April 2011
2011 Federal Election Analysis

The ESPC has released its fACT sheet that highlights federal issues most affecting Edmontonians with low and modest incomes.  We invite you to see for yourself which of the platform positions of the major federal parties jogar casino do the most pokies game to lift more Edmontonians online casinos australia out of poverty and online casino gambling improve the lives of those with modest incomes.

Highlights from the fACT sheet include:

• Federal Poverty australian online pokies Reduction Strategy
• Retirement Security
• Guaranteed Income
• Supplement Working Income Tax Benefit
• Employment Insurance and Skills Training
• Revenue Measures
• Affordable Housing
• Child Tax Benefits/Child Benefit Supplement
• Early Childhood Development and Child Care
• Aboriginal Edmontonians
• Canadians with Disabilities
• Health and Social Transfers

Click here to download the fACT sheet in PDF

The 2011 Census and community co-operative groups

Canada’s next census will be held in May 2011.

Early in May, yellow census packages will be delivered to every dwelling in Canada, providing residents the information they need to complete the census online or on paper. Completed questionnaires will provide valuable information that will be used to make decisions about your neighbourhood and community.

Census information is important for all communities and is vital for planning services such as schools, daycare, police services and fire protection.

The 2006 Census provides interesting information about Canada, including the following:

• Between 2001 and 2006, Canada’s population grew by 1.6 million, which translates to a growth rate of 5.4%. That is slightly higher than the rate for the period between the 1996 and 2001 censuses (+4.0%).

• According to the 2006 Census, the number of people aged 65 and over increased by more than 446,700 compared with 2001 (+11.5%), topping the 4 million mark for the first time (4.3 million). This is nearly four times as many seniors as in the first quinquennial census in 1956.

• In contrast, the under 15 population declined by almost 146,000 (-2.5%) to 5.6 million between 2001 and 2006. This is the second consecutive intercensal period in which the under 15 population has declined, as the last increase was in the 1991 to 1996 period.

Every person, young and old, must be included in the 2011 Census. It’s important that all residents of Canada are part of Canada’s family portrait.

For more information about the 2011 Census, visit www.census2011.gc.ca.

National Household Survey

In addition to the 2011 Census, some residents will be asked to participate in the new National Household Survey (NHS). The information collected in the NHS will provide data to plan and support family services, housing, roads and public transportation, and skills training for employment.

Your information will help paint a detailed and comprehensive picture of Canadian society. If you receive the NHS, support your community and complete the survey.

The NHS will collect the same information that was collected by the 2006 Census long-form questionnaire. For information to be available for future planning and decision making, it is important that all residents who receive the NHS complete the questionnaire. Please encourage your community to respond to this survey.

For more information about the NHS, visit www.nhs.statcan.gc.ca.

We filed our written legal arguments in Federal Court on Friday.

Again, we did not challenge the decision to drop the mandatory long form.  It was our legal opinion that this sort of challenge would have legal and evidentiary obstacles.  Unfortunately, our views were borne out by the judgment of the Federal Court in Native Council of Nova Scotia case.  I hope you see that our theory has a better chance of success as our challenge is much more narrow.  We contend that there is an equal right to be counted, and the protected groups we represent have a right to be enumerated under the census.

You will also see that we are only seeking declaratory relief.  It was really the only reasonable approach in the circumstances.  In a sense, the government created this problem by suddenly announcing this new approach with very little time to really get to Court.  It is true that the Francophones and the Native Council cases made it to Court swiftly.  However, the government argued in each on that it was already too late to stop the census.  The Courts did not have to deal with that argument because the applications were dismissed, but our case was later in the queue and we did not believe the evidence was solid that it could be stopped in the circumstances.

Procedurally speaking, there are also many advantages to us seeking only declaratory relief under the Federal Courts Act.

The whole point of the challenge was to provide another vehicle to highlight the unlawful and improper handling of the census by the current government.  Since we were not aiming to restore the majority of long form questions in any event, this was the best approach in the circumstances.

Application Factum (PDF)

Affidavit of Peggy Taillon (PDF)

Affidavit of Shalini Konanur (PDF)

Affidavit of Steve Lurie (PDF)

Affidavit of Wayne Helgason (PDF)

Affidavit of Kevin Milligan (PDF)

Stephen Harper's firing range: A list of 87 organizations and people attacked in five years

By Dennis Gruending 

Rabble, April 1, 2011

The Conservative government, or the Harper government as it insists upon being called, has either fallen or engineered its own defeat and the election is upon us. This is perhaps a good time to take stock of who the Harperites have spent their time attacking in the past several years. They have also lavished favour on their own, appointing them to be judges, to the Immigration Review Board, the CRTC or other federal agencies.

The list of organizations that have been shut down and cut back, and the individuals bullied, is a long one and we can expect it to grow if, as seems likely, Harper is reelected.

I have written extensively about some of these actions, including the government's attack on the ecumenical group KAIROS and the shameful treatment of the Rights and Democracy organization, but I cannot claim that my list is comprehensive. The following list was  compiled primarily by Judith Szabo and by Pearl Eliadis for "Voices," a coalition of organizations and individuals which describes itself as "united in defence of democracy, free speech and transparency in Canada."

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