News stories about The Recession Relief Coalition, the recession and other related issues
as reported by main stream media as well as alternative media.
Click on the title link to go to the full story
added Feb 24
Where’s The Bailout For The Poor? - Tony Martin — THE MARK
Feb 22, 2010
Member of Parliament, Sault Ste. Marie; New Democratic Party of Canada.
While the government was throwing money at the banks and car companies, millions of Canadians found their situation only getting worse.
Last week’s Toronto Federal Town Hall Meeting hosted by the inspiring Recession Relief Coalition was an opportunity for the poor and their advocates to talk directly about the adverse impacts this recession is having on their lives.
It was frank talk too, aimed at Members of Parliament like myself and other leaders. At one point, to considerable applause, I noted that the noise reminded me of Question Period.
The poor give a reality check to our studies and talk on poverty. It may not always be polite but it sure is necessary. From listening to the experiences and recommendations of those who attended, I could definitely feel their intense pain and frustration. I came away with the impression that more and more Canadians are just plain tired of not having their needs addressed by their government.
added Feb 24
The Recession Continues - John Stapleton — THE MARK
In his book The Drunkard's Walk, Leonard Mlodinow describes the erroneous argument known as the “prosecutor's fallacy.” This occurs when lawyers argue away all circumstantial evidence by noting that the chance of an event actually happening is very slim.
For example, very few men who commit violence against women actually go on to kill their partners. The ratio is one in 2,500. Lawyers have used this statistic to argue for the probable innocence of clients accused of such a crime. However, this ignores the fact that 90 per cent of battered women who are murdered are killed by their abuser. In other words, when murder is involved, we’re talking about the one battered woman who was killed, not the 2,499 who weren’t.
Perhaps we can look at recessions in somewhat the same way; maybe the economist's definition of a recession is the “economist's fallacy", a fallacy of definition more than arithmetic.
Technically speaking, a recession is defined by at least six months (two consecutive quarters) of broad economic decline as measured by losses (negative growth) in Gross Domestic Product. A country's GDP is loosely defined as all expenditures on everything, all investment, plus the value of exports minus imports. Accordingly, if we experience big declines in GDP over six months followed by a minor gain in the seventh month, then some economists pronounce that the recession is over.
An economy can therefore fall over a cliff, grasp onto a fiscal tree branch, pull itself up a few inches and be pronounced to be in recovery. For example, governments could give large amounts of money to the well-off and increase GDP. Increase GDP and you're out of recession. Presto! The fiscal rabbit is pulled out of the government hat.
But for everyone who is not an economist (or a journalist who reports the findings of economists), a recessionary period is generally defined as “bad times,” meaning lower living standards, unemployment, lower spending, and lack of opportunity. And as the present recession proves, the economy can grow while the lives of the great majority of people who inhabit the economy do not improve at all.
This disconnect between the public and the “dismal science” of economics leads to a problem: we tend to think we should be doing more to help the victims of a recession when we are actually in recession and less when we are in recovery. Like the “prosecutor’s fallacy,” the “economist's fallacy” is based on irrelevant factors. It is people's lives that are relevant and lie in the balance.
Over the next year, the number of people receiving welfare will go up. We know this because EI claims have gone way up. And almost all of the people now receiving EI will not qualify for it a year from now because EI is time limited.
As people come off of EI, most will find employment and training or be helped by other people. But even if only a small minority of EI exhaustees need further help through welfare programs, welfare numbers will increase. Meanwhile, economists tell us the irrelevant truth that the recession is over, as proven by the irrelevant fact that EI claims are going down.
Some will no doubt think it strange that the number of victims of the recession is increasing after the recession has been declared over. But that's how it works. That's how it has always worked. That's the way we set the system up to work.
So let's continue to deal with the real recession experienced by everyone else.
added Feb 20
The Canadian Press: Layton meets Harper, tells him to focus budget on creating jobs
Jack Layton sat down with Stephen Harper today to outline what he wants to see in the federal budget, but left with no commitments.
added Feb 17
InsideToronto Article: Group holds meeting to discuss community’s concerns
BRAD PRITCHARD
Feb 12,2010
In an effort to gauge how people in the community - as well as the front-line organizations they depend on - are dealing with the economy, a non-for-profit organization, The Recession Relief Coalition, held a town hall meeting in the afternoon of Feb. 9 at The Church of the Holy Trinity.
The purpose of the event was to have an open discussion with community leaders and political representatives about important issues plaguing the community such as poverty, welfare, subsidized housing, and access to relief resources.
According to the coalition, the non-profit sector is still feeling the effects of the economic downturn and is urging the government to maintain funding to important community resources they offer.
added Feb 17
Federal action needed on recession relief, says coalition | rabble.ca
By John Bonnar February 13, 2010
The Recession Relief Coalition ignited fifteen months ago, fueled by an economic collapse that saw thousands of Canadians lose their jobs. Now, the Coalition is trying to push the federal government to provide much needed affordable housing and poverty relief.
Across the country, many businesses have gone bankrupt, some industries are in severe decline and permanent jobs have been replaced with part-time or temporary ones at a much lower rate of pay. A significant number remain unemployed as their EI benefits and personal savings dry up.
“While on the international stage the government paints a rosy picture of Canada and the minimal impacts of the recession,” said the Coalition in a statement. “Their self-congratulating rhetoric does not reflect the reality on Canada’s main streets nor in our communities.”
added Feb 17
Goar: What happens when EI runs out? - thestar.com
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Toronto Edition
The thing that amazes Laurell Ritchie is that the laid-off autoworkers she meets every day haven't given up hope.
They know their jobs are gone forever. They've exhausted their employment insurance benefits. They've maxed out their credit cards. They've written off the possibility of a comfortable retirement.added Feb 17
By Meri Perra
A panel of representatives from the federal Liberal, Green and NDP parties spoke to an aggravated crowd at the Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto last Tuesday. Politicians were frequently heckled as each described party platforms to pull out of recession.
Liberal MP Derek Lee, NDP MP Tony Martin and Rebecca Harrison of the Green party, sat on a panel along with representatives from labour and anti-poverty groups.
The town hall was organized by the Recession Relief Coalition (RRC). The group surveyed each federal party about social spending in areas such as housing and funding non-profit agencies.
added Feb 13
Memorial marks suffering of the homeless | The Toronto Observer
Jacqueline Delange
The Toronto Observer
10 February 2010
If the cold doesn’t kill Bruce Matinat, loneliness will. The 33-year-old has lived on the streets for over 20 years but now he feels the community around him crumbling.
“I’m dying because I’m running out of brothers. They’re not looking after me,” he said.
Matinat spoke about the lack of social security at a homeless memorial and Federal Town Hall meeting on Tuesday. Recession Relief Coalition (RRC) hosted the gathering at Church of the Holy Trinity.
Added Feb 13
The Vancouver Sun
Anti-poverty activists staged a successful "Poverty Olympics" in Vancouver's poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside on Sunday afternoon.
"If the money that was spent on the Olympics had been spent to end poverty and homelessness it could have been done by now," said organizer Jean Swanson.
added Feb 10
Is The Recession Really Over? - John Andras — THE MARK
A healthy economy means different things to different people.
Chair of the Recession Relief Coalition; Executive Vice-President of Andras Group.
If you believe the Federal Government and most economists, the recession is over and the economy is expanding again. They'll tell you that:
- GDP growth is expected to be 2.6 per cent in 2010. The Canadian government did not need to inject nearly as much stimulus as the U.S. or European countries had to. As a result, there is not the same level of pressure on either the Bank of Canada to tighten credit conditions or for the government to raise taxes.
- Infrastructure spending should continue throughout 2010. Transportation, clean transit, clean energy, education, health care, information technology, and other building blocks that are now being put in place will be needed in the years ahead. The signing of the $6 billion agreement between the Province of Ontario and Samsung to create a clean energy hub in the manufacturing heartland of Southwestern Ontario is a prime example of the type of economic development that will be required.
- The Canadian financial sector has managed to weather the credit crisis without major trouble. Canadian banks and insurers are seen as the best managed in the world and could be poised to make further inroads in international markets once new international banking standards are codified.
- The U.S. needs a secure source of foreign oil to replace declining domestic production. The developing world, especially China, will require more oil, coal, and uranium. Canada is an exporter of all of these resources. Even with the environmental challenges, there is little doubt that development will continue.
- The mining industry, fueled by higher commodity prices, is expanding. Although there are many legitimate issues to be worked out regarding northern development and the First Nations, there is the potential that development will be of tremendous benefit to eliminating the Third World conditions that exist in many reserves.
This all sounds like great news. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean very much to most Canadians. For them, the recession is far from over. If a human indicators index was used rather then one that measures just goods and services, it is doubtful that the recession would be legitimately considered over. It could well be that the economy will grow while social conditions continue to deteriorate.
Unions, workers, and the recently unemployed will tell you:
- Canadian unemployment remains at 8.5 per cent.
- Between the second quarter of 2008 and the third quarter of 2009, real per capita income fell 9 per cent as high-wage jobs have been eliminated and many existing workers have been forced to make considerable concessions to retain their jobs.
- Even with the layoffs and concessions, worker productivity declined 4.5 per cent.
For many former, present, and future plant workers, high-wage jobs, secure pensions, and rich benefit packages are but a memory. The impact on many communities has been severe. Many actions that governments could have taken to lessen the blow to workers, their families, and their communities (EI reform, welfare reform, pension reform, affordable housing) were not implemented.
The human cost of the economic contraction may well lead to the permanent lowering of the standard of living for many, if not most, Canadians. There is real concern that many formerly well paying jobs have been exported and permanently lost.
However, the foundation for Canadian renewal is in place. If global recovery takes hold, the Canadian economy appears to be well positioned to grow at a higher rate than the rest of the OECD because the structural economic damage here has been less severe. Growth in emerging markets, especially China, benefits commodity producers like Canada that supply the resources the developing world requires as their burgeoning middle classes demand consumer goods. Whether or not this will translate into higher wages and a higher standard of living for the Canadian middle class, only time will tell.
AUDIO ESSAY: Overcoming misconceptions about the causes of poverty can be almost as difficult as overcoming the problem itself....
added Feb 8
Rising employment number masks devastated job market
Toronto Star
February 08, 2010
Ken Lewenza
It's predictable. The minute the new Labour Force Survey results are released to the public each month, economists and politicians fall all over themselves making grand pronouncements about the health of our job market and direction of the economy.
I could hear the champagne corks popping on Parliament Hill and Bay Street back in December when the monthly Statistics Canada jobs report card announced 79,000 jobs were created in November. BMO Capital Markets economist Jennifer Lee excitedly declared to the National Post: "Our economy is in recovery mode."
More recent job numbers released Friday showed a growth of 43,000 in January, outpacing economist predictions 3 to 1. TD bank strategist Millan Mulraine considered these positive numbers a sign that Canada's economic recovery has "picked up considerable speed."
Especially now on the heels of a deep economic recession, Canadians are looking for any glimmer of hope on the jobs front. They want to put the economic devastation brought on by overzealous speculators, government complacency and a deeply flawed global financial system behind them, as fast as possible.
But I'm skeptical. These "good news" announcements just don't fit with the constant stream of messages I receive from workers anxious to share stories about the hardships they face.
Parents tell me they can't put enough food on the table at dinner time. Older workers say they're exhausting their retirement savings and are at risk of slipping into poverty. Workers talk about the lack of decent full-time jobs and how quickly dignity fades when you're struggling with unemployment.
The obsession with month-to-month job spikes could get us into a lot of trouble.
We need to dig much deeper and look at a much broader landscape if we're going to understand what's really going on in our economy and come up with appropriate labour market policy – from short-term stimulus to long-term changes.
We could start by looking at the full Labour Force Survey. There's a wealth of information, some of it hard to find, and some only made available to the public for a small fee.
For example, the survey's "R8 Tables" take a broad approach to unemployment. Some consider this Canada's true unemployment rate. They include workers who aren't looking for a new job because they expect recall within six months. They also count "discouraged workers," who have given up hope of finding a new job.
These folks don't show up in the main numbers released each month. They're among the hidden victims of the crisis. Back in April when official unemployment was 8 per cent, the R8 numbers were coming in at an incredible 12.4 per cent.
What's more, the main survey counts everyone with part-time jobs as "employed" – even if they were forced to take a job that provides low wages, few benefits, no pension and erratic work schedules. In fact, part-time work made up nearly all of the job growth in January.
But other survey tables reveal the extent to which Canadians are being forced to take part-time jobs involuntarily. Today, nearly 900,000 Canadians fall into this category. And the number has been rising over the past three years.
The number of part-time workers actively looking for full-time work has skyrocketed by 184 per cent since 1997.
A rise in involuntary part-time work is one clear sign that Canada's labour market is growing increasingly precarious, a phenomenon that isn't captured in the month-to-month figures.
The explosive growth in temporary agency and contract work is also cause for concern. In the midst of a devastating recession, temporary work actually grew by 13,200 in Canada while permanent jobs fell off a cliff.
Self-employment has also been on the rise, increasing by 80,000 from December 2008 to December 2009. Although the Harper government tries to spin this as a positive trend, many choose self-employment because they don't have other options.
Although you likely wouldn't know it, the Labour Force Survey is just one of many reports produced by Statistics Canada that provide us with information on jobs, and it has its own limitations: it doesn't even look at certain aboriginal and young teen employment.
Other reliable job market reports include the company payroll-based Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH). While the Labour Market Survey lumps people with more than one job together as "employed," the SEPH report counts each position separately.
So we'll know better if employers are upping the share of part-time jobs and whether hours are up or down.
Payroll data are not necessarily a better measure of Canada's job performance, but a different measure. And it's important we look at the job market from many angles.
In fact, we should be taking notice of all kinds of reports. What about EI Work Sharing reports that show 180,000 Canadians still working short work weeks? What about publishing monthly EI exhaustee reports? What about various efforts to measure the quality of jobs, for example CIBC's Employment Quality Index?
By the time many of you read this you will have already heard a slew of politicians, policy-makers, bank economists and even labour leaders commenting on the latest jobs numbers and what they mean for our economy and its future.
Let's avoid these surface-level pronouncements and dig deeper into the labour market numbers for a more detailed picture of Canada's job landscape.
Despite what the headlines say, a new job isn't necessarily a good job. This is a crucial step in getting a more accurate reading of our country's economic pulse.
added Feb 7
http://www.tvo.org/TVO/WebObjects/TVO.woa?videoid?63683447001
added Feb 7
A
really interesting discussion on the Agenda about the employment
outlook for recent university graduates ove the next 5 to 10 years.
http://www.tvo.org/TVO/WebObjects/TVO.woa?videoid?64371579001
added Feb 4
Interview with Gaetan Heroux
By Angelina Irinici
Walking through the Dundas and Sherbourne area of Toronto with Gaetan Heroux is like walking through Hollywood with a celebrity. Everybody knows him. Everybody likes him. And everybody wants to talk to him.
Heroux, 54, is a distinct looking man. His grey beard is peppered with white and his long, wiry hair is loosely tied back into a ponytail. In 1965, his family moved to Ontario, hoping to escape poverty in Quebec. Heroux grew up living in and out of welfare, later to help those in the same situation.
“There was a lot of stress of not having enough money to feed the kids. Our household was always a very chaotic situation,” said Heroux.
When Heroux was 32 his brother was killed in a police chase in Burlington, Ontario. While trying to cope, he met a man named David Kidd. Kidd was working for Central Neighbourhood House, a community centre that delivers programs for marginalized people. Heroux asked Kidd if he could work part time and has been involved in the community ever since.
Currently, he is an ID outreach worker for Neighbourhood Link, located at Street Health (Dundas and Sherbourne streets), and has been for the last 10 years. His location is important as the area has the highest concentration of homeless people in Canada. Heroux goes to various shelters and drop-in centres, where he applies people for identification. He fills out forms, pays for the ID and acts as an address. An ID for homeless people is an extremely important part of survival.
“It’s essential for people to have ID to function and to get some of the most basics. You need ID to access every single service that people can access: healthcare, housing, welfare and others. It’s a very fundamental project,” Heroux said.
Because of his strong link to the community over the past 20 years, Heroux has gained exceptional rapport with the homeless and marginalized people in the community. He is a community hero, not only because of his efforts, but his ability to connect with so many different people. Heroux provided John Anderson, 39, with an ID and has remained in contact.
“He’s an all around great guy. He is hard working and he really cares for people that are down and out. He doesn’t judge anyone, he treats everyone equally,” said Anderson.
After over 20 years, Heroux still finds certain aspects of his job difficult.
“I see people and they ask me to get them ID and at the same time they are telling me I can’t feed my kids today, or are showing me bed bug bites. You hear these stories and you think, oh man. I have 15 or 20 people waiting in line to see me for hours sometimes,” Heroux said.
That is what Heroux finds to be the biggest struggle in his job. He listens to many stories but sometimes feels like he cannot help everyone with all of their issues.
“That’s what you have to negotiate as a worker. You have an obligation and ask what is your role? I have to ask what is going on of what I see and hear. But sometimes that is difficult to do,” he said.
Heroux has worked as a social worker and has been heavily involved in activism against poverty, especially with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). He has served on numerous steering committees relating to violence and poverty and has been a feature speaker at public events, panels and rallies.
“Most of the anti-poverty work I do is done outside of agencies and that’s actually the more important work for me,” he said.
Due to his heavy activism, Heroux has been arrested about 20 times from demonstrations, but because of his strong relationships with the people, the community showed him much support.
This was shown during a rally on Nov. 23, outside of Street Health in an effort to stop Street Health from moving his office to the Scarborough area. The move has become an issue for many, as the removal of services from the downtown core to Scarborough isn’t accessible to those who need it. Shaun Hodgson, 24, a student and activist attended the rally in support of Heroux.
“People from all over Toronto come out in solidarity with him. Homelessness is a daily struggle and it’s hard to say if people can make it out that far to see him,” Hodgson said.
It is clear that Heroux is adamant on not moving his efforts and having the people’s best interest in mind, believes it will be only detrimental.
“I don’t want to move, this is not a wise move, and it’s going to create havoc for
people,” said Heroux.
Currently the issue is still being debated, and it is uncertain what the future will bring. If Heroux is forced to move his office to Scarborough he is unsure of what changes must occur.
“I haven’t thought about that yet. I haven’t even thought that far,” said Heroux.
added Jan 22
Penalized for Being Poor - John Andras — THE MARK
An informative audio examination of the poverty and homelessness situation in Canada
John S. G. Andras began his career in 1983 as an employee of Andras, Hatch and Hetherington. He spent his first year of employment learning the administrative functions of the business including those of the stock cage, trading floor, and as an administrative assistant. Mr. Andras apprenticed with his father Kenneth B. Andras and brother Ken W. Andras. John and his brother Ken continue to work both independently and as a team and currently have a client base of over $250 million in assets under administration. Mr. Andras is Executive Vice-President of Andras Group. He is a shareholder and Senior Vice-President of Research Capital Corporation.
Mr. Andras has many interests outside of the financial business: he is Chair of the Recession Relief Coalition, Chair of SKETCH, Past President of The Rotary Club of Toronto(2003-2004); Past Chair of Home Aid Housing Corporation Limited, Past President/Director of the Greater Toronto Community Clearinghouse; co-founder of Project Warmth; co-founder of Project Water; co-founder Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, co-founder and Director of the Learning Support Council of Canada (LSC); Past Director of Chill Out; and past Director of Youth Employment Services. Mr. Andras attended Upper Canada College and graduated from the University of Guelph in 1983.
added Jan 22
This, Ronzig’s story is in the February issue of Genesis Magazine
My son’s mother, who introduced me to crack, refused to let me see him and I went to court to gain access. The judge ordered that I should have him every second weekend and for one month each summer. She did not comply and a second court order was issued. She still refused to allow me access. My son was three at the time and I didn’t see him until he turned nineteen. I quit crack when my son was born and didn’t start again until I was no longer able to see him. After nine years as a homeless crack addict, I managed to rent a room. On March 1, 2005 the landlady didn’t come to collect my rent and I used some of the rent money to get high. The following morning I went out and begged for money on the streets to pay the rent. When I returned, I found the lock had
been broken off my door and all my things were lying outside in the snow. There had been no notice and I was only one day late with the rent. This eviction was illegal. I called the police. They refused to charge the landlady with the illegal eviction or do anything. When I asked for their identification they refused to comply and I was forced to return to homelessness. This was the dead of winter and I was quite ill. I knew that I would be dead before the month was out. I wasn’t sure I wanted to live, but after thinking it over I realized I had been kept alive because God had a purpose for me. I
called an outreach worker who got me admitted to a detox centre on March 2, 2005. I’ve been clean and sober ever since. I needed something to do to keep me from boredom (a major cause of relapse) and get me started on a new life. I found a brochure about the Toronto Board of Education’s Continuing Education Program. That kept me busy for nearly a year and introduced me to computers, the internet and digital photography.
With this grounding, I was ready to build a new life. It was time to get to work at the mission God had for me and I began as a social activist/advocate. I created social awareness websites such as: http://downbutnotout.synthasite.com/ and http://www.recession-relief-coalition.org I am preparing to launch a new outreach program that will speak with people affected by the recession. This is the most fulfilling period in my life. I work to inform people about social injustices in the hopes that I can make a contribution to their elimination. It brings me joy when I am able to help someone or when someone tells me that I have changed the way they think about an issue.
—Ron Craven
added Jan 9
Canadian and U.S. jobs data disappoint
Statistics Canada said the economy lost 2,600 jobs last month. With the December data in hand, it suggests the Canadian economy shed 240,000 jobs in 2009.
added dec 23
OTTAWA— The number of people receiving employment insurance benefits declined in October, continuing a downward trend that began in July, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
Regular EI beneficiaries were down 0.5 per cent from September to 809,600, the federal agency said. Still, beneficiaries were up 61.8 per cent, or 309,300, from a year earlier.
That still leaves nearly 1 million on EI and nobody is mentioning the fact that the decline in numbers on EI is primarily due to the fact that the people who are dropping out are doing so because their coverage is running out and they are being forced into bankruptcy and welfare.
added Dec 23
Economy recovering at weaker pace than expected
Financial Post
“In the coming months, the Canadian economic recovery should remain intact, as the significant monetary and fiscal policy stimulus administered to the Canadian economy gathers traction, though the recovery is likely to be both slow and fragile,” Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities, said ahead of the report.
added Dec 17
December in review-The Dominion
Although this covers news items not relevant to our work, I feel that it is important work and recommend that you subscribe to this significant alternative news resource.
Visit the Vancouver Media Co-op for independent coverage of the Olympic Torch Relay and other Olympics-related developments: http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/ ++
++ Please become a
sustainer of the Dominion and Media Co-op, and help us grow local, cooperative
media across Canada: http://www.mediacoop.ca/join ++
To read December in Review Part I on the web
(with photos), visit:
http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/3069
Canada was at the centre of daily criticism during the UN Climate Negotiations in Copenhagen, receiving four Fossil awards for being a major obstacle to negotiations; being the target of a Yes Men hoax to highlight lack of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and witnessing climate justice protests across Canada, including a banner drop from the Parliament Buildings calling for the tar sands to be shut down, and a brief sit-in during a House of Commons Environment Committee meeting.
In Copenhagen, the Inuit Circumpolar Council called for global action to protect Inuit populations, and scientists announced they are now working with Inuit communities to help research climate changes impacts in the North.
One hundred thousand protesters took to Copenhagen's streets to call for a strong commitment from global leaders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and implement climate justice legislation. The nine-kilometre march was peaceful, with the exception of fewer than 15 protesters who threw rocks at windows, which was followed by amass arrest of nearly 1,000 people. Danish human rights organizationsdemanded an inquiry into controversial mass preventative arrest tactics, or "kettling," a police trend in Copenhagen this month.
Thousands of people attempted to breach security at the climate negotiations conference centre in Copenhagen. The action coincided with protests within the centre, with the purpose of converting the negotiations into a "People's Assembly." Police used tear gas, dogs and plain-clothed officers to infiltrate and break up the groups of protesters. Hundreds were arrested.
British scientists reported rising CO2 levels in the air are causing oceans to absorb the molecule, raising the acidity of the water, putting all forms of aquatic life at risk. They warned current targets of stabilizing atmospheric CO2at 450 parts per million could prove lethal to coral populations worldwide.
Hondurans continued to protest the contested presidential elections held November 29 which saw conservative Porfirio Lobo elected president. A Canadian delegation that observed the elections denounced Canadian Minister of State for the Americas Peter Kent's statement that "there was a strong turnout for the elections, that they appear to have been run freely and fairly, and that there was no major violence." The delegation reported witnessing low turnout, and violence and oppression against civilians. Regional state coalitions ALBA and MERCOSUR rejected the elections, and ALBA approved economic sanctions against the government of coup-president Roberto Micheletti.
Twelve hundred residents of Sept-Iles, Quebec, marched against uranium exploration taking place just outside of the town and less than 13 kilometres from the local drinking water source. The protest was also in support of 24 doctors who resigned en masse to protest provincial government inaction on the issue.
Plans are moving ahead to build Alberta's first nuclear power plant after the Albertan government decided not to impose a moratorium on nuclear power in the province.
The Israeli government announced a freeze on further construction in illegal settlements in the West Bank, while also allowing settlers to benefit from new funds meant to go to economically deprived areas, which are primarily inhabited by Arab Israelis.
Former Sri Lankan army chief General Sarath Fonseka spoke out against his own government, accusing the defence secretary of having ordered Tamil rebel leaders killed as they tried to surrender during the height of last spring's civil war.
Houston City Controller Annise Parker was elected mayor of the Texas city, making Houston the largest American city to elect an openly gay mayor.
The Federal Court of Canada struck down the security certificate against Hassan Almrei, saying that the federal govenrment had not presented justification for renewing the certificate last year, relying instead on "stale" and "contradictory" evidence. Certificate detainee Mohamed Zeki Mahjoub wasreleased from the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre, dubbed "Guantanamo North," for medical care as his health deteriorated due to a hunger strike he began in June. Hearings into the security certificate against Hassan Diab continued in Ottawa. Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loanannounced a major review of Canadian security certificate laws.
Three hundred people protested the Olympic Torch as it passed through Montreal.
The Crying Room art gallery in Vancouver was forced by the city to remove a mural critical of the Olympics.
Land defenders arrested for occupying the Site 41 dump site in Ontario saw their charges stayed or dropped. Ina Wood, 75, who was hospitalized from a recent stroke, was one of two people whose charges were immediately dropped. She said she was disappointed that others only had their charges stayed.
Residents of Sudbury, Ontario, launched a campaign to clear the name ofJohn Moore, a member of the Serpent River First Nation who grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, and who was imprisoned for 10 years for a 1978 murder prosecutors admit he did not commit. He was convicted under a since-repealed law that allowed him to be prosecuted for allegedly knowing a murder may take place.
A new report ranked the economic well-being of Canadians as ninth out of 14 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-opertaion and Development. Norway ranked first, Spain last, and the US thirteenth.
Twenty-two million "lost" emails from the George W. Bush administration were recovered by computer technicians following two lawsuits brought by two government watchdog organizations. The current US government is still searching for missing emails from dozens of days during the Bush administration.
Sebastian Pinera, known as the "Chilean Berlusconi," won the first round ofChile's presidential election. A run-off is scheduled for January 2010. If he wins, Pinera would be the first right-wing president elected since the end of Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship 19 years ago.
Three hundred fifty thousand Italians gathered in Rome for "No Berlusconi Day" to call for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's resignation. Berlusconi has had his immunity from prosecution lifted over corruption charges. Days later, the prime minsiter was attacked by a man carrying a metal replica of the Duomo Cathedral, breaking his nose and two front teeth; the arrested attacker has apologized and may be remitted to psychiatric care. A prominent Italian journalist told BBC Newshour, “If we were in America, where madmen carry guns, Berlusconi would be dead. We are in Italy. Madmen carry souvenir replica of the Duomo.
added Dec 16
Goar: Punished for working too diligently - thestar.com
"I thought I'd finally made it. It felt so wonderful. But working has put me in the hole. Now I'm fighting to hang onto my apartment. If I lose it, I'll never get another one." Chamberlain's work ethic remains strong. But her hopes of earning her way out of poverty have been snuffed out.
added Dec 15
The real issue is that overpayments are endemic to the OW and ODSP systems and are routinely generated because of the way the system was set up in the first place.
Both OW and ODSP subtract any income a person makes in a month from their monthly benefit cheque. But any number of daily life occurrences can cause an “overpayment” to be generated by the system. For example, overpayments are automatically generated when:
• Income from work or any other source is estimated by a worker or a recipient and the amount actually received is higher than estimated;
• A benefit like back pay, child support arrears, or any kind of retroactive payment is paid to a recipient for a previous time period.
3
The fact is, the vast majority of what we call 'overpayments' are these kinds of routine occurrences.
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Auditor General Backgrounder.pdf Size : 77 Kb Type : pdf |
added Dec 12
Hundreds protest suspension of social assistance health benefit | Toronto Media Co-op
On December 8, 150-200 people living on social assistance, mostly women, immigrant/refugees and parents, occupied the City of Toronto’s central welfare office in Metro Hall to demand access to the Special Diet Benefit, a modest allowance that helps people with health conditions afford appropriate food.
added Dec 7
Welfare reform creeps at snail’s pace - thestar.com
Fixing the disincentives in Ontario's
crippling and complex welfare system, which also serves another 238,000
households headed by adults without recognized disabilities, was a commitment
Ontario made when it unveiled "Breaking the Cycle," its
groundbreaking poverty reduction strategy, a year ago this week. But Sims and others on welfare and
disability supports are still waiting for the promised social assistance review
"with a goal of removing barriers and increasing opportunity."
Advisers
aim to fix Ontario’s welfare quagmire - thestar.com
Almost 800,000 Ontarians – including about
236,000 children and about 260,000 disabled people – live on provincial welfare
and disability supports that leave most of them trapped in grinding poverty and
despair. Welfare rates were cut 22.6 per cent by the Mike Harris Tories in 1995
and frozen for eight years until the Liberals in 2004 began a series of small
annual increases totaling 11 per cent.
added Dec 7
The 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction Network says
some good steps have been taken but warns that without immediate public support
the poverty rate will "explode." In a report released ahead of the
province's own update, the group said that repeating the policies enacted
during the 1990s recession — especially cutting public-sector programs and
services — will make it harder to move away from poverty.
added Dec 7
Report calls for stronger anti-poverty measures - thestar.com
A year after
added Dec 6
Dixon Hall still serving great need in Toronto 80 years later - thestar.com
"What we are seeing is people coming to our services that are recently unemployed and don't have experience with being out of work, out of money and out of food," says Kate Stark, Dixon Hall's executive director.
added Dec 4
Time for a Progressive Economy
Parkland Fall Conference 2009
Last year,
This year’s conference brought together academics, activists and journalists who have been thinking and writing about what went wrong and what kind of economy would be good for our society, our environment, and our world. Each comes from a very different progressive perspective. Our world can’t afford to keep going in the direction it has been, and these speakers are talking about the world we want.
Go to Time for a
Progressive Economy :: Weblog :: Parkland Fall Conference 2009 to read
about the event and watch the videos.
added Nov 25
CTV News | Program to tackle homelessness among mentally ill
Date:
The Mental Health Commission of Canada is launching a unique national research project, looking for the best way to help homeless people with mental health issues to stay off the streets.
Of the estimated 300,000 homeless people in Canada, nearly half have a mental health issue.
Five benchmarks for social
assistance - thestar.com
As the province moves to more effectively employ resources to meet people's needs and promote economic recovery, we can no longer afford to wait.
That social assistance needs fixing isn't a surprise. Premier Dalton McGuinty himself has acknowledged that Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program "stomp people into the ground."
Not only do these programs fail to adequately provide for people's basic needs, they offer few real supports or opportunities to help people climb out of poverty, build better lives and play their part in the economy.
added Nov 16
Goar: Drought in giving scorches non-profit sector
Any hope the federal Conservatives might expand Canada's inequitable employment insurance program died this summer. That leaves 63 per cent of jobless Ontarians and 69 per cent of out-of-work Torontonians without coverage.
Anti-poverty activists have almost stopped
lobbying for a social assistance system that lifts
See the whole story below.
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Goar Drought in giving scorches non-profit sector.pdf Size : 15 Kb Type : pdf |
Statistics don't count those who run out of EI The Globe and Mail for full story
When Statistics 
Deficit slaps $1,891 for each Ontarian
http://www.thestar.com/news/
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/713487--the-welfare-asset-trap
It is well known that when the Conservatives came to power in 1995 Mike Harris gutted welfare rates – leaving needy Ontarians living far below the poverty line.
Less well known is that changes were also made to force Ontarians to divest themselves of almost every cent of savings, including cashable RRSPs, before they could qualify for a welfare cheque.
In a report to be released Oct. 21, Metcalf Foundation fellow John Stapleton presents a compelling case for allowing welfare recipients to keep some savings.
He recommends exempting welfare recipients from the requirement to strip their assets for the first six months that they are on social assistance. This would allow people who have lost a job, and run out of employment insurance a bit more time to get back on their feet without suffering long-term financial penalties.
After six months, he proposes asset limits of $5,000 for singles and $10,000 for families and people with disabilities. Currently, the permissible limit for a single is just $572.
This makes good sense. Punitive asset-stripping rules do not serve anyone's interests. They do not keep people off welfare – the rolls are continuing to rise – but they do make it much harder for them to get off welfare once they are on it.
Stapleton notes that even conservative
With the current requirement to reduce savings to near zero, welfare recipients can be forced into a corner over the smallest matter – such as buying a suit for a job interview or even paying the transit fare to get there. This serves as a barrier impeding the transition from welfare to work – and it means taxpayers will pay out more, not less, to welfare recipients in the long run.
Asset-stripping is just one of the failings of our outdated and mean-spirited social assistance system. The government's promised social assistance review – still waiting to be launched – will find many other hurdles in the path of those in need of a helping hand.
The provincial housing consultation and the work of the Housing Network of Ontario are receiveing media attention.
Two articles from the Sarnia Observer
http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2126630
http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2120247
Report from Parry Sound
Report from Thunder Bay provincial consultation
Housing Network of Ontario partners highlight housing issues
at Hamilton affordable housing
consultation:
http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/news/article/188812
Discrimination in rental housing a key issue that must be
addressed by provincial strategy:
http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/631859
Hamilton’s
supportive housing needs in spotlight:
http://www.thespec.com/article/627759
Housing Network of Ontario partners highlight rural housing
issues at Lindsay Consultation:
www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1758175
Housing Network of Ontario co-chair and Wellesley Institute
Director of Affordable Housing & Social Innovation Michael Shapcott talks
about homeless families in Toronto:
http://www.thestar.com/article/691905
Star editorial on problems with affordable housing program,
need to assist community groups to build new housing:
http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/698448
Star article: Women persevered after banks rejected
affordable housing plan
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/698503
July 28: Battle for affordable housing for Ottawa Metro News
July 28:
July 23: Report on the Toronto consultation in the Toronto Star
July 23: Radio interview with Yutaka Dirks (co-chair of HNO) and Linda Coltman (Voices from the Street)
July 20: Article by Laurie Monsebratten in the Toronto Star
July 17: Report in the The Record (Waterloo Region)
July 16: Report in the Windsor Star
Older
Read a report on the Peel Region housing consultation from the Brampton Guardian.
Read an opinion piece by Carol from the Toronto Star.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Retirement Lost (seven-part series)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/retirement/retirement-dreams-under-siege/article1327536/
Canada's retirement dreams are under siege, weakened by under funding and
hobbled by the global recession.
It's a national crisis with no easy answers.
* Part one: The crisis
--- Retirement dreams under siege
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/retirement/retirement-dreams-under-siege/article1327536/
By Jacquie McNish
-
Comments (198)
What you need to know:
--- 84% of public service workers have pensions.
--- 78% of these plans are gold plated defined benefit pensions
--- 25% of private sector workers have a pension plan
--- 16% of these plans are gold plated defined benefit pensions
--- 11 million workers, or 60 per cent, of Canada’s workers have no
pension at all
--- 8 million or 45 per cent, have no pensions or registered retirement
savings plans (RRSPs)
* Part Two: Manufacturing's wreckage
--- Bankrupt companies, pension promises destroyed
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/retirement/bankrupt-companies-pension-promises-destroyed/article1322007/
By Greg Keenan
October 18, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions
(recommended by Gilles!) * Comments (124)
What you need to know:
--- 17.6 million: Number of people in the Canadian work force.
--- 11 million: Number of Canadian workers without pension plans.
--- 4 million: Number of those workers with registered retirement
savings plans.
--- 10,000: Number of pension plans in Canada.
---- 4.5 million: Workers with pension plans who have defined benefit
plans that guarantee the pension income of retirees until they die.
--- 55 per cent: Amount of those plans held by public sector employees.
--- $25,000: Average pension per year.
* Part three: Death of the traditional plan
--- Hybrid pension plans: a hard sell
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/retirement/hybrid-pension-plans-a-hard-sell/article1321999/
By Janet McFarland
October 19, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions
* Comments (36)
As companies weigh alternatives for the future, a crucial choice comes
down to a pair of innocuously simple-looking bits of shorthand: Will the
future be DB (Defined Benefit) or DC (Defined Contribution)? Traditional
pension plans are DB, defined benefit. A retiree covered by the plan is
guaranteed a given level of income. If the plan falls short, the
employer is on the hook. The new model, increasingly favoured by
employers, is DC, defined contribution. In this approach, the employer’s
responsibility is limited to making a certain (“defined”) contribution
to the employees’ pension plan. Contributions made by both the employer
and employee go into an individual account for the employee, who makes
his or her own investment choices. If the plan falls short, the employee
is on the hook.
* Part four: Conflicts of interest
--- Financial planning: Whom should you trust?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/retirement/financial-planning-whom-should-you-trust/article1322013/
By Rob Carrick
-
* Comments (78)
As pensions become unreliable, more Canadians are being forced to plan
for retirement themselves. But whom do you turn to for help? The
experience of one couple who relied on a financial adviser is a
cautionary tale.
* Part five: Underfunded dreams
--- No pension safety net for self-employed
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/retirement/no-pension-safety-net-for-self-employed/article1322009/
By Andrew Willis
October 21, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions
* Comments (59)
Meet the next generation of retirees: middle-class workers without
pensions who are left to their own devices and facing an uncertain
financial future. As formal pension plans become increasingly less
common, many Canadians face a savings burden that many are unwilling –
or unable – to shoulder.
* Part six: Steps to financial freedom
--- Freedom 55? Couple couldn’t wait that long for retirement
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/retirement/freedom-55-couple-couldnt-wait-that-long-for-retirement/article1321996/
By John Heinzl
October 22, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions
* Comments (84)
In a society that encourages consumers to borrow and spend, in which the
pressure to upgrade homes, cars and gadgets never stops, living within
one’s means and staying out of debt is a challenge. But for people who
make a middle-class salary, the “boring” approach may be the surest
route to building wealth and achieving financial security, say those who
have done it.
* Part seven: Reforming a broken system
--- Canada's gathering pension storm
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/retirement/canadas-gathering-pension-storm/article1323513/
By Konrad Yakabuski
October 23, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions
* Comments (36)
Italy may be one of the worst off, but all developed countries, along
with China, will experience unprecedented economic and social pressure
in coming decades as their populations grey. Few, if any, have prepared
for the demographic tsunami that will hit them as the baby boom
generation heads into its golden years. By comparison, Canadians have
some reason to feel fiscally smug, with a public pension system
considered one of the world’s most financially sustainable. There’s only
one catch: That system pays among the least generous
government-sponsored benefits in the developed world.
Source:
The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
This is by far the most informative and important analysis
of the economic collapse ever to be reported.
As Foreclosures Hit All-Time High, Wall Street on Pace to Hand Out Record $140B in Employee Bonuses
Click the title to watch an important and shocking video from:
Democracy Now! | Radio and TV News
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has topped 10,000 for the
first time in a year, as JPMorgan Chase reported massive profits in the third
quarter. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that major US
banks and securities firms are on pace to pay their employees about $140
billion this year—a record high. But on
Metro - Expiring EI benefits prompt food bank use, Ignatieff says
OTTAWA - Inadequate employment insurance benefits are forcing more and more people to turn to food banks for help, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Sunday.
Metro - Unemployment to rise into 2010 despite economic recovery: Flaherty
OTTAWA — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty now expects Canada’s economic recovery to be modest and for job losses to mount into 2010 even after growth has begun.
Metro
- GTA’s harsh realities (click to read full article)
Excerpt:
Today, we turn the spotlight on child poverty, a troubling
situation that has increased across the city. In fact, the Children’s Aid
Society of Toronto recently called the GTA the child poverty capital of
Metro
- ‘This too shall pass’ (click to read full article)
Excerpt:
John (not his real name) never imagined he would be relying
on a food bank to feed his family.
A successful business consultant, he provided his wife and four children a life
of comfort.
Metro
- City housing ‘Losing Ground’ (click to read full article)
Excerpt:
The growing gap between rich and poor in urban centres around the world is a global phenomenon. In Toronto, this can be attributed to a variety of factors, most significant of which is the rising cost of housing. Since 1990, overall apartment rents in Toronto have increased one-and-a-half times faster than inflation.
Homelessness, poverty top issues in Vancouver: poll
By Vancouver Sun
The top priorities for Vancouver residents are the twined issues of homelessness, poverty and the lack of affordable housing, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll to be presented to city council next week.
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Homelessness & Poverty in Vancouver.doc Size : 28 Kb Type : doc |
Toronto Star
Poor get poorer in an affluent city - thestar.com Click the title to read the whole story
A report examining the social health of this city has found
"startling contradictions." On the one hand, Toronto is becoming more
prosperous. But with the recession hitting immigrants harder, children
experiencing higher levels of poverty, and the number of middle-class families
shrinking, the poor are getting poorer.
The pdf file of the full report is on the indicators page.
Coalition
sets up soup line outside Federal Finance Minister’s office | rabble.ca Click the title to read the whole story
By John Bonnar On a cool September morning, a server lifts
the lid on a steaming container and carefully ladles soup into plastic bowls
while standing on the northwest corner of Bay and University in the heart of
Coalition formed to press feds
By JENNY YUEN, SUN MEDIA
Recession fund urged by jobless | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun
When Helio Medeiros talks about losing his job at GO Transit, he can't help but get choked up.
"I could've retired by now and last week I became homeless," he said. "I have a disability and I'm on welfare and the money I'm getting isn't enough to get a decent place. If I was still there ... "
Medeiros, 48, who had been working at GO since 1977 before getting laid off in the 1990s, was among 100 people at Church of the Holy Trinity yesterday who urged the federal government to create a recession relief fund so that the numbers of the homeless don't increase.
"Donations for social agencies are down, in some cases, by 30% or 40%," Recession Relief Fund Coalition spokesman John Andras said.
"Demand for (programs) is going higher and higher as more people lose their jobs."
The coalition, which is made up of social agencies, the homeless and the unemployed, is calling for Ottawa to prevent spending cuts to not-for-profit agencies serving vulnerable people.
It also demands the government re-establish a fully-funded national housing policy.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper could not be reached for comment last night.
Ontario Human Rights Commission chief commissioner Barbara Hall said that at a time of cutbacks, "we know that the groups identified and protected under the Human Rights Code are even more vulnerable than in better times."
Meanwhile, Aaron Schrader, 31, said he hasn't been able to keep a full-time job since he was laid off last year, because his subsidized apartment is infested with vermin.
"I can't find work and the government does nothing," he said. "I've been turned down from social assistance to take care of a bedbug problem that I'm having.
"I don't want to turn down a job because I can't sleep at night. These things are eating me alive," he said.
Schrader, who was laid off by a dairy company in North York, said he's now living on welfare.
"I want full-time work, I want to know I'm going to be there every day," Schrader said. "I'm not sure I can get another job soon because it was hard before and now, with this recession, it's not good."
Despite signs that the economy has resumed growing, unemployed Americans now confront a job market that is bleaker than ever in the current recession, and employment prospects are still getting worse.
Unemployed Workers Competing for Limited Job Prospects
Job seekers now outnumber openings six to one, the worst ratio since the government began tracking open positions in 2000. According to the Labor Department’s latest numbers, from July, only 2.4 million full-time permanent jobs were open, with 14.5 million people officially unemployed.
And even though the pace of layoffs is slowing, many companies remain anxious about growth prospects in the months ahead, making them reluctant to add to their payrolls.
“There’s too much uncertainty out there,” said Thomas A. Kochan, a labor economist at M.I.T.’s Sloan School of Management. “There’s not going to be an upsurge in job openings for quite a while, not until employers feel confident the economy is really growing.”
The dearth of jobs reflects the caution of many American businesses when no one knows what will emerge to propel the economy. With unemployment at 9.7 percent nationwide, the shortage of paychecks is both a cause and an effect of weak hiring.
In Milwaukee, Debbie Kransky has been without work since February, when she was laid off from a medical billing position — her second job loss in two years. She has exhausted her unemployment benefits, because her last job lasted for only a month.
Indeed, in a perverse quirk of the unemployment system, she would have qualified for continued benefits had she stayed jobless the whole two years, rather than taking a new position this year. But since her latest unemployment claim stemmed from a job that lasted mere weeks, she recently drew her final check of $340.
Ms. Kransky, 51, has run through her life savings of roughly $10,000. Her job search has garnered little besides anxiety.
“I’ve worked my entire life,” said Ms. Kransky, who lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment. “I’ve got October rent. After that, I don’t know. I’ve never lived month to month my entire life. I’m just so scared, I can’t even put it into words.”
Last week, Ms. Kransky was invited to an interview for a clerical job with a health insurance company. She drove her Jeep truck downtown and waited in the lobby of an office building for nearly an hour, but no one showed. Despondent, she drove home, down $10 in gasoline.
For years, the economy has been powered by consumers, who borrowed exuberantly against real estate and tapped burgeoning stock portfolios to spend in excess of their incomes. Those sources of easy money have mostly dried up. Consumption is now tempered by saving; optimism has been eclipsed by worry.
Meanwhile, some businesses are in a holding pattern
as they await the financial consequences of the health care reforms being
debated in
Even after companies regain an inclination to expand, they will probably not hire aggressively anytime soon. Experts say that so many businesses have pared back working hours for people on their payrolls, while eliminating temporary workers, that many can increase output simply by increasing the workload on existing employees.
“They have tons of room to increase work without hiring a single person,” said Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute Economist. “For people who are out of work, we do not see signs of light at the end of the tunnel.”
Even typically hard-charging companies are showing caution.
During the technology bubble of the late 1990s and again this decade, Cisco Systems — which makes Internet equipment — expanded rapidly. As the sense takes hold that the recession has passed, Cisco is again envisioning double-digit rates of sales growth, with plans to move aggressively into new markets, like the business of operating large scale computer data servers.
Yet even as Cisco pursues such designs, the company’s chief executive, John T. Chambers, said in an interview Friday that he anticipated “slow hiring,” given concerns about the vigor of growth ahead. “We’ll be doing it selectively,” he said.
Two recent surveys of newspaper help-wanted advertisements and of employers’ inclinations to add workers were at their lowest levels on record, noted Andrew Tilton, a Goldman Sachs economist.
Job placement companies say their customers are not yet wiling to hire large numbers of temporary workers, usually a precursor to hiring full-timers.
“It’s going to take quite some time before we see robust job growth,” said Tig Gilliam, chief executive of Adecco North America, a major job placement and staffing company.
During the last recession, in 2001, the number of jobless people reached little more than double the number of full-time job openings, according to the Labor Department data. By the beginning of this year, job seekers outnumbered jobs four-to-one, with the ratio growing ever more lopsided in recent months.
Though layoffs have been both severe and prominent, the greatest source of distress is a predilection against hiring by many American businesses. From the beginning of the recession in December 2007 through July of this year, job openings declined 45 percent in the West and the South, 36 percent in the Midwest and 23 percent in the Northeast.
Shrinking job opportunities have assailed virtually every industry this year. Since the end of 2008, job openings have diminished 47 percent in manufacturing, 37 percent in construction and 22 percent in retail. Even in education and health services — faster-growing areas in which many unemployed people have trained for new careers — job openings have dropped 21 percent this year. Despite the passage of a stimulus spending package aimed at shoring up state and local coffers, government job openings have diminished 17 percent this year.
In the suburbs of Chicago, Vicki Redican, 52, has been unemployed for almost two years, since she lost her $75,000-a-year job as a sales and marketing manager at a plastics company. College-educated, Ms. Redican first sought another management job. More recently, she has tried and failed to land a cashier’s position at a local grocery store, and a barista slot at a Starbucks coffee shop.
Substitute teaching assignments once helped her pay the bills. “Now, there are so many people substitute teaching that I can no longer get assignments,” she said.
“I’ve learned that I can’t look to tomorrow,” she said. “Every day, I try to do the best I can. I say to myself, ‘I don’t control this process.’ That’s the only way you can look at it. Otherwise, you’d have to go up on the roof and crack your head open.”
TheStar.com Broken welfare system punishes province's poor
Excerpt
Ontario Works, the new name that former*********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Recession’s toll felt by Calgarians
By DOUG MCINTYRE, Calgary Sun: SUN MEDIA
Excerpt
"More often than not, the focus on talking about the downturn has been on some sort of fiscal stimulant," said Kelly Ernst, senior program director with the Sheldon Chumir Foundation, one of five groups sponsoring the report.
"Less often do we hear about the impact of the meltdown on average citizens and we've come to think of the meltdown in terms of numbers and figures, not people and lives."
View the full report at Sheldon
Chumir Foundation :: One year later,
By BOB HERBERT
Published:
Excerpt
We’re hurtin’ and there ain’t much healin’ on the horizon.
The recession may be ending for some.
Tell
that to the unemployed.
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Metro - A casualty of poverty and intolerance
This was a memorial for more than just a homeless man; it was a memorial for Paul Croutch, 59, a former small town newspaper publisher, a husband and friend, a humorous, quiet man who struggled against alcoholism and paranoia.
Task Force on the Middle Class and the Recession
No jobs mean big loans for students TheStar.com
Canadian student unemployment hits all-time high
Canadian students will run out of money before end of school year
Ontario: Growing numbers of “working poor”
NY state teen unemployment reaches 30% NYTimes.com
Continued Joblessness predicted - NYTimes.com
87% of Americans believe economy in recession: CNN poll
Poor still suffering from last recession | U.S. | Reuters
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