tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-342853692008-05-05T16:18:30.683-04:00Actewnoreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-32829266932789430202008-05-05T15:58:00.003-04:002008-05-05T16:18:13.694-04:00

The Northern Ontario Women's Economic Development Conference took place April 29 and 30 in Thunder Bay. Organized by PARO, and sponsored by ACTEW among others, this event brought together entrepreneurs, community workers, academics and local government workers to look at a wide variety of issues related to northern women’s economic security. Highlights include:Women's stories of economic success

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-8357528894488253532008-04-24T15:39:00.004-04:002008-04-24T16:10:06.951-04:00

Deanna Yerichuk and Paula Wansbrough attended the April 17 Employment Ontario Service Delivery Advisory Group (SDAG) meeting. The following items were discussed: Skills to Jobs Action Plan Kevin French, Assistant Deputy Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities reviewed the Skills to Jobs initiative announced in the provincial budget earlier this month. SDAG community members had

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-54346104956543590852008-04-14T13:16:00.004-04:002008-04-15T11:07:30.145-04:00

Today, Deanna attended the provincial forum at Queen’s Park led by the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. Nearly 500 stakeholders attended, representing social services, municipal governments, health, labour, and people affected by poverty as the Network launched the 25 in 5 Declaration. The Network asks the provincial government for a plan to reduce Ontario poverty levels by 25% in 5 years

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-70364264382679105572008-04-14T12:32:00.003-04:002008-04-14T12:36:12.194-04:00

The Income Security Advocacy Centre has provided some information encouraging people who receive OW or ODSP and who have dependent children to ensure they file their tax return for 2007 before the end of April. This is because the new Ontario Child Benefit starts in July, and OW / ODSP rates are being changed to reflect the new benefit. People with children will only receive the Ontario Child

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-87270737623567313732008-04-03T14:00:00.004-04:002008-04-03T14:32:18.542-04:00

Two recent items pertaining to women in non-traditional occupations: The Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT) will have its 12th annual conference in Guelph, May 29-31. In keeping with this year's theme of "building on success", the event will highlight women’s contributions and build upon successful initiatives that have advanced women in science,

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-37318296651996248492008-04-01T11:31:00.002-04:002008-04-01T11:44:22.633-04:00

Newcomers are settling in the suburbs of Toronto, according to the latest Research Bulletin from the Centre for Urban and Community Studies (CUCS) at University of Toronto. Prior to 1970, immigrants mainly settled in the downtown core. Due to restrictive immigration policy, they were also very likely to be of European origin. However, by 2006, almost all new arrival were settling in the suburbs

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-88826648712807247822008-03-31T13:56:00.003-04:002008-03-31T14:01:07.148-04:00

Women make up almost three-quarters of the students in private career colleges, according to, Survey of Canadian Career College Students, a new study by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. "Compared to post-secondary students at public colleges, students pursuing post-secondary studies at privately operated career colleges tend to be older, with a mean age of 29, and have a greater

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-63115470846115485742008-03-26T12:29:00.006-04:002008-03-27T14:12:53.185-04:00

Increasing skills is a central focus of the new provincial budget. The Skills to Jobs Action Plan announced Tuesday will see $1.5 billion invested in training over the next three years. With 70% of new jobs in the coming decade requiring post-secondary education, the money is on formal school-based training.Most relevant to the community-based training sector is the Second Career Strategy. The

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-52663277287410585412008-03-25T11:36:00.003-04:002008-03-25T11:52:20.314-04:00

Join ACTEW on Wednesday, April 2, as the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto hosts the release of a collaborative report analyzing the effects of 2004 changes to the HRSDC Call for Proposals process. The report documents the costs of the funding change to organizations, government, and clients, and provides recommendations for improving the funding relationship between government and

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-299473628145337422008-03-19T13:04:00.003-04:002008-03-19T13:28:31.802-04:00

On February 20th, ACTEW joined workers, clients and volunteers of community agencies serving immigrants and refugees in Toronto at a forum designed and held by the Advisory Committee of Access to Services for Socially Marginalized Immigrants and Refugees with the support of St. Christopher House. The event objectives were to name the issues for marginalized immigrants and refugees, particularly

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-53835314672590545982008-03-11T16:53:00.003-04:002008-03-11T17:06:58.149-04:00

ACTEW's Trish McNamara reports on the recent conference hosted by the Ontario Women's Directorate. Trish is Program Manager for Supporting Survivors/Supporting Employment, professional development workshops for employment practitioners that serve survivors of intimate partner abuse. Here's an update on the Ontario Women's Directorate Provincial Conference, "Communities Working Together to End

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-91027527555674338772008-03-07T11:11:00.004-05:002008-03-07T11:39:24.516-05:00

Our fact sheet on Canadian Women's Labour Patterns reveals that while women accounted for 70% of the employment increases in Canada in 2007, a woman still earns only 70% of what a man will in work of equal value. Two recently launched campaigns and a new report challenge this stubborn and glaring economic imbalance in Canadian society. The Canadian Labour Congress has launched "Equality: Once

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-33065418293272256572008-03-04T15:19:00.003-05:002008-03-05T11:04:55.710-05:00

Non-governmental organizations have an important position in the United Nations, ACTEW learned when attending the Consultation Day hosted by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women on February 24. Their role is to monitor and evaluate the execution of governmental commitments made in statements to the UN. On Thursday February 28, the Government of Canada presented its statement to at the 52nd

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-50062764384051592932008-02-26T13:58:00.009-05:002008-02-27T09:39:34.504-05:00

ACTEW contributed expertise to a Canadian delegation for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women currently underway in New York City. The topic of this year's meeting is the economic success and the security of women. Eight delegates were hosted by FAFIA and funded by Status of Women Canada to attend. They will return to their agencies across Canada to engage in community

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-69295560006006568022008-02-26T13:39:00.004-05:002008-02-26T14:30:38.264-05:00

Women's organizations have developed innovative initiatives to respond to some of the policy and economic challenges for women in their communities. The Rural Women Take Action on Poverty Committee of Huron, Perth, Grey and Bruce Counties has recently partnered with Rural Women Making Change Research Alliance in a research and community development project aimed at unraveling the workings of

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-63341851761559689302008-02-26T12:14:00.002-05:002008-02-26T12:24:25.218-05:00

Provincial and federal policy is developed in urban settings through a gender-neutral lens. The economic development needs of rural communities, and particularly those of rural women, are not well served by such policy. They need policies that respond to rural-specific challenges, such as transportation, the high cost of basic necessities, and limited access to child care and training. Drawing

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-33227262626713818522008-02-25T14:39:00.003-05:002008-02-25T14:56:49.748-05:00

On Friday (Feb 22, 2008), the governments of Canada and Ontario announced "a new agreement to help Ontario workers improve their skills and get better jobs." Under the new agreement, the Government of Canada will invest nearly $1.2 billion in Ontario's labour market over the next six years. These funds will help individuals and workers who are not eligible for training under the Employment

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-21784879370237465672008-02-20T11:21:00.003-05:002008-02-20T11:35:25.983-05:00

In order to ensure employment, enhance their economies, and avoid depopulation, rural and remote communities work hard to attract new employers. Belinda Leach of Rural Women Making Change notes that during this process municipalities often do not consider the female labour market, to the detriment of local women and the local economy. Leach observes that municipalities tend to look to large

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-52068807961241180552008-02-19T14:47:00.010-05:002008-02-19T15:33:30.114-05:00

In partnership with the Rural Women Making Change Research Alliance based at Guelph University, ACTEW has just released a new fact sheet on employment issues for women living in rural communities. For all the beauty and tranquility of the countryside, there's a price to pay: Rural communities have much higher unemployment rates than urban areas. While nationally women have lower unemployment

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-22939561759073581602008-02-15T15:45:00.004-05:002008-02-15T16:22:08.689-05:00

MTCU has released the "Discussion Paper: Employment Ontario Integrated Service Delivery Framework" as well as an overview of the paper. These are posted to the Employment Ontario Partners' Gateway: www.eopg.ca (scroll down to the “News” area on the front page for the postings of the paper in February). The discussion paper outlines strategic directions, and the potential elements of an

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-8566561607290663942008-01-22T11:23:00.000-05:002008-02-01T12:42:47.636-05:00

The Ontario government's Throne Speech in November 2007 states that: "A new cabinet committee will begin work developing poverty indicators and targets and a focused strategy for making clear-cut progress on reducing child poverty. The strategy includes a plan that would provide dental benefits to low-income families, and builds on measures already in progress. These include boosting the minimum

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-30013365661293535932008-01-22T10:55:00.000-05:002008-01-22T11:31:33.969-05:00

Deanna Yerichuk attended the January 18 Employment Ontario Service Delivery Advisory Group meeting. Three key topics were covered: New Federal Investments as Ontario negotiates a Labour Market Agreement Kevin French, Assistant Deputy Minister of MTCU, is leading negotiations with the government of Canada to sign a Labour Market Agreement (LMA), which would transfer new funding Ontario for

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-85990149076014399812008-01-22T10:44:00.001-05:002008-01-22T10:52:53.743-05:00

MTCU has posted all Service Delivery Advisory Group materials on the Employment Ontario Partners' Gateway web site at: http://www.eopg.ca/eng/sdag.html These materials offer presentations and documents on key MTCU developments of Employment Ontario, such as Employment Programs Design,Service Delivery Framework and Standards Access Strategies Projects, and other updates and decisions. One word

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-57822161818695226562008-01-21T15:22:00.000-05:002008-01-21T15:25:40.264-05:00

Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW) recently released a fact sheet on women’s experiences of social programs for people with low incomes, based on their research interviewing women in Vancouver, Calgary, and Winnipeg. This fact sheet examines funding procedures that have negatively affected Canada’s social programs and the lives of millions of children, women and men

Actewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-38804988534778647772008-01-15T10:48:00.000-05:002008-01-15T10:57:39.840-05:00

A ground-breaking new report analyzes the disincentives to achieving greater self-reliance within Ontario's welfare, housing and social support system. Metcalf Innovation Fellow John Stapleton launched a new report in December on behalf of the Metcalf Foundation called: Why is it so Tough to Get Ahead? How Our Tangled Social Programs Pathologize the Transition to Self-Reliance. The report finds

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