CSLS Releases Study on Estimates of the Human Development Index for the Canadian Territories and Provinces: Alberta Ranks First

The Centre for the Study of Living Standards today released a major study entitled “The Human Development Index in Canada: Estimates for the Canadian Provinces and Territories.” The report is posted at http://www.csls.ca/reports/csls2012-02.pdf

This is the first study that has developed estimates of the Human Development Index (HDI) for the provinces and territories that are consistent with the official HDI estimates for Canada produced by the United Nations. Key findings from the study are highlighted below.

In 2011, Alberta ranked as the jurisdiction with the highest HDI in Canada, closely followed by Ontario, the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia. Nunavut ranked last, and Prince Edward Island second last.

The HDI is based on life expectancy, average years of education attainment, expected years of education, and Gross National Income. For both life expectancy and average educational attainment, British Columbia ranked first among the 13 provinces and territories and Nunavut ranked last. For expected years of schooling, Quebec ranked at the top and Nunavut came in last, while for GNI per capita, Northwest Territories was in first place and Prince Edward Island was in last place.

In 2011, Canada ranked sixth out of 187 countries in the HDI, behind Norway, Australia, United States, the Netherlands and New Zealand. This ranking however hides considerable differences within Canada. The top four jurisdictions in Canada would rank third in the international rankings, between Australia and the United States and the Netherlands. Nunavut, with the lowest HDI among the 13 provinces and territories, would rank 38th internationally and second lowest Prince Edward Island 24th.

An analysis of the growth rate of the HDI over the past decade gives a different story than the level of the HDI. Low ranked Nunavut fared best, with the HDI advancing at a 0.54 per cent average annual rate between 2000 and 2011. It was closely followed by Newfoundland and Labrador at 0.48 per cent. In contrast Ontario had the slowest growth in the HDI of any jurisdiction in Canada (0.25 per cent per year), closely followed by Alberta and British Columbia (both at 0.26 per cent).

The report provides a comprehensive picture of developments in life expectancy, average education attainment, expected years of schooling, and Gross National Income per capita for all provinces and territories over the 2000-2011 period.

For further information, please contact:
Andrew Sharpe
Executive Director
Centre for the Study of Living Standards
710-151 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H3
613-233-8891
Andrew.sharpe@csls.ca

The Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) is a national, independent, Ottawa-based not-for-profit research organization Its primary objective is to contribute to a better understanding of trends and determinants of productivity, living standards, and economic well-being in Canada through research.

Fund honours dynamic couple, ensures food for Kingston school children

By Skana Gee

They were a well-known and much-loved couple in Kingston: Larger-than-life Zalman (Zal) Yanovsky, former lead guitarist and singer for the rock band Lovin’ Spoonful, and his “anchor” Rose Richardson.

They ran two successful eateries – Chez Piggy and Pan Chancho Bakery – and frequently gave of their time and resources. They believed in making Kingston a vibrant place.

When Zal died suddenly in 2002, just before turning 58, Rose created a fund in his honour to help The Food Sharing Project, which has operated breakfast, lunch and hearty snack programs in the city since 1982. Friends and colleagues contributed $20,000 in seed money to launch the endowment.

“We love food and we want people to eat and be healthy and happy. It’s a bit astonishing, how many children are at school hungry,” says Zal’s daughter, Zoe, in a video about the program.

Now known as The Rose and Zal Yanovsky School Breakfast Fund – Rose died in 2005 – the endowment with the Community Foundation for Kingston and Area provides funding to The Food Sharing Project for food, equipment and supplies, while the 75 participating elementary schools provide space and volunteers to run a program tailored to their needs.

It’s a gift of not just food, but care and hope. “It nourishes the mind, body and soul,” says one staff member who’s been involved.

Adds principal Brenda Moore, who runs the project: “We know that you can’t teach a child anything if they’re hungry. That’s got to be the first order of the day.” An inspiring speech by Brenda about the program can be found here.

Thanks in large part to an annual fundraising breakfast, during which restaurant-goers make a donation to the fund, The Rose and Zal Yanovsky School Breakfast Fund now stands at $167,000, with close to $36,000 donated over the years to the Food Sharing Project, which these days helps more than 3,800 students.

“The hope is that people will leave a donation on the way out, and they certainly do – they do so in droves,” notes Zoe.

Skana Gee is Communications Coordinator with Community Foundations of Canada.

You Can Do It Awards give Winnipeg students boost to pursue higher education

By Skana Gee

When Seneca Chartrand arrived at R.B. Russell High School in Winnipeg, she anticipated more school work. She had no idea just how challenging it would be.

But the possibility of securing an award from The Winnipeg Foundation kept her on track, working hard and tackling many challenges.

“A few times she called me from the school to say ‘Somebody has gotten shot, somebody has gotten stabbed across the street.’ That’s something you really don’t want a kid to have to worry about when they’re going to school,” says her mother, Cheyenne Chartrand.

But Seneca persevered, and last June, she received a You Can Do It Award, which provided $1,000 toward her post-secondary education. The teen from the inner-city is now enrolled in the Creative Communications program at Red River College.

“It’s like tapping somebody on the shoulder and saying we know you can do this,” says Rick Frost, The Winnipeg Foundation’s CEO. “It’s encouragement to say, ‘You’re not going to be stopped by financial barriers.’ “

The program began last year, with 270 students from inner-city schools selected, based on attendance, effort, academic achievement, volunteerism and leadership. Because kids can qualify from Grade 5 on, with $1,000 put into a “learning account” each school year, there’s potential for them to earn $8,000 toward their post-secondary education.

A program like this doesn’t happen in a vacuum, of course. It’s a partnership between The Winnipeg Foundation, the Province of Manitoba, Winnipeg School Division and Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council.

Shania Murdock, a Grade 9 student, also received a You Can Do It Award last school year. She already knows she wants to be a teacher.

“For many of our students, it may be the first time somebody from their family has gone on to post-secondary education, so it’s an accomplishment for their entire family,” R.B. Russell vice-principal Chris Goring told the media after the awards were presented.

Skana Gee is Communications Coordinator with Community Foundations of Canada

Squamish’s Vital Signs celebrates success, offers direction for improvement

By Caroline Ashekian

The Squamish Community Foundation (SCF) celebrated the inaugural launch of its Vital Signs report in 2011.

The journey has been abundant with community engagement, visionary leadership, and many volunteer hours. I have had the privilege to be a part of this journey as a participant in the community engagement process.

Now, as a new board member with the SCF, I admire the fruits of everyone’s labour, and have a greater appreciation for the process by which this project was realized.

Caroline Ashekian, board member with Squamish Community Foundation

The launch of this first Squamish Vital Signs report is a milestone achievement for our board. And by virtue of the process and all that the report shares, it is also a celebration of our community’s achievements and successes. The results showcase positive trends, an exciting one being the health and wellness of the community, with indicators reflecting healthier and more active residents than both the BC and national levels, as well as a growing sense of life satisfaction.

Of course, by providing a snapshot of the community, Squamish’s Vital Signs 2011 also reflects opportunities for growth and improvement, such as in the areas of early childhood development, safety, and the gap between rich and poor. For every key issue, the report includes a special feature on how the SCF is contributing to improvements in these areas, and how residents can do their part to help.

The Squamish Vital Signs launch event featured more than one reason to celebrate. In addition to the report launch and presentation, the evening featured presentations and displays from our grantees, and recognition of our donors with the first presentation of our Ascent of Philanthropy program.

The Squamish Vital Signs is beneficial on many levels, and provides clear vision to SCF and our community as we all move forward and leap into action.

Caroline Ashekian is a Director of Squamish Community Foundation

Nova Scotia’s Vital Signs prompts discussion about poverty, activism

Six weeks out from the release of Nova Scotia’s Vital Signs, and the report is still top of mind.

In a recent op-ed in The Chronicle-Herald, Sharon Murphy – a retired social worker and vice-president of Canada Without Poverty – referenced the report in conjunction with the Occupy protests taking place across North America.

“Allison Kouzovnikov, executive director of the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia, which released the provincewide Vital Signs report last month, says such thinking outside the box encourages a cultural shift in how we take care of problems in our own backyard,” Murphy writes.

“And it helps people see that even small actions matter and that together, we can create positive change.”

A worthwhile read …

Focusing on what’s important, through Vital Signs

By Marina Boulos-Winton

Experiencing my first launch of Greater Montreal’s Vital Signs was exhilarating. So many people attended, the presentations made by the panellists were remarkable, and the questions and comments from media representatives and the audience were serious and insightful!

We decided to host our October 5 Vital Signs event at the Auditorium of the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, a perfect location.

In keeping with the sheer magnitude of this public library, it serves and is accessed by people from all walks of life, including those who use it for their employment search, those who need to learn English or French, those with young children who need a leisure activity, students of all levels, and those either down on their luck or very fortunate, who simply go to the library to pass the time.

At any rate, libraries are an essential part of having an educated and literate population. Hence it was an ideal place to gather our distinguished panellists (Lise Bertrand, Simon Brault, Aïda Kamar, Sidney Ribaux) and an audience of close to 200, which included funders and the non-profit community, to discuss what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to be fixed.

Greater Montreal’s poverty rate is 18 per cent, versus the national average of 13.5 per cent. The city has the second largest population in Canada, yet it’s ranked 20th for level of income. Francophones in Montreal have some of the lowest high school graduation rates, and we rank 29th out of 31 among major North American cities for people attaining a bachelor degree.

While we still rank high in quality of life, will we become a society where the gap between rich and poor becomes even wider, and where no new wealth is being created? Will we have the resources to innovate, compete and create pportunities for ourselves, for future generations and for those newly arrived in our city? Will we become mere transients as we seek jobs elsewhere?

For now, Vital Signs gives the Foundation of Greater Montreal, and those who create funds with us – much like mini-foundations within a foundation – the ability to focus on what’s important, and how together we can invest where it will make a difference.

We hope shortly to announce a partnership to alleviate the rate of high school drop-outs, and in the new year, our philanthropic focus for 2011.

Stay tuned between now and our next Vital Signs report in October 2011 …

Marina Boulos-Winton is President & CEO of the Foundation of Greater Montreal.

Community belonging a vital sign

By Karen Takacs

In all the media coverage of the Community Foundations of Canada’s Vital Signs 2010 report, one indicator caught my attention. More Canadians feel a strong sense of community belonging.

While probably the least talked about, for me community belonging is the most telling of all the Vital Signs indicators, revealing our well being as citizens and as a society.

And I think our notion of what constitutes our community is changing, too. Witness the outpouring of support for victims of the Haitian earthquake and Pakistan floods. Canadians see themselves, their families and their neighbours in the faces of people struggling, and they give.

On the face of it, things aren’t looking good at home. Many Canadians, and new immigrants in particular, are struggling to find work. One in 10 Canadians lives in poverty and the gap between rich and poor continues to widen. That is why it is all the more remarkable that the region with the highest unemployment in Canada, Lunenburg County, also reports the second highest sense of community belonging. In spite of the challenges, Canadians continue to reach out to their neighbours, to give time and money.

Increasingly this sense of belonging extends beyond our borders. In many developing countries the situation is dire. The experience of poverty is almost beyond the comprehension of those of us who have never lost a child to starvation; had a wife or daughter brutally raped or beaten without protection or redress under the law; or lost land and livelihood because, as a women, you do not have the right to own property.

Yet each year, thousands of Canadians drop what they are doing to serve overseas in a modest attempt to redress these inequities and work for change. It is the kind of experience that stays with you, that changes you. One 2007 study revealed that former overseas volunteers were one and half times more likely to volunteer in their own communities than the average Canadian. And when they did, they gave more volunteer hours. As most Canadian Crossroads International volunteers will tell you, we are in the community-building business. Across cultural differences, great distances and vast disparity in access to and control of resources, we are working with our neighbours to build one world.

Patsy George, a Crossroads volunteer who came to Canada 50 years ago from India, describes community building this way: Each of us has a duty to care. Not only for ourselves, but for everyone we are in contact with or might hope to be, our environment and the institutions around which we build community. We are inextricably bound up with one another, she says.

At 70 years of age, she told me, she has limited time. After a lifetime of volunteer work that has garnered her the Order of Canada, among other honours, she has to focus her efforts and her focus is building the global community. It is an effort that reaps its own reward.

As the Vital Signs report indicates, community engagement correlates strongly with an individual’s health and mental health even when socioeconomic and other factors are taken into account. Working together toward a common cause, whether with folks in Lunenburg County, Canada or in Harare, Zimbabwe, enriches the lives of those who choose to work for collective good and all society. The relationship and skills developed increase our resilience to cope in tough times and fuel the social change vital for all to enjoy a real quality of life.

Karen Takacs is Executive Director with Canadian Crossroads International (CCI), an international development organization that is advancing the rights of women and girls and the right to sustainable livelihoods for all. She is also Chair of the Board of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC).

Progressive partnership: Vibrant Communities and Community Foundations

By Paul Born

Vibrant Communities Canada has partnered with organizations across Canada, including many Community Foundations, on a nine-year experiment that demonstrates the positive impacts of an innovative and collaborative approach to fighting poverty that is driving individual benefits, neighbourhood changes and large-scale community poverty reductions.

For nearly a decade now, a wide range of partners, including Community Foundations, have formed leadership tables in more than a dozen communities across Canada, giving new momentum to the work of poverty reduction. More than a hope or a dream, they have made it a living, breathing reality.

Joined by the Vibrant Communities initiative, citizens of all income levels, community workers, business people and representatives from all levels of government are clarifying needs, identifying community assets and developing tangible strategies for tackling poverty.

Our experience is proving an important role for place-based strategies when it comes to reducing poverty. Community collaboration is showing promising and powerful results. Community Foundations have played a critical role in many cities, including Hamilton Community Foundation, which has played a leadership role in convening and leading the award-winning coalition in Hamilton.

The Edmonton Community Foundation sits on the leadership body and contributes broadly to the work in that city. The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation was involved with the leadership roundtable for Opportunities Waterloo Region. The Niagara Community Foundation was also involved with Opportunities Niagara.

Launched in 2002, Vibrant Communities Canada builds on learning generated by Opportunities 2000, a millennium campaign to reduce poverty in Waterloo Region to the lowest in Canada, which earned a place in the United Nations Top 40 Projects Worldwide.

The Vibrant Communities approach emphasizes collaboration and consensus building across sectors; comprehensive thinking and action; building community assets; and a commitment to long-term learning and change. It is a self-fuelling change model where progress creates greater capacity, leading to new programs and more systematic interventions. The end result is improved lives and less people living in poverty.

Together, Vibrant Communities partners have:

• Launched 164 poverty reduction initiatives
• Reduced poverty for more than 170,000 households in Canada
• Raised $19.5 million, most of it in local communities
• Engaged 1,690 organizations as partners, including more than 500 businesses
• Mobilized 1,080 individuals as partners, including 573 people living in poverty
• Driven 35 substantive government policy changes

We invite you to read the report, read the executive summary of the report, visit the VC Evaluation webpage and learn about the Vibrant Communities experience.

Paul Born directs Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement, a ten year journey and partnership with Alan Broadbent of the Avana Capital Corporation and Maytree Foundation to advance place based solutions to entrenched problems like poverty.

Housing driving a wedge between rich and poor

By Judith Maxwell

Rising home prices are often treated as a sign of prosperity, but they also drive a wedge between the rich and the poor.

In its Vital Signs 2010 report, Community Foundations of Canada has asked the question: “How much ‘house’ can Canadians afford?” Well, it all depends on your income, your down payment and mortgage interest rates, as well as the cost of the house.

And today, the average price for a house is 4.1 times the annual median family income, up from 3.1 times in 1995.

Broad averages like these hide many diverse stories. Some people can afford to spend $1 million on a house, others can’t make next month’s rent.

Benjamin Tal of CIBC Economics^[i] says that the most vulnerable groups are those who live on less than $50,000 a year. If they own a house, and not many of them do, he estimates that they are paying 51% of their gross income on mortgage payments plus hydro and property taxes. In contrast, people with incomes over $50,000 pay an average of 24% of gross income.

The Community Foundation of Ottawa has demonstrated the wedge between rich and poor in its Vital Signs 2010^[ii] report. Ottawa, like many other cities large and small, has a serious shortage of affordable housing, specifically apartments with rent geared to income.

For a family of four on social assistance (Ontario Works), for example, monthly assistance amounts to $1,844. This is not enough to cover the average monthly rent for a 3 bedroom apartment ($1,257) plus a nutritious food basket ($735). The family therefore has to choose between lower quality housing and being able to cover costs of food, transit and other necessities.

A lot of working Canadians face the same dilemma. Almost half of the people on low income in Ottawa do not receive Ontario Works benefits – they are the working poor. Their wages, even when they work 49 weeks a year, don’t cover basic shelter, food and necessities. Many depend on the food bank to get through the month.

These are untenable choices for families. The underlying problem is that Ottawa has a waiting list of 10,000 families looking for affordable housing but has only built an average of 164 new units per year over the past decade.

Real estate developers don’t build affordable housing because it is not a profitable business. Governments have reduced their contributions to this kind of housing, and not-for-profits, which are ready and able to build, don’t have access to capital.

This puts Canadians to a test. Do we let this gap between rich and poor continue to grow? Or can we get creative? Surely financial innovation plus a social conscience can free up resources to build more stable, decent and affordable housing.

Tom Carter^[iii] Canada Research Chair at the University of Winnipeg, says that good housing plays a stabilizing and facilitating role in the community. It improves:

• Physical and mental health
• Educational attainment
• Family life and social interaction
• Income security
• Labour force attachment
• Integration of immigrants, and
• Community development

Sounds like a good investment to me.

Judith Maxwell is the former Chair of the Economic Council of Canada, and Founding President of Canadian Policy Research Networks.

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^[i] Benjamin Tal, Consumer Watch Canada, “Assessing Vulnerabilities in the Canadian Housing Market,” CIBC Economics, May 25, 2010.
^[ii] Community Foundation of Ottawa, Ottawa’s Vital Signs, 2010.
^[iii] Tom Carter and Chesya Polevychok, Housing is Good Social Policy, Canadian Policy Research Networks, 2004.

Poverty Reduction Key to Canada’s Economic Recovery

Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Jacquie Maund is the Coordinator for the Ontario Campaign 2000.

Canada’s economic recovery hinges on federal leadership to pull recession victims out of the poor house and prevent Canadians from plunging into deeper poverty, hunger and homelessness, says Campaign 2000’s new report card on child and family poverty.

Keep the Promise: Make Canada Poverty-Free looks at the nation’s most recent child and family after-tax poverty rate compared to 20 years ago, when Parliament unanimously resolved to end child poverty by 2000, and finds today’s after-tax rate is 9.5 per cent, a slight budge from 11.9 per cent in 1989.

“If Canada were a student, she would be in danger of dropping out,” says Campaign 2000’s Laurel Rothman. “Following an unprecedented period of growth since 1998, the small change in the rate of child and family poverty is shocking.

“As Canada develops strategies to foster economic growth and recovery, the most strategic decision the federal government could make would be to take leadership and set a target to lower the poverty rate.”

The report card’s key findings, available at www.campaign2000.ca, show Canada has far to go to prevent and reduce poverty:

·         One in 10 children still live in poverty in Canada today. It’s worse for children living in First Nation’s communities: one in four grow up in poverty;

• There are more working poor: 40 per cent of low-income children live in families where at least one parent works full-time year round, up dramatically from 33 per cent in the 1990s;
• Child poverty is persistent across Canada: rates of child and family poverty (LICO before-tax) are in the double digits in most provinces.
• The gap between rich and poor has widened:  On average, for every dollar the families in the poorest 10 per cent had, families in the richest 10 per cent had almost 12 times as much ($11.84) in 2007.

“Canada could succeed if our federal government used public policy resources to improve labour market options and make our tax system more progressive,” says Ed Broadbent, the former New Democratic Party leader who moved the 1989 motion to end child poverty by the year 2000.

“All Canadians will benefit from less poverty,” says Peggy Taillon, President of the Canadian Council on Social Development. “As a society we either share the collective responsibility to prevent child and family poverty or we face rising costs in health care services, criminal justice and education.”

“Now that seven out of 10 provinces have committed to poverty reduction, it’s time for the federal government to exercise leadership and develop a clear plan with targets and timetables,” says Sid Frankel, Social Planning Council of Winnipeg.