The Latest

The Journey to Transformation Starts with a Resurrection of the Ordinary

There is a great deal of caring, conserving, creating, innovating, entrepreneuring, protecting, advocating for all life on earth (human, plant and animal) that is done by so-called ordinary people. A quick scan of my friends and neighbours reveals C. who has been growing organic lettuce and greens for 15 years; P. a young mom of two who is leading a campaign to stop dirty coal-bearing trains from entering Canada; J. who is a sole source of support for a friend who may never recover from a debilitating stroke; W. who stopped the trees on our local dyke from being cut down; V. who is caring for her ageing mother; T. and his neighbours who cleaned up a local stream making it possible for salmon to return and D. who is part of a network of support for a friend with cancer.

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Making History: Cambridge Adopts a Living Wage

The living wage movement is growing across Canada. The private, public, and non-profit sectors are seeing a rapid uptake of employers commited to paying employees a livable wage. Now, municipal governments are considering how the living wage and other income security initiatives are able to reduce poverty for residents and build healthier communities and economies.

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10 – A Guide for Cities Reducing Poverty

Now is no time to think of what you do not have.
Think of what you can do with what there is.

                 -Ernest Hemingway

 

Coming out of the Poverty Reduction Summit in Ottawa in May, 2015, one of the ideas that Paul Born from Tamarack and Brock Carleton from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities had was to develop a paper that explored the increasing interest and involvement of municipalities in poverty reduction work across Canada.  

The result is 10 – A Guide for Cities Reducing Poverty that will be presented at the upcoming Cities Reducing Poverty: When Mayors Lead summit in Edmonton 5-7 April.  

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The Municipal Role in the Living Wage Movement

In recent months, the living wage has been capturing the attention of local governments across the nation. Following New Westminster’s lead in 2011, Vancouver committed to a living wage last summer, and now Cambridge, Ontario’s City Council has just become the first in Ontario to make the pledge, with Hamilton and Toronto following close behind in consideration of their own policies. But why, what does the municipality add, what does it mean for living wage advocates, employees, and the community?

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Considering Courage

I have never thought of myself as courageous.  I would use many other words to describe me - thoughtful, reflective, smart, sometimes judgemental but never courageous.  That is why the statement...the most courageous thing I have ever done ...is so perplexing. 

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Innovating Innovation

We have reached a watershed moment.

After a century of robust development of technological and business innovation, plus several decades of cracking the code of social innovation, the time has come to create an integrated innovation system.

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