by Ruth Pryzner
The beautiful Little Saskatchewan River (LSR), recognized as a unique habitat for endangered, at-risk and common species, winds its way through Keesekoowenin First Nation and the towns of Minnedosa, Rapid City and Rivers in southwest Manitoba. It empties into the Assiniboine River about 6 miles west of the City of Brandon’s water supply intake, from its headwaters at Riding Mountain National Park. Three dams divide the river, providing recreational lakes, fisheries and drinking water. It supplies water for livestock, smaller irrigation projects, recreation and a repository for waste water from the Husky Ethanol Plant and three towns.
The Rivers dam defines the lower reach of the river – a popular rafting, canoeing and kayaking location for Brandon and area residents. Adjacent to Lake Wahtopanah’s Class 2 fishery above the dam, is a provincial park and residential/cottage development.
by Errol Black and Lynne Fernandez
In recent months there have been demands from many quarters that the Manitoba government increase the provincial sales tax by one percent and turn over the roughly $265 million in proceeds to local governments for infrastructure projects.
The City of Winnipeg’s position is that it has a massive infrastructure deficit that it cannot address without the help of the Province. The City is supported by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, which hopes that it will get a 20 percent or so slice of the pie for distribution to other municipalities. The City’s bid is also supported by many other organizations including the Manitoba Business Council, Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, the Manitoba Federation of Labour and the editorial boards of the Winnipeg Free Press and the Brandon Sun.
by Shauna MacKinnon
The Manitoba Research Alliance (MRA), a community university research partnership hosted by CCPA Manitoba under the leadership of University of Manitoba Economist Dr. John Loxley has received a 7-year, $2.5 million Partnership Grant through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Our proposal outlines a research program that will examine how promising community-based solutions can be supported at the institutional and policy levels to resolve deepening poverty-related problems in Manitoba’s inner-city and Aboriginal communities.
CCPA-Manitoba has been conducting community-based participatory research for the past 10 or so years. As a result we have developed strong and trusting relationships with inner-city community organizations leading to a genuine research partnership that respects the knowledge and experience of community organizations. This project expands our partnership to include participants from First Nations.
by Errol Black
On April 25, 2012, members of parliament passed a motion introduced by Scott Brison: “That the Standing Committee on Finance be instructed to undertake a study on income inequality in Canada…” and “bring forward to the House within one year of the adoption of the motion… recommendations on how best to improve the equality of opportunity and prosperity for all Canadians.”
Speaking in support of his motion, Brison noted that: “When it comes to the growing gap between rich and poor, no political party has a monopoly on answers or the blame, but in recent public opinion surveys, Canadians have identified growing income inequality as the most important issue they want their members of parliament to be working on.” He goes on to note that the level of income inequality in Canada “is in fact above the OECD average, and while it is true that the U.S. still has higher income inequality than Canada, income inequality is now growing at a faster rate in Canada than in the U.S.”
by Errol Black
Every once in a while, Jeffrey Simpson writes a column on growing income inequalities in Canada. I have criticized some of his previous comments on the grounds that he has dodged the relevant issues. However, a recent column in The Globe and Mail gets him a little closer to where the bone is buried.
In this column, Simpson responds to a report on childhood obesity presented to Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty. Simpson reviews much of the work done on obesity and related issues since 1974, ranging from a report from federal health minister Marc Lalonde titled, “A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians”, to recent work by the OECD, which concludes that most interventions aimed at reversing the trend in obesity “were shown to have only a limited impact on the overall scale of the obesity problem.”
Please join us this Friday, June 22, at 11a.m. for an important announcement and celebration at Thunderbird House.
Speakers will include the Honourable Kevin Chief, Minister of Children and Youth Opportunities, Dr. John Loxley from the University of Manitoba, Shauna MacKinnon from CCPA Mb., community partners and representatives from the Universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg.
Lunch is provided. Please RSVP to 927-3200 or ccpamb@policyalternatives.ca.
We hope to see you there!
By the Immigration Matters in Canada Coalition, Winnipeg Manitoba
On April 25th, 2012 the Federal government announced cuts to most healthcare benefits for refugees that are currently provided by Canada’s Interim Federal Health (IFH) program, effective on June 30, 2012. Across Canada, healthcare providers, people who work with refugees and ordinary citizens are rallying against this decision, concerned that it flies in the face of an important Canadian value – providing a safe haven for vulnerable people around the world. Ironically, the cuts come into effect just in time for Canada Day.
The IFH program provides access to refugees and refugee claimants who need healthcare for a temporary period of time, and who generally have no other means of obtaining necessary health benefits. Refugees are a particularly vulnerable population, often with extreme healthcare needs. Many have untreated health conditions and severe trauma resulting from prolonged periods in refugee camps and human rights violations such as torture. Having fled their homeland to escape persecution, many are destitute when they arrive in Canada and lack the resources to pay for healthcare expenses.
The announced changes to the IFH program include cutting access to essential medication, cuts to basic primary health care, cuts to dental care, vision care, ambulance services and cuts to mobility devices like wheelchairs, for many classes of refugees. Healthcare services to be cut include prenatal care, child health check-ups and access to mental health care. Some refugees will receive basic emergency care only if their condition is deemed to pose a threat to public health.
Canadian Doctors for Medicare warn that these cuts could result in diabetics not getting their insulin, children not receiving immunizations, and people not receiving needed heart medication, potentially contributing to heart attacks.
Federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney, said: “With this reform, we are also taking away an incentive from people who may be considering filing an unfounded refugee claim in Canada. These reforms allow us to protect public health and safety, ensure that tax dollars are spent wisely and defend the integrity of our immigration system all at the same time.”
Minister Kenney fails to understand that providing health supports to refugees when they arrive is both cost effective and an investment in the future. A recent Globe and Mail story highlighted a refugee who received care under the IFH: “Majid Boozary came to Canada in 1980, fleeing post-revolutionary Iran, where he had been persecuted and tortured. He needed care and got it. But Dr. Boozary has given back in spades, as a family physician (who has paid taxes for 30 years) and a volunteer with the Canadian Centre for the Victims of Torture.”
Furthermore, health professionals question the validity of the IFH cuts as a cost-saving measure. They point out that costs will be shifted to other public programs and organizations that provide the uninsured with health benefits, such as community health centres and provincial social support services. Refugees with chronic diseases, such as diabetes or heart disease, will seek care in hospitals and through emergency departments – one of the most costly forms of care.
Opposition to the proposed changes is led by physicians and other healthcare providers. “It is unprecedented in Canada for physicians to gather at once from coast to coast voicing their concerns over a single patient care issue such as this one. Doctors and other healthcare workers are being moved to action in an effort to prevent the devastating impact of these health cuts to some of the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society” says Dr. Michael Dillon, a family physician practicing in downtown Winnipeg who has worked with newcomer refugees for nearly 20 years.
Minister Kenney has defended these cuts by arguing that refugees should not be receiving health coverage that is not available to other Canadians. Louise Simbandumwe, a refugee from Burundi, counters, “This is simply not the case. Many Canadians have extended health coverage through their workplaces while Canadians who are living at the same low levels of income as government–assisted refugees receive needed health coverage through provincial social assistance programs.“
“Canada is known around the world as a champion of human rights and we pride ourselves in our system of health care for all. We are concerned about the erosion of Canadian standards. This move is definitely un-Canadian. We are calling on the Federal government to reverse the decision to cut back the Interim Federal Health Program” states Carlos Vialard, Settlement Services Manager at the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council Inc. (Welcome Place).
Immigration Matters in Canada Coalition is a group of professionals, community workers and community members based in Winnipeg who care about the well being and fair treatment of refugees and immigrants in Canada.
By Lynne Fernandez
Did you happen to read the editorial in June 12’s Winnipeg Free Press – the one about plastic bags? It explains that Glen Laubenstein – the City’s past chief administrative officer – had been tasked with providing a strategy to eliminate plastic bags in Winnipeg. Laubenstein’s report, if it ever existed, has never seen the light of day. Pity, because a properly-designed strategy could raise much-needed funds while helping us get rid of an environmental scourge.
The left-wing policy group referred to in the piece was no other than the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Mb. Not only did it, as mentioned, propose charging a fee for plastic bags (in our 2010 Alternative Municipal Budget), but the same policy suggestion appeared earlier in our 2008 Alternative City Budget. In fact, Councillor Russ Wyatt was so taken with our 2008 suggestion that he arranged a meeting with a CCPA staff member and Mr. Laubenstein to discuss it.
It’s hard to know for sure, but it’s probably fair to say that this policy was introduced to the council of the day through CCPA. On one hand it’s gratifying to think that one of our suggestions was seriously considered by the City; on the other hand it is disappointing that it never came to fruition. Nonetheless, as the Free Press editorial demonstrates, our ideas are still being debated even if they sometimes seem removed from our office.
The editorial also reminds us that change takes time and that what is important is getting our ideas out there . . . eventually some take root.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Manitoba presents a special screening of
We Will Be Free
by Max Fabian Meis and Ferdinand Carrière of Downsideup Film Productions
June 20th, 2012, 7pm
Millennium Library
Free Admission
Q&A to follow
Opening and closing songs by Keewating Otchichak (Northern Crane Drum Group)
There is a long journey ahead… but a start is made.
Featuring the experiences of Aboriginal people in the North End, with Larry Morrissette from OPK.
Their culture and language were once questioned by the new owners of their world. Many generations of Indigenous people have this cultural genocide enforced by the Canadian government.
What we see today is the aftermath of this history of colonization and the first steps to pick up the pieces and heal.
Watch the trailer: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_kuDU04_DA]
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