Community Action articles from August 2007

Community Action archives from August 2007

Waiting lists.(COMMENTS)
August 13, 2007... The Canadian Medical Association certainly didn't win any popularity contests in July 2007 for its proposals to deal with waiting lists in health care. It advocates changes to the system that would enable physicians to work both inside and...

CMA proposals for 2-tier medicare draws negative reviews.(HEALTH)
August 13, 2007... The Canadian Medical Association's latest ideas on dealing with problems in the health care system is drawing largely negative reviews. The chief recommendation of the Canadian Medical Association's Medicare Plus paper is to enable...

High HIV-HCV for jailed drug users.(JUSTICE)
August 13, 2007... "There is little willingness--and even outright opposition--on the part of correctional systems and their political masters to implement evidence-based measures to address this serious public health crisis," Richard Elliott said in response to...

Kids give group care poor reviews advocates want more foster homes.(CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES)
August 13, 2007... Group homes in Ontario's child welfare system drew negative comments from children in care, according to a report of the province's Office of Child and Family Advocacy. The Office also charged that there is no comprehensive policy for...

Pathways Canada receives Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award.(GENERAL)(Pathways to Education Program by the Regent Park Community Health Centre )
August 13, 2007... The Pathways to Education Program received the 2007 $50,000 Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award, in recognition of its work in helping young people in the Regent Park neighborhood, Toronto, and in replicating this successful program in other low...

Calendar Canada.(Calendar)
August 13, 2007... Aug. 27-30: Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) trains human service providers and other professionals to safely manage disruptive and assaultive behaviour; London; 1-800-558-8976 or register online at www.crisisprevention.com Aug. 27-30:...

Foreign calendar.(Calendar)
August 13, 2007... Aug. 30-Sept. 2: Amer. Political Science Association Centennial; Chicago, IL; www.apsanet.org Sept. 5-6: NCVO/VSSN Researching the Voluntary Sector Conference; University of Warwick; England; ncvo-vol.org.uk Sept. 5-7: Conference:...

Ottawa CAS found in contempt of court.(CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES)
August 13, 2007... The Children's Aid Society of Ottawa was found in contempt of court, according to Ontario Superior Court Justice Jennifer Mackinnon. Similar charges against two CAS social workers were dismissed. All were charged by a parent when the two...

Fewer children admitted to women's shelters.(Children, Youth & Families)
August 13, 2007... Fewer children were admitted to shelters to escape abuse each year between 1998 and 2006, and the number of women admitted to these shelters increased during the past nine years. Statistics Canada reports that nearly 106,000 women and children...

Chinese girls lead foreign adoptions.(CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES)
August 13, 2007... Chinese girls resident in orphanages were the leading group of children selected for adoption from overseas by Canadian families. China continues to be the preferred country for international adoptions by Canadians, the Adoption Council of...

Regulatory college for ECE created.(CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES)(College of Early Childhood Educators )(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Ontario's College of Early Childhood Educators will be Canada's first regulatory body for professional standards of practice among child care practitioners, Minister of Children and Youth Services Mary Anne Chambers announced. The government...

More pay for Ontario child care workers.(CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES)
August 13, 2007... Ontario has budgeted $24.8 million and will provide an average wage increase of approximately three per cent for approximately 33,500 child care practitioners across Ontario.

Human Resources and Social Development.(FUNDING)(Brief article)(List)
August 13, 2007... Moncton Youth Residences Inc. For a 22-week project that will provide participants with life and employability skills that are essential to getting a job. The skills include teamwork, communications, leadership, problem solving and decision...

Canadian Heritage.(FUNDING)
August 13, 2007... 819 997-7788 Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centres Native Counselling Services of Alberta, Edmonton. For four projects for Aboriginal young people to develop to their fullest potential through cultural, technical and social...

Atkinson Charitable Foundation, Ontario.(FUNDING)
August 13, 2007... 416-368-5152 Better Child Care Education Foundation. For research, community capacity building and public education on issues of early learning and child care. $55,030 Toronto District School Board. To research and document the...

Social Science and Humanities Research Council.(FUNDING)
August 13, 2007... 613-992-0691 Emanuela Cardia, Universite de Montreal. Effects of technology, institutions and policies on households and women's labor market decisions. $45,000 Ellen B. Moss, Universite du Quebec a Montreal et al. Attachment and...

Trillium Foundation, Ontario.(FUNDING)
August 13, 2007... 800-263-2887 Social Planning Network of Ontario c/o Community Development Halton. For training and support to 14 local social planning councils. Profiles of the communities will be developed and the data shared, contributing to a social...

Laidlaw Foundation.(FUNDING)(Brief article)(List)
August 13, 2007... 416-964-3614 Inclusive Communities for Children Youth & Families Canadian Council for Refugees, Toronto. For the International Refugee Rights Conference. To promote ongoing cross-border networking and exchange of ideas among NGOs from...

Correction services not learning, report says as prison fatalities continue.(JUSTICE)(Deaths in Custody)
August 13, 2007... "Correctional Services Canada is not incorporating into current practices the lessons that can be learned from previous incidents," Professor Thomas Gabor writes in his report, Deaths in Custody, which was prepared for the Office of the...

Immigrant and visible women face bars to jobs in Alberta non-profit sector.(VOLUNTARY SECTOR)
August 13, 2007... Immigrant and minority women experience difficulties in obtaining full-time, well paying work in Alberta's non-profit human service organizations, according to an Alberta study. The report, Equitable Treatment of Immigrant / Visible...

China needs 3M social workers.(VOLUNTARY SECTOR)
August 13, 2007... China needs at least 3 million professional social workers to staff the public services and expand the developing community sectors to help establish a civic society, says Xu Ruixin, director of the China Association of Social Workers, speaking...

Muttart fellowships to focus on leadership in charities.(VOLUNTARY SECTOR)
August 13, 2007... The Fellowships program of the Muttart Foundation of Edmonton has been changed: it will no longer be application-based. In 2008, the selection of fellows will focus on support of those who are, or have, the potential to be leaders in the...

Scammers give to charity.(VOLUNTARY SECTOR)
August 13, 2007... More and more charities are earning money from scammers, Symantec, the anti-virus and computer security producers, reports. People who steal credit card information need a way to determine if the care is usable, without arousing suspicion...

Crime rates down, violent crime count unchanged.(JUSTICE)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... While non-violent and property crime rates were down in 2005, the Centre for Justice Statistic reports that total crime rates for violent crime remains unchanged. The national homicide rate fell 10%, halting two years of increases....

David Onley is new Ontario Lieutenant Governor.(VOLUNTARY SECTOR)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... David Onley, City TV reporter and disability activist, is the new Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. He succeeds James Bartleman. The position is largely ceremonial, as official representative of the Queen in the province of Ontario. Aside...

HRSDC wants non-prof proposals.(VOLUNTARY SECTOR)(Human Resources and Social Development Canada, profit)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Human Resources and Social Development Canada has issued a Call for Proposals in the non-profit sector. HRSDC will fund two components: $332,000 for further analysis of the Canada Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating; and $2.6...

Ukraine's Juvenile Justice Reform.(VOLUNTARY SECTOR)
August 13, 2007... Ukraine's Juvenile Justice Reform received $6.5 million from the Canadian International Development Agency to strengthen the ability of government and community groups in order to deal with youth at risk.

Publications.(List)
August 13, 2007... 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 ill Canada and by Canadian authors. Publishers...

Special publications.
August 13, 2007... A question of commitment: children's rights in Canada. R. Brian Howe & Katherine Covell, editors. ISBN 1-5548-003-X $42.95 clare@press.wlu Adoption: unchartered waters. David Kirschner, Ph.D. ISBN 0-9702883-3-6 $22.00 ...

Periodicals received.
August 13, 2007... At Work, Summer 2007, Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, ON. Canadian Social Trends, Special Edition, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, ON. Canadian Social Trends, Summer 2007, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, ON. Justice Report, Summer...

Appointments.(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Dr. Taylor Alexander, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Mental Health Association, Toronto. Claude Anderson, Executive Director, Canadian Mental Health Association, Grey Bruce Branch, Owen Sound, ON. Rahul K. Bhardwaj, President and...

BC fines medical services contractor but does not reveal details.(Health)
August 13, 2007... Maximus Inc., a company engaged to manage records for the British Columbia's medical Service Plan and its Pharmacies, was fined on four occasions in four months of operation for failing to meet its contract obligations, the BC Government...

UK calls off health care competition.(Health)
August 13, 2007... Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan to expand independent-sector treatment centres to compete with National Health Service hospitals have been halted. Alan Johnson, the health minister appointed by the new prime minister Gordon Browne,...

Ontario's first NP-led family clinic opens in Sudbury.(Health)(nurse practitioners Marilyn Butcher and Roberta Heale, Ontario)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Ontario's first nurse practitioner-led family health clinic in Ontario has opened in Sudbury. Led by Marilyn Butcher and Roberta Heale, the clinic expects to treat up to 1,500 patients per year. The clinic will receive $800,000 from the...

Oil sands boomtown has heath care problems.(Health)
August 13, 2007... Health services are feeling the impact of the boomtown atmosphere of Fort McMurray, Alberta, the centre of the massive oil sand development. According to Dr. Michael Sauve, Canada Medical Association Journal, July 3, 2007, patients have...

Ottawa refuses to support cocaine pipe program, mayor calls it foolishness.(Health)
August 13, 2007... Ottawa city council voted to end its funding for a program that distributed pipes to crack cocaine as a public health measure. The cost of the program was $22,500, the city paying only $7,500 and the province covering the rest. Local...

Ontario offers HPV vaccines to grade 8 girls.(Health)
August 13, 2007... The Ontario government will offer free vaccines to young women in Grade 8 to protect against Human Papilloma Virus, a cause of cervical cancer, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced. Beginning this fall, the HPV vaccine will be offered to about...

Self-injurious behavior requires suicide assessment, U.S. researchers say.(Health)
August 13, 2007... Two U.S. researchers challeged the view among clinicians that self-injurious behaviour is not a suicidal gesture and that it does not require a suicide assessment follow-up. The researchers suggest that such behaviour should trigger suicide...

No tax on health social work services.(Health)
August 13, 2007... Health related billings by social workers are now exempt from the GST/HST with the passing of Bill C-40 by the Parliament. The change comes after a decade of lobbying by the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW). The legislation ensures...

Thousands see Ont. patient advocate.(Health)(Ontario Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office )(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... In 2006, the Ontario Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office provided 22,255 first rights advice visits, and an additional 3,872 second or subsequent rights advice visits. The PPAO, an arm's length program of the Ontario Ministry of Health and...

Profiteering in medical marijuana?(Health)
August 13, 2007... Auditor-General Sheila Fraser is investigating the "users fees" charged in Health Canada's medicinal marijuana program. She indicated this in a letter to NDP MP Libby Davies. Davies requested an audit because she believes that Health Canada...

Low weight births up.(Health)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... About one in 16 babies (6.1%) born in Canadian hospitals was underweight, weighing less than 2,500 grams (or 5.5 pounds), according to an analysis from the Canadian Institute for Health Information. This represents a steady increase in the rate...

Housing developments.(SHELTER)
August 13, 2007... Joey's Home Edmonton, a 12-unit transitional housing for individuals with developmental disabilities, opened. The federal government, through the Edmonton Housing Trust Fund, provided $300,000 through the Homelessness Partnering Strategy. ...

Off-reserve housing for BC Aboriginals set.(SHELTER)
August 13, 2007... New housing will be constructed for Aboriginals living off-reserve in 10 British Columbia communities. The 292 housing units will be created under a federal-provincial agreement on Aboriginal housing. "One of the goals of our provincial...

Hannah's opens in Winnipeg.(SHELTER)(Hannah's Place Emergency Shelter in Manitoba)(Brief article)
August 13, 2007... Hannah's Place, Siloam Mission's new emergency shelter, opened in Winnipeg. The shelter is named after 11-year-old homeless advocate Hannah Taylor, founder of the Ladybug Foundation. The project was funded through the Winnipeg Housing and...

U.S. corp. buys into BC welfare.(SHELTER)(Providence Service Corporation acquires WCG International Consultants Ltd. of British Columbia )
August 13, 2007... Tucson based Providence Service Corporation has acquired WCG International Consultants Ltd., of Victoria. WCG, with operations in communities across British Columbia, claims to have placed social assistance clients in over 65,000 job...