Social Planning
Helps the community identify strengths and challenges and determine ways to improve the quality of life for residents in Halton.
Community Dispatch
Community Dispatch Vol. 25, #1 – Housing Affordability
The evidence is in, and it is overwhelming. The cost of housing has grown much more quickly than household incomes. The past year has seen housing affordability discussed frequently as the impact of COVID-19 on changing work arrangements has created different opportunities for where people are located. This Community Dispatch will look at what is being done to address the issue of housing affordability.
Vol. 24, #4 – We’ve Made Some Progress in Reducing Poverty: We Can’t Stop Now
The evidence is in and it’s overwhelming. The cost of allowing poverty and social exclusion to continue far outweighs the costs of reducing or eliminating it. But ending poverty not only makes good economic sense, it is essential to meeting basic human rights.
Vol. 24, #3 – Ontario Budget 2019: It Doesn’t Need to Be This Way
As I move throughout Halton’s community of social and health agencies, I am aware of the anxiety and sense of vulnerability enveloping the sector. I feel the immense weight on the shoulders of my colleagues as they contemplate increasing need for services from a diverse and growing population combined with deep cuts to the service provided by their agency. They know that people will suffer. This Community Dispatch shares David Thornley’s thoughts on how this budget doesn’t have to be this way. David is a colleague who has worked extensively in both government and the nonprofit sector and is a policy advisor to the Social Planning Network of Ontario.
Vol. 24, #2 – Amalgamation and The Death of Local Democracy
The participation and engagement of citizens determine the vitality and efficacy of democratic practices. The regional government review presently underway only pays lip service to consultation. Citizens have no time to study, reflect, and be heard. I thought it important to share Community Development Halton’s perspective as represented by CDH’s colleague Peter Clutterbuck in an opinion piece published this March by the Hamilton Spectator. Peter Clutterbuck is senior community planner with the Social Planning Network of Ontario.
Vol. 24, #1 – Volunteering: Crucial for Personal and Community Growth
Volunteering has been a valuable and effective method for Canadians to effect social change for many generations. What began as a way of sharing knowledge and helping each other survive has evolved into an organized method of mobilizing incredible amounts of energy and knowledge for the common good. Volunteers are a vital component of our social structure.
Vol. 23, #5 – Pharmacare: Building the Social Safety Net
In May 2018, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health released its report: ‘Pharmacare Now: Prescription Medicine Coverage for All Canadians’. This report details the current state of pharmacare in Canada and culminates in a list of 18 recommendations on how to develop a single-payer, universal pharmacare program. This means that one public plan would provide free prescription medication to Canadians.
Vol. 23, #4 – Community Impact of Proposed CN Rail Hub in Milton
May 2018 Often community members such as the Boyne Britannia Neighbourhood Group are pushed to ask important questions: Why? What and who will benefit? Will harm be done to the people, community and to the environment? Civic society is dependent on evidence,...
Vol. 23, #3 – Pre-Budget Submission to The Government of Ontario: Contributing to Well-Being
February 2018 Community Development Halton as a member organization of the Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) supports the following policy and budgetary recommendations made at an Ontario Pre-Budget consultation on January 29, 2018. I share these with you as...
Vol. 23, #2 – Response to Income Security: A Roadmap For Change
January 2018 A new report, Income Security: A Roadmap for Change, recommends comprehensive changes to Ontario’s income security programs, Ontario Works, and the Ontario Disability Support Program. Many of you receiving this Community Dispatch work with people who are...
Vol. 23, #1 – Volunteers: Builders of Inclusive and Vibrant Communities
December 2017 In September, Community Development Halton held its Annual General Meeting, with speaker Henriëtte Thompson on the theme of “Volunteers: Builders of Inclusive and Vibrant Communities.” As former Director of Public Witness for Social and Ecological...