The ACTEW Blog

The Northern Ontario Women's Economic Development Conference took place April 29 and 30 in Thunder Bay. Organized by PARO, and sponsored by ACTEW among others, this event brought together entrepreneurs, community workers, academics and local government workers to look at a wide variety of issues related to northern women’s economic security.

Highlights include:

• Women's stories of economic success: Woven throughout the conference were stories of women's success as entrepreneurs, politicians and community activists. In establishing a business women, such as gallery owner Louise Thomas or contractor Pamela Johnson, often consciously focus on positively affecting the social economy of their community as well as bringing in revenues.
  
  
• Technology: Five communities, including reserves with no road access, attended the conference remotely and participated in workshops via web casts. Roz Lockyer, Executive Director of PARO, reported that northern women want to utilize technology more for learning and professional development according to PARO's recent survey of the region. There was strong interest in participating in the technology training opportunities that Lynda Beavis, ACTEW's northern representative of the Content-Sharing Constellation Network, will provide in coming months. (To learn more about these workshops contact lori@actew.org.)
  
  
• Transportation: "Northern Women on the Move" was a workshop that explored how transportation affects women's economic security. Siobhan O'Leary and Maggie McDonald, researchers with Rural Women Making Change Research Alliance, presented the outcomes of surveys of women living in rural communities in Ontario. Workshop participants, including three web casting remote communities, shared strategies for overcoming women’s varied transportation issues.
  
  
• Activities at the local and municipal level: Kathy Poling, Mayor of Sioux Lookout, described breaking down systemic barriers within municipal government in order to be more inclusive of the aboriginal community, women and youth. Jody Rebek-DiCerbo, Managing Director of Destiny Sault Ste. Marie, explained her city's economic diversification strategy. Dr. Gayle Broad of Algoma University explored the economic and social benefits of social enterprises, such as farm circles in Northeastern Ontario and worker ownership of local industries.
  
  
• An economic overview of the region: Dr. Bob Rosehart, Northwestern Ontario Economic Facilitator, described some of the region's challenges and his recommendations for stabilizing and enhancing its economy and communities based on his recent report: "Northwestern Ontario: Preparing for Change".

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events, Resources_and_Research

Today, Deanna attended the provincial forum at Queen’s Park led by the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. Nearly 500 stakeholders attended, representing social services, municipal governments, health, labour, and people affected by poverty as the Network launched the 25 in 5 Declaration. The Network asks the provincial government for a plan to reduce Ontario poverty levels by 25% in 5 years and by 50% before 2018. According to the Network, it should address 3 priorities:

1. Sustaining employment


2. Livable income


3. Strong and supportive communities

Minister Deb Matthews, chair of the Poverty Reduction Cabinet Committee, spoke at the event (for more information on Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, visit our blog from Jan 22, 2008). Minister Matthews talked about the “foundational principles” the committee has agreed upon in engaging this process, which include:

• An “opportunity-based” approach—building on strengths rather than pathologies and ensuring the plan is focusing on providing opportunities for success to individuals experiencing poverty


• Develop person-centered strategies—rather than services and supports that are fractured and actually work against each other in reducing poverty


• Every person has a role to play in reducing poverty—this includes business and community leaders, a cross-section of provincial ministries, and requires the federal government to be at the table in discussions. This also includes municipal governments and local communities


• “Get smarter with the money being spent”—invest in evidence-based social policy to evaluate outcomes of programs and approaches, and invest in programs that are achieving outcomes that lift people out of poverty

Note that the committee will be undergoing an “engagement process” over the next few weeks across Ontario—as we hear of consultations and opportunities for communities, agencies and individuals to provide input into this important work we will send information along.

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events

Two recent items pertaining to women in non-traditional occupations:

• The Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT) will have its 12th annual conference in Guelph, May 29-31. In keeping with this year's theme of "building on success", the event will highlight women’s contributions and build upon successful initiatives that have advanced women in science, engineering, trades and technology. You can learn more and register online at the conference website. Be sure to check out the statistics on Canadian women in the non-traditional sectors on the coalition's home site.
  
  
• The Canadian Association of Women in Construction (CAWIC) applauds the government of Ontario’s $1.5 million investment for the Women In Skilled Trades program. The training will reach over 150 women through trades training centres in Burlington, Hamilton, Hawkesbury, Kenora, Fort Frances, Waterloo and Toronto.
  
  Yet training is only one piece of the effort needed to integrate women into the labour short trades. In an article in the Daily Commercial News and Construction Record, Angela Wilson, Chair of CAWIC, noted that,

  "Trade unions and independent contractors must be on board and embrace the notion of women in skilled trades by supporting, encouraging and providing opportunities for women. It would be short-sighted to provide funding to train women and subsequently for them to encounter difficulties in acquiring jobs within the industry."

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events

Increasing skills is a central focus of the new provincial budget. The Skills to Jobs Action Plan announced Tuesday will see $1.5 billion invested in training over the next three years. With 70% of new jobs in the coming decade requiring post-secondary education, the money is on formal school-based training.

• Most relevant to the community-based training sector is the Second Career Strategy. The program invests $560 million over the next three years in retraining 20,000 individuals laid off in the past 12 months in a second career. This is a fresh direction for training money, with little funding in recent decades for career changes. The new money will include grants of up to $28,000 or $30,000 to help cover the cost of tuition, living and transportation. A screening process that measures aptitude, goals and financial need will determine those eligible for the grants.
  
  The focus of this initiative appears to be on those in the manufacturing industry who have lost jobs. The Toronto Star reported 77,000 lost jobs in the province’s manufacturing sector from 2001 to 2006. Nationally, 18,300 sewing machine operators (92% of which are female), 6,800 metal fabricators, and 6,100 mechanical assemblers and inspectors lost their jobs during this period, with Ontario as the hardest hit province.
  
  The Star reports that the Second Career Strategy is to "be up and running by June 1 through existing employment counselling services". While the focus is on retraining laid off workers and those with long-term goals, the vague terminology of "unemployed workers" may be useful to non-profits serving more marginalized individuals. The grants may also be helpful to single mothers as Finance Minister Dwight Duncan is reported as saying, "If a sole breadwinner wants to go back (to school) there will be additional help that isn't available under existing programs."
  
  
• The budget also aims to expand and improve apprenticeships with $75 million over the next three years to increase apprenticeships, to meet a goal of 32,500 new trainees annually by 2011, plus another $45 million for apprenticeship training equipment. While women have been entering apprenticeships in slowly increasing numbers, they remain in traditional and low-paying occupations like child care and hairdressing. Encouraging women to enter non-traditional occupations would meet labour shortages.
  
  
• Much of the money is for universities and colleges. There is extensive funding of $970 million over three years for educational institutions, mainly universities and colleges, but also "skills training centres and facilities" under the Strategic Skills Training Capital Investments program. New grants will improve access to education with $385 million for books and computers and $27 million to alleviate travel expenses of students in remote areas.

The budget also met the promise of raising the hourly minimum wage to $8.75 as of March 31, will invest up to $10 million over four years to match what low-income earners can save towards education or business start-up costs, and $497 million to public transit in the GTA and Hamilton area. Another key investment is in Ontario's 211: more than $13 million over 4 years to invest in the telephone and web system to help Ontarians access community services and get accurate referrals. The Toronto Star recently reported that the vast majority (over 70%) of callers are women.

However, the budget falls short in some key areas. The Wellesley Institute observes that there is almost no investment in housing. While a 2% increase in social assistance benefits is a hopeful start, it will barely keep pace with inflation. Most importantly to working women or women wanting to work, there is no mention child care, neither as an immediate investment or in a long-term commitment.

Read the budget.

See analysis of the 2008 Ontario budget on the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events

Join ACTEW on Wednesday, April 2, as the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto hosts the release of a collaborative report analyzing the effects of 2004 changes to the HRSDC Call for Proposals process.

The report documents the costs of the funding change to organizations, government, and clients, and provides recommendations for improving the funding relationship between government and non-profit organizations. The sudden change threatened the existence of a number of employment and training organizations and interrupted service for many clients.

The report was developed by ACTEW in collaboration with the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, ONESTEP (Ontario Network of Employment and Skills Training Programs), OCASI (Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants), OAYEC (Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres) and TNC (Toronto Neighbourhood Centres), with funding support from the United Way of Greater Toronto Social Research Initiative.

The event will take place in Toronto. To attend, please contact Mary at 416-351-0095 x 251 or mmary@cspc.toronto.on.ca. For more information, contact Alissa Von Bargen, Community Social Planning Council of Toronto Communications Officer at 416-351-0095 x 214, or avonbargen@cspc.toronto.on.ca.

Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Meetings_and_Events, Resources_and_Research

On February 20th, ACTEW joined workers, clients and volunteers of community agencies serving immigrants and refugees in Toronto at a forum designed and held by the Advisory Committee of Access to Services for Socially Marginalized Immigrants and Refugees with the support of St. Christopher House. The event objectives were to name the issues for marginalized immigrants and refugees, particularly related to accessibility of services, and to bridge the work done by various service-providers to address these issues.

Eight recommendations resulting from the forum are now available, the foremost of which is to develop a coalition to "address poverty, racial discrimination, oppressive practices, systemic barriers and access to services barriers" for marginalized immigrants and refugees. Other recommendations included involving government to develop helpful policy and coordinate services, mapping service access points for targeted groups, collaborations between established agencies and new organizations, strategic funding approaches and settlement sector information sharing.

This initiative is important to employment and training agencies serving newcomers.

• Newer immigrants of both sexes are facing greater difficulties getting work and securing stable, well-paying positions than previous generations and unemployment rates among ethno-racial groups vary dramatically, from as high as 35% to as low as 2.5%.
  
  
• Immigrant women identify access to suitable employment as a key issue in their lives: many are underemployed and most work in field other than that in which they are trained.
  
  
• The vast majority of home-workers and contract shop employees in Canada's garment industry are immigrant women of colour. This sector is unregulated with very low pay, irregular work, and no option for benefits.
  
  
• Domestic workers are almost exclusively immigrant women. Often living in the homes of their employers, they are particularly vulnerable to economic exploitation and human rights abuses.

(For more information, visit ACTEW's fact sheet on employment issues for immigrant women.)

Agencies wanting to learn more about the Access to Services for Socially Marginalized Immigrants and Refugees recommendations and to participate in future meetings for this initiative are invited to contact Mahassen Mahmoud at mahassenma@stchristhouse.org.

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events

ACTEW's Trish McNamara reports on the recent conference hosted by the Ontario Women's Directorate. Trish is Program Manager for Supporting Survivors/Supporting Employment, professional development workshops for employment practitioners that serve survivors of intimate partner abuse.

Here's an update on the Ontario Women's Directorate Provincial Conference, "Communities Working Together to End Violence Against Women" that I attended from February 25 to 27th in Kitchener.

First, I would like to say this was an excellent opportunity to network with many women’s organizations and spread the word about ACTEW and the many projects that we have on the go.

The Honourable Deb Matthews, Minister Responsible for Women's Issues opened the conference and had not planned on attending the entire conference but ended up staying. Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada was a keynote speaker as well on Tuesday with many inspiring words and stories. Her true commitment to helping end violence is notable. During our meal breaks there were many other excellent keynote speakers who shared their insights and stories.

I attended many of the poster displays and have some amazing resources to add to ACTEW's resource library, which I will bring with me to our March 14th meeting.

As well, I attended the following workshops:

• Abused Women Who Don’t Seek Help: Their Perceptions, Experiences and Needs
  
• Creating Rural Rainbow Connections – with Pride – in Renfrew County
  
• After “She Leaves”
  
• Meaningful Messaging for Family Violence Prevention: Lessons from working with ethno-linguistic and immigrant communities in Ontario
  Danger Assessment

There were anywhere from 800 to 1100 participants and I was able to connect directly with Farisha Dinshaw from COSTI and she advised me that they just completed a DVD for sponsored immigrant women on the myths of being deported. Their hope is to take away the fear of being deported so that the woman knows she can leave an abusive situation when needed. Farisha told me to check out their website because it should be released sometime in the summer.

I was able to connect with many delegates from health units, victim services, regional police, sexual assault centres and social services departments to name just a few of the sectors represented.

Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events

Our fact sheet on Canadian Women's Labour Patterns reveals that while women accounted for 70% of the employment increases in Canada in 2007, a woman still earns only 70% of what a man will in work of equal value. Two recently launched campaigns and a new report challenge this stubborn and glaring economic imbalance in Canadian society.

The Canadian Labour Congress has launched "Equality: Once and For All", a year long campaign for women's economic equality. On International Women's Day, 30 meetings on work-related issues for women will take place in locations across the country. CLC has also produced a report and fact sheets on wage inequity, the gender pay, employment insurance, pensions, the role of unions and child care.

"It's Time for Public Child Care" is another campaign for working women and their families. In Ontario there are regularted child care spaces for only 10% of the children under 12. Driven by the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and the Ontario Federation of Labour, this campaign includes meetings throughout the province on the desperate need for quality child care and against the privatization of such care by the international corporation that is presently moving into the province. Not only does this big box child care offer poor care for children, "In Australia the biggest child care chain, ABC Learning Centres, caps wages at 50% of costs fueling record profits for its shareholders from the low wages of their staff."

Child care is one of the most prevalent employment categories for women in Canada, according to a release from Statistics Canada this week, yet it is also one of the most poorly paid. The annual income for these workers half that of the national income average. Salaries for child care centre staff range from $12,500 to $29,000 per year, providers outside centres have even lower remuneration, and child care providers in Canada's Live-In Caregiver Program, due to immigration regulations, are very vulnerable to unfair pay and abuse from their employers.(See our fact sheet on child care for more information.)

A report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives urges the Province of Ontario to fulfill its obligation to child care providers and other public sector workers who are still owed pay equity payments. Twenty years ago, Ontario's Pay Equity Act made pay discrimination illegal, and yet, as Mary Cornish states in "Putting fairness back into women’s pay: The case for Pay Equity in Ontario":

the government is failing to fully fund the pay equity adjustments owing to women in the public and broader public sector. In addition, the Pay Equity Commission and Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal, which enforce the Act, are seriously underfunded.

$78.1 million is currently owing to women in the public sector. Furthermore, Cornish also points out that women in the private sector are much more vulnerable, an issue that snowballs as more government services become privatized, but little is done to prevent or penalize gender-based wage discrimination.

Labels: Meetings_and_Events, Resources_and_Research

Non-governmental organizations have an important position in the United Nations, ACTEW learned when attending the Consultation Day hosted by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women on February 24. Their role is to monitor and evaluate the execution of governmental commitments made in statements to the UN.

On Thursday February 28, the Government of Canada presented its statement to at the 52nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Canada's statement about its commitment to women's equality is available on the web site of the Mission of Canada to the UN.

Representatives from Canadian NGOs attending the UNCSW released a response to the statement, comparing Canada's proclamations to last week's federal budget. You can read their commentary on the web sites of Canadian Business or CUPE.

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events

ACTEW contributed expertise to a Canadian delegation for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women currently underway in New York City. The topic of this year's meeting is the economic success and the security of women.

Eight delegates were hosted by FAFIA and funded by Status of Women Canada to attend. They will return to their agencies across Canada to engage in community development projects inspired by UNCSW events.

As ACTEW's representative, Paula Wansbrough participated in the pre-sessional training seminar for the delegates on Feb. 23, speaking about national employment and training service trends for women as well as describing Ontario's LMDA implementation and its impact on women.

Other presenters at this training were:

• Lynell Anderson on the state of child care policy in Canada
  
• Andrée Côte on public services, parental leave and EI, and pay equity
  
• Michelè Asselin on women's economic security in Quebec
  
• Rhonda Roffey on violence against women in the Ontario context
  
• Louise Riendeau on violence against women in the Quebec context
  
• Muriel Smith on gender budgeting at the local and provincial levels in Manitoba
  
• Jessica Notwell on sustainable livelihoods

The NGO Consultation Day took place on Feb. 24 in which NGOs were reminded of their important duty to monitor government implementation of UN treaty agreements. Women's groups and environmentalists have been the strongest NGO voices in UN work. Key presentation topics and discussions included: Gender budgeting, gender equality architecture within the UN, financing women's empowerment, and education on violence against women.

During the weekend, ACTEW also connected with representatives of Canada's Status of Women, sharing LMDA implementation information as well as highlights on our upcoming release on the ten components of successful programming for women.

For more on the UNCSW, visit the UN website at:
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/52sess.htm
To learn about the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, visit:
http://www.ngocsw.org/en/main
Watch FAFIA's website for outcomes of this year's UNCSW:
http://www.fafia-afai.org/

Thank you to FAFIA for arranging the delegation and coordinating the highly informative training day.

Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Issues_and_Trends, LMDA, Meetings_and_Events

Deanna Yerichuk attended the January 18 Employment Ontario Service Delivery Advisory Group meeting. Three key topics were covered:

New Federal Investments as Ontario negotiates a Labour Market Agreement
Kevin French, Assistant Deputy Minister of MTCU, is leading negotiations with the government of Canada to sign a Labour Market Agreement (LMA), which would transfer new funding Ontario for labour market training initiatives (read ACTEW’s blog of the 2007 federal budget announcement). The LMA is in fact replacing the Labour Market Partnership Agreement (LMPA), and two investment priorities have been earmarked for the money:
1) non-EI-eligible clients
2) low skill workers
It was confirmed at the meeting that these priorities mean that funding will be able to support Ontarians who do not currently qualify for EI, as well as Ontarians that are under-employed and/or precariously employed.

There was no mention of Ontario’s share of the $500 million annually promised across Canada, but they do expect the agreement in place for the money to start to flow in 2008/09 fiscal year.

Program Design Update
The External Service Delivery Reference Group on Program Design – Employment had an intensive planning session in January to determine guiding principles and provide feedback on the proposed employment services delivery model. Here are just a few of the key components of the new integrated system (targeted to be implemented in April 2009):

• There are three “components’ of the integrated employment services: Support for Independent Job Search, Employment Placement, Matching and Incentives, Job Maintenance, Sustainability and Advancement.


• Deliverers of service will determine which component, or combination of components will achieve the best results based on the individual’s needs, the local labour market environment and the program’s strategic goals/policy objectives.


• Employment service functions, intensities and incentives enable deliverers to tailor services to individual, employers and community circumstances and needs to achieve labour market attachment outcomes.


• Depending on community demographics, the services could include “specialization” of delivery and access – i.e. services targeted to immigrants, persons with disabilities, older workers, youth, and specialization of components such as placement and matching.


• Enables communities to augment components of services to reflect and respond to local circumstances and unique community demographics or economic situations. Based on the need, services may include some or all components of the employment service model, and may add unique components and features.


• EI status is no longer an eligibility requirement for access to employment services. However, there will have to be the capacity to record and track EI status to meet LMDA reporting requirements and to report expenditures against the appropriate account.

A revised document will be released at the end of January. ACTEW is planning a members’ meeting for mid-February to review these discussions in detail with our representative Honey Crossley (Working Skills Centre) who sits on this external stakeholder advisory group. ACTEW members will receive information about this session shortly.

Upcoming focus groups on Service Delivery Framework
MTCU has completed the Jurisdictional Review, and is fine-tuning a discussion paper on the current Service Delivery Framework. Coordinated by the Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres (OAYEC), MTCU will be holding a series of focus groups and inviting written submissions at the end of February. ACTEW members will have an opportunity to attend these focus groups around the province. Stay tuned for more information.

Materials from the January 18 meeting will be placed on the Employment Ontario Partners’ Gateway web site: http://www.eopg.ca/eng/sdag.html
As always, if you have any questions, concerns or ideas, please contact Deanna at policy@actew.org.

Labels: LMDA, LMPA, Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates

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.

Labels: LMDA, Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_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

Labels: Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates

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:

• 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

On Tuesday, October 2, we had the pleasure of participating in the conference Putting Women in the Picture, hosted by the Sarnia-Lambton Workforce Development Board (SLWDB). It was an exciting group of people concerned with how the women of Lambton County can be more fully supported towards economic security. Deanna opened up the day with a talk on the labour market challenges and opportunities facing women in Ontario, including stats and policy analysis, as well as an overview of the work MTCU is currently engaging in through building Employment Ontario.

The group of about 70 service providers then went into small group working sessions, determining priority issues and trends for Sarnia’s workforce, and developed action plans to addressing those issues. This will provide SLWDB with a concrete plan to take action within the community.

Our thanks go out to Vicki, Jasmine, Kris, and others on the organizing committee for hosting such a dynamic, informative and catalytic event. It looks like this may inspire some exciting initiatives in Lambton County.

Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Meetings_and_Events

"MMP" stands for Mixed Member Proportional (MMP). This is the proposed electoral system. You will hear the slogan "1 ballot, 2 votes" because in this system, the voter selects a party and a candidate.

A Mixed Member Proportional system combines members elected in local districts and members elected for the whole province to serve as MPPs in the legislature. If this system is accepted, Ontarians will have two votes in future elections: one for a "Local Member" and one for a political party. The selected Local Member does not need to be from the party the voter chooses.

Under MMP, the provincial legislature would have 129 seats: Local Members' would fill 90 seats while "List Members" would fill 39 seats.

The share of seats in the legislature that each party wins is roughly equal to its share of the party vote. For example, if a party wins 25% of the vote, it wins about 25% of the seats in the legislature. The political party with the largest number of seats in the legislature, including Local Members and List Members, is asked to form a government.

In each electoral district, one vote would be used to elect a Local Member using a First-Past-the-Post system. The candidate with the most votes in an electoral district wins.

The other vote would be for a political party. Votes for parties will be used to determine the number of List Members each party gets. This is the proportional representation part.

If a political party is entitled to more seats than it won at the local
level, candidates from that party's list of members join the government; these are the List Members. The list of members is created before the election and is distributed to the public. Members are selected for a position in the government based on their order on this list. Only a political party that has received more than 3% of the votes can have List Members.

In the end, a political party's overall share of seats will roughly equal its share of the total votes for parties in the province.

Labels: Meetings_and_Events

To understand the Referendum, it's necessary to look to at Ontario’s current electoral system. This system is often called "First-Past-the-Post" (FPTP).

In a FPTP system, a single winner is elected in each voting constituency. The winner is the candidate with the most votes, although not necessarily the majority of the votes. The party that has the most elected candidates forms the government.

This is the most common voting system and is used through out Canada at provincial and federal levels, as well as in the United States and the UK.

In Ontario, under the current FPTP system, the provincial legislature has 107 voting constituencies, with a corresponding 107 elected officials, or Members of Provincial Parliament (MPP), representing these constituencies. This number has changed recently; seven years ago, the provincial government decreased the number of constituencies from 130 to 107.

Labels: Meetings_and_Events

Ontarians will be going to the polls on October 10 not just to (re)elect politicians but, more importantly, to vote on electoral reform in the referendum.

Changing the electoral system affects who might get elected into office, which in turn affects the policies that our government makes. Whether you vote yes or no, you need to make an informed choice.

Elections Ontario, a non-partisan Agency of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, has set up a web site, Referendum Ontario (visit www.yourbigdecision.ca), to help voters "learn about your choices in Ontario’s first-ever referendum on electoral reform."

Elections Ontario also explains how and where to vote on their main web site, www.elections.on.ca, including electoral districts, voting by proxy, and how to confirm that you are on the voters list. They have information available in 33 languages.

Labels: Meetings_and_Events, Resources_and_Research

In June, ACTEW hosted a meeting with MTCU and employment and training service providers from the Hamilton-Burlington-Niagara region. Following a presentation by MTCU's Regional Director, Sherree Mahood at the 2nd Annual Golden Horseshoe / Bi-Regional Networking Day, the 180 attendees had the opportunity to share their concerns, experiences, and ideas in a working session.

Service providers were asked to chart their thoughts on the following two questions:

1. What challenges and opportunities have resulted from the changes MTCU is undertaking due to labour market development policy changes?
   
   
2. How can agencies and government resolve issues that have emerged?

The results from these exercises are now available. Here are some highlights.

• Service providers need for more information and clearer communication from MTCU.
  
  
• The changes have brought many in the sector closer together in order to share information. Increasing networking and collaboration can ease some of the challenges arising from the changes.
  
  
• This is a time of opportunity for improving and increasing services.
  
  
• Employment Ontario will likely serve most clients well.
  
  
• Measures of evaluation need to be refined. In particular, participants are not convinced that clients with multiple barriers will be well served by outcomes-based evaluation and other aspects of the changes, nor are they clear about the definition of service "success".
  
  
• There are administrative and operational challenges arising from the changes, in particular, around funding.
  
  
• Regional variation in labour markets must be acknowledged at all levels of the design and expected outcomes of Employment Ontario.

Summaries of the two exercises, as well as the original data, are available on the ACTEW web site.

• Political Weather Report – Summary
  
• Political Weather Report – Chart
  
• Collective Action – Summary
  
• Collective Action – Chart

The work session was organized by Facilitating Inclusion, an innovative training program of St. Joseph's Immigrant Women's Centre.

Labels: Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates

On June 17, over 180 employment and training service providers from the Hamilton-Burlington-Niagara region met for the 2nd Annual Golden Horseshoe / Bi-Regional Networking Day. ACTEW co-hosted this event, in partnership with the Employment Assistance Resource Network (EARN) of the Hamilton area.

The day included a spotlight on the changes the employment and training sector is experiencing as a result of the LMDA and the emergence of Employment Ontario. Sherree Mahood, MTCU’s Regional Director for the Western Region began this session.

Sherree set out MTCU’s vision for Employment Ontario and described what service providers will see next:

• ongoing regional community stakeholder engagement meetings
  
• local planning processes for labour market development and service delivery charters; for the Western Region, this planning is scheduled for July and August
  
• consultations on service delivery models, which for the Western Region will begin in September
  
• the roll-out of 24 "Transition Projects"

An energetic question and answer period followed Sherree’s presentation. Service providers raised concerns related to funding, engaging employers, the "Rapid Employment" philosophy and its effect on multi-barriered clients, and the status of portfolios related to client groups such as youth, and OW and ODSP recipients that are not covered in the LMDA.

In response to a question about how service providers can best prepare themselves for the changes, Sherree said that she felt confident community-based service deliverers would be supported by Employment Ontario. She encouraged agencies to create "service maps" that set out the "pathways" clients can take to services in their community. Such maps will illuminate the gaps in services as well as areas of duplication. These maps will also help agencies "learn to speak the same language" as the other service providers in their communities.

The room then broke out into small groups in a session guided by group leaders from St. Joseph Immigrant Women’s Centre Facilitating Inclusion program. The results of these discussions will be available from ACTEW once they are compiled and analyzed by Facilitating Inclusion.

Labels: Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates

As ACTEW's representative, Deanna Yerichuk attended the MTCU Central Region Community Engagement Stakeholder Meeting on Thursday June 14, along with several ACTEW member agencies from the GTA. Many of the concerns held by ACTEW members are shared with the other employment and training stakeholders attending this Central Region meeting.

The goal of the MTCU "community stakeholder engagement meetings" is to assess local employment and training needs as MTCU moves forward with Employment Ontario. The consultation Deanna participated in was one of five that are occurring within Central Region alone, and all regions will be holding similar meetings in an effort to focus on local planning. MTCU will compile the feedback and release reports in the Fall.

Four themes emerged at the Central Region meeting.

1. The employment and training system needs to be flexible in order to equally accommodate the diverse needs and barriers of all clients.
   -> Among agencies serving women only that responded to ACTEW's Pre-LMDA Survey, this point was especially important. In particular, these agencies see multi-barriered clients excluded from programs because of eligibility criteria.
   
   
2. Funding for supports such as transportation and child care is essential.
   -> The majority of respondents to our survey told us they did not have enough funding for program supports.
   
   
3. The expertise of local boards, umbrellas and agencies are a key way for MTCU to reach priority client groups, perform research, and engage community stakeholders, and the Ministry can tap into this expertise more.
   -> Pre-LMDA Survey respondents indicated that there were a number of regional differences in the province, and agencies have evolved innovative ways of making the most of their specific advantages. You can review some outstanding programs in our profile listings.
   
   
4. Strategies are needed that will draw employers into the dialogue on labour market development.
   -> This was an important issue at the Ottawa meeting ACTEW hosted with the Ottawa Women’s Training and Employment Network.

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates

Diversity and employer involvement were key issues raised at the Skills Training and Employment Programs Summit.

Co-hosted by ACTEW and the Ottawa Women’s Training and Employment Network (OWTEN) on May 17, the Summit was attended by nearly 60 regional stakeholders from various levels of government, and employment and training organizations.

Attendees got an overview of Ottawa’s labour market initiatives, hearing presentations from:

• City of Ottawa’s Economic Development
  
• Ottawa Chamber of Commerce
  
• Service Canada
  
• Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services Programming
  
• Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Programming
  
• Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

Following this, stakeholders discussed strategies for enhancing Ottawa’s labour market development, focusing on two issues in particular:

1. How to meaningfully embrace equity and gender diversity, not only through service provision, but also through representation within the sectors and services that shape Ottawa’s economy; and
   
   
2. How to engage employers in labour market development strategies in order to pro-actively address pending skills shortages.

Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events

I presented on ACTEW’s Putting Women in the Picture project at the Jobs and Justice conference. Here are two other initiatives that I found both inspiring and informative:

Well-being through Inclusion Socially and Economically (WISE)
http://www.wise-bc.org/index.html

Daphne Moldowin and Chrystal Ocean gave a presentation entitled Jobs versus Mutual Aid: Taking Back the Meaning of ‘Work’ in Community. WISE is led by women living in poverty. It works to address

• the causal link between policy and poverty,
• educate people about the effects of poverty on the health and wellbeing of citizens and their communities,
• and support one another in introducing and implementing inexpensive, creative solutions at the local level.

WISE has published a very powerful book called Policies of Exclusion, Poverty & Health: Stories from the front (WISE 2005) in which 21 women tell their stories of poverty, which then lead to policy recommendations. I strongly encourage you to order a copy for yourself at http://www.wise-bc.org/CVProject/book.html.

The women of WISE have also developed workshops, both for women affected by poverty and for service providers. If you are in or near Toronto and are a service provider, catch their upcoming workshop "Honouring the Margins: Their Knowledge, praxis and realities," at the Community-Campus Partnerships for Health 10th annual conference Mobilizing Partnerships for Social Change (April 11-14, 2007).

Redefining Welfare to Work in British Columbia
This research project, presented by Shauna Butterwick (University of British Columbia) and Whitney Borowko (Simon Fraser University) examines training and employment programs for long-term welfare recipients in British Columbia. The researchers critique existing job training and employment programs in BC and conclude that they are based on a “quickest route to a job” philosophy and are punitive and unsuccessful in the long-term. Looking at other models across Canada, they find Quebec programs offering the most promising practices.

The researchers recommended a new model based on the following principles, adapted from Nancy Fraser’s feminist social justice approach:

• Anti-poverty
• Anti-exploitation
• Income equality
• Leisure time equality
• Equality of respect
• Anti-marginalization
• Anti-androcentrism/Europeanism

There is not much written information released on this project, as the work is still in its research phase. As I hear of information becoming available, I’ll post it to this blog.

Jobs and Justice: Strategies and Solutions for Economic Security was hosted by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and held in Vancouver March 29 to 31, 2007. Some of the plenary talks were videotaped and can viewed online.

Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Meetings_and_Events, Resources_and_Research

ACTEW’s project manager Deanna Yerichuk attended the two-day conference CEDAW in 2007-2008: Preparing for the Upcoming Review at the United Nations in Ottawa on March 9 and 10, 2007.

FAFIA and Oxfam Canada partnered to host this opportunity to discuss the upcoming United Nations review of Canada under the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expected in late 2007 or early 2008 (FAFIA has an excellent overview of CEDAW and the UN recommendations for Canada in 2003).

Some highlights included:

• Sheila Regehr (National Council of Welfare) presented NWC's anti-poverty strategy report, which is based on four cornerstones focus on: 1) creating a national anti-poverty strategy with targets and timelines; 2) developing a coordinated plan of action; 3) ensuring accountability; and 4) establishing official poverty indicators. (Download Solving Poverty: Four cornerstones of a workable national strategy for Canada from the NWC web site.)

• Trish Hennessey (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) presented on CCPA's Growing Gap research project, which is finding that the income gap between Canadians is growing, even though Canada's prosperous economy provides the conditions for the income gap to shrink. Trish quoted research from CCPA's recent report The Rich and the Rest of Us that found 80% of Canadian families are working more hours and taking home less pay.

• Lisa Phillips (Osgoode Hall, York University) offered an analysis of the tax cuts being considered by the federal government, which she suggested benefit higher income earners, offering these statistics: 60% of individuals earn less than $30,000, and 75% of women earn less than $30,000. She pointed out that 38% of women do not pay income tax due to low incomes.

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events, Resources_and_Research

At the Women's Summit in November, 65 Brockville-area women interviewed each other on the key issues for business and personal life. The Summit host, the Employment and Education Centre (EEC), has just released the final report, which summarizes the findings of that exercise.

Four questions were posed to every woman in attendance. Particular themes arose for each.

1. The first question asked what challenges women face today. The most common responses included barriers to education and work-life balance.


2. The second question focused on concerns for self-employed women. Participants cited the financial burden and insecurity of income in starting up and running a business.


3. The third question asked what priorities would women have if they had unlimited funds to spend. Hands down, the women named childcare and employment and training opportunities as the top two priorities.


4. The last question asked what are women's opportunities. Among many possibilities, women responded that they must get more involved in policy-making that affects women's lives on a daily basis.

Do these themes resonate with your experiences? Would you have said something different?

You can download the full report on ACTEW's Putting Women in the Picture events page. Note you can also download the joint presentation delivered by Service Canada and MTCU at the Summit.

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events, Resources_and_Research

On December 6, 1989, 14 women at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal were murdered because they were women. I want to recognize the significance of today for women whose lives have been affected by violence.

There are and will be many annual events happening today throughout the province in remembrance and I encourage you to join one happening in your community. In particular, this year the Ontario Federation of Labour is participating an initiative that makes the direct links between violence and work for women called Step it Up. OFL frames the links this way:

“Women make up almost half the work force and much more in some sectors. An abused woman is often a working woman. Not surprisingly…domestic violence can interfere with a woman’s ability to get, perform or keep a job… Home can be a danger zone, but for some women the workplace is no sanctuary as stalking, threats and violence follow them to work.”

The web site talks more about the Step It Up Campaign, and talks about a Private Members Bill being introduced in Ontario that “would give all Ontario workers on-the-job protection by making workplace harassment an offence under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”

Read more on the OFL site

Labels: Meetings_and_Events, Resources_and_Research

I’m thrilled to report back from this meeting at the Employment and Education Centre in Brockville last Wednesday and Thursday, November 29 and 30.

The LMDA Update on Wednesday was an excellent opportunity for people in Eastern Ontario to hear about LMDA implementation from the MTCU and Service Canada. About fifty stakeholders from community agencies, public and private colleges, and provincial and federal government attended this session presented by Patrick Donnelly (MTCU District Manager for Eastern Region) and Cheri Crosby (Director of Eastern Ontario Service Canada Centres).

The messages weren’t any different from what we at ACTEW have been hearing.

• Business continuity is the main focus now, meaning there will be as little disruption to agencies and clients as possible as of January 1, 2007.
  
• Attendees were concerned that communications would be a challenge through the transition, expressing worry that they would not receive accurate and up-to-date information.
• Many felt that keeping client-focused may be difficult through the implementation.
  
• Attendees also saw the integration of federal and provincial systems as an opportunity for reducing duplication, revisiting program structures, and enhancing and improving client services.
  

November 30 was the Women’s Summit, an event that invited women job-seekers and their service providers to spend the day thinking about career paths. ACTEW participated in a "gaps analysis" session, in which attendees discussed the employment-related challenges and opportunities for women in Eastern Ontario. The feedback is being compiled; once it's available I’ll post the results here.

The Employment and Education Centre will share these results in meetings with their MP Gord Brown and MPP Bob Runciman.

Our thanks to the Employment and Education Centre for hosting two fantastic events!

Deanna

Labels: Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates

I attended the Developing Skills through Partnerships Symposium, put on by the Ontario Network of Employment Skills Training Projects (ONESTEP) on Friday, November 24.

The Symposium brought stakeholders together in Toronto from various sectors, including trades, non-profit and public training sectors, and provincial and federal government representatives to discussing how we can best “build Ontario’s Workforce for the 21st Century through a Client-Centred Training and Employment System.”

Honorable Chris Bentley, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, opened the conference with a rousing speech, noting that only 30% of people in Ontario qualify for EI and therefore only 30% can access programs funded through EI.

He called for the federal government to honour the LMPA so that Ontario can better serve people who do not qualify for EI. Notably and quotably, Minister Bentley said this:

Ontario will never reach its potential until everyone in Ontario reaches their potential.

…to which ACTEW says “here here!”

Also worth mentioning, the conference featured presentations from the governments of Alberta and Quebec, provinces that have had LMDAs in place for close to ten years now.

In particular, I was impressed with the fact that the Quebec model has advisory committees for equity groups, and yes, actually has a women’s advisory committee. This is the first province that I’ve heard of that recognizes women’s specific employment and training issues through a formal group.

Does anyone know of other provinces that has a similar mechanism for women or other equity groups?

You might want to check out the web site www.skillsthroughpartnerships.ca, which will post the presentations given at the Symposium.

Deanna

Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates

ACTEW is working with several host organizations throughout the province to launch regional meetings on policy and women’s training and employment throughout 2007. Watch for meetings being hosted in Hamilton, Grand Erie area, Thunder Bay and surrounding communities in Northern Ontario. Do you want to host a meeting in your area? Call Deanna at ACTEW at (416) 599-3590 or email deanna@actew.org and we’ll work with you to make it happen.

Labels: Meetings_and_Events

I'm thrilled to give you the first scoop: ACTEW is partnering with the Education and Employment Centre in Brockville to hold a Women's Summit on November 29 and 30, 2006.

ACTEW will be talking to local employment and training agencies and women's service providers about the LMDA and LMPA and women's long-term sustainable employment. We're also bringing representatives from Service Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) to explain the implementation of these new agreements.

What I'm personally really excited about is that the Women's Summit will be for job-seekers as well as service providers. ACTEW will hear from women directly about their successes and challenges in finding meaningful work. We will share what we hear with policy-makers who looking to create effective training and employment programs.

If you live in or near the Brockville area, please join us! We'll post information here as it becomes available.

If you live elsewhere in the province and are interested in convening a meeting or event for your region and would like to discuss the LMDA and LMPA, let me know.

Hope to see you in November,
Deanna

Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Meetings_and_Events