March 10, 2014 · 12:02 pm

Trends in Residential Investment in Winnipeg

By Josh Brandon

Manitoba cities inched towards higher density with more apartments and fewer single families homes built in 2013.  Growth in multi-unit residential construction should provide some relief on the critically low vacancy rates Manitoba cities have seen in recent years. However, much of the investment is in higher end rental or in condominiums and continues to exclude lower income households. Ongoing support for affordable and social housing will be needed to ensure that units are available to low-income families in Manitoba. Continue reading →

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Filed under housing, Manitoba

March 7, 2014 · 9:42 am

Manitoba Budget a Leap Forward for Poverty Reduction

By Lynne Fernandez and Molly McCracken

Dunking a Rocket

Photo: Youth Researcher, CCPA

By substantially raising EIA shelter rates and increasing child care spaces, new apprenticeship programs and support to social enterprises, the province is taking action to provide marginalized people with the assistance low income people need to overcome barriers to education and employment. Continue reading →

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March 5, 2014 · 9:56 am

International Women’s Day 2014: The continuing struggle for bread and roses

By Lynne Fernandez

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Women textile workers on strike in 1912, Lawrence, Mass.

Women textile workers on strike in 1912, Lawrence, Mass.

History teaches us the importance of remembering and celebrating International Women’s Day. In the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911, 146 young women suffered horrific deaths at this New York City garment factory. It took a tragedy of this magnitude for authorities to begin to consider safety regulations and fire codes, and to highlight the appalling working conditions of thousands of workers. Shocking as the carnage was, the fire did not convince authorities or employers to deal with all the workplace injustices facing women – who laboured for less pay and were more exploited than men. Continue reading →

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February 28, 2014 · 11:43 am

A Province with No Poverty

By Shaun Loney

The so-called war on poverty has been an abysmal failure.  Poverty rates in Canada remain at stubbornly high levels.  Most provinces, including Manitoba, still have about one in 10 living below acceptable low-income cut-offs.

Low-income Manitobans, like other low-income Canadians, fall back on a myriad of programs supposedly aimed at eliminating, if not reducing the impacts of poverty.    A non-exhaustive list includes provincial and on-reserve social assistance, federal and provincial child tax benefit credits and supplements, GST credits, Manitoba 55+, Rent Aid and Old Age Security.   Not only is there a lot of money spent on administering these programs, the overall benefit levels are inadequate, especially given the rising cost of housing. Continue reading →

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Filed under Fast Facts, health, inequality, poverty, WorkLife

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February 18, 2014 · 3:42 pm

Federal housing strategy key to improving child welfare

Before the findings of the Hughes commission report on the death of Phoenix Sinclair have been lost and forgotten and before the next child dies needlessly, we must all be reminded that there are more issues at play than the effectiveness of the Child Welfare System.

The article “Broken Childhoods” in the Winnipeg Free Press, February 8, 2014 was helpful in outlining several serious and significant issues, some of which go back to the very way in which Europeans took over the land and culture of the Aboriginal people who live here. The authors, Sanders and Welch do a fine job of connecting the dots between colonialism, system mistrust, poverty, poor mental health and child neglect that together can lead to abuse and worse. Continue reading →

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February 13, 2014 · 9:53 am

Celebrating our Success: Reaching Beyond the Converted

By Josh Brandon

Policy research can sometimes be a lonely occupation. It is easy to worry that the only people listening are the ones who already mostly agree with us about our important goals of reducing poverty, promoting a more equal society, while protecting the environment. It is encouraging to know we have 750 members across Manitoba who value the work do, read our reports, blogs and opinion pieces. Our supporters are a big part of what keeps us going. But, are we only preaching to the choir?

This week at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, we have had an especially rewarding week that demonstrated that the work we do is making a solid difference. Continue reading →

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February 12, 2014 · 11:43 am

The 2014 Federal Budget: Austerity for the many, prosperity for the few

By Lynne Fernandez

Observers were not expecting anything more than a middle-of-the-road federal budget for 2014, but even so the Finance Minister managed to disappoint. Why then did the government choose to release a ho-hum budget when the country is focused on the Olympic Games? So we wouldn’t notice how re-cycled and contrived it is? Maybe, but it could also be because if one digs a little beyond the official budget story – lackluster as it is, things begin to look a little bleaker than we’re led to believe. Continue reading →

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Filed under budgets, Government of Canada, Labour, labour market

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