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It’s perplexing for us disabled people and advocates that so many media headlines point to the extreme financial struggles of people with disabilities in our inflationary economy while the powers that be continue debating details. What details? Our Parliamentarians are busy parsing the words of the proposed federal Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) as it wends…
More than one in three Canadians report serious mental health concerns, and one in four report problematic substance use, according to the most recent data from the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. These are staggering numbers. The impacts of the global pandemic on the mental health…
Being an Ismaili Muslim woman is a very important part of my identity. On numerous occasions I have spoken in the Senate Chamber, on conference stages and in media interviews about my Ismaili heritage. I do this because I have an immense debt of gratitude to the community and His Highness the Aga Khan, the…
Halifax’s Smooth Meal Prep is one of two successful businesses co-founded by Nevell Provo that have grown through the pandemic. They generate $700,000 in annual sales, are cash flow positive and employ dozens of youth in his community. Despite this success, these businesses were built on sweat alone, with no access to credit support. “One…
One of Canada’s largest meetings on philanthropy takes place this month as foundations, corporate donors and government funders gather for Philanthropic Foundations Canada’s annual conference. It comes as a question reverberates across the field: Can institutional philanthropy, itself a product of money and power, actually help to alleviate inequality and advance justice? For women and…
School trustees are part of the fabric of the community; they bring a local perspective to their work on boards of public education. They add a lot of input to discussions with the Ministry of Education and Child Care as well. I am Patrick Gatien, the chair of the Conseil Scolaire Francophone de la Colombie-Britannique…
The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of a new Brave Spaces Podcast series on the theme of diversity. The Podcast series is hosted by Dr. Margarida Garcia, 2004 Scholar and Chair of the Foundation’s Advisory Committee on Diversity. During these conversations, at times uncomfortable but nevertheless necessary, Dr. Garcia explores with the…
The global pandemic drew attention to decades-long problems in long-term residential care in Canada – resulting in tragic loss of life for thousands, and loss of quality of life for the many more who experienced isolation and inadequate care during pandemic lockdowns. Research has demonstrated that COVID-19 related mortality and inadequate care during the pandemic…
On July 28, the Think Tank Global Footprint Network announced Overshoot Day for theyear 2022. Overshoot Day is when the world’s population has consumed all the natural andrenewable resources made available for the year by the planet. This metric was designed in 1990 by Mathis Weckernagel, PhD Student at University of British-Columbia. He is now…
Governments must act now to ensure Canadians don’t lose community services Non-profits across this country are at the forefront of helping communities survive and thrive. Non-profit workers are committed to serving their communities and have found innovative ways to do this throughout the pandemic. But we’re at a tipping point. If governments do not act…
The Taliban’s draconian measure of requiring face coverings is the latest step in an ongoing nightmare for the women and girls of Afghanistan. Since the Taliban reasserted control over the country last August, women and girls have seen their access to education cut off, had their mobility restricted and been excluded from political life. Women…
An act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income has been introduced to the House of Commons (C-223) by MP Leah Gazan, and in the Senate (S-233) by Senator Kim Pate. The Bill is a response to the years of neglect that have undermined our social safety net to the point…
When Ukrainian and Russian representatives meet to attempt to negotiate a way out of the crisis, the absence of women from those tables is glaring. Yet research shows that peace accords are more likely to last when there is meaningful engagement by women. This is exactly the moment a strong feminist foreign policy is needed…
