Edmonton Social Planning Council

Author: Web Administrator

  • Alberta 2022 Budget Analysis

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    Written by Vibhu Kher, Research and Policy Practicum Student

    This report analyses the Alberta Budget 2022 announced on February 24, and its future implications for Albertans. Using the social gradient framework outlined by Canadian Public Health [6], this report evaluates impacts of budget investments on Albertans’ Social Determinants of Health (SDH). This report focuses on the SDH factors such as Housing, Health Services and Education. Within these sectors, the report addresses affordable housing and the real estate market, post-pandemic job security, and social inclusion in conjunction with higher education investments. In healthcare the report highlights the privatisation and expansion of health services to for-profit companies and the mental health and addiction services in Alberta in response to the alarming opioid crisis.

    The purpose of this analysis is to highlight key concerns that Budget 2022 leaves unaddressed compared to the advancements the Alberta Government hopes to make through provincial investments. This report also provides recommendations for further research and investigation into provincial investments and service delivery.

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  • Lunch & Learn Summary: Breaking the Stigma for Albertans with Low Literacy

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    By: Vibhu Kher, Practicum Student

     

    Involving the whole of community in supporting Albertans with low literacy is essential to advancing the development and skills of these individuals. Literacy develops through everyday contexts; a supportive network and effective community engagement is called upon.

    Over 19 Edmontonians participated in the virtual Lunch and Learn session on Thursday April 14 to understand the stigma behind adult literacy in Alberta and how this can contribute to life-long development challenges for these individuals.

    The Centre for Family Literacy in conjunction with the Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC) addressed key factors and impacts leading to stigmatization of Albertans with low literacy.

    The session was primarily led by Kim Chung, Co-Executive Director for Programming and Training, and assisted by Kristen Dmytriw, Facilitator at the Centre for Family Literacy, along with Brett Lambert, Research Officer at ESPC serving as the host and moderator.

     

    Low Literacy and Impacts

    45 per cent of Albertans from age 16 to 65 struggle with low literacy, a high number for a technologically advanced and well-off province such as Alberta. Literacy refers to the ability to ‘identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials’ associated with different contexts in a given time period.

    An individual with low literacy requires an extended period of time, special aid and support to adequately achieve their goals and participate completely in wider society. Goals range anywhere between being able to fill out forms or attain employment.

    Kim describes one of the experiences of having low literacy equivalent to travelling in a foreign country and not knowing the language. Some signs of low literacy include:

    1. Disinterest or refusal to engage
    2. Feelings of frustration during perceived difficulty in tasks
    3. Forgetting required items to avoid tasks (ex. Eyeglasses)
    4. Indirect, confused or irrelevant answers to questions
    5. Asking repetitive questions already stated in the document

    Feelings associated with low literacy include:

    1. Incapable
    2. Frustration and stress
    3. Sadness
    4. Awkward and uncomfortable

    Living with low literacy can affect individuals throughout their life, families, communities, professional work and social inclusion.

    These feelings are also heightened when others make these individuals feel less capable by questioning their ability to understand further leading to stigmatization.

    These feelings can last up to a lifetime and also cause mental health distress, further pushing their personal goals away and leading to social exclusion from community engagement.

    When asked by a participant about post-secondary education for low literacy students, Kim advised that “people getting pushed through the system may graduate high school but struggle in university, unknowingly.”

     

    Centre Programs and Approach

    The Centre for Family Literacy focuses on learning about the ‘simple goals’ of adults with low literacy, it’s about “helping people achieve their potential and how they define their potential” says Kim.

    Overall, strengthening family relationships by improving adult literacy, and increasing opportunity for children’s language and literacy development, fostering active involvement in community.

    The Centre offers programs, training and resources for adults and families to improve literacy and increase opportunity for children’s language and literacy development through parents and programs.

    The Centre follows a holistic approach for family-based learning, providing early intervention for children all the while supporting parents in pursuing their own skill development and training.

    Chung uses Malcolm Knowles’ Adult Learning Principles to identify ways to enhance a learner’s experience at the Centre, making material immediately relevant and practical to their lives and increasing comprehension and retention.

    Showing respect, involving them in planning and evaluation of a learning opportunity and “acknowledging their life experience [is] an important foundation to their learning” says Kim.

    Training at the Centre focuses on building capacity and apps like Flip are resources for development purposes available through the Centre. Other resources include Microsoft Office Readability tool and using informal diagnostic to assess the learners and their needs.

    Informal assessments are conducted to ensure comfort for the learner and apply a “go with a flow” methodology, says Kristen, Facilitator at the Centre.

     

    What Can You Do?

    Understanding the perspective of someone with low literacy can help realize how and where comprehension in the workplace can be easy or difficult for these individuals.

    Kim recommends doing a literacy audit at the workplace as it addresses signs, resources, forms and interactions through the perspective of someone with low literacy.

    There is a dire need to build awareness, sharing information about low literacy and its impacts, knowing which organizations to refer people to and working with literacy programming can all help break the stigma.

     

    Watch the Lunch & Learn recording here

     

    Lunch and Learn sessions take place monthly hosted by the ESPC, check out here to learn more about upcoming events as they are announced. Additional resources for the Centre for Family Literacy can be found here.

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  • Blog: Celebrating the Transgender Day of Visibility 2022

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    By: Jordan Clark Marcichiw, ESPC Volunteer

    Happy Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) to all transgender, two-spirited, non-gender conforming and non-binary folx!

    Thursday, March 31, marks the thirteenth annual TDOV—a time to celebrate transgender people and the milestones and achievements of the trans community. It is also an important day for all Edmontonians and Albertans to come together to reflect, learn, and better understand the discrimination experienced by transgender people in our communities.

    The past year has marked several celebratory moments for the transgender community:

    • the Bank of Montreal’s introduction of Mastercard’s True Name Feature, offering the ability for trans people to use their true name on their credit card without a legal name change, [1]
    • fYrefly in Schools, a new program created by a local trans woman to increase inclusion and safety in rural Albertan communities, [2] and
    • the first transgender woman, Lia Thomas, to win an NCAA Division 1 swimming championship in the face of severe public scrutiny. [3]

    Despite these hard-earned and well-deserved successes, trans people in Canada continue to experience significant discrimination and systemic oppression. Research shows that:

    • 25% of trans people feel they were not given access to the gender-affirming care they required, 22% of trans people have been denied hormone therapy, and 15% have been denied gender affirming surgery. [4]
    • 67% of trans people thought about suicide before transitioning, whereas 3% reported thinking about suicide after transitioning. [5]
    • Compared to the general population, transgender and gender non-conforming people are seven times more likely to struggle with substance use, five times more likely to experience mental health concerns, and two times more likely to experience severe poverty and homelessness. [6]

    These staggering numbers are a result of systemic inequality that continue to minimize and ignore the experiences and needs of trans people.

    As aspiring allies, what can we do?

    Allyship is an ongoing process.

    It is our responsibility to continually educate ourselves to better understand the needs of trans people. Learn what these needs are (like access to gender-affirming health care and the usage of proper pronouns) and continually speak up to advocate for these needs. Be mindful and ensure we are advocating in a way that is meaningful and relevant to trans people, and educate ourselves on the intricacies of intersectionality [7] and how issues might affect trans people.

    Support, amplify and learn from existing trans resources.

    Some Edmonton-based resources [8] include:

    • The AltView Foundation for Gender Variant and Sexual Minorities
    • Comité francoqueer de l’ouest
    • Edmonton 2 Spirit Society
    • Edmonton Men’s Health Collective
    • Fruit Loop Society of Alberta
    • Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services
    • The Landing
    • The Pride Center of Edmonton
    • RARICANow
    • Shades of Colour

    Research and support policy changes that better address trans needs.

    The resources mentioned above are great sources to learn about policy gaps and advocacy opportunities. The Enchanté Network, the University of Saskatchewan Social Innovation Lab, and the Community-Based Research Center are other great learning resources.

    Celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility 2022!

    The following events are occurring for TDOV 2022:

    Celebrate with your trans friends, family members, neighbours, colleagues, and acquaintances!

    Jordan Clark Marcichiw (she/her) is a social worker who is passionate about spreading knowledge and advocating for systems change for the betterment of all individuals. Her personal interests include hiking, kayaking, skiing, playing slopitch, reading, and adventuring with her pup. As a ciswoman, she is honoured to witness the strength, resiliency, and relentlessness of the trans community and trans allies as they fight for a safer, more equitable community in our province.

    References

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  • Community Matters (March 2022) — Gender (In)equity

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    Note: this is excerpted from the March 2022 edition of our Community Matters publication. 

    Welcome to our new publication, Community Matters!

    In our efforts to continually find new ways to inform the community about social issues that impact citizens, the Edmonton Social Planning Council will produce a quarterly report to connect the dots between social issues, evidence, and policy.

    This new publication, Community Matters, combines elements of our two legacy publications, The fACTivist and Research Update. These publications kept readers apprised of ESPC activities and projects as well as educated them on a wide range of social issues and perspectives for positive social change. The new endeavor will build on this work, giving voice to local agencies, ESPC volunteer writers, and staff members alike.

    Each edition will spotlight a specific social issue and demonstrate the intersectional nature and impact on equality. Our goal is to use evidence as we continue to inform on the issues affecting individuals and families. We will collect and share a diverse range of facts, experiences, and challenges framed by a particular theme. This edition focuses on gender (in)equity and the various ways that women and gender-diverse individuals are impacted by issues such as:

    • Income and employment,
    • Food (in)security,
    • Social inclusion,
    • Mental health, and
    • Housing.

    While gender equality aims to ensure equal treatment for people of all genders, gender equity goes a step further, aiming to provide equal treatment according to an individual’s unique needs. Equality guarantees that a person’s rights, responsibilities, and opportunities are not impacted by their gender. Equity offers the means to get there, which may be experienced as “treatment that is different but considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations, and opportunities” (UNESCO, 2000).

    We chose this topic as our first theme in part to highlight that the month of March is Women’s History Month and celebrates International Women’s Day (March 8), but also in recognition that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women and exacerbated existing inequities. Women and gender diverse people face high rates of poverty, unemployment, gender-based violence, and poor health. As we emerge to new social and economic realities, we must ensure that policies address these inequities—to support women and gender diverse individuals as fully engaged members of society.

    – Susan Morrissey, Executive Director

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    Click on image.

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  • Blog: Celebrating March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

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    By Hanna Nash, ESPC Volunteer

     

    Background

    International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is celebrated annually to recognize the prejudices and injustices that arise from racial discrimination. This day commemorates the 69 people who were killed during a peaceful protest in Sharpeville, South Africa, on March 21, 1960, when police opened fire on demonstrators speaking out against apartheid. [1]

    In 1979, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) created a program of activities to be undertaken in the second half of the Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. Guided by the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention is now nearing universal ratification.

    This year’s theme, Voices for Action Against Racism, is inspired by the High Commissioner’s report on racial injustice. The aim of this theme is to highlight the importance of supporting and protecting those individuals and organizations who use their voices and roles to speak up and address racial discrimination. In order to foster new policies and encourage new attitudes to grow, safe spaces must be guaranteed for people and organizations to share their stories and experiences and to gather in peaceful assembly. [2]

    What Can We Do?

    In Canada, this day is an opportunity to reflect on racial discriminations that exists in our own society. This day asks each of us to consider the progress that has been made and what more can be done to open up conversations and combat systemic prejudice that visible minorities feel daily. In the past two years, movements such as Every Child Matters, Black Lives Matter, and Stop Asian Hate have brought awareness and created discussions for all Canadians to learn and participate in ending racial injustices. These movements have been very powerful in reflecting back on our society the pervasive racist and xenophobic attitudes that continue to persist, and changes that are needed to respond to them.

    Canada has slowly made progress in using this day to address racial discrimination since ratifying the Convention on October 14, 1970. [3] Provincial and federal governments acknowledge this date annually and, in previous years, have used it when announcing new strategies to fight racism.  Creating new opportunities for visible minorities and assisting in methods to change attitudes surrounding racial discrimination is now at the forefront of society’s mind. [4]

    The UN encourages all people from all nations and backgrounds to join the fight against racism by expanding and contributing to the conversation globally. Visit https://share.ohchr.org/ to upload your photo using a Stand Up to Human Rights campaign filter and share it on your social media using the hashtags #FightRacism and #StandUp4HumanRights.

    While the world has made progress since 1960 and can celebrate the achievements South Africa has made since ending apartheid, there is still much progress to be made in eliminating racism. This day was created for all people to renew their efforts to reach an end to the many continued forms of racism, hatred, and discrimination to ensure that all people of all nations experience their right to live peacefully and in safety, and have unlimited access to the same opportunities as others.

     

    Hanna Nash is a volunteer with ESPC. She enjoys ballet performances and other live theatre, as well as outdoor sports, and travelling to new countries. Hanna is interested in sharing information and knowledge to Edmonton’s diverse communities.

     

    References:

    [1] United Nations. (n.d.). International day for the elimination of racial discrimination, 21 March. https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-racism-day

    [2] Government of Canada. (n.d.). March 21 – International day for the elimination of racial discrimination. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/federal-anti-racism-secretariat/international-day-elimination-racial-discrimination.html 

    [3] Department of Canadian Heritage. (2009). International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/pch/documents/services/canada-united-nations-system/reports-united-nations-treaties/conv_intnl_elim_discrim-intnl_conv_elim_discrim-eng.pdf

    [4] Prime Minister of Canada. (2021). Statement by the Prime Minister on the international day for the elimination of racial discrimination. Government of Canada.

    https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2021/03/21/statement-prime-minister-international-day-elimination-racial

     

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  • Blog: Alberta budget a missed opportunity to improve lives of Albertans

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    By: Sydney Sheloff and Brett Lambert

    With the release of Alberta’s 2022 budget, the provincial government painted a rosy fiscal picture. For the first time in nearly a decade, they tabled a balanced budget and even posted a $511 million surplus. After years of running deficits, one might think this is the optimal time to make some robust investments that would strengthen public services and meaningfully improve the lives of Albertans.

    While spending overall is up from previous years, the reality is that with spending levels still below the pace of inflation and population growth, we are falling short when it comes to making a meaningful difference, especially for marginalized and underserved populations.

    As with each budget released, the Edmonton Social Planning Council took a deep dive and produced a fact sheet informing the public on what this budget means for social services and the populations they serve.

    Rising household expenses are a pressing concern for the average person, with surveys showing more than half of Canadians cannot keep up. Whether it’s higher grocery bills, gas prices, insurance rates, or utility bills, people are feeling the pinch. While many hoped the budget might bring about some form of relief, it appears this was deferred. To combat high natural gas prices, the government will introduce a rebate program starting in October. While this measure will be helpful for the future, it does nothing to address the current pressures we have all been facing during a winter of prolonged cold snaps.

    People living on various income supports are facing added pressures. Advocates have been calling for several changes to Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH). First, the current benefit rate of $1,685 a month is far too low to meet basic needs. Many advocates say that raising benefits to the amount Canadians received through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), $2,000 a month, is a good starting point. Second, in the face of a rising cost of living, AISH payments need to be indexed for inflation. The budget addresses neither of these calls. Instead, they are maintaining current benefit amounts.

    Investing in families and children is a key component in ensuring the long-term sustainability of our province. Funding for the Alberta Child and Family Benefit (ACFB) remains on par with the last budget. However, funding before was insufficient. Research has shown that most families are receiving lower payments through the ACFB than through the previous Alberta Child Benefit and Alberta Family and Employment Tax Credit.

    The last two years have been particularly traumatic for older Albertans amid the pandemic. While there are some investments in continuing care and home care, seniors living in low income still struggle to make ends meet. While federal pandemic-related support programs were an important lifeline, many of them are winding down and recipients inevitably will return to provincial programs. This includes the Alberta Seniors Benefit (ASB), which provides monthly financial assistance to those aged 65 and older. The maximum monthly benefit for a single person and a couple, $285.92 and $428.83, respectively, remains unchanged.

    With AISH, the ACFB and ASB not indexed for inflation, benefits remain stagnant while the cost of living is rising significantly. Month after month, those who are already struggling will find it harder and harder to make ends meet. Income supports must keep up with the rising costs of living.

    Ultimately, budgets are inherently political documents that offer a roadmap for where their priorities lie. Posting deficits are often cited as a reason why public services cannot be funded to the level they deserve. In the time of surpluses, one would think it would be the right time to usher in transformational changes and meaningfully expand and strengthen the social safety net. The fact that neither of these were on display in the latest budget is a missed opportunity.

     

    Sydney Sheloff is strategic research co-ordinator for the Edmonton Social Planning Council.

    Brett Lambert is research officer for the Edmonton Social Planning Council.

    This op-ed originally was published in the Edmonton Journal on March 5, 2022, read the original op-ed here

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