Community Action articles from March 2005

Community Action archives from March 2005

Peaceful measures.(Comments)(reject the War on Drugs)(Column)
March 21, 2005... The deaths of the four young Mounties in rural Alberta is a tragedy for the families, friends and for all Canada. Sadly, what started out as a repossession process became an investigation into stolen auto parts and finally murder. Along the...

Ontario to strengthen independence of child advocate.
March 21, 2005... TORONTO -- Ontario's Child and Youth Advocate will have a more independent role in the government, Children and Youth Services Minister Marie Bountrogianni announced. New legislation would make the child and youth advocate an officer of the...

Group business and activists aim to modernize income security.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... TORONTO -- The Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working Age Adults led by the Toronto City Summit Alliance and Toronto's St. Christopher House has begun its work. Made up of prominent members from business, academia and public...

Child poverty rates rise in rich countries.
March 21, 2005... FLORENCE, ITALY -- Child poverty in 17 of 24 OECD countries increased in the 1990's, including Canada and the United States and is expected to rise again because of current social policies in many countries. With a small amount of increased...

Ex-ADM admits fraud and bribery.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- Paul Cochrane, a former Assistant Deputy Minister of Health, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a jail term for his dealings with a Manitoba native substance abuse centre. He is one of nine people charged with fraud, theft and...

Calendar Canada.(Calendar)
March 21, 2005... Mention Community Action when responding to these listings Mar. 29-Apr. 2: Learn Crucial Verbal Intervention Skills and Prevent Crisis Situations. Crisis Prevention Institute in Ottawa, for more information, please call CPI at...

Foreign calendar.(Calendar)
March 21, 2005... Mar. 31-Apr.3: Conference; Association of Health Care Journalists, Minneapolis; www.ahch.umn.edu Apr. 4-7: Vision Conference: Royal National Institute for the Blind and International Society for Low-vision Research and Rehabilitation;...

Male sex abuse victim survivors group launched.(Child & Family)(Ontario Association of Male Survivor Services)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- The Ontario Association of Male Survivor Services has opened. It is "an organization committed to ending the silence of male sexual victimization in this province, like all victims, they have the right to be heard and helped." ...

Brant CAS affidavit in backing staff testimony thrown out by judge.(Child & Family)
March 21, 2005... TORONTO -- An Ontario Judge rejected an affidavit in a children's aid case, saying its sole purpose was to bolster the credibility of a former Brant CAS employee "in a way that usurped the function of cross-examination of the former worker and...

Daughters allowed to live with parent with a child sex record.(Child & Family)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... RAINY RIVER -- An Ontario Court judge has ruled that three female children will be allowed to live with their mother and her spouse under strict CAS supervision for one year, even though the spouse and father of one of the girls has been...

UK wants to bring men into the child care field.(Child & Family)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... LONDON -- The UK government is attempting to persuade men to enter the child care field by encouraging them to become childminders, Children's Minister Margaret Hodge announced. England alone has more than 70,000 registered, approximately...

Repeat divorces rise while divorce rates remain stable.(Child & Family)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- Divorce rates in Canada are stable. Repeat divorces, involving people who had been divorced at least once before, account for an increasing proportion of divorces in Canada, according to new data compiled by Statistics Canada....

Million Ghana AIDS orphans.(Child & Family)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... DACCA, GHANA -- By 2018, 1.14 million children would be HIV/AIDS orphans and most of them will be living in the urban areas of Ghana, according to the chairman of Harare Provincial AIDS Action Committee, a Conference of the African Local...

Funding.
March 21, 2005... Human Resources and Skills Development 819-994-5559 United Way of Cambridge and North Dumfries: To provide four unemployed individuals with job experience, in an area where jobs are limited, and help to develop the local economy. $60,064...

Quebec fathers and self-employed men get paid parental leave.(Income Security)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... MONTREAL -- Quebec fathers will get five weeks of parental leave to spend with their children and self-employed persons also benefit because the federal government and Quebec have an agreement that accommodates Quebec's parental insurance plan...

New employment rules for high jobless areas.(Income Security)(Employment Insurance)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- The federal government announced changes to the Employment Insurance program that will affect more than 220,000 workers annually. The new measures include: * Three pilot projects in regions of high unemployment (10 percent...

Three year sentence for fund raiser who scammed four charities.(Charitable Sector)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- The busy charity scamming career of Patricia Michelle Salter came to an end. She was sentenced to three years in jail after pleading guilty to 30 charges of fraud, forgery and uttering false documents. Presenting herself as a...

CRA revokes charitable status for inappropriate gifts and benefits.(Charitable Sector)(Canada Revenue Agency)(Lord's Evangelical Church of Deliverance and Prayer of Toronto)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- The Canada Revenue Agency revoked the registered charitable status of the Lord's Evangelical Church of Deliverance and Prayer of Toronto. The CRA found that the Church had provided inappropriate gifts and improper benefits to...

U.S. agencies fighting proposed $500 cap on donated goods.(Charitable Sector)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... ROCKVILLE, MD -- Goodwill Industries International, the Salvation Army, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and Volunteers of America have joined forces to oppose recommendations of the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation to cap...

Oust Habitat head for sex harassment.(Charitable Sector)(Habitat for Humanity, Millard Fuller)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... AMERICUS, GA -- Habitat for Humanity has been faced with controversy since it fired its founder and president, Millard Fuller, for sexual harassment of current and former employees. His supporters in the giant nonprofit housing...

2000 volunteers try to count New York's homeless.(Shelter)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... NEW YORK -- Over 2000 volunteers went onto New York City streets on an early March night to count the homeless. At the same time similar efforts were being made in a number of large American cities. The purpose of the count was to strengthen...

Over 8,600 in Ottawa shelters.(Shelter)(homelessness)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- Over 8,600 individuals were accommodated in shelters in 2004 according to the first Report Card on Homelessness in Ottawa. Report Cards are planned to measure the rate of homelessness in the city and measure progress over time, or...

Publications.
March 21, 2005... The publications 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 Canadian authors. Publishers and...

Books received.
March 21, 2005... A voice for nonprofits. Jeffrey M. Berry with David F. Arons. The Brookings Institution, Washington DC. R.R. Donnelley, Harrisonburg, Virginia. ISBN 0-8157-0912-9 CHIVA: a village takes on the global heroin trade. Chellis Glendinning. New...

Periodicals received.
March 21, 2005... CPC Viewpoint, Canadian Pensioners Concerned, Ontario Division, Toronto, February 2005 Dialect, Saskatchewan Association for Community Living, Saskatoon, Winter 2004 Forum on Corrections Research, Correctional Service Canada, Ottawa,...

Manitoba's "extended practice" nurses will be on the job by August.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... WINNIPEG -- Registered nurses in Manitoba will be permitted to order diagnostic tests, prescribe drugs and perform certain medical procedures on their own authority, if they pass a national examination and meet other qualifications. ...

Hydra House transfer talks still not concluded.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... WINNIPEG--The Manitoba government and the St. Amant Centre are in detailed negotiations to shut down Hydra House and transfer its residents, adults and children with disabilities, to the care of St. Amants. The province's Auditor General...

Treatment orders are effective Royal Ottawa study finds.(Health)(Community Treatment Orders)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- Community Treatment Orders are effective tools for allowing patients to live in the least restrictive setting possible while they receive diverse services, according to an article, "Community Treatment Orders: Profile of a Canadian...

OHA, 30 hospitals and union agree on 5.5% wage rise.(Health)(Ontario Hospital Association)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... TORONTO -- The Service Employees International Union, Local 1 and the Ontario Hospital Association and 30 Ontario hospitals have a new agreement. The new contact includes: * 5.5 per cent wage increase over two years, * increases...

Canadians rate health positively.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... MARKHAM, ON -- Canadians rate their overall health positively, with 82% of respondents describing their overall health as "excellent" or "good," and only 17% rating their overall health as "fair" or "poor," according to the HealthCare 2004...

Guru Nanak Emergency Services.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... BRAMPTON, ON -- Recognizing the participation of the Sikh community, the Emergency Department at the new Brampton Hospital campus, to open in 2007, will be called the "Guru Nanak Emergency Services Department". The hospital is part of the...

Northwest FASD research network created.(Health)(Canada Northwest Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Partnership)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... EDMONTON -- The Canada Northwest Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Partnership has created a network to promote research of FASD and to disseminate and share findings with stakeholders. Fifteen experts from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta,...

Safety council opposes warnings on alcohol labels.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- Canada Safety Council opposes warning labels on alcoholics as proposed by several members of Parliament as a measure to reduce the incidence of FAS/FAE. "We have very legitimate questions about alcohol warning labels that we...

Depression rises among teenage boys in Newfoundland and Labrador.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... ST. JOHN'S -- Teenage boys and girls in Newfoundland are under increasing stress, according to a report on Project Teen. The survey looked at the attitudes and concerns of 1,400 teens across the province. The report indicates that: *...

Parental notification laws for teens health gets mixed reviews among U.S. parents.(Health)
March 21, 2005... American Parents hold complex views on the need for confidentiality and the appropriate involvement of parents in adolescent health care services. In a study of parental attitudes in Wisconsin and Minnesota about parental notification laws...

Paramedics can retire early.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- Paramedics will be entitled to the same retirement rights now available to police and firefighters. The announcement came in the federal budget presented by Finance Minister Ralph Goodale. The designation under the Income Tax Act...

Spouse caregiving may be harmful.(Health)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Studies have shown the impact of caregiving on the caregivers health. However, less has been researched on the impact of caregiving by spouses and other family caregivers. An article in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, Feb....

Alta. moves daily aids program.(Health)(Alberta)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... EDMONTON -- Responsibility for the Alberta Aids to Daily Living program will be transferred to Alberta Seniors and Community Supports, from Alberta Health and Wellness Program. The program will continue as usual and clients will continue to...

236,000 enter Canada in 2004.(Immigration & Refugees)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... OTTAWA -- Canada received 235,808 immigrants in 2004, according to preliminary figures issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The preliminary numbers show that immigrants were in these groupings: * economic class (includes...

Asylum seeker numbers dropping in industrialized countries.(Immigration & Refugees)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... BRUSSELS -- The number of persons seeking asylum in industrialized countries fell sharply for the third year in a row in 2004 to its lowest level in 16 years, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports. According to the...

U.K. leaves "Washington Consensus" on aid to poor countries.(Immigration & Refugees)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... LONDON -- Britain will break with the "Washington Consensus" which has guided the aid policies of donor nations. The UK government will no longer urge poor countries to privatize large swaths of industry (including their health systems) or open...

Dr. Jane E. Aubin.(Appointments)(CEO, Canadian Arthritis Network)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Dr. Jane E. Aubin, CEO, Canadian Arthritis Network, Toronto.

Rick Mowles.(Appointments)(Community Living B.C.)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Rick Mowles, Interim CEO of Community Living B.C.

Frank Prospero.(Appointments)
March 21, 2005... Frank Prospero, General Manager, Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability (Ontario), Toronto.

Robert A. Richards.(Appointments)(Interim President, and CEO, William Osler Health Centre Brampton, ON)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Robert A. Richards, Interim President, and CEO, William Osler Health Centre Brampton, ON.

In passing.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Mae Harman's social work career included service with the YWCA in Winnipeg and Toronto, University Settlement of Toronto, Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto. She was Executive Director of the Ontario Association of Social Workers,...

Seniors housing for Sept-Iles.(General)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... SEPT-ILES, QC -- The Residence Vents-et-Marees will provide 40 new housing units for senior citizens. Funded by The Residence Vents-et-Marees required investments of more than $4.6 million which has been provided by the federal and provincial...

No death sentence for U.S juveniles.(General)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision ruled that the execution of murderers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes, was a violation of the constitutional ban on "cruel and unusual punishment". The...

Toronto social planners disappointed with city's budget.(General)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... TORONTO -- The Community social planning council of Toronto expressed lukewarm approval of the City's 2005 budget. "It is a far cry from the kind of budget Toronto saw just a few years ago. It places emphasis on protecting the quality of...

Social employment rose in February.(General)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Employment in the health care and social assistance areas rose from 1,722,100 to 1,732,000, an increase of 9,900 jobs, according to Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey. Feb. 2005.