Community Action articles from March 2004

Community Action archives from March 2004

British Columbia's pride and shame.(Comments)
March 15, 2004... B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell can be both proud and ashamed of his government's investigation of recipients of disability benefits. The review was one of the most thorough and possibly the most expensive examination of a welfare program ever...

Few results from B.C's great effort to weed out disability benefits.
March 15, 2004... VICTORIA -- The B.C. government came under fire from the province's Auditor General for the way in which it re-assessed eligibility requirements for persons with disabilities, saying the Ministry of Human Resources did not achieve the...

Ban cross border pharmacies, protect price regulation system, groups urge.
March 15, 2004... VANCOUVER -- The Canadian Treatment Action Council along with the BC Person With Aids Society has called on the Canadian government to ban cross-border pharmacies and to strengthen Canada's drug price regulation system because drug supplies for...

Ontario non-profit services need $500 million agency-union groups argue.
March 15, 2004... TORONTO -- Ontario's voluntary social services agencies need an immediate financial investment from the provincial government, says a group of agencies and unions who have embarked on a province-wide campaign. In response to the group's...

Social housing is back in Ontario.
March 15, 2004... TORONTO -- Social housing is back in Ontario! For the first time in a decade the provincial and federal governments have taken steps to develop a sizeable number of new affordable housing. More than 2,300 new affordable housing units will be...

Calendar Canada.(Calendar)
March 15, 2004... Mar. 23-26: Learn crucial verbal invention skills and prevent crisis situations; Crisis Prevention Institute; Ottawa; 1.800.558.8976 Mar. 25: Forum: Parolees returning to the community; Ottawa; leeanne.lee@efryottawa.com Mar. 31:...

Foreign calendar.(Calendar)
March 15, 2004... Mar. 29-30: Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities; Waikiki, Hawaii; cds@hawaii.edu Apr. 4-7: National American Indian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect; Denver, CO; www.nicwa.org/index.asp Apr. 26-30: Conference on Health...

Canada violates international drug control treaties, U.N. panel claims.(Addictions)
March 15, 2004... NEW YORK -- The drug injection rooms in Vancouver, with the approval of the Government of Canada, violates international drug control treaties, states the Annual Report of the International Narcotics Control Board which is "concerned" generally...

Drug related crime up Canadian police forces report.(Addictions)
March 15, 2004... TORONTO -- Canadian Police Forces have reported that drug-related crime has increased by about 42 per cent since the early 1990's, and now stands at a 20-year high with three in four drug-related incidents in 2002 involving cannabis. Of...

Immigrant and visible minority women vulnerable, CCSD.(Child & Family)
March 15, 2004... OTTAWA -- "Immigrant and visible minority women who are abused are uniquely vulnerable," states Dr. Ekuwa Smith, author of Nowhere to Turn? Responding to Partner Violence Against Immigrant and Visible Minority Women. The report is published by...

B.C.'s new child labour regulations come under fire from critics.(Child & Family)
March 15, 2004... VANCOUVER -- Amendments to the B.C. Employment Standards Act weakens the role of parents and school authorities in deciding whether children aged 12 to 14 can work the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives claims in its report, Who's Looking...

NB child death committee wants more risk assessment when dogs are around.(Child & Family)
March 15, 2004... FREDERICTON -- New Brunswick's Child Death Review Committee urged the provincial government to increase risk assessment of children in provincial care when an additional adult begins to reside in their residence, and when potential harm might...

Asthma high in NY homeless kids.(Child & Family)
March 15, 2004... NEW YORK -- The prevalence of asthma among a random sample of homeless children in New York City is likely to be 39.8%--more than 6 times the national rate for children. Asthma in homeless children is also likely to be severe and substantially...

National child score card ahead?(Child & Family)
March 15, 2004... SMITHS FALLS, ON -- Prime Minister Paul Martin promised a group of social agency representative that his government will consider establishing a national report card to measure the welfare of Canadian children after hearing about the vast...

National Strategy on Community Safety.(Funding)
March 15, 2004... 613-954-1721 Kootenays The School District #20/City of Trail CPU, the Kootenays. For its Learning Journey Series, a user-friendly storytelling method of providing conflict resolution skills to children at an early age. The stories,...

Canadian Women's Foundation.(Funding)
March 15, 2004... http://www.cdnwomen.org/eng/ Economic Development Collaborative Fund: Five-year funding supported by Canadian Women's Foundation, CIBC, The George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation, The Ontario Trillium Foundation, and an anonymous...

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.(Funding)
March 15, 2004... 819-994-5559 Mennonite Central Committee, Aylmer Resource Centre, Alymer, On. For employment assistance services in Aylmer and East Elgin County. To assist 875 unemployed citizens overcome barriers to employment to determine their...

Manitoba Family Services and Housing.(Funding)
March 15, 2004... Neepawa and Area Community Day Care Centre. For Neepawa's first, full-time child care centre, which will provide 50 licensed spaces for children, to support 32 preschool, 10 school-age and eight infant spaces. Annual funding $128,364

Canadian International Development Agency.(Funding)
March 15, 2004... 819-953-6534 McGill University, Montreal. To strengthen the community of social work practitioners in the Middle East, including community practice centres in Jordan, Palestine and Israel, and the regional network of social work...

Trillium Foundation Ontario.(Funding)
March 15, 2004... 800-263-2887 Windsor-Essex Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. To enhance services to individuals in the community who require post-cardiac rehabilitation. $140,200 over three years. Alzheimer Society of Haldimand-Norfolk. To support the...

Wild Rose Foundation Edmonton.(Funding)
March 15, 2004... 780-422-2258 African Canadian Society of Alberta (Edmonton). Toward the 'After School Tuition Project' over one year to facilitate new immigrant youth African students in their transitional learning process to fit into the Canadian school...

Ontario allows limited patients info release for fund raising.(Voluntary Sector)
March 15, 2004... TORONTO -- The Ontario government amended its proposed Health Information Privacy Act, to enable limited transfer of basic individual contact information for fund raising purposes. In the first reading the bill prohibited health-related...

$65 million taxes for art donations may have to be repaid.(Voluntary Sector)
March 15, 2004... OTTAWA -- More than 660 Canadians who participated "buy-low/donate-high" art scheme in the late 1990s may have to repay $65 million in tax breaks, following a ruling by federal tax court Associate Chief Justice D.G.H. Bowman. Toronto brokerage...

Senate panel looks at charitable giving.(Voluntary Sector)
March 15, 2004... OTTAWA -- To stimulate increased charitable giving is the aim of the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce in its study of charitable giving in Canada. The committee, led by Sen. Richard Croft, is looking at: * needs...

Alberta creates disabilities issues office.(General)
March 15, 2004... EDMONTON -- Alberta's new Office for Disability Issues will aim to coordinate policies and programs and strengthen long-term planning to address the needs of Albertans with disabilities. The Office will assist government in responding to...

Testing problem gambler hotline in Ontario.(General)
March 15, 2004... TORONTO -- Problem gamblers in Ontario are now able to access help through a new pilot project that will provide program using a telephone hotline centre. The project will test the viability and effectiveness of counselling over the telephone....

Alberta Alzheimer groups amalgamate.(General)
March 15, 2004... EDMONTON -- The Alzheimer Societies of Alberta, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Palliser Region, Lethbridge, Red Deer and Central Alberta, and the Wood Buffalo and Northwest Territories Chapters will amalgamate as the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and...

Fewer apply for legal aid.(General)
March 15, 2004... OTTAWA -- Legal aid programs in Canada had fewer applicants and spent less money than the year before according to a report, Legal Aid in Canada: Resource and Caseload Statistics, 2002/03. The decline in cases and spending is not based on a...

Publications.
March 15, 2004... 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.
March 15, 2004... Bulletin for Parent Educators. Family Service Canada and FRP Canada. Ottawa. Communicate, Children's Aid Society of Toronto, Winter 2004 dimeline, Ontario March of dimes, South Region, Thorold ON, Winter 2003-04 Dispatches,...

Secretariat for francophonie mother-child coalition set for Montreal.(Health)
March 15, 2004... MONTREAL -- Reseau mere-enfant de la Francophonie, has set up its secretariat in Montreal and has received funding from Montreal International to facilitate its establishment for three years. The secretariat's mission is to foster access to...

B.C. doctors agree to a two year wage freeze for management improvements.(Health)
March 15, 2004... VICTORIA -- British Columbia's 7800 physicians have agreed to to accept a two-year wage freeze. according to the B.C. Medical Association. B.C. doctors had been seeking an 11 per cent raise over three years, but decided they could accept...

Statscan plans to collect body fluids from 10,000 volunteers.(Health)
March 15, 2004... OTTAWA -- Statistics Canada plans to collect blood and urine samples from 10,000 volunteers beginning next year, a radical departure from its usual question-and-answer data collection. The project is still tentative, subject to the approval of...

Fraser health to offer province-wide training in early psychosis intervention.(Health)
March 15, 2004... SURREY -- Fraser Health will improve early psychosis intervention services for young people throughout British Columbia. It will offer a provincial training program to help child and youth mental health clinicians and physicians, especially...

25 crisis workers lose jobs in Ottawa mental health regrouping.(Health)
March 15, 2004... OTTAWA -- Twenty-five mental health crisis intervention workers at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre will lose their jobs at the end of March because the services are being transferred to the Ottawa Hospital under a restructuring plan. ...

Ontario to make primary care and prevention a top priority.(Health)
March 15, 2004... TORONTO -- Ontario Minister of Health and Long Term Care George Smitherman outlined the government's strategies for healthcare in the province. The Association of Ontario Health Centres applauded Smitherman's announcement, saying he "made...

N.B. pilot project expects to increase access to primary health care.(Health)
March 15, 2004... FREDERICTON -- A $1.6 million, two-year collaborative practice project which aims to improve access to primary health care services was announced jointly by Health and Wellness Minister Elvy Robichaud and Dr. Paul Cloutier, President of the New...

U.S. launches its $15 billion AIDS plan, activists criticize delays in starting.(Health)
March 15, 2004... WASHINGTON -- The United States launched its $15 billion, five-year AIDS initiative with the disbursement of $350 million in grants to groups operating programs in 14 countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Activists have criticized the...

Minister orders 3P hospital disclosure.(Health)
March 15, 2004... BRAMPTON, ON -- The controversial public-private partnership (3P hospital) agreement for the William Osler Health Centre will be made public. The public disclosure comes at the direction of Minister of Health and Long-Term Care George...

Holocaust survivor care manual issued.(Health)
March 15, 2004... TORONTO -- Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care has published a manual on how to care for aging Holocaust Survivors. With an average age in the high 80s, many survivors are now physically frail and suffering from cognitive impairments such as...

Quality council set in Alberta.(Health)
March 15, 2004... EDMONTON -- Quality health care and improved patient safety are the focus of an expanded mandate for the Health Services Utilization and Outcomes Commission. The commission will be renamed the Health Quality Council of Alberta to reflect its...

U. of T. social work plans joint research with social agencies.(Positions Available)
March 15, 2004... TORONTO -- University of Toronto Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto plans to create an institute for collaborative research between our Centre for Applied Social Research (CASR) and human service agencies, The institute will...

Retirement age needs to be raised, Canadian Taxpayer Federation argues.(Mandatory Retirement)
March 15, 2004... OTTAWA -- The Canada Pension Plan and the mandatory retirement age of 65 years needs to be restructured says a report of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. The Canada Pension Plan as it is currently structured is unfair to young...

Retirement at 65 favored by most.(Mandatory Retirement)
March 15, 2004... WINNIPEG -- The debate over mandatory retirement at age 65 is subject to a growing debate over laws to prevent it. Most Canadians favour the current retirement age. However, Prime Minister Paul Martin has said companies should not be...