Friday, November 23, 2007
MTCU Update: Agreement Streamlining Changes
On November 15, Deanna attended the MTCU Service Delivery Advisory Group meeting, which provided information on the changes to contract administrative processes, program and policy coherence, and the new service delivery model. We’ll review the most pressing item here, but will post presentations on all topics within the next few days.
Changes to Contract Administrative Processes
As MTCU engages in transforming the Ontario Employment Benefits and Support Measures (OESBM) (read about EBSMs in detail on this federal government web site) infrastructure, agreements are being extended and contract administration streamlined. OEBSM agreements can be extended for up to 18 months effective December 1, 2007, with two main requirements: (1) demonstrated need for the program and (2) no performance issues.
As of December 1, MTCU is also introducing two initiatives to ease external administrative requirements (note that these changes apply to all OESBM programs, not just those coming up for renewal):
1) Increased Budget Flexibility: the 10% cap will be removed, and while rationales are still needed for budget changes, approvals will be much quicker, based on principle of prior written approval. This should reduce the need for amendments.
2) Budget Negotiation: MTCU will be looking at history of expenditure patterns and will forecast a budget for service providers for new budgets. MTCU says this will allow for maximum use of funds across programs. Note that end-date extensions do not require a new proposal.
All service providers should receive a letter detailing these changes by early December, and will be contacted by local MTCU staff to discuss extensions and flexibilities.
Changes to Contract Administrative Processes
As MTCU engages in transforming the Ontario Employment Benefits and Support Measures (OESBM) (read about EBSMs in detail on this federal government web site) infrastructure, agreements are being extended and contract administration streamlined. OEBSM agreements can be extended for up to 18 months effective December 1, 2007, with two main requirements: (1) demonstrated need for the program and (2) no performance issues.
As of December 1, MTCU is also introducing two initiatives to ease external administrative requirements (note that these changes apply to all OESBM programs, not just those coming up for renewal):
1) Increased Budget Flexibility: the 10% cap will be removed, and while rationales are still needed for budget changes, approvals will be much quicker, based on principle of prior written approval. This should reduce the need for amendments.
2) Budget Negotiation: MTCU will be looking at history of expenditure patterns and will forecast a budget for service providers for new budgets. MTCU says this will allow for maximum use of funds across programs. Note that end-date extensions do not require a new proposal.
All service providers should receive a letter detailing these changes by early December, and will be contacted by local MTCU staff to discuss extensions and flexibilities.
Labels: LMDA, Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates
Monday, November 19, 2007
Canada's Poor Pay More in Taxes: New Study
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) finds that the top 1 percent of families in 2005 paid a lower total tax rate than the bottom 10 percent of families.
The study, Eroding Tax Fairness: Tax Incidence in Canada, 1990 to 2005, which is the first comprehensive review of tax changes at all levels of government in Canada within the past 15 years, finds the system is delivering larger tax savings for high income families. This reinforces the growing gap in market incomes between high income families and the rest of Canadians.
Provincial tax cuts are the key culprit for the increasingly regressive nature of Canada’s tax system but the problem has been exacerbated at the federal level with billions of dollars worth of post-2000 tax cuts.
These findings are particularly important for women, who are statistically more likely to earn less than men, and more likely to head one-parent households, the one of the lowest household income groups in Canada. See ACTEW’s fact sheet on Women and Contingent Work, released in April.
It also bears mentioning that recent reports estimate 39% of women tax filers in Canada compared to 25% of men had no tax liability, i.e. they do not pay tax because they do not earn enough money (see FAFIA’s 2007 Federal Budget Overview). This means that while 39% of women will not be penalized by the trends CCPA identifies, neither do they benefit from the tax breaks and incentives being introduced by the federal government.
The study, Eroding Tax Fairness: Tax Incidence in Canada, 1990 to 2005, which is the first comprehensive review of tax changes at all levels of government in Canada within the past 15 years, finds the system is delivering larger tax savings for high income families. This reinforces the growing gap in market incomes between high income families and the rest of Canadians.
Provincial tax cuts are the key culprit for the increasingly regressive nature of Canada’s tax system but the problem has been exacerbated at the federal level with billions of dollars worth of post-2000 tax cuts.
These findings are particularly important for women, who are statistically more likely to earn less than men, and more likely to head one-parent households, the one of the lowest household income groups in Canada. See ACTEW’s fact sheet on Women and Contingent Work, released in April.
It also bears mentioning that recent reports estimate 39% of women tax filers in Canada compared to 25% of men had no tax liability, i.e. they do not pay tax because they do not earn enough money (see FAFIA’s 2007 Federal Budget Overview). This means that while 39% of women will not be penalized by the trends CCPA identifies, neither do they benefit from the tax breaks and incentives being introduced by the federal government.
Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Resources_and_Research
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Report-back of Employment Ontario Updates
At a recent ACTEW event in Brantford, Sherree Mahood, Director of Western Region for MTCU, spoke about the development of Employment Ontario, giving several key pieces of information that we’d like to share with our network.
First, we found out that Ontario is the first province committed to delivering training through third-party deliverers, such as all the community-based agencies in ACTEW’s membership. Second, Employment Ontario seeks to be client-centered and is moving to a case management system, meaning that the file is attached to the client no matter where they move in the system. These pieces of information may not be news to most, but it’s a useful reminder that MTCU is committed to both the clients and the agencies that serve them.
We learned that MTCU’s new Minister, John Milloy, previously worked as Parliamentary Secretary for former TCU Minister Chris Bentley. This means he is familiar with the work that’s happening, and it is unlikely MTCU will be experiencing any major shifts in directions or priorities.
Sherree spoke of the federal commitments of further funding, in particular the Labour Market Agreement, the “Daughter of the LMPA”. Conversations appear to be ongoing, and there is an effort to ensure that Ontario receives a fair per capita share of that agreement. In addition, the federal government provided a commitment to explore devolution of other employment programs, such as programs for youth, for older persons, and for persons with disabilities. It sounds like these conversations are still in the future, but the commitment is still in sight for the provincial and federal government.
Work on MTCU’s transition projects is underway, with projects in various stages of initiation or completion. In particular, the project dedicated to Program and Policy Coherence has established an external reference group of service providers, and has created a program framework that splits into “service clusters”, including: employment services, income supports, training, infrastructure and capacity building.
Sherree gave many more updates, including information on the “New Work Transition Incentive Program”, service delivery model standards, and MTCU’s plan to roll out community-based local labour market planning in Spring of 2008. You can get full details from a presentation Sherree has shared by downloading this PDF version:
http://www.actew.org/projects/pwpsite/resources/EOpresentationmoving forwardOct.pdf
First, we found out that Ontario is the first province committed to delivering training through third-party deliverers, such as all the community-based agencies in ACTEW’s membership. Second, Employment Ontario seeks to be client-centered and is moving to a case management system, meaning that the file is attached to the client no matter where they move in the system. These pieces of information may not be news to most, but it’s a useful reminder that MTCU is committed to both the clients and the agencies that serve them.
We learned that MTCU’s new Minister, John Milloy, previously worked as Parliamentary Secretary for former TCU Minister Chris Bentley. This means he is familiar with the work that’s happening, and it is unlikely MTCU will be experiencing any major shifts in directions or priorities.
Sherree spoke of the federal commitments of further funding, in particular the Labour Market Agreement, the “Daughter of the LMPA”. Conversations appear to be ongoing, and there is an effort to ensure that Ontario receives a fair per capita share of that agreement. In addition, the federal government provided a commitment to explore devolution of other employment programs, such as programs for youth, for older persons, and for persons with disabilities. It sounds like these conversations are still in the future, but the commitment is still in sight for the provincial and federal government.
Work on MTCU’s transition projects is underway, with projects in various stages of initiation or completion. In particular, the project dedicated to Program and Policy Coherence has established an external reference group of service providers, and has created a program framework that splits into “service clusters”, including: employment services, income supports, training, infrastructure and capacity building.
Sherree gave many more updates, including information on the “New Work Transition Incentive Program”, service delivery model standards, and MTCU’s plan to roll out community-based local labour market planning in Spring of 2008. You can get full details from a presentation Sherree has shared by downloading this PDF version:
http://www.actew.org/projects/pwpsite/resources/EOpresentationmoving forwardOct.pdf
Labels: Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates
Friday, November 02, 2007
Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk Counties Put Women in the Picture
On October 30 and 31, ACTEW had the pleasure of participating in the conference Putting Women in the Picture near Brantford¸ hosted by the Grand Erie Training and Adjustment Board (GETAB). The event brought nearly 60 service providers to discuss how women in the region could be served more effectively.
A panel discussion kicked off the event, highlighting the issues and barriers women in the region face, particularly newcomer women, women survivors of violence, women in the workforce and women’s self-esteem. Key points included:
The participants also heard an update on the development of Employment Ontario in a presentation by Sherree Mahood, MTCU’s Regional Director of the Western Region. We’ll give you a full report on this presentation in the next blog entry.
The remainder of the conference was facilitated by Facilitating Inclusion facilitators from St. Joseph Immigrant Women’s Centre (Hamilton) and led the participants through a planning process to move towards supporting the women of the region more fully.
We’d like to thank Betty Anne, Jill and Tracey for an excellent conference, and we look forward to working with key stakeholders to move towards the goals set out in the session.
A panel discussion kicked off the event, highlighting the issues and barriers women in the region face, particularly newcomer women, women survivors of violence, women in the workforce and women’s self-esteem. Key points included:
- With no public transportation, and the high costs of owning and operating a vehicle, many women cannot physically access services or get to and from available jobs
- Parenting issues for women loom large—child care is hard to find in the region, and what is available is expensive and generally has inflexible hours.
- Young women often face discrimination in the workforce from employers who fear hiring them in case they get pregnant and interrupt productivity.
- Extremely marginalized women have no informal support networks and have no one to turn to if they need emergency child care.
- Newcomer women tend to be better educated than Canadian-born women, but have much lower earnings, on average. Immigrant women tend to work low-skill, low-pay jobs that are not related to the careers in which they are trained.
- Women affected by violence deal with other issues, and there appear to be increasing incidences of harassment in the workplace by a woman’s domestic partner. There have been three cases recently in the area of the woman losing her job because her abusive partner was harassing her at work.
The participants also heard an update on the development of Employment Ontario in a presentation by Sherree Mahood, MTCU’s Regional Director of the Western Region. We’ll give you a full report on this presentation in the next blog entry.
The remainder of the conference was facilitated by Facilitating Inclusion facilitators from St. Joseph Immigrant Women’s Centre (Hamilton) and led the participants through a planning process to move towards supporting the women of the region more fully.
We’d like to thank Betty Anne, Jill and Tracey for an excellent conference, and we look forward to working with key stakeholders to move towards the goals set out in the session.
Labels: ACTEW_Activities, LMDA, Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates
