of the Human Rights Commission that the Government announced on February
20, 2006 and enshrined in Bill 107. Read More
May 16, 2006
Transformation of Developmental Services - 'Opportunities and Action'
Just a heads up
regarding the Transformation of Developmental Services initiative announced
by the Ministry of Community and Social Services in their document quietly released
last week entitled, Opportunities and Action. (Gov't
press release)
Ontario has grave concerns
about the direction this document suggests for people with developmental disabilities
in Ontario and are in the process of contacting other stakeholders
to see if we might be able to develop a common understanding on the issues and
a common response to these plans.
government is inviting public comments on Opportunities and Action --
note the deadline for feedback/comments is June 30, 2006.
this link to access links to government material on
this initiative. May 16, 2006
Enough is Enough
Jacquie Chic, Toronto Star Opinion-Editorial, May 16, 2006 No
matter the model, income security reform must reflect the actual cost of living
in each community, says Jacquie Chic Excerpt:
"The dire poverty in which social assistance recipients and minimum
wage workers live is attributable to the inexcusable state of our income security
amount of bickering about how to measure poverty and therefore how widespread
it is changes the fact that it exists and that the gap between rich and poor is
immigrants, Indians, women and people living with disabilities are most likely
to be poor. [please note: the text for this
Op-Ed was submitted by Jacquie Chic as "Aboriginal people" and was edited
by the Star to read "Indians"].
don't make the choices they do because they are blind to the existence of poverty
or its effects. On the contrary, choices that reduce or minimally increase low
income are favoured despite the peril that causes for the poor because they create
increased profit margins and allow CEO salaries to soar...."
the rest of Jacquie Chic's Op-Ed at: http://tinyurl.com/gopne
May 16, 2006
Alert: Equal Marriage Vote Stephen
Harper has confirmed hell hold a vote on re-opening equal marriage.
So the only issue is when. How long will he delay that vote? Until he thinks he
has the votes to win? Until after the next election? Although
were ahead in the vote count, opponents of equal marriage are pressing for
a delay so they can take advantage of what they call a window of opportunity
to pressure MPs to vote for re-opening the divisive marriage debate.
Equal marriage opponents are using this window to actively
target MPs in Ottawa. Theyre even hosting receptions for supportive
and persuadable MPs!! One was hosted on Parliament Hill just a few weeks
ago by Pat OBriens group, Vote Marriage Canada.
critical that MPs hear not only from equal marriage opponents, but from supporters
as well. We know 2/3 of Canadians are against rolling back the clock on equality,
but MPs may not believe that, if all they hear are calls to restore traditional
marriage. Read More & Take Action
16, 2006
For A Fair Deal' The Task Force to Modernize Income
Security for Working-Age Adults Releases its Final Report - May 2006
the writing of Richard Marcus
Pain: the Illness that Doesn't Exist Canadian
Politics: Not An April Fools Post Self
Esteem Giving
Thanks Illogical
Canadian Relations: The Carrot And The Stick Cultural
Archaeology: Finding Your Past
of Fear
of War
Partition - A New Solution for Iraq
and Easter: Uneasy Neighbours
Hostage Rescues. (How To Handle Ingrates Canadian Style) Satire:
Canadian Politics: What's the U.N. Know Anyway? May
15, 2006
C-225 Pesticide Ban -- Sign Petition Please
add your support for this petition
and forward to your friends, networks and family; to all ecologically minded
citizens. There is a paid business lobbyist working for pesticide companies in
London - The "grassroots" of Canada can certainly meet this challenge
to the integrity of our children's health, not to mention the birds, bugs and
squirrels that cannot read the warning signs either. Irene
Mathyssen (London-Fanshawe MP) and Bill Armstrong (Ward 4 London City
Councillor) have created an online petition in support of Bill C-225. The bill
would place a moratorium on the cosmetic use of pesticides until products are
proven safe and approved by a committee of Parliament.
of the bill
to the Petition May
14, 2006
Tools for Social Justice and Equality For All Women Canadian
Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW) Press - Release May 11,
is a national non-profit research institute whose work centres on making the
links between feminist research, action and social change. Its main objective
is to advance social justice and equality for all women.
Mainstream Approaches to Questions of Social and Economic Policy: Intersectional
Feminist Frameworks (IFFs)
this link to CRIAW
to Integrate Marginalized Women's Voices
this link to CRIAW
Feminist Frameworks (IFFs)
Think Tank Report
this link to CRIAW
Feminist Frameworks (IFFs)
Critical Reflection Piece
this link to CRIAW Focus
208, the Protection of Fundamental Freedoms (Marriage) Statues Amendment Act
FOTF / IMFC Watch:
on the Family (FOTF) Canada / Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) (Hold
your nose ... as you read and get ready to mobilize around the issues facing us
as a nation vis a vis the fundamentalist desire for political supremacy)
208, the Protection of Fundamental Freedoms (Marriage) Statues Amendment Act
to Bill 208
on the Family (FOTF) Canada
of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC)
A Better Message
May 13, 2006
Human Rights Bill Hurts Those Who Need It Most On
April 26, the McGuinty Liberals introduced Bill 107, An Act to Amend the Human
Rights Code. Unions, community groups and the NDP all condemned the Bill as a
disaster for Human Rights in Ontario, and called on the government to hold public
hearings to give a say to those who will be affected.
Executive Vice-President Terry Downey said the legislation will only
make matters worse for the very people the Commission was set up to help. Under
the guise of direct access to a Human Rights Tribunal this legislation
only allows access to a court not justice, said Downey. Its
privatization of a publicly-funded human rights system. The amendments serve to
Americanize the system. .... Read More
May 11, 2006
at all the geared-to-income housing units we have in the province of Ontario alone
for these people on welfare and disability support payments. It's only on average
a five-year wait for one of those apartments and after that you're set for
life. A couple gets a 750 square foot one bedroom apartment in a low rise complex
filled with other couples and families just like them. It's a regular community.
Kessel said Canada was "proud of its record of achievement in the promotion
of economic, social and cultural rights." and has been at the forefront of
promoting human rights both internationally and domestically. Just look at our
new policy for day care as an example of economic and social rights. A couple
with only one person working and whose income is over $175,000 a year can claim
a $1200.00 tax credit at the end of the year. Of course the less money you
make the less of a credit you get because you don't need to deduct as much
from your taxable income now do you?
course we are proud of our record regarding human rights domestically. Just look
at the wonderful work we are doing with our native populations. Twice
in the last two months we have successfully airlifted whole communities off their
reserves when the water systems have failed and they were threatened with e-coli
infestations. They all got to have a nice trip out of town at government expense
and nobody got sick.
sure there has been some belly aching because the new government hasn't honoured
the Kelowna Accord's commitments for funding housing, education, and employment,
but they still got $1.5 million dollars this year. They didn't really think they
would get the $8 million that all the provinces and the previous government agreed
to, now did they? ...
Read More May 11, 2006
for a National Autism Strategy To
date no province has offered autism treatment under the Medicare umbrella. Those
provinces that offer autism treatment programs under the Social Services departments
are often plagued with unconscionable waiting lists or discriminatory age-based
cut-offs. It
is time for the federal government to demonstrate leadership and develop a
National Autism Strategy that would see fedeal budget surplus dollars
transferred to the provinces specifically for autism treatment along with corresponding
standards so that no child with autism will be left behind.
are calling on all parents, family and friends of children with autism to write
their MPs, Senators, and the Health Minister, to:
Ask them for the corresponding study results in Canada and what are they doing
about it.
* Ask them what they're doing about the lack of Federal funding for the treatment
of autism.
* Call for the new Conservative government to develop a National Autism Strategy.
info for MPs, follow
this link
info for Senators, follow
this link
info for The Hon. Tony Clement, Minister of Health:
Call to ACTION - June 7, 2006 A
Woman Stuck In Poverty...
Is A Woman Stuck In Abuse
Violence Against Women & Children
With the increased cost of living, women can not afford to pay
rent & feed their children
As a result of cuts to the special diet
supplement many families lost $250 /person/mth
Federal child benefits must not be clawed back,
this funding is intended to support children
Most of those receiving social assistance are single mothers
Basic necessities can ensure women & children's health & safety
is not a surprise that many women decide to return
to abusive relationships in order
to survive economically! May 10, 2006
National Elizabeth Fry Week / Annoncé
la semain e nationale elizabeth fry National
Elizabeth Fry Week: May 8 - 14, 2006 Theme:
Women in Community
of National Elizabeth Fry Week: The
Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) celebrates National
Elizabeth Fry Week annually. Elizabeth Fry societies across the country organize
public events in their communities throughout the week.
goal is to enhance public awareness and education regarding the circumstances
of women involved in the criminal justice system, especially those who are criminalized.
We hope to challenge and gradually break down the negative stereotypes that exist
about women who are victimized and criminalized.
Elizabeth Fry Week is always the week preceding Mother's Day. The majority of
women in prison are mothers. Most of them were the sole supporters of their families
at the time they were incarcerated. When mothers are sentenced to prison, they
and their children are also sentenced to separation. Many women find this the
most severe punishment. We try to draw attention to this reality by ending Elizabeth
Fry Week on Mother's Day each year. Read More
en français May
8, 2006
Alliance Releases Preliminary Response to the McGuinty Government's Human Rights
Bill Accessibility
For Ontarians With Disabilities Act (AODA) Alliance Update
dd May 8, 2006
Summary: On
Wed., April 26, 2006, the McGuinty Government introduced into the Legislature
for First Reading Bill 107, the proposed "Human Rights Code Amendment Act,
2006." That bill is aimed at reforming the process for enforcing human rights
in Ontario. By
introducing this bill at that time, the Government rejected the widespread claims
from the AODA Alliance and many others, that it should not introduce a bill on
this topic until it held a proper, open accessible public consultation on how
to reform the Human Rights Code. The
bill itself is a substantial rejection of major concerns about the Government's
plans that have been raised by so many voices in the disability community such
as the AODA Alliance, racialized communities and by other sectors of our community.
Shortly we will
make available the important documents from the Government concerning this bill.
However, today as quickly as it can, the AODA Alliance is releasing its preliminary
response to Bill 107. We
have to act as quickly as we can, because unfortunately the McGuinty Government
is rushing to proceed with this bill in the Ontario Legislature. We learned late
last week, though not from the Government itself, that the Government is bringing
Bill 107 forward for the first day of Second Reading Debates in the Legislature
this evening from around 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. By rushing this bill forward to Second
Reading debates just 12 days after the bill got First Reading on April 26, 2006,
the Government is giving the public far too little time to digest all the bill's
complicated provisions. It also is eliminating the possibility of sending the
bill out for public hearings before the bill reaches Second Reading. Had this
Government sent the bill out for hearings over the summer before Second Reading,
we would have had a broader opportunity to have input into the bill before the
Legislature voted on it at Second Reading. At Second Reading the Legislature votes
whether to give the bill "approval in principle." Read
More May 8, 2006
Experts question Canadas inaction on poverty, housing, aboriginal rights
GENEVA - Many
of the issues our committee raised in 1993 and 1998 are unfortunately still live
issues today, said Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay, a member of the UN Committee
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights during the committees review of
Canadas performance. Years later, the situation appears to be unchanged,
and in some respects worse. There is continuing homelessness and reliance on food
banks, security of tenure is not still not enjoyed by tenants, child tax benefits
are still clawed back, (...) the situation of aboriginal peoples, migrants and
people with disabilities doesnt seem to be improving. ... Several
committee members were disturbed by the lack of investment in social programs
and by continuing high poverty rates of the most marginalized (women, aboriginal
peoples, people of colour and immigrants) [editor's
comment: What about people with disability???] and wondered why this
has happened when the government is enjoying budget surpluses year after year.
Read More May 8, 2006
Back Mother's Day March & Protest May
14, 2006 at 2:00 pm - 15 Huntley Street (Sherbourne & Bloor)
- Toronto
For most
Canadians, Mothers Day is a time when families honour their mothers
hard work. But for many of low income families find that on Mothers Day,
peace and joy is in very short supply, especially now that more than 30,000 of
their youngsters languish in foster homes. We did not lose our children because
of abuse, rather we lost our children because of poverty, lack of affordable adequate
housing, being single, being young, having a child with special needs, being in
recovery from substance abuse issues, having survived an abusive partner, or having
worked in the Adult Entertainment Industry. Silenced for decades by shame
and guilt, we suffered alone with our grief, believing that we were the only ones.
Now we find that we are not alone. Mothers Day began as a day to honor the
public activism of mothers. It began in 1870 because mothers declared that
they would not lose their children as casualties of war. On
Sunday May 14th 2006, let's Take
Back Mothers Day" by joining with Mothers across Toronto as
we rally in front of the Childrens Aid Society at
15 Huntley Street at 2:00pm to demand... Read
More May 7, 2006
Line to Injustice Ontarians
want a strong and effective Commission, one that is both comprehensive and flexible;
not one that merely achieves a case management efficiency by the slashing and
burning of human rights. by
Lorne Foster, May 5, 2006 -
from rabble
Ontario Liberals recently announced in the Legislative Assembly a proposal to
create a new human rights system. Bill 107 effectively guts the Ontario Human
Rights Commission, eliminating the entire enforcement provision. By voiding the
investigation and compliance functions of the Commission, complainants will be
expected to navigate the process on their own or hire a lawyer. Read
the full article on rabble news May 6, 2006
Latest Prevalence Rates in USA - Now 1 in 175 Below
is the latest bombshell in the USA about the prevalence rates for autism. Clearly,
this is getting media attention in the USA. We need to capitalize on this and
send this information to all MPs
and Senators,
especially Tony Clement, the Minister
of Health, and ask them for the corresponding study results in Canada and what
are they doing about it?
this would support our case that the government needs to mandate the Public
Health Agency with monitoring what the heck is going on and using this data to
feed into policy development.
info for MPs, follow
this link
Contact info for Senators, follow
this link http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/senmemb/senate/isenator.asp?Language=E
info for The Hon. Tony Clement, Minister of Health:
Address House of Commons Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Telephone: (613) 944-7740
Fax: (613) 992-5092 E-Mail: email@example.com
Finds 0.55% of Kids Autistic
Wall Street Journal May 5, 2006,
Byline: Associated Press, Section: Technology
& Health;
Page: B2
Cases of Autism Reported; About 1 in every 175 U.S. schoolchildren has
the disorder, a national survey finds
Los Angeles Times May 5, 2006,
Thomas H. Maugh II, Section: Main News; National Desk, Page: A-14
Children in U.S. Found to Have Autism
Washington Post May 5, 2006,
Shankar Vedantam, Section: A Section, Page: A09
Briefing Health And Science: Study On Autism
New York Times May 5, 2006,
National Desk; Page 19
More & Take ACTION
5, 2006
to the May 2, 2006 Federal Budget
Index of Responses to date include:
Canada Prime Minister Harper's Surplus Budget puts Canadian Children
at a Deficit
Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) Federal
Budget Delivers Housing Funding
Wrap Up (added
May 5, 2006)
Council of Women of Canada (NCWC) National
Council of Women of Canada Responds
to May 2nd Budget
Canadian Nurses Association (CNA)
Canadian Nurses
Association Reacts to 2006 Federal Budget
Assembly of First Nations (AFN)
Federal Budget Ignores Health Crises in First Nations Communities
Assembly of First Nations Statement on the 2006 Federal Budget: First Nations
Sacrificed to Build a Better Canada
Health Action Lobby (HEAL) Health
Action Lobby responds to 2006 Budget Assembly
of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) The Federal Budget
Is a Source of Concern for the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador
Native Women's Association of
Canada (NWAC) Native
Women's Association of Canada President Beverley Jacobs disappointed with the
lack of clear financial commitment the Conservative Gov't has committed to Aboriginal
people in its 2006 Budget
Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Harper's
first budget: tax cuts trump child care, public services - Conservatives hoodwinking
Canadians in quest for majority Canadian
Federation of Students (CFS)
Federal Budget
Ignores Student Debt Ontario
Ministry of Finance Ontario
Still Seeking Fairness From Federal Government - Harper's
First Budget "Leaves More Questions Than Answers," Bountrogianni Says
Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Federal budget spells bad news
for federal public services Certified
Management Accountants of Canada (CMA Canada) First Conservative
Budget Falls Short in Boosting Canadian Productivity - Measures ignore growing
information and communications technology where greatest gains can be achieved
Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN)
Grand Chief disappointed with fraction of FMM commitments in budget
Child Care Advocacy Association
of Canada (CCAAC) No
child care in today's Budget
Nation Federal
Budget falls short for the Métis Nation Anishinabek
Nation - Union of Ontario Indians Budget
a 'patchwork foundation' to Harper's aboriginal agenda Heritage
Canada Foundation Heritage Canada Foundation disappointed in federal
budget Canadian Association
of University Teachers (CAUT) Harper budget charts wrong course for
education Federal
Budget short-changes Canadian Children Reaction
to the Federal Budget by the Presidents of: Ontario Public School
Boards' Association (OPSBA); Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO);
Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF); Canadian Teachers Federation
(CTF); Ontario Federation of Home and School Associations (OFHSA)
Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1. on Ontario government's
home care initiatives still fail clients and workers Rural
Voices Rural, remote and Northern communities missed in all the tax
credit giveaways
Housing and Homelessness Coalition Housing
Coalition welcomes federal budget's funds for affordable housing
4, 2006
- Council of Canadians with Disabilities Online Consultation The
International Development Committee of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities
(CCD) invites disability rights advocates and human rights advocates to join
us for an on-line discussion about the proposed UN Convention
to Protect and Promote the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Last year, Mary Ennis,
CCD Vice-Chair, and International Development Committee Member, conducted an on-line
consultation for women with disabilities about how the proposed Convention should
address gender. During this consultation, participants expressed a preference
for the Convention to address the issues of women with disabilities in both a
separate article and throughout the various articles of the convention, where
appropriate. This approach has been supported by the Canadian delegation at the
Ad Hoc Meetings, and at present, all indications are that it will prevail.
year, Steven Estey, Chairperson of our International Development Committee
will conduct another on-line consultation about the Convention. This year, we
will be using Dis-ITs ACollab, an accessible web-based
collaboration tool (see below for more details).
consultation will provide an opportunity to dialogue more generally with others
who are interested in the development of the United Nations first international
convention specifically addressing human rights and people with disabilities.
... Read
for the online forum: added
May 6, 2006 May
8: Receive documents on 1st item (definition of disability) May 9-12: Discussion
on definition of disability May 13: Receive documents on last discussion (monitoring)
May 14-17: Discussion on monitoring May 18: Close process and provide summaries.
Read More May
4, 2006
of transparency: Harper developing into most secretive PM in history
by Geoffrey Stevens, StraightGoods.com, May 2,
2006 Prime Minister Stephen Harper campaigned
for election on the twin principles of transparency and accountability. A Conservative
government would be an Open Government yes, sir. No more sweeping of corruption
under the Privy Council carpet no, sir. Open Government that's the ticket.
If there is any lingering doubt about the hollowness, the emptiness, the cynicism
the sheer hypocrisy of the Harper campaign promises, it is swept away by the devastating
report released on Friday by Information Commissioner Reid. Reid is a servant
of Parliament, not of the government. It is his duty to defend the publics access
to information about what government is doing and how it is doing it, so that
the people may judge whether their representatives are competent or incompetent,
honest or dishonest, well-motivated or mean-spirited.
Read the full article on StraightGoods May
4, 2006
Budget Wrap Up (updated
document dd May 5, 2006) There
is little evidence that this federal budget was subjected to a gender analysis
during its development. Many of the issues that preoccupy millions of women, including
access to childcare, language training and mentorship programs for employment
(for new Canadians in particular), skills development and training, as well as
income support programs (eg. social assistance, employment insurance) are not
meaningfully addressed in this budget. For the third consecutive year, FAFIA has
commissioned Armine Yalnizyan to provide a gender based analysis of the federal
budget which will be available in the coming weeks. In advance of this, to help
our members, partners and friends understand what the implications of this budget
are, we have compiled the following responses from a range of sources. Read
More updated
May 5, 2006
15 cent per hour increase to Quebec's minimum wage
This article appeared in The Gazette yesterday about the 15 cent/hr increase to
Quebec's minimum wage ... Note the figures quoted from Stats Canada ... "According
to Statistics Canada data for last September, almost
two-thirds of minimum wage workers in Canada are women. One in three
teenagers age 15 to 19 work for minimum wage - accounting for nearly half of the
minimum wage earners in the country, StatsCan says. ... Another 17 per cent of
minimum wage workers are age 20 to 24, and nearly half
of them are students."
wage hike is peanuts
critics: Hourly pay jumps
today by dime, nickel; 'Please. Fifteen cents? Where can I go with that? Multiply
that by eight hours a day' by Natalie Goldenberg-Fife, Freelance,
The Gazette, Monday, May 01, 2006 Excerpt: "Quebec's
minimum wage increases by 15 cents an hour today, but many workers who will benefit
are not exactly jumping for joy. The rate goes to $7.75, up from $7.60 an hour.
For those receiving tips, it will be $7 - up from $6.85. ... Jean-Pascal Bernier,
a spokesperson for Labour Minister Laurent Lessard, said as many as 118,000 Quebecers
will benefit from the increase. "We are talking about those in the service
industry, single mothers and young people," he said. The increase is part
of a provincial plan - adopted in 2004 - to reduce poverty, Bernier said.
"Increasing the minimum wage on a regular basis
will help to make poverty disappear." ??? Read
the Full Article May 2, 2006
Dryden, Liberals - "Thinking big" just wont cut it by
Arthur Weinreb, Associate Editor, Canada Free Press Excerpt:
A day after he formally announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal
Party of Canada, a column penned by Ken Dryden appeared in the National Post.
Titled "Canada needs to think big",
Dryden outlined what he would like to see happen in the next ten years. He wrote,
"Within ten years, let
us: * Cut child poverty in half. * Become one of the top five most productive
countries on earth. * Lead the world in alternative energies and energy efficiency.
* Finally and forever make Aboriginal peoples full participants in the success
of Canada. * Build a truly inclusive, accessible country for Canadians with disabilities."
<sniped> ...
These grand visions of reducing child poverty (where have we heard
that before?) and making Aboriginals full participants in the success of Canada,
whatever that means are nothing more than wishes and dreams. We need a leader
who can set realistic and achievable goals and then carry them out. Or in the
words of Nike; someone who can "just do it". Read
the full article May 2, 2005
Call to End Women's Poverty May
1st, 1pm-3pm at the 519 Church Street Community Centre
Join us on
May 1st from 1 to 3pm to organize a mass delegation of women (to take place
in the later part of May) to demand that the government:
meeting will take place at The 519 Church Street Community Centre (Wellesley Subway)
Child Care will be provided upon request. ASL interpretation will be provided
upon request. Contact: Ginny Santos at 416-392-3138 (TTY: 416-392-3031) or email@example.com
Read More May
1, 2006
Featured News 2005
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2003 Featured News
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Voices FemmeVox - Engaging women to advance equality
through technology
- Vol. 11 Sept 11, 2006 FemmeVox
- Vol. 10 Jun 27, 2006 FemmeVox
- Vol. 9 Jun 08, 2006
FemmeVox - Vol. 8 May 23, 2006 FemmeVox
- Vol. 7 May 04, 2006 FemmeVox
- Vol. 6 Apr 25, 2006 FemmeVox
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- Vol. 2 Feb 23, 2006 FemmeVox
- Vol. 1 Feb 06, 2006
is an online clearinghouse for community legal education in Ontario
... For organizations that produce, use, or need community legal education
materials, CLEONet is a tool to find resources, share information,
and work together online.
a Petition to End the Clawback
of the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS)
Information NCBS
Welfare Wall -- Hiding the Truth about Poverty
Challenge of the National Child Benefit Supplement
Challenge to the NCBS Clawback from Families on Social Assistance
in Canada & the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS) Claw Back
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Results of our Equality Rights Survey from first 100 respondents
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Results from most recent Survey
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Poverty History Platform
Ontario 1998 - 2006 Volunteer
Webmaster Barbara Anello
Ontario 1998 - 2006 Volunteer
Webmaster Barbara Anello
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