Alternative Federal Budget 2007: Strength in Numbers

New from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Today the CCPA released Alternative Federal Budget 2007: Strength in Numbers. The news release for this year's Alternative Budget is pasted below. The budget document and supporting materials are available on the CCPA web site

http://www.policyalternatives.ca in both English and French.

Also released today were the results of an Environics poll commissioned by the Centre, showing that any government that takes concrete action to reduce Canada's growing income gap would enjoy support from the majority of Canadians. The report, What Can Governments Do To Reduce Canada's Growing Income Gap? is available on the CCPA web site: http://www.policyalternatives.ca

Federal surplus evaporating: Think-tank
Harper plan at odds with Canadian priorities

OTTAWA--The Harper government is on the brink of exhausting its fiscal surplus on a pre-election spending plan that is at odds with what Canadians want, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

The Centre released a national Environics poll today showing that any government that takes concrete action to reduce Canada's growing income gap would enjoy support from the majority of Canadians.

Yet the Centre's 2007 Alternative Federal Budget, released today, warns that the federal surplus that should be used to invest in Canadian priorities could quickly disappear.

"Prime Minister Harper's tax cuts plan is so expensive, he may soon find himself having to choose between putting the nation back into deficit or slashing programs," says CCPA senior economist Ellen Russell.

The Centre predicts the 2006-07 surplus will be $9.2 billion but the Harper government will need more money than this to pay for its pre-election promises. The surplus could run out as early as next year.

"There may soon be no surplus left to address Canadians' priorities, such as child care, affordable housing and tuition," Russell says. "Prime Minister Harper is putting Canada into a no-win situation - and he's at odds with what Canadians say they want."

This year's Alternative Federal Budget shows there is a way to invest the surplus in tangible programs that support Canada's working families while keeping the nation in a balanced budget situation.

Alternative Federal Budget 2007: Strength in Numbers is available from the CCPA web site: http://www.policyalternatives.ca

--
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
410-75 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7
tel: 613-563-1341 fax: 613-233-1458
email: info@policyalternatives.ca
http://www.policyalternatives.ca

Campaign 2000’s Youth Action Committee

Do you want to help Make Poverty History? Start right here at home.


(C2000 YAC) is recruiting new youth interested in battling child poverty in Canada.

What do we do?

- advocacy, street education, outreach & fundraisers

- partnership projects with other youth-led organizations

- skills-building workshops from anti-oppression & leadership to web design & media relations

- civic engagement with communities, politicians and the media to seek policy change

- monthly meetings to organize events, discuss current issues surrounding poverty & build new friendships with other active youth!



For more info, updates, photos and our blog, please visit http://yac.campaign2000.net and join us at our next meeting!

<

Family Service Association of Toronto

355 Church St. at Gerrard – downtown Toronto, near College Station

Wheelchair accessible, TTC subsidized and lots of FREE food!



RSVP with any questions you may have to Jason at jasonle@fsatoronto.com or by calling 416-595-9230 x314.



----

Jason Lem

Youth Engagement Facilitator / Campaign 2000

Family Service Association of Toronto

355 Church St., Toronto, ON, M5B 1Z8

T: 416-595-9230 x314

F: 416-595-0242

E: jasonle@fsatoronto.com

W: http://yac.campaign2000.net

www.fsatoronto.com - www.campaign2000.ca - www.makepovertyhistory.ca

The Rich and the Rest of Us - Publication

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has released a new study showing that the gap between the rich and poor is widening.

"The Rich and the Rest of Us: The Changing Face of Canada's Growing Gap"
(March 2007) is available for download on the CCPA website at: http://policyalternatives.ca/documents/
National_Office_Pubs/2007/
The_Rich_and_the_Rest_of_Us.pdf.

A news release summarizing the findings of the study is posted at: http://policyalternatives.ca/

Global Youth Fellowship - Applications Now

Deadline: Friday, April 20, 2007 by 5:00 p.m. EST

The Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation is pleased to announce the 2007 call for applications for the Global Youth Fellowship.

This initiative is intended to complement the grants we award through the Foundation's Global Citizenship Programme. The Global Youth Fellowships are targeted towards emerging, young Canadian leaders who demonstrate potential to enhance Canada's role on the world stage. The Fellowships will provide successful candidates with a cash award of $20,000 as well as other forms of support.

To be eligible for consideration, applicants must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants between 24 – 35 years of age with previous international experience – paid or volunteer. They also need to demonstrate a sustained commitment to international issues through studies, career choices and volunteer activities.

For bios of the 2006 Global Youth Fellows, please visit our website.

Application form and guidelines as well as more information about the eligibility criteria can be found on our website at: www.gordonfn.org.

We welcome your help in circulating this call for applications as broadly as possible.

Le texte en français suit
________________________________________________________________

La Fondation Walter et Duncan Gordon a le plaisir de vous annoncer l'appel à candidature pour son programme de bourse de recherche des jeunes citoyens du monde 2007. Cette initiative vient compléter les subventions que nous octroyons au travers du programme de Citoyenneté mondiale de la Fondation. La bourse de recherche des jeunes citoyens du monde s'adresse aux jeunes chefs de fil Canadiens, hommes ou femmes, possédant un potentiel pour améliorer le rôle du Canada sur la scène internationale. La bourse de recherche offrira aux candidats et candidates retenues un appui financier de 20 000 $ ainsi qu'un support logistique.

Pour être admissible, les candidats doivent posséder la citoyenneté canadienne ou le statut de résident permanent, être âgés de 24 à 35 ans, et posséder une expérience professionnelle ou bénévole internationale. En outre, ils devront pouvoir démontrer leur intérêt durable aux questions internationales par l'entremise de leurs travaux de recherche, de leur choix de carrière ou de leur engagement bénévole.

Découvrez la biographie des jeunes boursiers citoyens du monde 2006 sur notre site Internet.

Date limite de dépôt des candidatures : Le vendredi 20 avril 2007 à 17 h 00 HNE.

Visitez notre site Internet à www.gordonfn.org/ pour obtenir les critères d'admissibilité ou le processus de sélection.

Merci par avance de diffuser cet appel à candidature le plus largement possible.

Saskatchewan Environmental Society
Box 1372 STN Main
Saskatoon SK S7K 3N9
Phone: (306)665-1915
Fax: (306)665-2128
e-mail: info@environmentalsociety.ca
website: www.environmentalsociety.ca

Re-instatement of the federal min. wage at $10/hr

Actions needed to press for a re-instatement of the federal min. wage at $10/hr .

NDP MP Peggy Nash has introduced a National Minimum Wage Bill, C-375, seeking to re-establish a federal minimum wage of $10 per hour. Seconded by NDP Labour Spokesperson, Libby Davies, and NDP Social Policy Spokesperson Tony Martin, the Bill would apply to all workers in the federal jurisdiction - like banking, telecommunications, inter-provincial transportation and railways.

Attached is some background information on Bill C-375, and a petition, that supporters can circulate.

With the recent release of the Federal Labour Standards Review (Arthurs' Report), recommending a national wage, there is an opportunity here to make real progress, to improve wages and the quality of life for Canadian workers and their families.

1.Write the Minister of Labour supporting this Bill;

2.Encourage individual members of your organization, council, federation or community to write letters to their MPs, asking for their support when the Bill comes before the House of Commons; and

3.Circulate the enclosed petition and return it to the NDP to table in the
House of Commons.

This Bill affects workers in every province and territory. The impact of a federal minimum wage will extend far beyond these workers, and will set a higher standard for wages and employment across the country.

For more information and facts about minimum wage, visit www.peggynash.ca , www.libbydaives.ca, the CLC at www.clc-ctc.ca, The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives at www.policyalternatives.ca, or the Canadian Council on Social Development at www.ccsd.ca. The Canada Federal Labour Standards Review can be found at www.fls-ntf.gc.ca.


Petition to the House of Commons – Federal Minimum Wage

WHEREAS:
1. The Federal Minimum Wage was eliminated in 1996 under the Liberal government;
2. A $10 an hour minimum wage just approaches the poverty level for a single worker; and
3. The importance of the Federal Minimum Wage would extend far beyond the numbers of workers covered because it can serve as the "best practice" for labour standards across the country;

THEREFORE:
We, the undersigned, call upon the Parliament of Canada to:
• Ensure that workers in federal jurisdiction are paid a fair minimum wage by passing NDP MP Peggy Nash’s Bill C-375 to re-establish a Federal Minimum Wage and set it at $10 an hour.

SIGNATURE PRINTED NAME HOME ADDRESS EMAIL

Fight Hunger - Walk the World 2007

About Fight Hunger – Walk the World 2007

Join us and become part of a historic fight to end child hunger!

The goal of Walk the World is to raise the public understanding and support necessary to ensure the achievement of the first United Nations Millennium Development goal: Reducing by half the number of hungry people in the world by 2015.

Initiated by World Food Program corporate partner TNT in 2004, the Walk focuses first on ending child hunger.

On 21 May 2006, 773,000 people walked in 118 countries and 421 locations worldwide, raising awareness in support of this goal. With hundreds of hours of televised news coverage and thousands of stories in the print media worldwide, the unnecessary suffering of children was made real for a world audience too often uninformed about the desperate plight of too many people around the globe.

Join us on May 13, 2007 and help make Walk the World the largest worldwide public demonstration in support of ending child hunger. Any and all individuals and groups are invited to participate.

For more information please contact
Julie Marshall at (905) 818 2664
julie.marshall@inoventiv.com
or visit: www.fighthunger.org

The National Council of Welfare Report: Solving Poverty

The National Council of Welfare released a new report today on preventing and reducing poverty.

Solving Poverty: Four cornerstones of a workable national strategy for Canada (Winter 2007) is available on the NCW site, together with a news release and a separate report on responses to the NCW's recent on-line questionnaire about poverty and income security: http://www.ncwcnbes.net/index_e.htm.

The four "cornerstones" recommended in the main Solving Poverty report are:
1. A national anti-poverty strategy with a long-term vision and measurable targets and timelines.
2. A plan of action and budget that coordinates initiatives within and across governments and other partners
3. A government accountability structure for ensuring results and for consulting Canadians in the design, implementation and evaluation of the actions that will affect them.
4. A set of agreed poverty indicators that will be used to plan, monitor change and assess progress.

Make Poverty History - Abolissons la pauvreté

At the start of the 21st century 1.2 billion people live in abject poverty, most of them women. More than 800 million people go to bed hungry and 50,000 people die every day from poverty-related causes. It doesn't have to be this way. If we choose - if we have the will to act - we can make poverty history.
Visit website...

En ce début de XXIe siècle, 1,2 milliard de personnes vivent dans la pauvreté extrême, la plupart étant des femmes. Plus de 800 millions de gens se couchent chaque soir le ventre creux et 50 000 meurent chaque jour de causes liées à la pauvreté. Pourtant, il n'y a rien là d'inévitable. Nous pouvons abolir la pauvreté. ous le pouvons si nous avons la volonté d'agir.
Visite le site web...