Edmonton Social Planning Council

Author: Web Administrator

  • Edmonton Social Planning Council Annual General Meeting

    Please join the Board and staff of the Edmonton Social Planning Council  on May 19th to celebrate our accomplishments of the past year and to hear about upcoming activities of the Council.

    Our keynote speaker is Paula Simons, speaking on "The Elimination Round: Why Idealism Isn't Always Ideal."

    Your membership must be in current order to vote. Membership may be purchased or renewed at the door or online at our Membership page.

    Date: May 19, 2016

    Place: Stanley Milner Library, Room 7 (6th Floor) – 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    5:00 pm: Light refreshments

    5:30–6:15 pm: Business meeting

    6:30 pm: Keynote speaker Paula Simons

    For more information, call 780-423-2031 or email stephanieh@edmontonsocialplanning.ca.

  • Helping out impoverished children

    Helping out impoverished children

    Kevin Hampson

    The Alberta government should raise more dollars in taxes in order to support impoverished children, argues Joel French, keynote speaker at the Alberta Teachers' Association's Well-Being of Children and Youth Conference, held Friday in Grande Prairie.

    Nearly one in six Alberta children are living in poverty, said French, who is the executive director of Public Interest Alberta (PIA), an advocacy group.

    "Alberta needs more tax revenue," French said, adding that the province could raise $14 billion more by adopting a tax system similar to other provinces-including a sales tax. This could fund various government initiatives supported by PIA, such as tax-payer-subsidized housing, a provincial day care system and increased welfare benefits.

    French presented findings from a recent child poverty report, produced by PIA in partnership with The Edmonton Social Planning Council and the Alberta College of Social Workers. The report uses the After-Tax Low-Income Measure, which considers families to be poor if their income is less than 50% of the median income for all households.

    Click here to read the full article!

  • ESPC’s John Kolkman quoted in the Edmonton Journal on Alberta’s economy

    Resource revenue the 'crack cocaine of public finances,' University of Alberta panel told

    DAVE LAZZARINO

    Experts agree Alberta’s economy has seen better days. Where opinions differ is how to change it and whether a sales tax is unavoidable.

    A panel discussion Thursday at the University of Alberta, including experts from education, social programs and the business community, examined what the province needs to do to rebound.

    John Kolkman of the Edmonton Social Planning Council said the budget has a lot of positive elements for people on low incomes. He said savings could be found by easing off on carbon levies, if only for those same low-income earners.

    Click here to read the full article.

  • Research Update May 2016

    The Edmonton Social Planning Council’s Research Review contains summaries of the latest social research publications. We keep up on your reading so you don't have to.

    Inside this issue:

    “An Analysis of the Economic Circumstances of Canadian Seniors” reviewed by Natividad (Natty) Klimo

    “Beyond Survival: A Qualitative Study of the Impact of Homelessness and Incarceration on Women’s Health” reviewed by Lauren Melnyk

    “Creating a Community Strategy to End Youth Homelessness in Edmonton” reviewed by Élise Hervieux

    “Ending Homelessness? A Critical Examination of Housing First in Canada and Winnipeg” reviewed by Shez Kassam

    “Taking a leap of faith: Meaningful participation of people with experiences of homelessness in solutions to address homelessness” reviewed by Dylan Klemen

    Click to download our May 2016 Research Update!

  • Research Update May 2016

    The Edmonton Social Planning Council’s Research Review contains summaries of the latest social research publications. We keep up on your reading so you don’t have to.

    Inside this issue:

    “An Analysis of the Economic Circumstances of Canadian Seniors” reviewed by Natividad (Natty) Klimo

    “Beyond Survival: A Qualitative Study of the Impact of Homelessness and Incarceration on Women’s Health” reviewed by Lauren Melnyk

    “Creating a Community Strategy to End Youth Homelessness in Edmonton” reviewed by Élise Hervieux

    “Ending Homelessness? A Critical Examination of Housing First in Canada and Winnipeg” reviewed by Shez Kassam

    “Taking a leap of faith: Meaningful participation of people with experiences of homelessness in solutions to address homelessness” reviewed by Dylan Klemen

    ESPC Documents/PUBLICATIONS/A.06.C RESEARCH UPDATES/May2016ResearchUpdate.pdf

  • fACT Sheet—2016 Alberta Budget Analysis

    The Alberta Jobs Plan

    Budget 2016 covers the period from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 corresponding to the 2016-17 fiscal year (FY). There are revenue and spending projections for the following two fiscal years. This year’s budget is called The Alberta Jobs Plan.

    Budget 2016 forecasts a deficit of $10.4 billion. A contingency of $700 million is included in case oil prices keep declining or unforeseen emergencies require extra spending. The large deficit is due to a further drop in energy prices. The oil price underpinning this year’s budget has been reduced from $62US per barrel last October to $42US per barrel in Budget 2016. Low energy prices are causing job losses that in turn result in lower revenues from corporate and personal income taxes. The forecast deficit is a record in dollar terms; as a percentage of the overall budget, the deficit is still less than that of budgets in the mid-1980s when there was a similar dramatic decline in energy prices. 

    Download our fACT Sheet—2016 Alberta Budget Analysis here!