Community Action articles from August 2005

Community Action archives from August 2005

CBA launches suit in BC to establish right to legal aid in civil cases.(Canadian Bar Association)
August 22, 2005... VANCOUVER -- "We believe that the time has come to establish a constitutional right to civil legal aid in this country," says Canadian Bar Association President Susan McGrath. "Without legal aid, access to justice is meaningless, as many people...

Put CASs, hospitals under info act?
August 22, 2005... TORONTO -- Bring all organizations that are primarily funded by government dollars under the Freedom of Information Act for the purposes of transparency and accountability, Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian urged the Ontario...

Target 9 neighborhood programs and services, Toronto task force recommends.
August 22, 2005... TORONTO -- A joint task force of the United Way and the City of Toronto identified nine areas located outside the central city (inner suburbs) as neighborhoods facing the greatest needs and having the poorest geographic access to the necessary...

New youth justice law causes drop in court appearances and arrests.
August 22, 2005... OTTAWA -- The new Youth Criminal Justice Act has had an impact. 2003/4 was the first year of the implementation. The most prominent result was that the caseload in Canada's youth courts had the largest annual decline in more than a decade,...

Neglected step-child.
August 22, 2005... Ten years ago, the federal government ended the Canada Assistance Plan and introduced the Canada Health and Social Transfer which changed the federal role in welfare funding. The provincial governments responded by enacting highly restrictive...

Calendar Canada.(Calendar)
August 22, 2005... Aug. 29-Sept. 2: Learn Crucial Verbal Intervention Skills and Prevent Crisis Situations. Crisis Prevention Institute in Vancouver. Crisis Prevention Institute in Quebec City. For more information, please call CPI at 1-800-588-8976, or visit...

Foreign calendar.(Calendar)
August 22, 2005... Aug. 31-Sept. 1: Conference: Researching the Voluntary Sector NCVO/VSSN; University of Warwick; research@ncvo-vol.org.uk Aug. 31-Sept. 2: International Mental Health Conference: London, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College; {E}...

Alberta is 6th province to sign national child care pact.(CHILD & FAMILY)
August 22, 2005... CALGARY -- The federal and Alberta governments have signed an Agreement in Principle for the development of early learning and child care services for young children and their families in Alberta. Approximately $70 million is available to...

Manitoba offers incentives for trained child care staff.(CHILD & FAMILY)
August 22, 2005... WINNIPEG -- Having signed Canada's first federal-provincial child care agreement, Manitoba promises to spend all of the $176 million federal allocation on child care and early childhood education in the next five years. Family Services and...

35 children restored to parental custody as Ontario expands special services.(CHILD & FAMILY)
August 22, 2005... TORONTO -- Until recently a number of parents of children with special needs gave up custody of their children as the only way to obtain the services needed. To date, 35 families have had their parental custody restored. The parents who had...

Tough support laws cut unwed births--U.S. study.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... SEATTLE -- The unintended consequence of tough child support laws, accompanied by strict enforcement appears to be a high correlation with a drop in births outside of marriage, two researchers at the University of Washington report,...

California to vote on parent's involvement in teen abortions.(CHILD & FAMILY)
August 22, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- Californians will vote in November on the Parents' Right to Know and Child Protection Initiative which asks voters to approve a state constitutional amendment that requires parental involvement in a teen's decision to terminate...

Buy now pay later child care offered.(CHILD & FAMILY)
August 22, 2005... SYDNEY -- A buy now pay later scheme is being offered by ABC Learning, Australia's biggest chain of private child care centres. ABC is offering finance to lend parents up to $4,000 for each child, equivalent to the maximum value of the Federal...

Obesity rates up for kids and adults.(CHILD & FAMILY)
August 22, 2005... OTTAWA -- Obesity rates among children and adults have increased substantially during the past 25 years, according to new results from the Canadian Community Health Survey which directly measured the height and weight of respondents. In...

Funding.
August 22, 2005... National Homelessness Initiative 819-953-5646 Family Resource Centre, Saint John, NB: To offer a 10-week support program for single mothers and their children who are living in poverty and are at risk of becoming homeless. The Single Parent...

Michael Goldberg.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... Michael Goldberg, received the Weiler Award at the Twelfth Biennial Conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Weiler Award Trust is presented annually to acknowledge and honour exceptional contributions to community and social development...

Elizabeth Sheehy.(Law Society of Upper Canada)(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... Elizabeth Sheehy: The Law Society of Upper Canada presented an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws to Professor Sheehy, at its Call to the Bar ceremonies in recognition of her numerous contributions to creating access to justice for women...

Urban aboriginals doing better, Statcan reports.
August 22, 2005... OTTAWA -- Aboriginal people living in Canada's largest metropolitan centres were better off in 2001 than they were two decades earlier, according to a new report, Aboriginal Conditions in Census Metropolitan Areas, 1981 to 2001. The report...

UNHRC allowed back into Aceh but under government's watchful eye.(United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... GENEVA -- Internal politics affects the work of international humanitarian agencies, as was demonstrated when the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was expelled from Indonesia at the end of March. Now the agency will resume...

Possible fraud suspected in fund raising by 32 EU groups.(GENERAL)
August 22, 2005... LONDON -- Charities everywhere are urged to be more competitive and business-like. Some European groups are coming under suspicion for their fundraising practices. Now 30 NGOS are under investigation by European Union authorities for suspected...

Rent aid opens 400 doors in Toronto.(SHELTER)
August 22, 2005... TORONTO -- The first of 400 tenants receiving a housing allowance under the new Strong Communities Housing Allowance Program--Toronto Pilot were presented with keys for their apartments. The program is being managed by Derek Ballantyne of...

$1 million for youth shelter.(SHELTER)
August 22, 2005... SUTTON, ON -- The government of Canada allocated more than $1 million to enable the Sutton Youth Multi-Service Centre in the town of Georgina to provide 10 beds of emergency shelter and transitional housing for homeless and at-risk youth. ...

51 affordable homes in Quebec.(SHELTER)
August 22, 2005... QUEBEC -- 51 housing units for lower-income families and individuals were constructed by La Maison du Peuple Housing Cooperative. The project which includes four buildings Limoilou and cost $5.9 million. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation...

Canadians working 2 weeks less.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... OTTAWA -- Between 2000 and 2003, the average annual number of hours of work, as estimated by the Labour Force Survey (LFS), gradually declined by 70 hours, which is the equivalent of two weeks of work or 1.4 hours per week per worker. This...

Publications.
August 22, 2005... The publications listed below are for information purposes only. To obtain copies contact the publisher. The entries in this section are listed free of charge and are limited to material published in Canada and by Canadian authors. Publishers...

Periodicals received.
August 22, 2005... Canadian Issues, Metropolis, Montreal, Spring 2005 Canadian Social Trends, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Summer 2005 CPC Viewpoint, Canadian Pensioners Concerned Ontario Division, Toronto, May 2005 Dimeline, Ontario March of Dimes...

Five year contract ends three and one half month strike at Timmins agency.(Child and Family Services of Timmins, Canadian Union of Public Employees )(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... TIMMINS, ON -- The strike of workers at the Child and Family Services of Timmins and District workers ended after more than three months. The agency and the members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees settled on a new five-year contract....

Collingwood house and union agree to four year contract.(LABOUR RELATIONS)
August 22, 2005... VANCOUVER -- Unionized staff members of CUPE Local 1936 and the Board at Collingwood Neighbourhood House in Vancouver, ratified a four-year collective agreement. Child Care workers, ESL Teachers, building service, recreation, settlement...

Former BC Nurses Union sue for wrongful dismissal.(LABOUR RELATIONS)
August 22, 2005... VICTORIA -- The turbulent relationship between Catherine Anne Ferguson, former president, and council of the B.C. Nurses Union can be heard in a trial, the B.C. Supreme Court determined. The Court had to determine whether a president elected...

Bankruptcy trustee and union settle.(LABOUR RELATIONS)
August 22, 2005... TORONTO -- Following a three-year court fight, the Canadian Union of Public Employees has won back collective agreement rights lost when the Royal Crest Nursing Homes and Retirement Homes were transferred to a Trustee following bankruptcy in...

Klein reveals Alberta's "Third Way" private payment for non-insured services.(Ralph Klein)(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... ALBERTA -- Premier Ralph Klein unveiled his much heralded "Third Way" for Albertans. Details are lacking at this stage but Klein promises It will offer Albertans "enhanced or optional health services for those who both want it and can afford...

First nations children report better health when living with parents.(HEALTH)
August 22, 2005... OTTAWA -- The first comprehensive study of the health and living conditions of First Nations children on reserves was released. A preliminary report finds these factors associated with better health ratings are: * living with parent(s),...

Manitoba opens two new health centres.(HEALTH)
August 22, 2005... WINNIPEG -- The Manitoba Health Minister, Tim Sales, announced two new health centres. In Riverton a new community health-care centre will develop community-based health programs and support timely access to health-care services. Programs,...

Half the world's poor uses generic HIV drugs, U.S. urged to cooperate.(HEALTH)
August 22, 2005... VALLETTA, MALTA -- At a conference on HIV drugs, Hans Hogerzeil, World Health Organization's director of medicine policy and standards, urged the United States to work with the world health body to include more generics in its AIDS treatment...

Troubled Oaklands centre takes on a new life.(Oaklands Regional Centre)(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... OAKVILLE, ON -- The troubled Oaklands Regional Centre will change from a residential treatment centre to an agency providing community-based care for people with a developmental disability and other complex medical, psychiatric or behavioural...

Enable PT work for teens with disability.(Achieving Competitive Employment)(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... CAMBRIDGE, ON -- Achieving Competitive Employment is the latest addition to the Cambridge Career Connections employment programmes. Geared toward students with disabilities who are interested in part-time work, ACE offers job coaching and job...