Summary

Building inclusive communities: Where do we go with what we know?

Friday March 28, 2003 - Plenary

Christa Freiler of the Laidlaw Foundation discussed social inclusion as a transformative (change) concept, noting that it is not just the flip-side of exclusion. She said any understanding of inclusion must begin with the lived experiences of people, and should “examine what the inside looks like”, not just attempt to bring the marginalized in. It must also be translated into practical policies and programs that make a difference in peoples’ lives.

Inclusive communities require a strong social infrastructure, common and distinctive places and spaces, an investment of public resources, and adequate frameworks at other levels, beginning with national policies.

One step forward would be to set up a number of civic panels in communities across Canada. The panels would be composed of civic leaders and citizens representing a diversity of populations and interests. They would help to develop a common social inclusion framework which would also address differences. Civic panels would then conduct social inclusion audits, with a focus on values, capacities, and practices. The civic panels would then link horizontally across Canada.

Peter Clutterbuck of the Social Planning Networks of Ontario outlined a social and economic inclusion initiative undertaken in a partnership between the Social Planning Networks of Ontario and Health Canada. Its aim is to empower people and demonstrate some real mobilization and transformative change in five communities.

Transformative change is about “closing the distance” between different groups in society, Clutterbuck said. The SPNO project focuses on “priority populations” that have the most at stake. The process begins with a community visioning process, where community members identify the issues they want to work on.

In Sudbury, a group of people came together and decided to work on the issues for the children of the community, regardless of who those children were, recognizing the full diversity of the population.

In Kingston, work is being done with people who are homeless to bring them together with other sectors of the community, such as landlords and developers. The groups have learned about their fears and suspicions in relation to each other, and are working on ways of closing the distance. One lesson learned is that shelter does not equal inclusion: other conditions are needed for people to feel a sense of belonging.

Ed Arial of HRDC described the department’s Community Inclusion Initiative, which provides resources to families and individuals to help build greater capacity toward inclusion. The initiative, which focuses on people with intellectual disabilities and their families, extends to every province and territory in Canada. It involves the federal and provincial governments, the voluntary sector, the specific communities with an interest in the issue, and the larger community. It is hoped that the CII will be a model for the use of federal funding by other sectors, in a way that encourages local co-operation and flexibility.

Although organizers assumed that people knew how to make inclusion happen, they found that communities needed help organizing their ideas. “It’s classic community organization,” Arial said. “We help people to come together, share their concerns, plan, take action, and see what kind of impact it has had.”

Inclusion is fostered by processes through which citizens and their communities can work toward goals that will create real and perceived benefits for themselves and others. Five principle elements of inclusion are:

• Access to disability supports;
• Supportive personal relationships;
• Self-determination;
• Social and economic integration; and
• Accessible communities.

Arial said the principal challenges are in:

• Marrying community-level organization with provincial and national social policy planning;
• Supporting local issues while respecting institutional realities;
• Ensuring a developmental process rather than a competitive one; and
• Allowing for mistakes in the spirit of learning.

A participant asked how people who are poor would define inclusion and exclusion, and what services and mechanisms they would consider to be supportive of inclusion. Freiler said that question is being addressed by Left Out, a project of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). She also cited a British study, where interviews revealed that people did not like being labeled as “excluded.” On the other hand, the concept of a process of exclusion had a lot of resonance, indicating that a focus on the process of inclusion would be useful.

Arial discussed the process of initiating a social inclusion project in Nunavut, noting that the culture is very different in the North. A meeting in Rankin Inlet drew 85 people—a great turnout—so there is interest. But the experience made it clear that Northern communities will create their own definition of inclusion and will go through their own process to develop programs. Government funders have to be patient enough to allow them to do that.

Clutterbuck noted that the project in Kingston to bring together homeless people with landlords and the general public demonstrated that there are fears and concerns on both sides: people who are homeless are just as concerned about entering an economic and social relationship with landlords as the landlords are about them. Facilitator/provocateur Nathan Gilbert of the Laidlaw Foundation commented that even the concept of homelessness is an exclusionary term. Clutterbuck said people prefer to be referred to as “tenants”.

Referring to the use of language, a participant stressed the dimension of equity, which means responding to a diversity of needs and issues. On this basis, he suggested shifting terminology from “social inclusion” to “equity and social inclusion.” He added that there had only been limited analysis of racism at this conference, and mentioned concerns in the anti-racism community that the social inclusion movement could represent a retreat from these issues. “We need to have intersectionality at every moment,” he said.

Another speaker underlined the need to operationalize social inclusion and to continue building other systems that will complement and support it, such as income security and social assistance programs.

Fernando Nunes, National Vice-President of the Portuguese-Canadian National Congress, announced that the Congress will be holding 10 round tables to develop community action projects that foster inclusion in the Portuguese-Canadian community. The Congress is seeking the participation of government organizations and NGOs as well as community members.

Back to Reporting

For more information about the conference, contact:
 
Sarah Zgraggen
The Willow Group
Tel: (613) 722-8796;
Fax: (613) 729-6206;
e-mail: szgraggen@thewillowgroup.com